When the sky is a numbed grey and the ground is a paper machie of dead leaves, I lean on the prayers of my childhood. My mother's rosary beads are a steady rope. I kneel on the church pews and find comfort in the walls of red candles. The faces of the other travelers are mirrors of long winters with wilted flowers. I am just a brick, one of the many bricks and stones, rising as I evoke my faith - "Thy Will Be Done".
dawn is blue ink
as cardinals hop, coloring
spring on bare garden
Posted for dVerse poets Pub - OpenLinkNight. Drawing on the past week themes of faith by Mish and Holy Places by Amaya. Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST. Thanks for the visit.
I love how you weaved the sense of season in your prose and haiku with the presence in the pews and faith...
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful, Grace. Rosary beads as a steady rope — a new vision of faith to me.
ReplyDeleteThere is a common denominator of Catholicism that is instantly recognisable :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. i wish I had your faith. Just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJane (lady nyo)
I love the colours in your haibun, Grace: the numbed grey, the red that kind of flashes up in the middle of the prose, the blue ink and implied colour of the cardinals in your gorgeous haiku. I also love the metaphor of the rosary beads as a steady rope - a spiritual umbilical cord.
ReplyDeleteYes, the cardinals do color spring's bare garden. They do not live here, but I have seen them, and once seen, never forgotten.
ReplyDelete"I am just a brick, one of the many bricks and stones, rising as I evoke my faith"... love this. Poignant write, Grace 💖
ReplyDeleteA beautiful haibun Grace, I especially love 'My mother's rosary beads are a steady rope. I kneel on the church pews and find comfort in the walls of red candles'
ReplyDeleteBrick by brick is what it takes to rise. Can't rise with just one.
ReplyDeletemesmerising. My mother used to take me to old churches too- we would go and light candles for people in need and this so reminded me of her. For me the part where you say I am just a brick is the most haunting.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed !
ReplyDeleterising as I evoke my faith - "Thy Will Be Done"
- faith and belief that it will.
"My mother's rosary beads are a steady rope." Great line!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful faith haibun, Grace!
ReplyDelete"My mother's rosary beads are a steady rope." Like a climber's rope, it sounds like a steady hold to raise you up
ReplyDeleteBeautifully expressed.
ReplyDeleteThe solid scaffold of faith is evident and gives this haibun a soothing tone. I like the line about leaning on the prayers of childhood.
ReplyDeleteLovely piece - reminded me of my childhood Sunday school - something about the dusty sunshine through the windows on a cold winter's morning.
ReplyDeleteThe opening view of the sky and ground were fantastic. On a humorous note, because the poem was religious, the word "cardinal" in the ending verse had me imagining a Roman Catholic Cardinal, all in holy red, jumping around a lawn. A good chuckle that I know you did not intend. Some look for gods and spirits in everything, I guess I look for humor.
ReplyDeleteas cardinals hop, coloring
ReplyDeletespring on bare garden
The signs of spring with movements of foliage and fauna on the ground clearly seen. Very much so Grace!
Hank
Woven together,death, life and faith. Tied beautifully with the haiku at the end.
ReplyDeleteAs there is faith, hope springs in the heart!
ReplyDeleteThere's spring in the air & in our hop & step :)
Nature and faith complement one another.
ReplyDeleteThe first line is fantastic, "When the sky is a numbed grey and the ground is a paper machie of dead leaves, I lean on the prayers of my childhood." This line just pulled me. The whole of this piece is a painting in words. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteYou are one of many bricks and stones...Nice. I also am struck by the sky is a numbed grey...
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely beautiful.....the two images I especially love are
ReplyDelete"the ground is a paper machie of dead leaves," and "My mother's rosary beads are a steady rope." I still have my mother's rosary. This evoked strong feelings from me.
ReplyDeleteLove this. :-)
Have a great week.