HAIKU DIALOGUE – Family Portraits – Portrait Five & Introduction to A Good Wander: The Art of Pilgrimage
Family Portraits with Guest Editor John S Green & Introduction to A Good Wander: The Art of Pilgrimage
Thank you Guest Editor John S Green for the wonderful family portraits & the haiku they inspired, & welcome to our new Guest Editor P. H. Fischer, with whom we will embark on a new adventure… kj
Introduction to A Good Wander: The Art of Pilgrimage with Guest Editor P. H. Fischer
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” – Basho (translated by Sam Hamill, The Essential Bashō, Shambhala, 1999)
Ready to lose yourself in the wonder of wandering? If so, grab your rucksack, water bottle (filled with a bit of sake perhaps), a pair of good trail shoes, a sturdy walking stick, and, of course, your favourite notebook and pen.
Over these next two months, I’ll share brief reflections and photo prompts from my Camino pilgrimage. This 900 km trek, from France across the Iberian Peninsula to Santiago de Compostela and beyond to the Atlantic Ocean, reignited a passion in me for haiku. I committed to composing at least one poem per day as a practice of being present to the moments unfolding along the way.
I’m not the first to scribble haiku while sojourning through villages, cities, mountains, plains, and sacred sites. Beginning with Basho (his Narrow Road to a Far Province remains the classic haiku travelogue), many poets including Santoka, Ryokan, and Kerouac, have taken to the open road to wander lonely as clouds, sing songs of nature (and themselves), and return to inspire others to join in on the chorus.
I invite you, likewise, to heed the poet’s instinct to get outside to go within; to ramble with intent, to write, and to return from your journey renewed, perhaps even transformed. You don’t need to go to Santiago, Jerusalem, Stonehenge, Graceland, Burning Man, or Matsuyama to accomplish this. Even a walk to the corner store can be a pilgrimage if experienced with our haiku senses attuned. Through the wonders of technology, we can journey from the comforts of our home if a physical jaunt is not possible. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that perhaps the most fascinating journey – navigating our interior landscape – can happen while sitting quietly on our meditation cushion.
It may be true, as J.R.R. Tolkien attested that “not all who wander are lost,” but let’s have fun trying. Isn’t that the goal of both pilgrimage and art – to lose oneself utterly in the present moment? To experience the ineffable/transcendent/divine (pick your term), and at least try to transmute our experience through a creative medium like haiku?
Alright, enough talk! Let’s get out wandering and writing. I look forward to reading your poems about real, imagined, imminent, interrupted, or eventual journeys. May the wind be always at your back!
next week’s theme: The Call to Adventure
Seventeen years before beginning my month-long sojourn, I listened to a friend tell tales of his own pilgrimage just completed. It was the first I heard of the Camino, a centuries-old pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela which, according to legend, houses the revered remains of the Apostle St. James. Historically religious, the Camino is now traversed by millions of people from around the world for as many reasons as there are stars in the Milky Way.
Inspired by my friend’s pictures, not unlike the one posted here, I felt a call to wander the same ancient ley line snaking over the Spanish landscape to Santiago and beyond to Muxia and Finisterre (the “end of the earth”) at the Atlantic Ocean – historic Celtic sites that predate the cathedral.
For years, family and work commitments conspired against my dream until Linda, my soulmate, returned from a conference in snowy Saskatoon where she volunteered to bump herself from an overbooked flight home, resulting in a $1,000 airline travel credit. Meeting her at our airport arrivals, she gave me the voucher and smiled. “Quit talking about your Camino, go already!” Bless her.
I booked a flight and became overwhelmed with preparations: What backpack to buy? How many pairs of underwear? Do I need a sleeping bag? Poncho or rain jacket? How’s my French? Terrible. My Spanish? Even worse! Is my passport current? No. Shorts or convertible pants? Cash or credit? A guidebook or app? Don’t forget earplugs!
Oh, and I hadn’t told my boss I’m going. Details, details…
Prompted by my pilgrim story or this week’s photo taken in the province of Palencia, Spain, please write a haiku/senryu about your own calls to adventure, the preparation it entailed/entails, the training leading up to departure, or, perhaps the dream of travel that was shelved or kept alive but yet fulfilled. I look forward to reading your poems.
The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday October 08, 2022.
below is John’s commentary for Portrait Five:
This winds up my first appearance as a guest editor on Haiku Dialogue. I hope to return. Although it has been a whirlwind, the keepsakes are real. Thanks to Kathy (kjmunro) and Lori for guiding me through this magical haiku ride.
And special kudos to all of you – the hundreds of poets who sent me haiku in reaction to my family portrait photos. If I never selected you, I apologize. But I will next time, if you make the effort to read the haiku I did pick, then learn and grow from this creative garden.
Here we go:
winter
in minerva’s glaucous gaze
a poem yet unbornsimonj
UK
This was a lovely poem. Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, is having writers block . . . ha! Or something, to allow her to pause for just a moment while she, and her friend, collect their poetic thoughts . . . a perfect subtle connection to the image.
locked up
in genetic coding
family secretsEavonka Ettinger
Long Beach, CA
family album
every leaf
the lake collectsJohn Pappas
United States
Eavonka and John have captured a deeper feeling I garnered from this photo. Family traits are, indeed, locked up in the genetics of individual family members. Good genes are a lucky thing, or not, no doubt.
war coverage—
the photographer uses
a black and white filterEva Limbach
Germany
war zone
talking to the sky
all the hidden voicesVibeke Laier
Randers, Denmark
relics
of the holocaust
ash moonTeji Sethi
India
Eva, Vibeke, and Teji evoked important conflict resolution. They all superimposed the photo onto current and historical warfare. Well done, although a sullen pause.
grandma’s stories
we never have enough
of the witchesMeera Rehm
UK
Ha! This is so true. Children are naturally drawn to imagination and the impossible idea of evil – which (no pun intended) is not a natural impulse at birth, as far as I know.
an owl feather spirals
onto the hunger stone–
harvest moonHelga Stania
Switzerland
This haiku foretells what might happen if climate change gets out of control.
A ‘hunger stone’ is a stone, naturally exposed or deliberately implanted in a river during a drought, which is dated and often inscribed to mark the water level as a notice to future generations that they may face famine if the water reaches that low level again.
This week garnered several words I had not seen before. I looked them all up. I happily included many that added depth to the poetry. Please, look them up yourself, as you read through this wonderful list of haiku – all winners.
and here are the rest of the selections:
all soul’s day
something you couldn’t
quite put your finger onMichael Henry Lee
Saint Augustine, FL
his gaze
the butterflies blush
in the bellyNitu Yumnam
India
East Berlin …
crushed by my desire
for freedomRoger Noons
UK
movie night
with the new wife:
hitchcockCurt Linderman
Seattle, Washington
heaven or hell
finding my way through
the high heeled forestStephen A. Peters
Bellingham, WA
found inheritance—
gold star report cards and a
broken rubber-bandRoberta Beary
USA/ Ireland
gray scale—
the way we hide behind
our truthsIngrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
florentine smile
holding in thrall
nystagmusBidyut Prabha
Bhubaneswar, India
lonely night
my parrot pretending
to sleepBakhtiyar Amini
Germany
her secretive smile
only the owl knows
whooo…….Gary Evans
Stanwood, Washington
where we are now
in the dementia ward
a tragic wisdomElizabeth Moura
East Taunton, MA
dusk walk
a gum tree creaks
against anotherMaurice Nevile
Canberra, Australia
whistling winds
family altar‘s candlelight
beckons meKeiko Izawa
Japan
hollow of the night
the owl and I
staying awakeTuyet Van Do
Australia
silent flight
his hand on my shoulder
now missingVibha Malhotra
Delhi, India
serenade drifts
on the night breeze
too-wit too-woo(Too-wit too-woo are the calls of the female and male tawny owls.)
Ravi Kiran
India
midnight melody
in between his snoring
an owl hootsChittaluri Satyanarayana
Hyderabad, LB Nagar, India
her portrait
looking back at me—
a beauty of ukiyo-eTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
sharp eyes
another spell
in the principal’s officeTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
eccentric aunt
the owls and skeletons
in her closetBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
maple leaf
I leave without
askingRicha Sharma
India
lonely seventies—
she shares her wisdom
with an owlMona Bedi
Delhi, India
“The Maltese Falcon”…
she role plays
her everyday lifeLynne Jambor
Vancouver BC Canada
formal portrait
two souls open
to the worldSusan Farner
USA
with one glance silence
Rehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
rainy day
my favourite song from
a black and white movieMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
birdsong
her last thoughts
in a noteTony Williams
Scotland, UK
muck-up day
the principal warns us
she sees all(Muck-up day is the last day of the final year of school in Australia, marked by practical jokes and student pranks.)
Louise Hopewell
Australia
tango dance
unravelling the secrets
of the nightPadmini Krishnan
United Arab Emirates
kiraman katibin…
an angel tattooed
on each shoulderLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
counseling session
i lie
about my crystal ballSarah E. Metzler
USA
starring at me
you and this owl
full moonMaya Daneva
The Netherlands
nictitating
to pierce
all veilsMike Fainziber
Rehovot, Israel
dusty album
little fingers
rewind the tuneMaurice Nevile
Australia
ancestress
on the family wall
Dad’s yard sale findMaxianne Berger
Outremont, Quebec
the hues
of this pregnant silence
chiaroscuroArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
no man’s land
only smog and mist
here and thereChristopher Calvin
Kota Mojokerto, Indonesia
deleted messages
she knows I know she knowsVandana Parashar
India
how easily
her eyes
belie the smilePadma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
tombstone—
the hoot of the owl
fills the voidDan Iulian
România
all night before
the cry of an owl…
then mother-in-law’s visitMirela Brăilean
Romania
in the eyes
fear flickers
in the airRefika Dedić
Bosnia and Herzegovina
an odyssey
behind a pair of eyes
the cold nightRichard Straw
Cary, North Carolina
solitudine…
fra cocci di vetro
la luna pienasolitude…
between shards of glass
full moonGiuliana Ravaglia
Bologna (Italy)
photo op
the macaw on my arm
tilts to my faceA.J. Anwar
Jakarta, Indonesia
in the guest-room
photos of the family’s
black sheepElla Aboutboul
West Sussex, UK
wing-swept night
nothing seen of witch
except amuletMargie Gustafson
Lombard, IL USA
future in-laws
the trompe l’oeil
of their staresValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
witching hour…
her soul settles
on my shoulderAdele Evershed
Wilton, Connecticut
imaginary friends
the secret space
between feathersBarrie Levine
Massachusetts, USA
after he left a white owl’s feather
Kath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, CA USA
birds of prey
a falconer’s unusual
choiceDeborah P Kolodji
Temple City, CA
a thousand words
in one
haikuDidimay D. Dimacali
USA
Guest Editor John S Green, author of Whimsy Park: Children’s Poems for the Whole Family, is widely published in all styles of poetry – especially haiku. John lived in Europe before moving to the United States at age thirteen. His daughter cooks with spice, and his wife still laughs at his jokes.
Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. A novice haiku poet, she lives in New York City.
Managing Editor Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019). Find her at: kjmunro1560.wordpress.com.
The Haiku Foundation reminds you that participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior from all parties. Please see our Code of Conduct policy.
Please note that all poems & images appearing in Haiku Dialogue may not be used elsewhere without express permission – copyright is retained by the creators. Please see our Copyright Policies.
This Post Has 21 Comments
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Congratulations to all the poets. Have enjoyed series of haiku, making me look beyond the photo. Thanks John. Looking forward to the pilgrimage with P.H. Fischer.
You have a lot to look forward to with Peter—he will be wonderful. A key element of successful haiku when writing in response to a photo is to look as far beyond as possible leaving only a subtle link to the image. Thanks!
Thank you, John, for introducing us to your family! And for spending time to share your thoughts on our poems. It has been a pleasure to read other poets’ interpretations of each photo prompt, and I was honoured to have had some of mine published.
As always, many thanks to the team working hard behind this series, much appreciated.
Yes, Ingrid, the team of Kathy (kjmunro) and Lori make it easy for us guest editors. They deserve big-time hugs.
Other poet’s interpretations of the haiku selected is highly instructive. I do wish more of this activity would occur.
thanks for this, John! 🌞
Thank you John for including my poem.
Great job!!
L
Right back atcha, Lynne.
John – many thanks indeed! A learning experience all around!!!
Here is one I did not submit, I’m sure you can guess which picture it refers to…
you did what?!
with my photo
My lovely wife, no doubt. She did give permission . . . wink, wink, nod, nod.
a thousand words
in one
haiku
/
Didimay D. Dimacali
USA
/
There are many haiku poets who believe this.
Absolutely. And also a thousand emotions in one word.
I admit I squealed a bit when I saw my poem featured and commented upon. Thank you so much, John, for this amazing journey through your Family Portraits. I have so enjoyed and grown each week.
Thanks also to Kathy, Lori, and the Haiku Foundation for this space to explore and discover my favorite poetic form.
You deserved to squeal—nothing like a good squeal!
John I really enjoyed each and every haiku prompted by your inspiring themes and thank you so much for all those wonderful selections and comments. I am glad that my haiku was included too. I also thank KJ and Lori, and I looked forward to each weekly session.
Congratulations to all the poets featured! There are so many to admire here!
Many thanks, Mirela.
Thanks for the mention. I do tend to use English poetics, which is a matter of personal style, but I will always question totally abstract content, which to me is a matter of genre.
I appreciate any and all styles in haiku, like any and all poets, and any and all opinions. Abstract for one is black and white to another.
John I hope you enjoyed your magical haiku ride. Thank-you for selecting mine this week. Thank-you also to Kathy, Lori, and the Haiku Foundation. Welcome to P. H
Thanks for the welcome, Valentina. It’s an honour and a treat to do this. Big shoes to fill however. John’s time here was fabulous! Thanks, John. I’m sure you’ll be back 🙂
Peter
Ha! Thanks, Peter.
I am going to settle in for a two month journey to enjoy the 900 km trek you’ll take us on.
Looking forward to reading all the haiku our fabulous readers will create . . .
All the best,
John
Many thanks, Valentina. Peter (P.H.) will rock our world of haiku!