WHC New Year's Eve Haibun Kukai

WHC HAIBUN KUKAI
  FIRST PLACE
SECOND PLACE
THIRD PLACE
SPECIAL AWARD
HONORABLE MENTION 1
HONORABLE MENTION 2
HONORABLE MENTION 3

 

SECOND PLACE

THE LAST EMBER
Naia

Shh - listen!

Can you "feel" it? This palpable quiet? It's as if everyone, everything that surrounds me has paused, perhaps in reverence for the passing year or in anticipation of the year to come - or both!

gentle night-
a prayer plant in starglow
. . . leaves folded

Tonight's sky is full and the hills shimmer. My focus extends out - beyond myself, beyond my home - out to the open spaces.

distant thoughts-
the last ember
cools

Eighteen years of marriage - the second for each of us. "It's been quite a year," he says, moving his chair closer to mine. Southern California's moderate winter temperatures afford us the occasional evening chat on our deck, which occurs quite late on this particular evening.

more wine?
he places an afghan
around my shoulders

We gaze out into silence, our two golden retriever companions curled at our feet, lightly sleeping. My self-imposed trance is broken by the call from a distant hill. Our companions stir, then settle back into sleep. I wonder if they sense this moment differently from the last, or the next.

echo to echo
we return the greeting . . .
Happy New Year!

Strains of Delibes' Flower Duet - it's a simple matter to recall the pristine melody, having played it earlier this evening. The haunting beauty of two women's voices carry, no, marry each note. My new year begins this way - in delicate harmony and peace.

Shh - listen!