the color of sunlight


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Yesterday, with my one year old son strapped to my back, I walked to the supermarket in search of limes. It was cold out, and the soft flurries of snow entertained my son by making a slight sound every time they landed on my umbrella.

When I got to the store, it was out of limes, so I headed over to a second nearby grocery store. On the way there, I passed my children’s school. My elder son and daughter had told me earlier in the week that the recent earthquake had torn a crack in the ground between the school playground and the school pool. Curious, I decided to check it out.

As I walked around the side of the school, I came upon a pile of acorns that some child must have collected and left behind. It brought back a flood of memories, memories of my first two children filling their pockets with acorns, bringing them home by the dozens, wanting to keep them in the house, wanting to paint faces on them and make crafts with them, being, by and large, amazed by them.

Thinking of those memories, I smiled. And then I realized that my latest child, now asleep on my back, would be doing the same thing in a year or two, which is something that I suddenly began looking forward to.


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(1)

the color of sunlight
passing through my
closed eyelids

(2)

clouds go one way
cars go another way
I go my way

(3)

he came back
the self I had left behind
in your letter

(4)

first day of work
after a long vacation
the road twice as long

(5)

perfect balance
winter in the north
summer in the south

(6)

how many mistakes
can you fit into a bottle
of whiskey

(7)

for you my son
this pile of acorns
your future treasure


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As always, thank you for reading.

All feedback, thoughts, suggestions, criticisms, etc. are welcome.



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21 comments
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perfect balance
winter in the north
summer in the south

Perfect poem for the season.

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Thank you. It’s simple, but it’s supposed to reflect my sudden realization and amazement that the earth is constantly in perfect balance between seasons, night and day, etc.

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he came back
the self I had left behind
in your letter

A whole world comprised in 12 words. Stunning.

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Thank you for your comment! I’m glad to hear your thoughts.

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Great poem! Those kids are going to grow up way to fast! Funny how a little thing like an acorn can bring back so many memories!

How's the earthquake damage? I hope you finally found some limes by the way.
!DHEDGE

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I did find some limes. Thank you. The third store was the charm;-)

The damage where I am is quickly being cleaned up. The debris in Ishikawa, though, from what I see on the news, is going to take a long time to clean up and repair: earthquake damage, water damage, massive fire damage, and landslide damage. It’s terrible.

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Ah the days of innocence when acorns were indeed our treasure!

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Your haiku are so very rich! I can see and feel what you saw and felt, or so I imagine. I see the same color behind my closed lids, I feel the unwelcome drive on the first day back to work, the regrets in a bottle, the joy of what's to come.

While I love all of these, and your photos, this one especially. It could go many ways, the one who came back:

he came back
the self I had left behind
in your letter

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I’m always happy to hear from you.

Are you settling into winter these days?

The poem you mentioned is funny. Is the self that is mentioned something that was written and mailed off in a letter, only to return to the writer out of habit, or is it a self that was shed and left behind, only to be remembered by the memories written about in a letter that was received?

I like how it works both ways like that.

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Perhaps it was one of those letters we have schoolchildren write to themselves at the beginning of a school year, to open at the end of the school year, or at graduation. A time capsule letter.

It's a mind-blowing haiku.

I like winter. I like winter much more than I like super hot weather. I was speaking to a friend who wants to move to a tropical climate because, at our ages, the cold increases body pain. Lucky for me, it doesn't seem to do that to me. Yet, anyway.

Neighborhood kids come around to shovel my steps, neighbors run their snow blowers up my sidewalk and driveway, folks get together in the evenings in their homes. Winter is quiet and beautiful. And the garden is asleep. Yesterday, I never left my house. It's very cold right now, 6 degrees F, but my house is warm, well-stocked, and I have excellent outer wear if I do have to go outside. I'm even hoping to go skiing this winter.

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Winter is my favorite season. I like the other seasons, too, but there’s just something about winter—the silence, the clarity of the air, the darkness, the transformative powers of snow, the way that people come together (as you mentioned). I’m even coming to terms with the grey days and the constant drizzle of rain.

I hope you get to go skiing. My grandfather started when he was 78 (after a long hiatus) and continued doing it for about ten years until the condition of his ears made it impossible for him to balance on the slopes.

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oh gosh, my ears are getting pretty bad too! I'm more worried about my knees though. I'll have to make sure I don't get too cocky out there, trying to show off for all the younguns.

Good to hear about your father though. 78?! To 88?!!!! I thought I was old, getting back to it at my age of 68. So I've got 20 more years on the slopes.

I forgot to ask you about the earthquake. When it happened, you were mid-week in your posting, and then said nothing about it (that I saw) until you mentioned cracks in a playground recently. So you were not terribly affected?

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In my neighborhood, there wasn’t any real damage, but a few miles from my house, probably less than five, there were a lot of sink holes, damaged roads and sidewalks, slightly tilted houses, etc.

My daughter’s dance school is in an area that was affected pretty badly, but the dance school itself is fine (supposedly😬).

That said, the damage where I am was nothing compared to the area that took the brunt of the earthquake’s force. On the news, they said that the land there rose 4 meters, so a little more than twelve feet. That’s in a matter of two or three minutes. Pretty incredible to think about.

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