Tags
Hello Poets! Today is Haibun Monday, where we write that prose/haiku hybrid poetry Basho invented and Haijin throughout the world made famous. I am Frank J. Tassone, your host, and today I invite you to reflect on the importance of memorial.
Photo by Michael Skok on Unsplash
Today, The United States celebrates Memorial Day. This holiday originated as Decoration Day, a commemoration for those that died during the American Civil War (1861-1865). After several decades (and at least five wars), Congress, in 1968, established the last Monday in May as Memorial Day. This federal holiday now honors all members of the military that made the ultimate sacrifice. While such remembrance is important, there is a broader meaning of memorial we would do well to consider.
What is worth remembering? Why are some events so important that we need to memorialize them, while others we can let slip away? How do we truly honor whom, or what, we want to remember?
Using this broad lens of memorial, write a haibun that alludes to the concept of memorial in some way. For those new to haibun, the form consists of one to a few paragraphs of prose—usually written in the present tense—that evoke an experience and are often non-fictional/autobiographical. They are followed (or preceded) by haiku—nature-based, with a seasonal image—that complement, without directly repeating, what the prose has stated.
Basho himself offers a compelling example from his masterpiece, the Narrow Road to the Interior:
Here (Hiraizumi) three generations of the Fujiwara clan passed as though in a dream. The great outer gates lay in ruins. Where Hidehira’s manor stood, rice fields grow. Only Mount Kinkei remained. I climbed the hill where Yoshitsune died; I saw the Kitakami, a broad stream flowing down through the Nambu Plain, the Koromo River circling Isumi Castle below the hill before joining the Kitakami. The ancient ruins of Yasuhira—from the end of the Golden Era—lie out beyond the Koromo Barrier, where they stood guard against the Ainu people. The faithful elite remained baoud to the vastle—for all their valor, reduced to ordinary grass…
We sat a while, our hats for a seat, seeing it all through tears.
Summer grasses
All that remains of great soldiers’
Imperial dreams
–Basho. “The Essential Basho” (Samuel Hamill, Translator). 1999, Shambhala, pg. 18-19
New to dVerse? Here’s what you do:
- Write a haibun that references memorial as described above
- Post it on your personal site/blog
- Copy your link onto the Mr. Linky
- Remember to click the small checkbox about data protection.
- Read and comment on some of your fellow poets’ work
- Like and leave a comment below if you choose to do so
Have fun!
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Hello Frank, and welcome to your first regular bartending… the theme of memorial is a good one, though this is not a day for us in Sweden…
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thanks, Bjorn! Feel free to take as broad an intepretation of memorial as you like! 🙂
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I did that … 🙂
Frank J. Tassone said:
Yes! Yes, you did! 🙂
Charmed Chaos said:
Hello Frank- Welcome and thanks for hosting!
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thanks, Linda! Enjoy! 🙂
Pingback: Lest We Forget – writing in north norfolk
Frank J. Tassone said:
The pub is open! Welcome, Poets! 🙂
kim881 said:
Welcome to the team, Frank! I hope you enjoy tending the bar at the dVerse Poets Pub. Although we don’t share the same days for remembering those who died at war, there isn’t a right or wrong time as they are always in our thoughts.
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thanks, Kim! Happy to be behind the bar today! 🙂
kim881 said:
😉
Pingback: A Rose for Mother Charmed Chaos
Pingback: A Commemorative Conflict: a #haibun for #dversepoets – Frank J. Tassone
Pingback: Green memorial – haibun for dVerse. | Fmme writes poems
sarahsouthwest said:
This always seems a strange time to remember the fallen. We remember in November, when the nights are lengthening and the skies are darkening. This is a fascinating prompt, I think it will produce some memorable pieces.
merrildsmith said:
We celebrate Veteran’s Day in November. It was Armistice Day, after WWI.
Frank J. Tassone said:
Veterans Day (November 11) is actually my birthday! 😉
merrildsmith said:
🙂
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thank you, Sarah! Enjoy! 🙂
merrildsmith said:
Thanks for hosting, Frank. I may not get anything written today, but it’s a good prompt.
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thanks, Merril! Join in whenever you can. 🙂
Pingback: MEMORIES | kiwissoar
Maureen Sudlow said:
all poignant…
Frank J. Tassone said:
As is yours, too, Maureen! Glad to see you made it! 🙂
rothpoetry said:
Sorry, I had the wrong date on my first attempt at posting. Please delete!
Frank J. Tassone said:
Will do, as soon as I reach my laptop. Can’t do it on my iPhone. 😔
Frank J. Tassone said:
It’s done, Dwight! 🙂
rothpoetry said:
Thanks!
rothpoetry said:
When I was young it was called Decoration Day, and the cemetery behind the church was full of little flags on the graves of all the veterans.
Frank J. Tassone said:
The Veterans’ groups still do that. We saw a hill covered with flags when we visited Boston two years ago.
rothpoetry said:
Yes, they do here as well!
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thanks, everybody. I’m going to bed now. See you on the trail tomorrow!
Pingback: Haibun: Descendants | DJ Ranch
Pingback: Family – Prats Corner
msjadeli said:
Hi Frank and All. Way way late to the party this time. Will write something tomorrow and post it.
Frank J. Tassone said:
Looking forward to it, Jade! 😀
anjum wasim dar said:
Thank you dVerse for an opportunity to share memories of war experienced personally
Frank J. Tassone said:
Thank you for sharing your memory, and for joining us!
Pingback: Written Memorial | revivedwriter
Pingback: dVerse — Haibun — Grounding – Tao Talk
Pingback: MEMORIAL – a Haibun Monday – JP the Wide-eyed Wanderer
Pingback: service personnel – aroused
Pingback: Remembering Birth | Dr. Crystal Grimes
Dr. Crystal Grimes said:
Thanks for hosting, Frank. I thought a lot about the prompt before writing about my son’s birth. ❤ I enjoyed this.
Frank J. Tassone said:
I’m happy to hear this! Thank you for joining us! 😀
Pingback: A Phoenix in Kyoto – Haibun Monday – JP the Wide-eyed Wanderer