A Sense of Place: MOUNTAIN – smell
A Sense of Place
In his essay ‘So:ba’, given at the International Haiku Conference (SUNY Plattsburgh, NY, 2008) and published serially in Frogpond, Jim Kacian discusses the concept of ba:
“If you look up ba in any Japanese-English Dictionary you’ll find it means “place” or “site” or “occasion”. And these are all true in the most general sense—ba is a pointer to a kind of awareness that something of importance is happening in time and space.”
So here we are…
In the following weeks we will get back to haiku basics and explore specific locations with an emphasis on the senses, and with the intention of improving our own haiku practice. Ideally, participants will select an actual location that they can visit, or a location from memory that they have visited in the past. Failing that, we always have our imaginations – and you’re invited to join in the fun! Submit an original unpublished poem (or poems) via our Contact Form by Sunday midnight on the theme of the week, including your name as you would like it to appear, and place of residence. I will select from these for the column, and add commentary.
next week’s theme: MOUNTAIN – taste
We remain in the mountains – if possible, the same actual mountains as last week – but now we explore the sense of taste…
I look forward to reading your submissions.
A Sense of Place: MOUNTAIN – smell
inhaling all that blue
washing over me
Altai mountainsCelestine Nudanu
The reader of this poem may sense the feeling of being overwhelmed by the immensity of nature – of being overcome by it, at least temporarily… a feeling commonly felt by those who have adventures in places like the Yukon…
mountain rivulets
flanked by ferns
– a whiff of wellnessCorine Timmer
Here the poet expresses an idea shared by several others this week, the idea that the air in the mountains is better for health, or that being out in nature can be restorative…
halfway down the mountain
the smell
of brakesRandy Brooks
Such a frightening thought, and presented in such a way that the reader can compose many plausible endings to this story…
Here are the rest of my selections for this week:
mountain cave –
dripping the scent
of batsAdjei Agyei-Baah
Kumasi, Ghana
at the foot
of the mountain
left behind sneakersAdrian Bouter
Kalaat M’Gouna
the man with a rose
behind his earAlan Summers
Wiltshire, England
at every step
a strong scent of moss –
mountain valleya ogni passo
forte odore di muschio –
valle montanaAlessandra Delle Fratte
Rome, Italy
the smell of fear
a hawk swoops down
from the mountainAmy Losak
treeline
we leave the scent of pine
behindandrew shimield
climbing to the top –
the acrid smell of moss
under the shoesAngela Giordano
the scent
of alfalfa –
malga cheeseAngiola Inglese
this air
less shared
mountain breathAnn K. Schwader
Westminster, CO
through the drizzle
the scent of mushrooms –
mountain woodsAnna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
towards the peak
the spilled perfume
of mountain liliesAnthony Rabang
ape-stink
the trail
not followedArdelle Hollis Ray
Las Vegas, NV
a flash across the mountain smell of ozone
Barbara Kaufmann
NY
line shack
we brew coffee
the old fashioned wayBarbara Tate
Winchester, TN
deep breaths
before dawn
mountain airBilly Antonio
Laoac, Philippines
mountain air
enough scent
to last my descentBlessed Ayeyame
Ughelli, Nigeria
crystal scent
of new snow –
the high passBob Whitmire
Round Pond, Maine
an earthly essence
rises from the mountain
rain danceBona Santos
mountain path
up to the sky
the smell of resincezar ciobika
Everest summit
smell of bottled oxygen
through a rubber maskCharles Harmon
Los Angeles, California, USA
cold day on the slopes
Oma’s glow wine spices
fill the airChristina Chin
Kuching, Sarawak
mountain breeze
even on a winding path
my retriever finds meChristina Sng
heather on the mountain
kicking up the smell of muskChristine Eales
UK
the room’s smell
of calamine lotion
mountain mosquitoesClaire Vogel Camargo
hidden gorge
water trickling
into the scent of mossCraig Kittner
Wilmington, NC
rope descent
silence in
the smell of fearDavid Gale
Gloucester UK
the mountain air her perfume taking over
David Jacobs
London, UK
lingering longer
on the slopes
petrichorDebbi Antebi
London, UK
the smell of rain
before it rains
mountain top(inspired by a recent visit to Great Basin National Park, Nevada)
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
persistent choristers
up through smoky canyons
pine siskinsDevin Harrison
apres-ski
hot mulled wine spices
the musky roomdianne moritz
a cup of tea
another life of
mountain grassesDubravka Šcukanec
Zagreb, Croatia
Chianti Hills
the sweet scent
of red wineEufemia Griffo
free climbing
the well-known scent
of lonelinessEva Limbach
Germany
scent of pine
tempts hikers
towards the summitGiedra Kregzdys
Woodhaven, NY
following your steps
up to Monte delle Felci
origan(Monte delle Felci is the mountain of Salina in the Eolian Islands, Sicily)
Giovanna Restuccia
Italy
mountain girl
the scent of pines
my favorite perfumeGreer Woodward
Kamuela, HI
amid the roses
so red the mount
in bloomGuliz Mutlu
remembrance day
the bittersweet smell
of mountain poppiesHifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
early morning dew
sweet lemon scent
of wild mountain thymeIngrid Baluchi
Ohrid, Macedonia
mountain air
the fragrance
of sheep manureIsabel Caves
Auckland, New Zealand
on the steep trail
an old woman passes
the scent of her kitchenJoanne van Helvoort
reaching the snow line
the scent of pine needles
from her thicker socksJohn Hawkhead
late night in the mountains
still boiling sap
wood smokeJudith Hishikawa
West Burke, Vermont
Mt. Olympus –
the transparent smell
of glacier ice(Mt. Olympus, Olympic National Park, Washington State, USA)
Judt Shrode
the mountain moves
into our house
burning sageKath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California
forget-me-nots
fragrance
tickles my noseKathleen Mazurowski
Chicago, IL
pine-scented fog
adding creamer
to my campfire coffeeKimberly Esser
Los Angeles, CA
down from the mountain…
smell of that breeze
straining to reach usLaurie Greer
Washington, D.C.
the blueridge
the scent of laurel
rising in smokeLinda Ludwig
grandfather mountain
I catch a whiff
of his cologne(Grandfather mountain is the highest peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina)
Lori A Minor
Detroit, Michigan
back in the city
pining
for the scent of pineLori Zajkowski
New York, NY
a breath
of mountain heather
purple sunriseLucy Whitehead
Essex, UK
scents of evergreen
blanket the mountainside
presents of the treesm. shane pruett
Salem, OR, USA
mountain trekking
amidst the Deodhar trees
a whiff of solitudeMadhuri Pillai
mountain retreat
the moon sniffing
cloud after cloudMalintha Perera
gnarled trees
the sweet fall
of mountain applesMargaret Walker
Lincoln, NE, USA
blue butterflies –
in the mountain breeze
smell of manure(blue butterflies are attracted to cow dung)
Margherita Petriccione
hot summer hike
the scent of
dust lingeringMargo Williams
Stayton, Oregon USA
home again
sharpening a pencil
a hint of mountainsMarietta McGregor
top of pikes peak
a steaming cup of joe
with a race car viewMarilyn App Walker
thinner air
we smell the clouds
on Slieve Donard(Slieve Donard is the highest mountain of the Mournes)
Marina Bellini
a faint trace
of salt in the air…
Mourne MountainsMarion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
Foel Cymcerwyn
the scent of the ocean
on the wind(Note that Foel Cymcerwyn is a peak in Wales)
Mark Gilbert
UK
mountain path
missing in the fog…
bonfire smokeMarta Chocilowska
mountain sunset
the scent of wild chamomile
under my feetMartha Magenta
England, UK
Pine and Aspen duff, my feet
on this redolent forest trail –
mountain mistMary Ellen Gambutti
Sarasota, FL
Sierra Morena
wrapped
in jasmineMeg Arnot
London, UK
mountain hollow
we bend
to the wildflower’s scentMelissa Howell
Tennessee, USA
Zabriskie Point
a tint of smoke
out of the westMichael Henry Lee
mountain cabin –
the smell of lake trout
in the frying panMichael H. Lester
Los Angeles CA USA
bumblebee –
the goatherd’s girl gathers
alpine herbsMichael Smeer
Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands
the sweet perfume
of uncounted nations…
summiting dayMichele L. Harvey
mountain stream
someone upwind
cooking troutMike Gallagher
Ireland
atop the mountain
I draw in a scent of snow
and ponderosasMike Stinson
mountain cabin
the smell of
wet wood burningMohammad Azim Khan
Pakistan
Volcano top –
sulphur vapors
burning the throatMonica Federico
leaving it to dry –
the mountain
loses smellMuskaan Ahuja
Chandigarh, India
Appalachian camping
woodfire smoke
permeates the nightNancy Brady
Huron, Ohio
mountain hiking –
the meadows’ fragrance
clears my mindNatalia Kuznetsova
Russia
smoke thread –
snow smells of polenta
on the baita roofNazarena Rampini
Italy
closed eyes
of the mountain hermit –
scent of sunlightNicholas Klacsanzky
Kyiv, Ukraine
mountaintop
pureness
in the airOlivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
deep breaths
of mountain air…
feeling tallerPat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
mountain trail in Japan
potent mix of pristine air
and perfumed sweatPauline O’Carolan
Sydney, Australia
groundswell on the
mountain
– petrichorPetru J Viljoen
South Africa
old growth –
smoke and firebreaks
ring the mountain’s flankPhilip Whitley
SC – USA
nostrils flaring…
the ibex decides
we’re no threatPolona Oblak
Ljubljana, Slovenia
nightfall…
my discarded clothes
keep the mountain nearPris Campbell
mountain trail
at the summit
the smell of successRachel Sutcliffe
cedar cutting
greenwood fresh
in my nostrilsRadhamani sarma
mountain thyme scent
trying to remember
the number of world wondersRadostina Dragostinova
hug at the end
of a mountain hike
sweat overwhelmsRehn Kovacic
rain in the mountains :: somewhere in my bones petrichor
Réka Nyitrai
mountain pine
i inhale my
first timeRoberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
spring break –
the fading perfume
of alpine wildflowersrobyn brooks
usa
cookies baking
in the Black Hills
Ponderosa Pine barkRonald K. Craig
Batavia, OH USA
at dawn
the pleasant smell of moss
wet from the dewRosa Maria Di Salvatore
acrid smoke
wildfire climbs
the mountainRuth Powell
fallen pine cone
I pick up the scent
of mountain nightsSanjuktaa Asopa
mountain monastery
the smell of incense
as morning clouds burn offSari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA
mountain trail
tart smell
of wilde vineSerhiy Shpychenko
Kyiv, Ukraine
snow-capt etna
a fried egg breakfast
a whiff of sulphursimonj
UK
hostel breakfast
by my plate a sprig
of edelweissSkaidrite Stelzer
Toledo, Ohio
escape under the rain
in a mountain hut –
the smell of wet dogSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
breathing deep
the smell of possibility
in the clear mountain airStephen A. Peters
down hill
deepen in pines
turn by turnSudebi Singha
India
thin, fresh air
musky turf…mountain silence
Susan Lee Roberts
Sacramento, CA, USA
suddenly
in this mountain breeze
wild mintSusan Rogers
Los Angeles, CA, USA
childhood memories…
the grape Kool-aid smell
of mountain laurelTerri French
Pyrenees excursion
fresh goat cheese
fills the cabinTia Haynes
Lakewood, Ohio, USA
mountainside joyride
just me
and the scent of ahhTiffany Shaw-Diaz
temple…
a smell of a mountain and
fragrance of incenseTsanka Shishkova
mountain breeze –
the scent
of heavenValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
kids’ winter camp
the room smells
of vicks vaporubVandana Parashar
mountain road –
the scent of lemongrass
eases my nerves(In India, the lemongrass grows in the hills of South India.)
Vidya Venkatramani
fleeting needles
the pine scent nips me
in mountain dreamVishnu Kapoor
Chinese tourists
smell fresh air for the first time
hiking in the mountainsYiming Zhao
Whittier, California, USA
Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada and an Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets. She recently co-edited an anthology of crime-themed haiku called Body of Evidence: a collection of killer ’ku.
This Post Has 89 Comments
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¡Hola! Este es mi primer comentario aquí, así que solo quería dar un saludo rápido y decirles que realmente disfruto leyendo sus artículos. ¿Puedes recomendar otros blogs / sitios web / foros que traten los mismos temas? ¡Muchas gracias!
What’s up mates, its fantastic article on the topic of teachingand entirely
explained, keep it up all the time.
Alan Summers, – I belatedly read your account of being a “mall Santa”. I never thought of it as being a “social worker” – but with a truly caring Santos, it certainly must be!
What a lovely Christmas “gift” for children- and probably for you as well.
A beautiful reading! Thank you Katherine, since I go less often in the mountains I need these full immersion
thanks Margherita!
Thanks a lot, Katherine, for including mine in the selection
thanks for submitting, Monica!
I forgot that of course pine would be a dominant essence for mountain haiku! We even use pine scent for our town and city apartments. From a fear of forests we also bring in a fascination, and for some of us, a need to bring that wild nature, a little tamed, into our urban lives.
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So it shouldn’t be surprising that there are fourteen pine haiku featured this week! 🙂
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pine-scented fog
adding creamer
to my campfire coffee
.
Kimberly Esser
Los Angeles, CA
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.
treeline
we leave the scent of pine
behind
.
andrew shimield
.
.
persistent choristers
up through smoky canyons
pine siskins
.
Devin Harrison
.
.
scent of pine
tempts hikers
towards the summit
.
Giedra Kregzdys
Woodhaven, NY
.
.
mountain girl
the scent of pines
my favorite perfume
.
Greer Woodward
Kamuela, HI
.
.
reaching the snow line
the scent of pine needles
from her thicker socks
.
John Hawkhead
.
.
pine-scented fog
adding creamer
to my campfire coffee
.
Kimberly Esser
Los Angeles, CA
.
.
back in the city
pining
for the scent of pine
.
Lori Zajkowski
New York, NY
.
.
Pine and Aspen duff, my feet
on this redolent forest trail –
mountain mist
.
Mary Ellen Gambutti
Sarasota, FL
.
.
mountain pine
i inhale my
first time
.
Roberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
.
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cookies baking
in the Black Hills
Ponderosa Pine bark
.
Ronald K. Craig
Batavia, OH USA
.
.
fallen pine cone
I pick up the scent
of mountain nights
.
Sanjuktaa Asopa
.
.
down hill
deepen in pines
turn by turn
.
Sudebi Singha
India
.
.
fleeting needles
the pine scent nips me
in mountain dream
.
Vishnu Kapoor
.
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Between a noun and a verb:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/pine
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I’d forgotten I’ve written about pines too, and of course pine dominated British households for a time, hence a sequence I wrote for the last Bones journal issue.
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Here are some standalone pine haiku from me in the meantime:
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Walpurgisnacht
a nuthatch enters
the scots pine
.
Alan Summers
The Heron’s Nest Vol. XVII, Number 1: March 2015
.
.
an older heartbeat
the blur of a pine marten
on the glacier road
.
Alan Summers
Yanty’s Butterfly Haiku Nook: An Anthology (2016)
ed. Jacob Salzer & The Nook Editorial Staff
ISBN-10: 1329915410. ISBN-13: 978-1329915411
https://jsalzer.wixsite.com/yantysbutterfly
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Toshugu shrine pines
I try to stay as still –
mist and dew
.
Alan Summers
World Haiku Review Japan Article – Vending machines and cicadas (March 2003); Hermitage (2005); Travelogue on World Haiku Festival 2002 Part 1 (Akita International Haiku Network 2010)
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Anthology: We Are All Japan (Karakia Press 2012)
Pamphlet: The In-Between Season (With Words Pamphlet Series 2012)
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Dear esteemed poet,
Warm greetings! Pine scent pervasive in so many quarters.
Scots pine too
with regards
S.Radhamani
wonderful! thanks so much for this collection within a collection, Alan!
A truly lovely selection, Kathy! Thank you so much for including mine!
thanks for this! & for submitting!
Wonderful selection of poems. Love
The weekly treat! Glad to be among
these wonderful poets!
thanks so much for submitting, Margo, & for your kind words
thank you, Kathy and all, another delightful selection!
among other fine poems Roberta Beary’s stood out for me
thanks for sharing this, Polona!
I thoroughly enjoyed all of this week’s poems. Redolent of mountains, all right! Thank you Kathy and fellow high country wanderers.
thanks for this Marietta!
Thanks Katherine for this roundup of mountain smells, thanks to everyone who wrote and commented.
thanks for this Angiola!
Thanks KJ for all the effort compiling this week’s. It’s funny how sometimes those of us who are adjacent in the alphabet touch on the same themes or phrases (hello Marion!)
thanks Mark – it’s true – & sometimes similar submissions are received at the same time too… from different poets in different parts of the world…
Lovely selection again – earth, woodsmoke and pure air.
I specially loved:
***
towards the peak
the spilled perfume
of mountain lilies
***
Anthony Rabang
***
home again
sharpening a pencil
a hint of mountains
***
Marietta McGregor
Thank you very much, Lisa! Very kind!
thanks for sharing this Lisa!
Oh, the sense of smell! Scents have the ability to transport us back to certain people and places in an instant. I thoroughly enjoyed all the mountain scents this week. Thank you, Kathy for choosing and commenting on my poem.
my pleasure, Corine – thanks for your comments too
A beautiful journey in so different place !
Thanks to all for sharing your poems!
I enjoyed this selection.
Congratulations to Celestine for her great haiku.
thanks for sharing this, Giovanna!
Happy to be with you all again this week. And a special shout out to my fellow moss sniffers, Alessandra, Angela, and Rosa!
thanks for sharing, Craig!
Thank you very much, Kathy, for including my poem to this collection 🙂
Best,
Marta
my pleasure – thanks so much for submitting, Marta!
A wonderful assortment of aromas, congratulations to all poets, a delight to read, and re-read.
thanks for this Carol!
Thank you for including mine among all this wonderful mountain air haiku. I was thinking of my local Karma Triyana Dharmachakra monastery which is up on the mountain. I particularly like Tsanka Shishkova’s haiku and Randy Brooks’s that you commented on was also very cool. Thank you Kathy for your wonderful job with this feature.
Thank you Sari Grandstaff! I love going to the temples in the mountains. I love their aroma and the comfort they give me. Maybe for that, in your haiku I find my thoughts and feelings.
I’m glad to find a soul mate.
thanks for sharing this Tsanka!
thanks so much for your kind words, Sari!
puns and playfulness are ingredients of haiku but are not always enough. This one from Blessed Ayeyame is a beaut….
*
mountain air
enough scent
to last my descent
thanks for sharing, David!
Dear Kathy,
Warm greetings! Thank you for your meticulous selection and choice. We learn more and more every Wedneday
with regards
S.Radhamani
thank you for this – I am learning too!
Dear esteemed poet,
Warm greetings! This haiku has given me a wonderful opportunity
to google to know the significance of Kalaat M’Gouna and the link establishing connectivity.
very informative.
with regards
S.Radhamani
Kalaat M’Gouna
the man with a rose
behind his ear
Alan Summers
Wiltshire, England
Thank you dear Radhamani Sarma,
.
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There is various spellings for this special place which is world famous for producing roses for food, and perfume etc…
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The Roses Festival takes place in Kelaat M’gouna every year in May.
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It lasts 7 days to celebrate the season of roses in Dadès and M’Goun. In 2015, the number of visitors of the festival reached 300,000. During the festival, people from all over the country and the world come to qalaat Mgouna to discover its beauty, and for its rose products that range from perfume, rose water, oil, to cosmetic products
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaat_M%27Gouna
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There are hedgerows with roses embedded in them too! 🙂
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Kalaat M’Gouna
the man with a rose
behind his ear
.
Alan Summers
Dear esteemed poet,
Words of appreciation from a great poet and wonderful friend.Really thrice blessed and honored. All God’s doing.
with regards
S.Radhamani
Dear esteemed poet,
Greetings!
“there are hedgerows with roses embedded in them too! 🙂”
Reading over again and again -the insights into it.
with regards
S.Radhamani
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I thought hedgerows was a British term, but they are there in Morocco!
http://untravelledpaths.com/highlights-list/valley-of-roses/
thanks for sharing this S.Radhamani!
& Alan again of course!
All the lovely mountain aromas! Thanks so much for including me, Kathy.
thanks for submitting, Mary Ellen!
mountain path
missing in the fog…
bonfire smoke
.
Marta Chocilowska
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and
.
.
cedar cutting
greenwood fresh
in my nostrils
.
Radhamani sarma
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I love these two haiku! 🙂
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There is something about fog and smoke, especially bonfire smoke, be it just burning off wood in general, or the big British bonfire festivals, and other ones in other countries. Great smells, except the delicious aroma of smoke becomes most foul the next day on our clothing. 🙂
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Another great poem about smell!
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This is an incredible phrase:
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“greenwood fresh in my nostrils”
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Thank you so much you two authors, and everyone else, and for Kathy to get us to write about smell first and foremost. Smell is like a great sound and visual image when played in my mind. We often don’t incorporate this kind of scent/smell, but we will now! 🙂
Dear esteemed poet,
Words of appreciation from a great poet and wonderful friend.Really thrice blessed and honored. All God’s doing.
with regards
S.Radhamani
Dear S.Radhamani
.
Your haiku
.
.
cedar cutting
greenwood fresh
in my nostrils
.
Radhamani sarma
.
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Although we might commonly use ‘green wood’ as in freshly cut, I really do like putting the two words together to capture that ‘extra’ tang of cedar.
Dear esteemed poet,
Greetings! “greenwood” ” that ‘extra’ tang ” due to the Divine
tap of MUSE. Thank you so much for this.
with regards
S.Radhamani
I love your haiku too, Radhamani 🙂
marta
Thank you very much, for your comment, dear Alan! 🙂 I’m so glad you like my poem! It means a lot to me 🙂
To avoid the strong a foul odor on our clothes I could try not to describe the source of a smoke:
mountain path
missing in the fog . . .
a smoke smell
You’re lost in the foggy mountains and suddenly you can sniff a smoke – what smoke? From the chimney? from the bonfire? from a cigarette? It is not known, but it can mean rescue
Best wishes
Marta
Hi Marta,
Your haiku was perfect, don’t change a thing! 🙂
I won’t, Alan 🙂
I love these haiku you commented on, Alan Summers, and what you said! thanks
Thanks Claire!
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Your haiku:
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the room’s smell
of calamine lotion
mountain mosquitoes
.
Claire Vogel Camargo
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Calamine lotion seemed to permeate and almost percolate while on holiday, with mozzies in France in particular. I’m also very familiar with mozzies in India, Australia, and Germany, but the Sri Lanka mangrove ones were reasonably friendly, as we were in an eco-lodge complex, interestingly enough.
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Not encountered mountain mozzies, they sound even more ferocious than the Cologne ones I had to endure, which were like being punched, and the swellings several times larger than any others.
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It makes me remember my father in later years permeated the whole family home with Olbas as he put on its oil, had the pastilles and other forms. Calamine and Olbas both ends of my childhood!
we also have a few mosquitoes in the Yukon…
thank you Alan, S.Radhamani, Marta & Claire for all your comments here!
Dear Radhamani sarma,
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Just saw this quote on Twitter:
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“To enter a wood is to pass into a different world in which we are transformed. It is no accident that in Shakespeare’s comedies, people go into the greenwood to grow, learn & change. it is where you travel to find yourself, paradoxically, by getting lost.”
Roger Deakin, Wildwood
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/54385/wildwood/
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I have the book both in print and on Kindle. It’s not perfect, but it is magical.
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That’s why I loved the word ‘greenwood’ in your haiku:
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cedar cutting
greenwood fresh
in my nostrils
.
Radhamani sarma
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thanks Alan!
Another Wednesday treat, to immerse oneself in all these wonderful mountain scents . . . even the wet dog and sheep manure! Thank you everyone, and thank you kj for including one of mine.
thanks so much for sharing this, Ingrid, & for submitting!
thin, fresh air
musky turf…
.
mountain silence
.
Susan Lee Roberts
Sacramento, CA, USA
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I love the use of an entire blank line before ‘mountain silence’!
It’s incredibly effective, especially as I just read two lines, and didn’t see a next line, then looked lower after a couple of seconds (of silence). Wonderful technique!
thanks Alan – I’m so glad the extra line came through as intended… sometimes the formatting can be challenging, & it doesn’t always turn out the way I expect!
I still don’t know how to format on this site, so always impressed how you do it! 🙂
childhood memories…
the grape Kool-aid smell
of mountain laurel
.
Terri French
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Learning more again, I discover the Texas Wildflower smells like grape Kool-aid! And why not. 🙂
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What a wonderful poem line by line by line, thank you!
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thanks Alan!
cold day on the slopes
Oma’s glow wine spices
fill the air
.
Christina Chin
Kuching, Sarawak
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I’ve drunk mulled wine over many a Christmas over the decades, so was intrigued by ‘glow wine’ which turns out to be the traditional German recipe: https://www.quick-german-recipes.com/wine-cookies.html
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From that web link I also discovered that “just like Oma” is a brand named after the pictured woman perhaps. Of course the British Royal family has always had strong German connections, an issue that helped cause WWI unfortunately.
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Although I don’t ski, I’ve been on many a snow scape through Europe and Britain mostly, and a hot mulled/spiced wine (beer or cider) revives the flagging spirit and warms the toes! 🙂
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I really enjoyed this haiku, and learnt something extra, which is always a bonus for me.
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I too like this haiku, mulled wine, and ski slopes. In Holland and Germany oma means grandma. A great brand name for traditional recipes, like Glühwein. Just the way grandma made it. 🙂 I wish I was there.
Thanks Corine, I hadn’t made the connection between Grandma and Oma. Sadly I never knew any grandparents from my adoptive family, but thousands through being a professional Santa off and on for the last ten years! 🙂
At times love, wisdom, and compassion enter our life through unexpected channels. A professional Santa! That must be rewarding 🙂
Hi Corine,
Being a Santa is highly rewarding but not for the obvious reasons. It’s more akin to being a social worker, agony aunt/uncle, bringing comfort to children who have lost a parent, or when the city council is breaking up an entire family.
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Last year was another couple of firsts, including two boys who were crying inconsolably about leaving me! Often children cry out in horror as a huge bearded man, not this time.
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I literally had to hug one child as he was so upset, and tell him he was loved. Last year I was on ‘open display’ and also roaming, while previous years I was in a small dark room. So this time I could see the parents two or more times, and both adults and children would wave.
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We also did secret selections as we had no presents, but a dozen big gift vouchers. Almost every time I picked out a family group for my elf to run after, it turned out they had suffered a great loss, and feared facing the Christmas festivities.
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Then there was a wonderful woman who approached me and said last time a Santa was racist but she knew she’d like me. I could have cried a hundred times during my six weeks as Santa, but I have to put on a brave face, but I NEVER do banal greetings, it’s always deeply personal to each child, whether they are one week old or eighty years old.
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It’s a tough gig, because I cannot do generic, and to see some families passing a few times, or an individual, whether child or adult, secretly waving, wanting acknowledgement that they can see through the toughness of winter and Christmas, is deeply moving.
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I do love it, even when I sometimes cry inside.
thanks Corine & Alan, as always, for sharing
thanks for this Alan – I, too, am learning so much from doing this!
There’s nothing better than jumping in fully with both feet into a project to learn about haiku and related genres. This is a brilliant feature you’ve created Kathy! 🙂
thanks again Alan! I appreciate the support, & all the help from THF folks!
Great selection! I enjoyed reading all of them
great to hear Monica!
Kathy, thank-you for including my haiku. Congratulations to all the poets who were selected this week.
thanks for submitting Valentina!
Thank you, Kathy. Each poem is like taking a fragrant walk in the mountains. A wonderful selection from wonderful poets who transport us to a Sense of Place.
thanks for this Barbara!
What a collection of scents, Kathy. Thanks for including mine in this nose-fest of haiku.
thanks for submitting, Nancy!