I woke up from the most amazing dream. I was driving a strange contraption through the sky saving some people and their things. I remember telling myself, you will be okay if you don’t look down. I started to look down a couple of times but would immediately raise my chin up. Below me, things were crashing and piling up. I took a round trip, and then everything settled down. At the end, some ladies were thanking me, but an old man said that what I saw never happened.
waking up to a smile
in an unknown land
my memory returns
This dream reminds me of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind — Studio Ghibli
Mt.Fuji from Koshigoe wharf, Kamakura—TripAdvisor UK
Within the classic Tales of the Heike, there is a sub-story of two famous historical brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and his younger brother Minamoto no Yoshitsune. In 1185, Yoshitsune was the hero of the war between the Genji and Taira. As he returned to Kamakura, he stopped at Koshigoe to wait to meet his older brother and sent a letter to him to prove his loyalty to him. However, Yoritomo never met him. Instead, the jealous older brother sent assassins, and thus Yoshitsune committed ritual suicide as was the custom of samurai warriors. Though Yoritomo became the first Shogun of the Kamakura Era, his brother has been loved by the Japanese people for nine centuries.
Kabuki play
shouts for the hero
and sidekick Benkei
Haibun: Prose and Haiku by Carmen Sterba
Passing by the old Cedars, we see half black and white feathers scattered on the ground. Inspecting them, we identify that they belong to a Mourning Dove. Wondering what kind of animal would attack like this, we consider a cat or a Raccoon. It could not have been one of our neighbors, the Mule Deer since they are Vegetarians. The unknown question is why couldn’t it fly away? The family of Mourning Doves has vacated our field for good.
wayward wind
as usual the dove
coos true
Haibun (prose and haiku) and Photo by Carmen Sterba
Pacific Northwest American Poet Carmen Sterba, who has lived 32 years in Japan, shares her haiku, tanka, sijo, photograpy and articles along with woodblock prints.
