The Narrow Road (9) – Haiku and Tanka -December 15, 2015

pastel colours
first sunset flight of starlings
mountains block the sun

the Inn’s rapid flow
where does it start – where its end …
smell the frosted air
mixed with mulled wine and chestnuts
as the river flows on by

prodigious
these cherry blossom blooms
in the autumn cold

admiring
my ancestor’s home
wandering the streets
perhaps where my ancients walked
many Christmases ago

© G.s.k. ‘15

My mind remains in Innsbruck – a part of my family came from the Austro-Hungarian empire – immigrating to the United States in the late 1800s.  A part of the family originated most likely in Budapest, we know because of my Grandparents last name, but most likely they expanded all over Austria.  Walking in Austria caused me to speculate … and my mind wanders – seeking memories I don’t actually own but for these impressions of one day walking through this splendid part of Innsbruck, the old city.

Carpe Diem #879 On our way to Mogamigawa: summer rains, admirable

I climbed Mount Gassan on the eighth. I tied around my neck a sacred rope made of white paper and covered my head with a hood made of bleached cotton, and set off with my guide on a long march of eight miles to the top of the mountain. I walked through mists and clouds, breathing the thin air of high altitudes and stepping on slippery ice and snow, till at last through a gateway of clouds, as it seemed, to the very paths of the sun and moon, I reached the summit, completely out of breath and nearly frozen to death. Presently the sun went down and the moon rose glistening in the sky. I spread some leaves on the ground and went to sleep, resting my head on pliant bamboo branches. When, on the following morning, the sun rose again and dispersed the clouds, I went down towards Mount Yudono.

admirable
snow gives its scent to
the south valley

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)