sick in winter
the infinite white
of the ceiling

8 Responses

  1. Andrea Cecon Says:

    Simple but very nice…

  2. Bruce Feingold Says:

    Moving and can relate: I published this ku in bottle rockets in 2018:

    bedridden
    the whiteness of
    hospital walls

  3. seaviewwarrenpoint Says:

    Very effective, Ernest -'infinite' speaks volumes.

    I have this 'illness-ku' here on tinywords from 31st July 2017, although it's perhaps a little more hopeful…

    on the mend . . .
    this long afternoon
    stitched by swallows

  4. Alan Summers Says:

    I feel this could even allude to Matsuo Basho and his haikai verses about being sick on a journey, as well as this winter verse:

    .

    ?????????????

    umi kurete kamo no koe honoka ni shiroshi

    Matsuo Basho
    1684–85
    Journal of Bleached Bones in a Field

    a darker sea
    becomes white and faint
    in a wild duck’s voice

    trans. Alan Summers

    .

    the smell of old white
    everything is replicated
    in me

    Alan Summers
    Prune Juice: Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun & Haiga Issue 21: March, 2017 ed. Steve Hodge

    .

  5. Peggy Bilbro Says:

    Very nice juxtaposition through the single word, white.

  6. Mojde Says:

    True…

    When infinity is present, there should be everlasting genesis…
    mating of disease and health !
    so i gather hope in this very sad scenery …
    Thank you !

  7. Sue Burke Says:

    ice storm —
    chemotherapy
    cancelled

  8. Ernest Wit Says:

    Thank you for your thought-provoking comments. I’d like to add that ‘celing’ might be a harsh equivalent of ‘heaven’, the two things similar by contrast. ‘Celing’ – white, hard, concrete, and low. ‘Heaven’ – blue, soft, ethereal, and high.

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