Clouds obscure the sky and the Winter moon is only noticeable because of the chill in my heart. It is hard to describe. Hard as the lack of feeling in the cold moon. Hard as the ice that falls at night and freezes the world.
Imagine an echo in a room so vast that you never hear it. A ghost of a ghost of a sound. So far away yet keening the heart. It is un-graspable both in reality and in words. A haunting of the soul that bites slow and hard.
Winter moon hangs cold
Dropped pebble leaves no ripple
no sound in the void
dVerse Haibun monday. Victoria prompts us
For our Haibun prompt today, I have chosen the Japanese Kigo, Fuyu No Tsuki—winter moon. There is a distinct quality to the effect of the moon when she casts her light in the winter sky. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, for those of us who live in climates where snow prevails (maybe too much in some areas as I write this) she paints the white landscape a beautiful blue and she creates such an amazing backdrop for bare branches in silhouette. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, I hope you, too, will describe your experience of the winter moon for us.
Here is a short quote about Fuyu No Tsuki from a Japanese perspective: Fuyu No Tsuki has a pale tint that indicates a kind of coldness deep within—solemn and clear, a frame of mind.
The image of the dropped pebble is one I like a lot.
By the way, there’s something gone funny with the links. Mr Linky says you are Roth Poetry. And you ain’t.
Tis true. Fixed.
I’ll go read Dwight’s poem now 🙂
Nope. Roth aint you and you aint Roth. It sounds as if you were indeed caring for someone with deep depression. the image of no sound in the void….wow. that sums up depression so very well.
Thanks.
I like how the pebble left no ripple–ice cold.
That’s very bleak. Images of emptiness, like the surface of the moon – cold and dead, and yet beautiful.
The image of a moon in this frozen world tied to the cold heart … this is really heavy. Love the haiku in the end.
the moon is quiet… especially on winter nights… perhaps, it’s speechless
I sense the pain of depression in this–an occurrence that seems to abound at this time of the year. I hope you were a comforting presence.
“Dropped pebble leaves no ripple” — I love this.
A haunting of the soul that bites slow and hard…..Ouch, I feel it!
I can’t imagine the depth of this anguish: A ghost of a ghost of a sound. A lost soul under the winter moon.
The imagery here puts me in a vacuum, where only my imagination can conjure up the moon and her smiling face.
Your words are indeed sharp and cold…so opposite to my experience of that New Year’s moon. I can feel your shivers. (K)
DJ Scribbles! Happy New Year. Love this: Hard as the lack of feeling in the cold moon. Hard as the ice that falls at night and freezes the world.-
What can I say? Spot on description.
Oh my, these words went straight to my heart…
Imagine an echo in a room so vast that you never hear it. A ghost of a ghost of a sound. So far away yet keening the heart. It is un-graspable both in reality and in words. A haunting of the soul that bites slow and hard.
❤
I had to stop reading last night so I’ve come back this morning and everyone else has beaten me to it, Paul. I’m feeling that chill this morning – it’s the one year anniversary of Mum’s death, and you’ve captured my mood in the echo in the room, the ‘haunting of the soul that bites slow and hard’. I love the haiku.
I felt the chill, your winter moon is a regal lady of silent ice.
You make me think of another time, another place, “pebble leaves no ripple.”
Interesting post! Loved the hard pebble leaves falling!
Dwight
A cold, hard poem, reflecting a cold, hard clime. Even sound is frozen.
You wrote a complete “WOW!”, Paul! One of those, “I wish I had written” poems! Well done!
Thank You Walt
The starkness of this piece makes a strong impression. It has the feel of the coldest part of sadness, when all that’s left is quiet and numbness.
It seems life itself is suspended in that moment.
The image of the dropped pebble is especially striking!
it is a wonder of a vision this moon u speak of… i cannot help but to look up seeing the moon in a cool cold night
Lots of winter images sketched in haiku. Nicely done.
Visually incredible! The image of the dropped pebble is purely good and everything in this poem is gold. 🙂
I am still waiting to hear the echo and the pebble- I can’t imagine not hearing them.
This echoes with melancholy. It makes me feel the chill of that winter moon.
Such a haunting poem – the ghostly echo – “a ghost of a ghost of a sound”. The frozen world, the cold moon, and the keening of the heart. Beautifully done.
love this expecially “no sound in the void”