Days of Christmas – Choka – December 23, 2014

candles burn bright
Christmas trees twinkle
symbols of rebirth
in dark days of winter
school children home
play in snow-covered lawns
an old beggar stands
alone homeless and cold
angels smile sweetly
on a street corner at dawn
in newspapers
words of peaceful harmony
on the radio
sweet carols play day and night

Christmas card scenes
melt under the heat of hate
we know too well
the children are being good
anxiously awaiting gifts

(c) G.s.k. ’14

Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – Angels and Carpe Diem Shuukan – Hum

In a world where aggressiveness and competition are exalted as positive qualities and the meek peace-loving people are considered weak we are always just one step from hell so let us chant throughout the year:

OM MA NI PAD ME HUM

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).

Frozen Angels – Haibun – November 20, 2014

Roses bloom into November but sometimes suddenly, the snow begins to fall. There they stand in stasis.  Once the snow melts .. the petals drop one by one.

The little girl saw the roses and said delightedly that they looked like frozen angels.

A warm front hit the valley and the petals dropped.

She cried when she saw the nude stems but then had an idea. She ran home, went up to the attic and rummaged in a large box.  Returning, she adorned the rose-bush with her Mum’s white Christmas tree angels.

 frozen angels
white November roses
nestled in  snow

(c) G.s.k. ’14

Linked to: Photo Challenge #35 “Flowers in Snow” and Carpe Diem Haiku Family “Shadows” #9 Angels (Have a look at these great prompt posts)
Haiku Horizons – Cold

The Angel Archway – Haibun Thinking

The Angel Archway

Each May the flowers bloom filling the air with their lovely profume.  I love the archway of flowers that lead to the gazebo down in the lover park of my Great Aunt’s manor .  Walking under the canopy of flowers on a warm day with that heady smell, is what I’d imagine it would be to walk through the gateways of heaven.

Oh, I’m not a “believer” but I am a child of my culture.  Here’s a drawing I made when I was ten of an angel.  I always loved angels…and by the time I was 18 I had quite a collection of angel cards.

When I was little my Great Aunt used to babysit with my when Mom went to work.  During story hour, because she always had a story hour, sometimes she’d talk about heaven and the Pearly Gates, however, she always added a flowered angel archway up to the gates. Guess she was inspired by her garden archway.

Funny, they found her just a few steps from the gazebo one early spring day.  She was 86 by then, and though she wasn’t ill, no one was surprised that she’d passed away.  remembering her stories, I always wondered if she’d the impression of passing through the flowered angel archway before she finally lost consciousness.

archways and angels
inviting tales from childhood
a gazebo waits

This was inspired and written for:Haibun Thinking