May NaHaiWriMo - Part 8

After we've been through the chakra prompts, there were still 3 more days left in the month and for this we were asked to write on the following prompts.

29 - touch

30 - borrowed/found haiku

31 - smell/taste

And I wrote,

May 29 (touch)

his hands

on my fevered brow-

summer rain

May 30 (borrowed/found haiku) - the instructions were:

Please go to any text of your choice: Shakespeare/Lady Gaga/a letter from your mother/the gas bill/a billboard... any text... find a haiku in there and bring it here. You are looking for a phrase that embodies the spirit of haiku. It might need some revision to make it a haiku: tweak away.

I wrote this:

not knowing

the meaning of life--

lilacs in bloom

Based on this:

Now that lilacs are in bloom

She has a bowl of lilacs in her room

And twists one in her finger while she talks

"Ah my friend, you do not know,you do not know

What life is, you hold it in your hands

Portrait of a lady

T.S.Eliot

And another excerpt from the same poet, T.S.Eliot,

If there were water

And no rock

If there were rock

And also water

And water

A spring

A pool among the rock

If there were sound of water only

Not the cicada

And dry grass singing...
...........
drip drop drip drop drop drop drop"

And this is what i eked out of the above,

dreaming rain
cicada song
in dry grass

May 31 (smell/taste)
We were asked to write about either sense, but preferably incorporate the two.

biting
into the wild berries-
scent of a waterfall


roadside teashop-
the sharp scent of ginger
in my tea

All the prompts this month were challenging, but I struggled most with "power" and 'fear". Thankfully though, was able to finish with a cup of ginger tea!

May NaHaiWriMo - Part 7

The seventh center - Sahasrara or the crown chakra is the last milestone of the evolution of human consciousness.
The crown chakra is, as its name says, located on the top of the head. It is represented by a lotus with 1000 petals, which is a symbol for eternity. When Kundalini rises until the seventh chakra, the person is said to have reached enlightenment which means being one with God, in a total union and in full awareness. You are conscious of the truth and are detached from the illusion of the material world.


The prompts were as follows:

25 - letting go
26 - rainbow
27 - dragonfly
28 - circle/spiral


May 25 (letting go)

I was too lazy with this prompt and used only an old one.

falling stars
letting go of memories...
almost

May 26 (rainbow)

Came up with two for this one to make up for the previous day's sluggishness.

Sorry, this one has been submitted for publication

all the way home
the rainbow hugging
the windshield

May 27 (dragonfly)

And two for this also.

leaf flutter-
a dragonfly settles
on my poems


did he smile,
did he not?
dragonfly...

May 28 (circle/spiral)

lotus viewing-
the circle of boats
mid-lake



raging wind beyond the circle of his arms

We have now come full circle and this completes our journey through the chakras. For the remaining few days of the month (May), we would explore the generally under-explored senses. We deal with that in the next post.

May NaHaiWriMo - Part 6

The sixth chakra (ajna) is the chakra of forgiveness and compassion and is also known as the third eye chakra.Situated in the middle of the forehead,the colour representing this chakra is indigo.

And the prompts given by Sheila Windsor were:

21 - open/ing
22 - ink
23 - Hortensia Anderson (in memoriam)
24 - perspective



What I wrote:

May 21 (open/ing)

Sorry,submitted for publication

may 22(ink)

power outage
the ink bottle
overturned

May 23 (Hortensia Anderson)

Hortensia Anderson passed away on 23rd May. She had once mentioned in an interview this poem as being her favourite among all the poems she wrote.

moonlit night--
the pond floats
a waterlily

My tribute to her was a take-off on that one.

moonset--

petals of the waterlily
close around you

May 24 (perspective)

blue kite unreeling the summer sky

Third eye chakra is the narrow gate which opens the way for our consciousness to ascend to its final destination, which is the seventh center.

May NaHaiWriMo - Part 5

After the heart chakra we move up to level 5, the throat chakra, also known as Vishuddha. Vishuddha is positioned at the neck region near the spine, with its superficial activation point in the pit of the throat. This is the chakra associated with" self expression... speaking one's truth... clear and honest communication."




And the prompts were:



17 - voice (own)
18 -mirror
19 - tea
20 - blue


I wrote these in response:

May 17 (voice)

where
my voice trails off-
the winds in the bamboo grove

May 18 (mirror)

the antique mirror
holding
an ancient face



framing me
the pitch-black night
train window

May 19 (tea)

evening tea-
the robin sipping sunset
at the birdbath

May 20 (blue)

blue butterfly
one more bloom
in the morning glories

May NaHaiWriMo - Part 4

The fourth chakra or heart chakra which is also called anahata is located in the centre of the chest, over the heart. It is related to love and compassion and is the integrator of opposites in the psyche like mind and body, male and female, ego and unity. The colour associated with this chakra is vivid green.

The prompts given by Sheila for this level were as follows, though I am not sure of her reasons behind one or two of them.




13 - break/broken
14 - child/ren
15 - rose/s
16-drum/music


Anyway, these were my responses:


May13 (break/broken)

broken wall
filled
with the bluest sky

May 14 (child/children)

see saw
on the other end
she places her doll

May 15 (rose/roses)

petals shut tightly-
the rose
from my shy neighbour

May 16 (drum/music)

rain
in the junkyard
drumbeats

The fifth chakra or throat chakra awaits us in the next level.

May NaHaiWriMo - Part 3

I was truly sorry to learn that Hortensia Anderson passed away today after a major surgery.The cancer she had been battling for past three years had spread and perhaps this was inevitable , yet the news was shocking. I had been acquainted with her work right from the time i started my haiku journey and she was right up there in my list of must-read poets. R.I.P Hortensia Anderson, you and your beautiful poetry will be missed !

Coming to the NaHaiWriMo prompts i had been writing about... at the third level of the chakra prompts we're about to explore the Solar Plexus Chakra known also as Manipura chakra,the third primary chakra, according to Hindu tradition. Located midway between the rib cage and the navel, this is associated with personal power or sense of identity.
The solar plexus chakra relates, among other things, to digestion and to friendship as well and is represented by the colour "yellow". The prompts for this level were,

9.power
10. ball
11.meal
12.sunshine

Here are my responses to the prompts:


May 9 (power)

power pylon-
two hawks fight
for the highest perch

May 10 (ball)

thunderclap-
another ball lands
on the stadium roof

May 11 (meal)

making dinner--
spaghetti and
my tangled thoughts

May 12 (sunshine)

water's edge-
a sandpiper stepping
into sunrise

At the next level, we will explore the heart chakra.

May NaHaiWriMo Part 2

After the base or Root chakra, we come to the sacral chakra.
And the prompts for the next four days were:

5. sea/ any body of water

6.fear

7. intimacy

8. orange


To quote Sheila Windsor, "With 'ruby' we completed the first and with water we move to the second level. We've connected with earth/roots and we've let go of old stuff/recycled.
Now we're ready to 'go with the flow'. "

These are what i came up with:

May 5 (sea)

the same sea
so much bluer--
twenty summers back

May 6 (fear)

cliff edge--
the pallor
in the aspen

May 7 (intimacy)

tug of waves
his hands
around my waist

May 8 (orange)

Sorry, submitted for publication

Next is the Solar plexus chakra.