A Sense of Place: MOUNTAIN – taste
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 Submit an original unpublished poem (or poems) via our Contact Form by Sunday midnight on the theme of the week, including your name as you would like it to appear, and place of residence.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 – touch
Our final exploration of the mountains – if possible, the same actual mountains as in previous weeks – but now we explore the sense of touch… what does it feel like?
I look forward to reading your submissions.
A Sense of Place: MOUNTAIN – taste
A buttery banquet of flavours – including anticipation, fear and the taste of freedom…
one last taste
of summer sun
mountain honeyArdelle Hollis Ray
Las Vegas, NV
Can’t you just taste it? Did I mention we had snow on the hills around Whitehorse the other day? Perhaps here in the Yukon we have already had our last taste of the actual summer sun, but it has been captured both in the fireweed honey and in this poem…
campfire coffee
the taste of what can’t be scraped
from the kettleChad Lee Robinson
Pierre, SD, USA
Readers might appreciate their next cup of coffee a little more after considering this poem… and some may unfortunately recall that distinct flavor…
Zabriskie Point
a sidewinder continually
tasting the windMichael Henry Lee
Here the poet includes both the theme of taste and the mountain location in a surprising way…
outdoor cafe
a mountain of whipped cream
on my tongueTia Haynes
Lakewood, Ohio, USA
The subject of this poem is also an unexpected (and delicious!) take on the theme…
Here are the rest of my selections for this week:
alpine pasture –
sucking the sweet
from nettle flowersAdrian Bouter
flickering campfire…
smoked trout lingering
on my tongueAl Gallia
Lafayette, Louisiana USA
qidra style saman
the mountains rising
out of the greyAlan Summers
Wiltshire, England
walk in the mountains –
picking blackberries from the bramblesAlessandra Delle Fratte
the taste
of cool mountain air
Kendal mint cakeAndy McLellan
snow on the mountains –
the sour sweet syrup
of the black currantAngela Giordano
Italy
mint flavor
in the hot herbal tea
the first snowAngiola Inglese
wild mint
on my tongue
morning peaksAnn K. Schwader
Westminster, CO
snow on the mountain –
the savor of warm wine
in his kissesAnna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
pitcher plant
the aftertaste of
last night’s drizzleAnthony Rabang
hill temple –
a taste of mist
in the prasad *(* a devotional food offering to God, later distributed in the devotees)
arvinder kaur
Chandigarh, India
mountain retreat
hungry for a drink
of silenceBarbara Kaufmann
NY
campfire
the bitter taste of
morning coffeeBarbara Tate
Winchester, TN
mountain to pebble
the river tongues
everymanBetty Shropshire
Big Bend National Park, TX
memories
the bitter – sweet taste
of a mountain hikeBlessed Ayeyame
Ughelli, Nigeria
still spring evening
deep in the Blue Ridge
taste of moonshineBob Whitmire
Round Pond, Maine
high altitude
i carbo load
without guiltBona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
mountain spring
enjoying the taste
of skycezar ciobika
even freeze-dried food
tastes gourmet
hiking mountain passesCharles Harmon
Los Angeles, California, USA
vineyard vista
the taste of Alpen
airChristina Chin
Kuching, Sarawak
morning walk
up Mt. Krizevac
the taste of fresh airChristina Sng
on the summit
we sip wine
heady with mountain airChristine Eales
the scent of pine
so pungent
I almost taste itClaire Vogel Camargo
grazed deer trail
up the mountain side
tart thimbleberriesClysta Seney
California, USA
Alpine hay soup
with dried meat
– the urge to yodel(From its earliest entry into European music of whatever type, the yodel tended to be associated with nature, instinct, wilderness, pre-industrial and pastoral civilization, or similar ideas.)
Corine Timmer
autumn sunlight
in her cut glass dish
the bite of pickled rampsCraig Kittner
Wilmington, NC
a cottage in the snow –
taste mountain tea
for my soulDanijela Grbelja
Croatia, Sibenik
whipped cream mocha
the closest I’ve come
to Mount FujiDavid Jacobs
London, UK
spring morning
the redbud blossoms
taste like raw peasDavid Oates
trailing behind
the other hikers
taste of dustDebbi Antebi
London, UK
10,000 feet
unsatisfied by the taste
of granola(Inspired by a recent trip to Great Basin National Park, Nevada)
Deborah P Kolodji
mountain walk…
sweeter than berries
the taste of waterDejan Pavlinovic
Pula, Croatia
at the trail edge
watching murres fly off sea cliffs
chamomile teaDevin Harrison
riding the chair-lift
chocolate almond trail mix
melting on my tonguedianne moritz
icicle melts in my mouth
seven days of being groundedDubravka Šcukanec
Zagreb, Croatia
mountain dawn
the sweet taste
of his lipsEufemia Griffo
on the summit
the taste of wine
in paper cupsGarry Eaton
mountain roads
not taken –
bitter taste of regretGiedra Kregzdys
Woodhaven, NY
Monte delle Felci –
the sea taste
of the capers(Monte Fossa delle Felci is the mountain of Salina, in the Eolian Islands)
Giovanna Restuccia
Italy
mashed potato mountain
melted butter
avalancheGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
statues at nimrod
throughout
the taste of time(Mount Nimrod, Turkey)
Guliz Mutlu
steep slopes –
we lick salt
from our lipsHelga Stania
mountain top
the taste of snow
with each breathHifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
mountain walk
purity of snowflakes
on the tongueIngrid Baluchi
Ohrid, Macedonia
space between
mountain and sky
a taste of homeJacqueline Price
Fair Oaks, CA
yak
butter
teaJoanne van Helvoort
skiing holiday
I attempt the slippery slopes
of her lip balmJohn Hawkhead
preparing
roadkill moose Stroganoff
at the senior center(The gamewarden brought it in.)
Judith Hishikawa
West Burke, Vermont
to taste or not
on mountain slopes
mountain shaped mushroomsKath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California
wild blueberries
the mountain gives
up its secretsKimberly Esser
Los Angeles, CA
summit close enough
to taste –
the heart leapsLaurie Greer
Washington, D.C.
steep mountainside
black raspberries ripen
just out of reachLinda L Ludwig
Florida, USA
windswept mountain path
from eyes to lips a trail
of salty tearsLisa Cherrett
Wiltshire, UK
mountain spring
I take a sip
of nirvanaLori A Minor
swallowing my fear
at each rustle
I continue my walkLori Zajkowski
New York, NY
tasting the mountain’s journey snowmelt stream
Lucy Whitehead
Essex, UK
careless tumble
iron in the rocks
blood in my mouthm. shane pruett
stone step
by stone step
a taste of village lifeMadhuri Pillai
mountain blossoms
my flask tea
never this tastyMalintha Perera
Sri Lanka
cast iron skillet
seasoned to perfection
fresh mountain troutMargaret Walker
Lincoln, NE, USA
a glimpse
of the summit
I taste courageMargo Williams
Stayton, Oregon USA
more selvatiche –
il sapore, un po’ aspro,
del primo amorewild blackberries –
the taste, a bit sour,
of the first loveMaria Teresa Piras
billy tea
mountain gumleaves
in each sipMarietta McGregor
muddy boots –
a pint of Guinness
at the local pubMarina Bellini
above the snow line
a mountain spring
melts my thirstMark Gilbert
UK
uphill…
the salty drops on my lips
is it sweat or tears?Marta Chocilowska
mountain camp
the taste of woodsmoke
in the soupMartha Magenta
England, UK
high trail
a taste of fear…
rock slide!Mel Gambutti
Sarasota, FL
a taste of fear –
lost in the dense forest
of Selkirk MountainMichael H. Lester
Los Angeles CA USA
the taste of mist
on the tip of my tongue
Gaoshan Tea*(*AKA: Oolong Mountain Tea)
Michele L. Harvey
stiff climb
rasping intakes of air
sharpen the taste budsMike Gallagher
Ireland
this mountain stream flows
along a steep hiking trail
thirst quenching snowmeltMike Stinson
long hike
the taste of
wild berriesMohammad Azim Khan
Lava stones –
the taste of fresh water
the deepest wishMonica Federico
off the trail
raspberry picking
stains our mouthsNancy Brady
Huron, Ohio
Georgia mountain diner
oniony hushpuppies
deep-friedNancy Shires
Greenville, NC
Pikes Peak tram ride…
still remember the taste
of his kissNatalia Kuznetsova
Russia
among Carpathian shrubs…
the taste of a gnatNicholas Klacsanzky
après-ski
from pot to mouth
creamy cheeseOlivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
downhill hike
I open my mouth
to falling snowPat Davis
Pembroke NH USA
powdered potatoes
powering me
to the peakPaul Heinowski
stony ground
after your funeral we clink glasses
of boxed winePhilip Whitley
South Carolina USA
mountain spring
how delicious
water can bePolona Oblak
Ljubljana, Slovenia
trip to the mountains
the city kids’
first taste of freedomRachel Sutcliffe
mountain mango
pulp – her early stage
of pregnancyRadhamani sarma
Chennai
spring mountain water
the taste
of her I doRadostina Dragostinova
Bulgaria
anniversary
toast
mountaintopRehn Kovacic
sleeping woman –
the taste of snow-capped peaks
in her smileRéka Nyitrai
swiss rail journey –
a comely stranger shares
lush brie at duskrobyn brooks
usa
high on a peak
the snowflake that tastes
of silenceRon C. Moss
Tasmania, Australia
early hours coffee
no cream, no sugar
Black HillsRonald K. Craig
Batavia, OH USA
a short stop –
the sour taste
of blackberriesRosa Maria Di Salvatore
clear spring water
by a glacial moraine
after the climbRuth Powell
more fog
with every sip –
butter teaSanjuktaa Asopa
buttery morning taste
of high mountain tea
lifts my spiritsSari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA
mountain hut
the old man chews
the stalks of ginsengSerhiy Shpychenko
Kyiv, Ukraine
I taste
freezing winds
on magnificent mountainSharon Lynne Yee
Torrance, CA
summitting
the first thing
licking a fingersimonj
UK
skiing…
fall down the slope
mouthful of snowSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
mountain spring
water tastes like
its colorSrinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India
summit day
anticipation
lingers in my mouthStephen A. Peters
uphill
in the night tent
taste of jakhiyaSudebi Singha
India
cresting the mountain
I open wide
to taste the skySusan Rogers
Los Angeles, CA, USA
red velvet
a little mountain mist
on my tongueTiffany Shaw-Diaz
OH, USA
pause of climbing –
mountain has the taste
of wild strawberriesTomislav Maretic
high in the valley
gallivanting goats savor
wild clover zestTrilla Pando
Houston, Texas
mountain of Orpheus…
long climbing to a tearoom
for a cup of Mursal teaTsanka Shishkova
Rocky Mountain Oysters
a seafood-lover
tries a biteValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
snowy mountain
I take a bite
of crisp airVandana Parashar
hiking
the foothills of Vitosha*
full of blackberries(*a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria)
Vessislava Savova
mountain trail
with cupped hands tasting
coolness of brookVishnu Kapoor
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 45 Comments
Comments are closed.
Your awesome topic is yours. I like these topics very much. I would like to have such topics daily, this post is really good for you. There are people like you in the world who put their views in front of everyone. Thank you from the heart.
Your awesome topic is yours. I like these topics very much. I would like to have such topics daily, this post is really good for you. There are people like you in the world who put their views in front of everyone. Thank you from the heart.
There have been a great selection of haiku that involve or focus on taste, and this web page will be appreciated for a long time to come.
.
.
So many to choose, but I could only choose a few this time:
.
.
mountain mango
pulp – her early stage
of pregnancy
.
Radhamani sarma
Chennai
.
An extraordinary haiku using juxtaposition where the two images appear to be more distant than usual. Also, whether intentional or not, there are two extra spaces between ‘of’ and ‘pregnancy’.
Powerful.
.
.
stony ground
after your funeral we clink glasses
of boxed wine
.
Philip Whitley
South Carolina USA
.
.
I love the mix of texture, from stony ground, to glass, and the fact it’s boxed wine, showing pathos with the boxed affair of the funeral service too.
.
.
muddy boots –
a pint of Guinness
at the local pub
.
Marina Bellini
.
Love the negative space, just saying ‘muddy boots’ and no more, and a pint of the black stuff at a local. Someone must live by a mountain, and enjoy the daily pilgrimage perhaps.
.
.
preparing
roadkill moose Stroganoff
at the senior center
(The gamewarden brought it in.)
.
Judith Hishikawa
West Burke, Vermont
.
Waste not want not is/was a famous saying, and in a way if an animal is tragically killed, and we do tend to eat fellow animals a lot, then Stroganoff is a stylish way to honour a co-species. Wonderful!
.
.
mountain top
the taste of snow
with each breath
.
Hifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
.
I remember when the air was so cold, though no snow, that I tasted ‘snow’ even with my mouth closed, but I had to breathe through my nose at least. ‘Each breath’ is wonderful and lifts this haiku even further.
.
.
on the summit
the taste of wine
in paper cups
.
Garry Eaton
.
Ah, some times wine can taste wonderful in paper cups, rather than revolting, and perhaps ‘extreme wine’ will always be ‘on trend’ while reaching for a mountain summit.
.
.
mountain to pebble
the river tongues
everyman
.
Betty Shropshire
Big Bend National Park, TX
.
Love the opening line! And tongues as both a verb, and that the river has many tongues, as does the human race, but with one thought, to live. This is perhaps my top favourite haiku of the whole page, amongst many favorites, too many to mention.
Dear esteemed poet,
Warm greetings!
“There have been a great selection of haiku that involve or focus on taste, and this web page will be appreciated for a long time to come.”
What more do we require than these words from a great poet, a fine personality in these,
conflicting times,to assess, passing on a statement ,nothing short of prediction.
Next, very much delighted that my haiku has been chosen in the comments ‘ section, and going
through the other chosen haiku and explanation given therein, give us a furthering chance to
know your view point ; Really an impetus.
thanks Alan, as always, for your kind words, & to you both for your comments – the support is appreciated!
Thank you for including my haiku among these mountain tastings, Kathy. Lots of tea haiku besides mine which I was thinking might be the case.
my pleasure – thanks for this, Sari!
Wonderful selection, Kathy Munro! Reading it a second time. Thanks for including mine.
thanks so much for submitting, & for your kind words!
campfire coffee
the taste of what can’t be scraped
from the kettle
.
Chad Lee Robinson
Pierre, SD, USA
.
.
Chad Lee Robinson is very much a poet who embraces, actually breathes, ‘sense of place’ which I discuss here: http://area17.blogspot.com/2018/01/haiku-collections-and-themes-themocracy.html
.
I’m sure many of us have brewed coffee or tea in a metal container, be it a combined kettle/teapot on an open fire African style or otherwise (as I’ve experienced in Tunisian farmlands) or even a tannin blacked china teapot. 🙂
.
And of course real Indian Chai, made in tea urns etc… with the milk and spices brewing alongside the tea itself, Whether liquid or food preparation, these metal receptacles are embedded and imbued with past flavors and adventures.
.
Or a civilian (camping) or military billycan or billy can aka ‘billy’ or billy tin or billy pot in Canada for either tea or coffee.
.
When I went military hiking as a schoolboy it was with American WWII rations (tins with labels long gone) and billies. The taste of tin and food or hot drink, with a huge amount of history (please see TV Drama Band of Brothers, all about Easy Company in WWII) conjures up both what and who came before, and either local or regional, or family history, and even military war campaigns.
.
Mr Robinson conjures all of the above in his haiku.
.
Regarding the craft of the haiku outside of what it brings to me as a story, we have the neat simple context setting opening line of:
.
.
campfire coffee
.
.
Although rather a long line, I feel the haiku would not quite be as strong if we bring too much logic into condensing it into:
.
.
what can’t be scraped
.
.
e.g.
.
.
campfire coffee
what can’t be scraped
from the kettle
.
.
I would actually champion using the direct word (and prompt) of ‘taste’ here.
.
Why? Because the use of ‘taste’ is more than showing/telling it’s about the taste (on our tongue and in our mouth).
.
.
the taste of what can’t be scraped
.
.
The middle line can be part read as:
.
.
the taste of what
.
And followed by
.
’what can’t be scraped’
.
.
But it does need to stay on that one long line rather than be line broken (so we’d have a four-line haiku).
.
Also it’s visual as a long pouring of coffee which makes the two short lines give an extra visual to us.
.
But using the actual word prompt directly goes beyond those ‘receptacles’ of tongue, and its tastebuds, and ‘mouth’ as a whole, and captures everything about camping from prehistory, when it wasn’t recreational, to other non-creational pursuits from early hunting onwards, and of course ranching and farming, to military encampments from the 1400s (possible dates of first coffee) to both US interior military engagements onwards.
.
And it also conjures up, and I repeat ‘conjures’ deliberately, the ranch life that Mr Robinson is so famililar with, and all our camping holidays from childhood onwards.
.
It may or may not be an old blackened and battered kettle but it’s deservedly as respected as any family heirloom or museum exhibit, but one still in use, as it should be.
.
.
This is a story, and a haiku, straight from the kettle!
.
Dear esteemed poet,
Warm greetings! I enjoyed your story .. straight from the kettle. I too
recall my grandmother days when she used coffee kettle, all the soot around it,with the passage
of time,still, it was a necessary item for her in the morn by the charcoal and log of wood,even ere
the days of kerosene. My thanks to Chad Dee Robinson for this lovely haiku.
with regards
S.Radhamani
Thank you S.Radhamani,
You bring in another vital aspect, and that is the charcoal and soot, that all adds to the excitement of making that first hot drink in the morning, sometimes before daybreak.
Dear esteemed poet,
Greetings! Yes, Thank you so much, that charcoal and soot – all still live in our memory.
with regards
S.Radhamani
thanks, Alan, for this informative discussion, & to S.Radhamani for the further comments – wonderful!
Congratulations to all for these mountain-wandering poems. It’s a real honor and pleasure to be a part of this family, and thank you Kathy again for all the work you do to make the journey into our senses such a success.
thanks for this, Ingrid!
Dear Kathy,
Greetings! Going through this blog a delectable pleasure. Glad and honored
to be one among the privileged . Every Wednesday, a curiosity awaiting me.
with regards
S.Radhamani
thanks for submitting, S.Radhamani!
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a haiku of mine was chosen for comment this week. Thank you so much!
my pleasure – thanks for being a part of this, Ardelle!
So wonderful to be among such poets. Love reading these each week. I am hungry now lol.
thanks for this, Margo!
Thank you KJ Munro for including me in this great selection of ku. I’m pleased so many names I’ve become familiar with are included as well.
thanks for submitting, Linda!
Thanks Kate, and congratulations to all the authors, a series of different sensations.
thanks Angiola!
Thanks for including me again. I loved the imagery of this one:
–
mashed potato mountain
melted butter
avalanche
–
Greer Woodward
Waimea, HI
thanks for sharing, Lisa!
Thanks Kathy. This has been such fun. Now I’m going to have a cup of coffee and enjoy these wonderful poems. Congratulations everyone.
thanks Barbara!
Honored to be among these poets. I’ve met a few online and have learned a lot from their work and advice. Thanks Kathy for the time you devote to these challenges. Looking forward to the next place.
thanks for this, Philip!
Thank you for choosing one of my poems, Kathy. Congratulations to all. Though I enjoyed reading each one, the following grabbed my attention ( I must confess that I had to google billy tea):
outdoor cafe
a mountain of whipped cream
on my tongue
Tia Haynes
Lakewood, Ohio, USA
on the summit
we sip wine
heady with mountain air
Christine Eales
Monte delle Felci –
the sea taste
of the capers
(Monte Fossa delle Felci is the mountain of Salina, in the Eolian Islands)
Giovanna Restuccia
skiing holiday
I attempt the slippery slopes
of her lip balm
John Hawkhead
billy tea
mountain gumleaves
in each sip
Marietta McGregor
mountain spring
water tastes like
its color
Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India
Thanks, Corine! On wilderness hikes in Tasmania, we always used to throw a handful of eucalyptus leaves into the boiling water in the metal billy, then make the tea. An interesting flavour!
It sounds wonderful.
Thanks Corine and Kathy for appreciating my haiku.
Monte fossa delle Felci, in the Eolian Islands (in the north of Sicily, Italy) is an old volcano. In the particular weather and soil conditions the plants are so different and furthermore the near sea gives its taste. Capers plants grow spontaneously everywhere.
Dear Corine, I love your poem too, it is so near to my imagination about mountain tastes.
thanks for sharing this, Corine – & Marietta & Giovanna also, for your comments!
First of all, congratulations to all authors of these fascinating poems.
My haiku is dedicated to the spirit of Orpheus.
In Rhodope mountain in the place where the tears of Orpheus has fallen is growing mursala tea. Its aroma is the aroma of love. Its taste is the taste of legends.
Thank you, KJ, for having the opportunity to share this incredible feeling.
thanks for this Tsanka!
It is always a pleasure being published in this column. Thank-you Kathy. Congrats to all my fellow poets from Ohio and to all the poets.
thanks, Valentina!
So many tasty offerings this week. A marvellous selection, Kathy 🙂
thanks, carol!
What a tasty collection this week, Kathy. There’s a lot to savor here. Thanks for including one of mine.
thanks for this Nancy!