dry stone wall

Paddington Bear

out in the rain

 

 

 

(Originally appeared in Presence #58, July 2017)

 

Published by

Alan Summers

Alan Summers has been filmed by NHK Television (Japan) for the feature “Europe meets Japan - Alan's Haiku Journey.” He’s a Trailblazer Contest 2024 winner for an experimental haikai verse, and a winner of the Bournemouth Writing Festival 2024 (Poetry and Flash Fiction) for haibun. His current passion is retrospective recipes including 1970s France, Britain, and Italy. Alan is the founding editor of The Pan Haiku Review: https://www.callofthepage.org/the-pan-haiku-review/

12 thoughts on “”

    1. Thanks Bill! :-)

      If you look up my Area 17 blog post "Presence: A core part of haiku poetry – Article in progress for Writing Poetry: the haiku way by Alan Summers" you will find how to find Paddington Bear, as he's now easily located and made a marmalade sandwich if he's eaten the one under his hat. :-)

      The one I saw was one left by a child and placed on top of a dry stone wall in case they could be reunited.

      warm regards,
      Alan

  1. Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) and his creation of Paddington Bear which have sold more than than 35 million Paddington books around the world. His first book was published in 1958 and his last in 2017, a span of 59 years. WIKIPEDIA

  2. Ah, with dry stone walls in abundance here in the Mourne country, Northern Ireland, I could easily imagine a child leaving her bear outside when called in for lunch. And of course the juxtaposition between the dryness of the stone walls and wetness of the rain makes it even more pertinent. And who doesn't love Paddington Bear

    Nice one, Alan.

    marion

    1. Coincidentally I was nipping over to London to meet Bill (Kenney) at the Southbank and stumbled across the movie launch of Paddington Bear 2. I got to meet Bill but alas I missed Paddington but saw him again at the train station. :-)

  3. Really like how the ku begins with “dry” and ends with “rain”. The transition brings a touch of sadness. Great work Alan.

    1. Thanks Dave!

      Yes, there is quite an irony as dry stone walls do face all weathers. He was looking forlorn, and it makes me think of all the displaced people around the war due to war and profit too alas.

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