Shelter-in-place. Curtailed flights. Masked ambulations. “The New Normal” of “New York Pause,” and its sister terms in other states, confine us to save lives. It’s easy to stir against that confinement. But as the last songbirds vie for their territory with every note, I recall travels this past summer, and again feel free.
sights and sounds
of the faraway
travel-lust
A four-hour drive from Las Vegas pays off. Vistas of hoodoos and red rock formations galore! A Sense of malleable stillness exudes from this diamond-in-the-rough National Park.
Bryce Canyon
a panoramic view
of Amphitheater
Slightly over an hour’s drive later, we reach our next destination!
Sentinel stands watch. The Court of the Patriarchs patiently wait. And a rock weeps. These canyon walls tower above as we see the highlight formations of this National treasure.
Zion
the elk graze beside
the Virgin River
When I was pledging my fraternity in college, Tau Alpha Upsilon, an alumni brother wrote down this advice:
“People that conform themselves to society have discipline. People that conform themselves to society and their own conscience have self-discipline.”
Some take to the streets to oppose the quarantines. Others cheerlead from the safety of their twitter feeds. I stay home, teach my students through remote learning, walk with my wife and son each afternoon and on weekends. I write haikai, and when the confinement chaffes, I reminisce on travel, and write some more haikai.
My conscience is satisfied. And yours?
twilight
the familiarity
of home
Share the love. Spread the haikai:
Categories: haikai, haiku community
Frank J. Tassone 
Last year at the same time we went up north to visit the Grand Canyon.
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Hey, Frank, this poem in motion, part haibun, part diary, part travelogue is off the chart.
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Thank you, Glenn. Haibun as travelogue goes back to Basho himself, and I love to travel! 😀
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Lovely place…. I hope you had a great time….
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I agree with Glenn, and also this reminds me of when my family visited Bryce Canyon and Zion several years ago. When we went to Bryce Canyon, there was a big, unexpected thunderstorm, so it was magnificent yet terrifying!
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Lovely poems, Frank. I enjoyed your pictures, its nice to see your family.
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Thank you, Roberta! 😀
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Those hoodoos are amazing. One day I hope to see them. I like home’s familiarity described as twilight.
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The hoodoos are worth the effort! Thanks, Frank! 😀
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Well said. And done.
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Thank you! 😀
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Wow wow wow. You Americans have some amazing rocks!
It’s great to see you use this form, Frank, it looks as natural as breathing to you.
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Thank you, Sarah! Yes, the red and pink rocks of the American Southwest fill me with awe. I appreciate your kind feedback! 😀
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I like this form of travelogue interwoven with haiku (and sometimes tanka) Frank. I also like how it begins with the current situation and flashes back to the freedom of the ‘sights and sounds of the faraway travel-lust’. I enjoyed the images of places I will never see in real life – a virtual tour of America’s natural beauty. And then back to the reality of the virus. I love the final haiku, it captures the feeling of returning home after a long day.
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Thank you, Kim! As I explained to Glenn, Haibun as travelogue goes back to Basho himself, and we love to travel! I appreciate your kind words! 😀
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Where we go becomes part of us. I like you ending question. (K)
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Indeed! Thank you, K! 🙂
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A wonderful haibun; wonderful photos; and wonderful message too! You hit the trifecta!
AND you’ve brought me back to one of my most favorite places in the world. We spent three glorious days there…hiking in and among those glorious hoodoos….slot canyons there too. The colors are glorious….for me, it was almost mystical!!! So GLAD to see your post today on this amazing place!
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Thank you, lillian! We want to go back and hike Bryce some day! Since we had planned to see Bryce and Zion in one day, we only had time to tour the rim.
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Amazing places… I have visited both (twice) and hiked the narrows as well.
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We only toured the rim at Bryce, and portions of two trails at Zion. We hope to hike both of them someday.
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Thanks for taking us to Bryce. It reminds me a bit of Garden of the Gods. Both leave me awestruck to think of the eons of time required to hone and polish those formations!
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Indeed! Bryce is definitely God’s sculpture garden. Thanks! 🙂
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