Welcome to Haibun Monday!

Michelle Beauchamp here, (aka Mish) happy to be your host as we blend prose and poetry into Matsuo Basho’s famous form. You can explore more about Basho here.

During a recent trip to the lake, I was grateful for our newly purchased beach umbrella, providing us protection from the sun….. and the rain. It was the difference between a disappointing day and a “go with the flow” sort of day. It made me think of the capacity of shelter, the power it has to change our environment, our state of mind, our livelihood….our lives. Nature gives us perfect examples of shelter, from the tiny field mouse burrowing underground to the sly mountain lion patrolling her territory from a steep mountain crevice.

Shelter could be nothing but a quick escape from the noise of the world. However, in times of poverty, homelessness, war, violence, shelter is everything. Shelter can be described from the forest floor or from the depths of our hearts and minds where we often need a safe place to reset, to nourish, to grow.

“A  tree is a wonderful living organism which gives shelter, food, warmth and protection to all living things. It even gives shade to those who wield an axe to cut it down.”

Guatama Buddha

“Friendship is a sheltering tree.”

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

“A mother’s love is like an island, In life’s ocean vast and wide, A peaceful, quiet shelter, From the restless, rising tide.”

Helen Steiner Rice

Today, I’d like you to incorporate the theme of “shelter” into your haibun. If you are new to the form, a haibun is made up of no more than three tight paragraphs that are non-fiction/autobiographical and usually written in present tense. The prose is followed by a haiku that makes reference to a season with an image of nature. Often the haiku adds another depth or layer to the prose.

Here’s how to join in:

• Write a haibun eluding to shelter and post it to your blog.
• Click on Mr. Linky below to add your name and direct url to your work.
• Add a link for dVerse on your page so others can find us as well.
• Visit other poets on the list to read their poems and comment.
• Take a seat in our little poetry haven and say hello.
• Have fun!