#Haiku Happenings #5: Colleen M. Chesebro’s latest #haibun!

“The Palo Verde Weeps”

#Haibun May 8, 2020 by Colleen M. Chesebro

I always love the beginning of the month’s poetry challenge because poets choose a form and write about the things that mean the most to them. As the number of coronavirus infections and deaths continues to climb in Arizona, I leave at sunrise for my early morning walks to avoid contact with others. I’ve discovered it’s the best time of the day.

The Palo Verde Weeps

The coolness of the early dawn wraps around me like a shroud of mist, palpable but unseen. Perched high above, two mourning doves murmur a soulful greeting. The sun crowns the Palo Verde trees like a nimbus surrounding the mother goddess in celebration of another day.

light reveals the morn

with the first heat of summer

saffron blossoms fall

My mission is to visit this place undisturbed, for I seek no human contact, only the companionship of the desert spirits who live nearby. The shady path follows beneath a tree framed in brilliant light, its branches humming with bees dressed in pollen while the golden blossoms fall to the earth like rain.

the Palo Verde weeps

For this is the meaning of all life, the feel of the land beneath, and the tears from the trees above. Let this moment witness my sorrow and joy, grief and gratitude, for I am still alive. May the spirits of the land and sky bless us and those taken away too soon.

©2020 Colleen M. Chesebro

“The Palo Verde Weeps” #Haibun – Word Craft ~ Prose and Poetry