unconditional (haiku)

purity of heart
comfort’s a privilege
no questions asked

heavenly gifts (haibun)

123rt.com bowling pins under cloudy sky

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!! She cowered and ran into her grandmother’s bedroom and dives under a pillow to block the rumble of the thunder. Her grandmother was counting the seconds between each lightening and each clap of thunder to gauge the distance of each lightning.

“N’aie-pas peur, ma belle poule aux oeufs d’or; les éclairs sont loins…il n’y a pas de danger. ” Her grandmother was looking out the window in the veranda and called her grand-daughter to come see. She told her a story that changed her outlook on thunder forever.

“When GrandPapa died last year, I had no money to support myself and so he found a way up in heaven to raise money for me. He joined the heavenly bowling league and plays for money. When you hear the thunder those are the bowling pins you hear and when you hear that huge thunderclap just a few minutes ago, well, that is a strike so I will be getting a nice fat pension this month! ”

Flash of lightning
rumble of the thunderbolt
blessing from heaven

Carpe Diem Special, Kala Ramesh’s fifth haiku “thunderclap”
thunderclap
the darkening sky splits
into liquid night
© Kala Ramesh

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hot summer day
battle between thunder and lightning
ah! cool summer rain
© Chèvrefeuille

Devotion (haibun)

Since she was a young child she would often whisper a short prayer on her way to school such as The Lord’s Prayer with the image of her grandfather in her mind’s eye and this practice continued as an adult on her way to work. In the past year she has been chanting her personal mantra with the image of Amma; sometimes her grandmother’s and mother’s images seem to slip in without her control.

Now she simply begins her mantra with the image of Amma and if her grandmother and mother want to slip in, she just goes with the flow. It is a wonderful way to start her day at work. In many ways she feels protected from some of the pain and suffering of her daily work.