Tea, Haiku, and a Walk in the Woods

Tea, Haiku, and a Walk in the Woods

To celebrate this first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox, I gave myself the gift of a slow morning and filled it with tea, haiku, and a walk in the woods.

First, I poured myself a cup of tea, brewed from fresh ginger root and soft, sweet Medjool dates, as my Korean friend had taught me. Then, I opened a slim, old book of poetry, Haiku Harvest. I bought it when I was in high school and quickly fell in love with the old haiku masters’ elegant simplicity of word and wisdom. Finally, having nourished body and soul, I set out for a walk, stopping first at a patch of snowdrops and slightly spent winter aconite and then making my way to a small nearby woods.

A patch of snowdrops and winter aconite

Snowdrops and winter aconite PHOTOS: Mary van Balen

 

Small green sprout pushing up through last years brown leaves

A small bit of green pushing up through last years leaves

 

HE IS UNKNOWN

THE POET WHO SINGS

THIS  GREATEST

OF ALL SONGS — SPRING!

Shiki

 

HONKING WILD GEESE COME

SCRAWLING DELIGHT

IN SPRING’S COLD

PALE MORNING SUNLIGHT

So-In

 

I didn’t hear any honking geese this morning, but the woods were filled with chickadees flitting form tree to tree, dipping and singing spring songs. The woodpeckers remained hidden, but I could hear their calls and hollow drumming on dead tree trunks.

 

a piece of weathered and hollowed out tree roots in the woods

 

IN MY HOUSE THIS SPRING

TRUE, THERE IS NOTHING,

THAT IS,

THERE IS EVERYTHING!

Sodo

 

 

 

In the woods, tiny green leaves appear sprouting from last year's growth.

Spring greening

 

OUT OF ONE WINTERY

TWIG, ONE BUD,

ONE BLOSSOM’S WORTH

OF WARMTH AT LONG LAST!

Ransetsu

 

UNDER A SPRING MIST,

ICE AND WATER

FORGETTING

THEIR OLD DIFFERENCE…

 

A dirt path though brown, fallen leaves, trees on either side

MY HORSE CLIP-CLOPPING

OVER A FIELD…

OH HO!

I’M PART OF THE PICTURE!

Basho

 

And so we are…

Happy Spring!

 

 

Comments

  1. Deanna Miller says

    Simply Beautiful! This is one of my favorites, watching the world around me bloom back into life. Thank you Mary!

    • mary van balen says

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m glad this post helped you celebrate Spring. We are both up way too late! Hope you are all well to enjoy the coming of the season.

  2. What a lovely way to celebrate the dawning of spring with verbal images that make us all part of the picture! Thanks for this delightfully warming cup of tea!

  3. Mary Ellen Thomas says

    In praise of Christ in all things>
    Sometimes simplicity says the most meaningful…
    Thank you.

  4. This is lovely, Mary! This was a welcome moment of peaceful reflection. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Wilfred Theisen says

    The Spring experience in MINNESOTA more than repays us for the harshness and dark of winter. Thanks for the poetry.

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