Well with a prompt like that from Ron there is just no way that I wouldn’t join in with the Haiku prompt challenge this week. Who could say no? Not me for sure.
Here’s a link to Ron’s blog if you’d like to join his weekly challenge:
I just love Crystals, and they feature in my writing.
Hope and Crystals kind of go hand in hand don’t they?
But perhaps with light there is always a touch of darkness, so with my haiku I am going to focus on the idea of unrequited love.
We all have at some time in our lives experienced differing degrees of unrequited relationships. In my experience I remember one such case when I was very young, it wasn’t love, it was a touch of infatuation. I fancied this young chap, and to be honest I kind of made it pretty obvious that I liked him. We did go out on a date but it was no fun at all, he just dumped me in the middle of the night in Edinburgh not caring how I got home or if I got home. In his eyes I think it was a bit of a prank to play on me, he must have thought I had been chasing him and perhaps he didn’t even fancy me. Anyway it was very upsetting and the memory of it still remains with me to this day. But it did teach me one thing, anyone that behaves in such an uncaring and unpleasant way can’t be worthy of my attention let alone of a relationship with me. So this curly haired young chap did me a favour in a way, his behaviour made me a little more reticent perhaps in chasing after a boy. I never went out with curly haired boys ever again! Instead I chose dark haired guys with straight hair, played it cool, let the boys do the running and the boys seemed to like that! So girls, take a tip from me, keep an aura of mystique and let the guy do the chasing.
Thereafter nobody broke my heart, not that he did, but he dented my pride. I have been lucky in love, and for that I am very blessed, so the haiku at the end of this blog post ends on a positive note.
So with that in mind let’s return back to Ron’s prompt words Crystal and Hope, by introducing you to a photo that I took of a very special crystal grotto, isn’t it spectacular?
I wrote a post way back about this amazing place called Juniper Artland where I photographed this grotto, “The Light That Pours Out Of Me,” by Anya Gallacio, so perhaps if you’ve been following my blog for a long while you will remember it. If not, then here it is, (it’s always worth a multiple visit, so do click on the link):
Juniper Artland is a must see recommendation f you are ever in Scotland, it really is an amazingly inspiring place, here’s some of the other links on my blog in which I feature my response to sculptures at this wonderful Artland (via my photography and poetry) :
Do comment and let me know what you thought of my haikus, and of course the amazing Juniper Artland.
Today I’m off work, so I’m doing a bit of blogging this morning, then off to Tai Chi, later in the day I have lots of chores to catch up on, sigh, if only I could do them like this!
This week’s prompt words from Ron are Luck and Hope. Wow what positive and inspiring words, I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy writing this week’s haiku. Luck and hope sound pretty good from my perspective as I have just heard that my friend’s daughter is doing well in hospital, I wrote my previous haiku, no. #55 when I was still very worried about her so it’s good to know that she will soon be at home. Bless her, she’s such a fighter, such a lovely lass, I have so much admiration for her.
So Luck and Hope, this haiku started off on a serious note, as my friend’s daughter has been in a lot of pain so here’s my first Get Well haiku to hope that her pain will soon be a distant memory:
Get Well Soon
Luck will have its day
Hope’s sweetest hug will triumph
And pain will depart
Now let’s rouse this Get Well message with a bit of Hakuna Matataing.
My mind works in mysterious ways!
I reckon The Lion King was on my mind after chatting online with Erika at BookVentureland https://errka220.wordpress.com/ about our fondness for this great Disney movie.
So here goes, LET’S HAKUNA MATATA, adding a touch of cheeky haiku luck and hope to the awesomeness of this song.
Let’s Hakuna Matata
A blessing of hope
Let’s Hakuna Matata
Lucky Worry Free !
I’m ending on another humorous note, it was bound to happen after all that Hakuna Matataing.
This one could be humorous if you win at gambling I suppose, but it might be serious if you lose…… So don’t try this Haiku at home folks, not unless you’re willing to part with your hard earned money!
The photos are all taken by me in my local Country park which is looking particularly lovely at the moment, hope you enjoy them. Here’s the entrance that I use quite often, and below the photo is the beginning of my little story HOPE, inspired by these thought provoking images.
The open gateway beckons like a warm welcome yet it sits in dappled shadows as if mocking me. My troubled thoughts are silent, yet the voice of my heart pounds, a flurry of quiet spasms grips my chest, tightening with each breath that I take. The lunchtime joggers run past, hard and fast, unaware that my breathing is competing with the pace of their laboured breaths in an unacknowledged contest.
I reach the first tiny viewing platform. The fluffy clouds float by on a gentle breeze as if trying to reassure me, doing their best to alleviate my earlier anxiety. The reflection of their inverted shapes slip into the water, a childlike candy floss creation, of delicate hope lifting my rising fear.
Then as I progress further, a darkened branch lays in wait for the unsuspecting visitor, threatening the tranquil scene. It claws reach out, a trap ready to close around its poor, unfortunate, next victim. It refuses to touch the man-made lake, nor does it rest, or disturb the seamless surface of the water. It is as if the trap-like branch is independent of any control.
The fluffy clouds now look like iceberg reflections, but even this does not seem likely, as lush green pond vegetation escape the water’s surface near them, promising a possibility, the likelihood of fresh hope. To my left I see a fragile, flowering branch.
I turn a corner and the cloud all but disappears, the sky so blue, and the scene so tranquil that I gasp in surprise.
I walk on by and find that I had been too hasty, I have been tricked, the clouds refuse to let me go. The dark approaching shadow clings to the right of my viewpoint, joining in with the clouds refusal, a reminder that all has not yet been spoken.
It stretches its shadowy fingers into my pathway creating a dappled carpet to guide me but I stand back, hesitating.
The clouds begin to spill into the water once again, their substance lost in their liquid home, they disperse like frightened suggestions. I stare at my phone as if it is an enemy. For a moment I am tempted to drop the phone into the water, to let it sink, so I do not have to confront this moment, but instead I clutch the phone to me and continue on my way.
I catch the sweet smell of flowers drifting from the sensory garden. Their aroma is light, almost imperceptible. Snatches of blue sky peek out amongst the blooms, like stolen handkerchiefs, waving, waiting for a conclusion. I continue to the Visitor’s centre, a haven full of thirsty, hungry strangers, unconcerned, and unaware, of my rising anxiety.
The stairs leading up to the viewing point are marred with the noughts and crosses of uncertain shadows, but no matter they are only playing a game to confuse me.
Then and only then do I become aware of the full view of the lake. It comes to greet me with a panorama of endless hope. Its pink and white fluffy clouds smile, reassuring me that I am not to worry, all will be well. At last, I have the courage to type in the number. It rings, and rings, and then at last my mother answers. She is not expecting me to ring right now. She tells me about her hospital appointment, “Yes, it is not the worst news, but it is not the best, I will need an operation, but thankfully my bloods do not suggest cancer.” The relief floods through me, like a thunderous waterfall, tempered by my disquiet at the word, surgery. I relax a little as I hear her next words. “The doctor asked me if I would mind having students present at the operation.” I hear a faint smile in her voice as she says, “How was I to mind when I wouldn’t even know they are there?”
One Word Challenge from Rebirth of Lisa – Choose just one word, instead of making empty resolutions, to meditate upon and be driven towards for the entire year. Use this word as inspiration throughout the year to make yourself and the world better. You set the rules.
Choose your word and join the challenge. We will make monthly updates to share how each of us is making a difference in the world with our word. I will post a monthly prompt on the first Thursday of each month. Be sure to ping back to the monthly post…. I look forward to reading your words and seeing your updates!
The One Word Challenge idea originated from Vera Jones, Lisa’s friend on FB. Here’s the links to find out more.
My word choice is Hope, because I’m hoping for a lot of special things this year, so fingers crossed.
Hope is the spark of life. Share your flame.
Quotes with the theme of hope:
While there’s life there’s hope. Marcus Cicero.
Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.
– The central theme of the prison drama Shawshank Redemption. Frank Darabont directed ‘The Shawshank Redemption. ’ In this excellent film hope prevails.
The winds of hope carry us soaring high above the driving winds of life. Ana Jacob.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. Hebrews 6:19
Don’t lose hope when the sun goes down the stars come out.
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.” Emily Dickinson.
Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers. Robert Green Ingersoll.
Learn from yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for tomorrow. Albert Einstein.
They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” Tom Bodett
“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” Martin Luther King Jr.
“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier’…” Alfred Tennyson
“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” Barbara Kingsolver
We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming – well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.” Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses.
Hope is a waking dream. Aristotle.
Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.” Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone.
I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.” Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl.
“Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” Stephen King.
Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Yesterday is but a dream,
Tomorrow is only a vision.
But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope.” Kalidasa, The complete works of Kalidasa.
What are you hoping for? Do tell!
THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please contact or e-mail me with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.