I have been looking for a way that feels right to me to tell parts of our story. Writing poetry fits on the whole but one form I came across recently called ‘Haibun’ resonates with me.  It is a form of Japanese poetry that sets the Haiku within a short context of rich prose writing.  The master, Basho, used it extensively while on open pilgrimage as an extended travel journal.  So he writes of a place or an event and then inserts a Haiku.  I’m attracted to this form because it seems to encourage the prose writing to be more poetic and provides the Intense haiku with more context — a bit like how an elegant setting can enhance an already magnificent gem stone.

So I’ve been experimenting a little with this form as a way to ‘travel’.  The journey with Autism has so many facets, not all of them hard by any means, but some are and the journey lately has been a bit sorrow filled.  I hope you don’t mind that I begin here.

Sorrow

The arborist knelt at the foot of an expansive Japanese Maple, his hand spread supportively on the lower trunk as he voiced his prognosis: “It won’t last much longer; it’s too bad.” I didn’t mean to gather up that bit of sorrow too, but hadn’t I walked only last autumn, like a bride, my progress carpeted with golden red tipped stars, under it’s sheltering reach? I felt beautiful, never thinking once that…

leaves edged red in life blood
flutter to the ground, thick
with sacrifices

I hear you speak of our reality, quietly naming the sorrow, the losses. I feel your stable touch, constant with presence, sharing caregiving tasks numerous and repetitive, falling as a tree’s countless leaves fall day and day, thick and beautiful, adorning a space as expansive as we can make it.  Sometimes I’m covered in mourning, more aware of the internal withering and worry.  Sometimes you come like a refreshing breeze that lifts those leaves just a little farther, extending our reach…

© 2016 Laurel Archer