Easter Sunday
a For Sale sign leans
into birdsong

 

40 Responses

  1. Helen Buckingham Says:

    Lovely work, Alan!

  2. Alan Summers Says:

    Thanks Helen! :-)

  3. Dave Read Says:

    Great stuff Alan!

  4. Alan Summers Says:

    Thanks Dave!

  5. Peggy Bilbro Says:

    ….leans into birdsong

    Beautiful!

  6. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you, yes, beautiful yet so deeply poignant.

    warmest regards,

    Alan

  7. Lovette Carter Says:

    Alan Summers, you did it again!!! :)

  8. Alan Summers Says:

    Thanks Lovette! Don't hesitate to email me re Writing Poetry: the haiku way. :-)

  9. Garry Says:

    I see a church behind a for sale sign which is, of course, in the shape of a crucifix. Another sort of resurrection. Great haiku, Alan.

  10. Alan Summers Says:

    Church is good. It was from my block of apartments, the church is everywhere, which people in need find out.

  11. lamartcooper Says:

    Hi Alan –

    Great Imagery – as expected :)

    Lamart

  12. Alan Summers Says:

    That's very kind!

  13. Alan Summers Says:

    Thanks! I had a really useful dialog with Peter Newton. This is an experiential haiku, prompted by Ben Moeller-Gaa's haiku exercise last Good Friday. :-)

  14. madhurip Says:

    Nice.

  15. chief276 Says:

    A lovely jux-within-a-jux. Bill K

  16. Alan Summers Says:

    Thanks Bill, I knew you would get the play within the play. Many thanks, much appreciated.

    warm regards,

    Alan

  17. Peter Newton Says:

    of course, the leaning leans out over the second line

  18. Alan Summers Says:

    Yes, it was amazing to see and feel this. :-)

  19. Mary Jo Says:

    Would you be willing to share the Ben Moeller-Gaa's haiku exercise from the last Good Friday?

    Thank you for such a superb haiku.

  20. Alan Summers Says:

    Hi Mary Jo,

    Ben took it from Masaoka Shiki who promoted direct sketching techniques. I can't find it now, but Ben asked something along the lines of up to twenty images you could see from your window.

    I can let you have a similar exercise based again on Shiki if you like.

    warm regards,

    Alan

  21. Alan Summers Says:

    Let me know if I can share a similar exercise. :-)

  22. Norah Says:

    So gentle. Lovely Alan.

  23. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you, though deeply sad too alas.

  24. Jan Benson Says:

    Experiential

    … and perhaps a touch of hyper-reality?

  25. Alan Summers Says:

    Quite possibly. This was last year, and following an exercise to find and note images through a lounge or kitchen window you see the same things but at different times of the day.

    After time things get heightened, and senses switch.

    Alan

  26. Baobab Shade Says:

    Delightful piece Alan–Adjei

  27. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you! Sad too of course.

  28. Marion Clarke Says:

    Easter Sunday is associated with resurrection and occurs in spring, which is associated with new life. And birds make me think of eggs and being Easter they are chocolate, of course! ?

    I like it a lot, Alan.

    marion

  29. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you.

  30. seaviewwarrenpoint Says:

    It's interesting how, two days later after all the Easter celebrations are over, this reads like a completely different ku, Alan – it has now holds a sense of sadness for me.

    marion

  31. Alan Summers Says:

    Hi Marion,

    I'm glad it carries past the actual day. Yes, the key word is the verb.

    warm regards,

    Alan

  32. haikuapprentice Says:

    Thank you for sharing this haiku with us, Alan.

    Perhaps because Australian Easter falls within autumn, I take a more melancholic feeling from this verse – notwithstanding the traditional resurrection theme. For me it is speaking to my loss of faith, a sense of the corruption of churches, and a turning towards nature to seek meaning and to celebrate the wonder of life and existence.

    How wonderful the way your verse can allow so many of us to project our own experiences and explore our own emotional and spiritual journey.

    Happy Easter to everyone on Tinywords.

    Strider

  33. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you!

    Yes, you got what I wanted to say, and more. The key word is the verb, which can be unusual in haiku but not longer poetry.

    Terribly sad, poignant.

    warm regards,

    Alan

  34. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you! Yes, lots of layers to this one, and delighted you took the time to explore. Much appreciated.

    Alan

  35. janewilliams Says:

    Easter Sunday – crowd surfing – the cardinal’s hat

  36. Alan Summers Says:

    :-)

  37. Dawn Apanius Says:

    I love your haiku. Your writing is never boring.

  38. Alan Summers Says:

    re:
    "I love your haiku. Your writing is never boring."
    Dawn Apanius

    Wow, thank you Dawn! That is deeply appreciated.

    warmest regards,

    Alan

  39. hammerandtongs Says:

    Even though there is a sale and a moving, its Easter Sunday and the birds are singing. Resurrection. A poem of hope.

  40. Alan Summers Says:

    Thank you! :-)

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