first rain releasing held breath of summer
watercolor: Michael Kowalewski, UK
haiku: Sonam Chhoki, Bhutan
Published by
sonam chhoki
Born and raised in the eastern Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, Sonam Chhoki finds that the Japanese short form poetry resonates with her Tibetan Buddhist upbringing. She is inspired by her father, Sonam Gyamtsho, the architect of Bhutan's non-monastic modern education. Her works have been published in poetry journals and anthologies in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan, UK and US and also in the 2012 Olympics Poetry Parnassus and The Written Word Program BBC Radio Scotland. She is the current haiku and haibun editor of the UHTS journal, cattails.
View all posts by sonam chhoki
First there is the holding of the breath. Then what is hoped for arrives. Relief and breathing easy. Reds and yellows give way to blues and greens. Sharp outlines wash into soft blurs. Relax.
Very nice collaboration between haiku and artwork.
warm regards,
Alan
Beautiful art. Thank you, Ellen
Ahhhhh – beautiful, Sonam.
I hope all is well with you? :)
marion
I also love the delicate watercolour!
I am always amazed by the range of poets who find inspiration in the brief forms of poetry we prize and celebrate on this site. Learning a little of your background brought a whole new appreciation to the work you shared with us.
The essence of haiku (or one of them, anyway) seems to be its brevity. It is frequently described as being a poem "in a single breath". How we arrange the words and sounds that make up our poem – the attempt to encapsulate and share with others through words our concrete yet ecstatic experience – is part of the art. And I love how you have arranged this poem. A single horizontal line – I feels as if I am sitting with you on a high Himalayan mountain, and surveying with you the changing of the seasons. And again, the breath which is being released by the rain matches the single breath of the verse. It is a controlled, steady breath – deliberately released. I gain a sense of almost divine purpose, and I feel calm from this vantage, however crazy and chaotic the world appears below.
Sonam, thank you for this poem, and thank you for joining us on Tinywords.
Strider