Over at the poets’ pub, dVerse, Gina asks, “What is the poetic hum in your life? What hums in the background of your life that inspires you as you unconsciously listen while you work and live? Is the drone always there or do you have to cultivate the inspiration?” The prompt led me to a tanka, then on to haibun. Go to the pub for servings of Tuesday Poetics.
What are the colors of white noises, of slick syncopations, benign beatings? Some hum in sensible suits of spreadsheet tweed or accountant gray. Some background noise is the high-pitched whine of machinery and moving parts, dulled only by repetition and wear; some the slow rumble of the millstone grinding its grains, blind to its grist. Some pulse a slippery red, the color of Dr. Williams’ wheelbarrow that waited for him at the end of daily practice. Sylvia’s copper kettles drummed a spiraled blackness, marching to the fore, crescendo in the kitchen. The color of the hole in the roof changes with the weather; listen to the sun trickling in.
Plodding hushed by snow
falling through wintry slumber
dreams a whirr of wings
suddenly spring birds alight
colors awaken
songs stir.
you did wonderful on the prompt! perfectly said, and love how you incorporated some famous poets and their inspirational tools in your haibun. the tanka suited this so well, brief and concise. “The color of the hole in the roof changes with the weather; listen to the sun trickling in.” i really like this line – tells me to not take things for granted and always know to be sensitive to changes. thank you for joining in with this creative piece, you have a beautiful hum!
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As soon as I read the prompt I started to get the gist of a haiku. This was a rich prompt. Thank you for it and your kind comments.
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my pleasure! It was beautifully crafted, so pleased to hear how it inspired you
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Nice phrases “spreadsheet tweed”, “high-pitched whine of machinery and moving parts”. Come to think of it, being high-pitched is what makes that machine sound like a machine – along with the whine.
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Thanks. I mean the machinery and mill as an understated metaphor. (I don’t actually work in a factory- or do I?) Cool prompt.
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Reality tries ever to ground us. The power to escape lies within. You had me at
“slick syncopation and benign beatings”!
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Ah, the benign beatings… 8 hours a day if you’re lucky.
Thanks for coming by.
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Very nice. I enjoyed all the syncopated sounds.
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Thanks. I appreciate the visit.
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I read all your posts. 🙂
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And for that I am truly grateful and appreciative. You are kind to comment and my response was lame. I apologize for that.
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Well… it wasn’t as hip as your poem… 😉
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I picture the office drone – lifeless, colourless – and then you end with such hope – the stirring of spring!
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Had to! The prompt indicated the dual writing/work lives as well as inspiration. So yes, a spark of spring at the end of winter, like when an idea colors the drab day and finally lands on the page.
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I can relate to the prose side – color of that white noise and that sounds of repetition and wear. Love the contrast of the tanka, that awaiting of spring birds and stirring of songs. The duality of your life is spot on.
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Thank you. The tanka came first but I got more on my way to the keyboard. In both the prose and the tanka I wanted to show the rising from dark to light. Spring buds only happen because of winter dormancy. Sometimes the workday is a daily winter.
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The color of the hole in the roof changes with the weather; listen to the sun trickling in. Great image…love the detail in the opening!
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Thank you. It was fun playing with the color of sound.
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This was a wonderful haibun, melodius and a joy to read D – well written!
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Thanks! Glad you liked it.
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“What is the color of white noise…” Indeed. We take for granted what influences our lives, outright or subtly. And back to color with “colors awaken songs stir.” I like that.
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Thanks. You picked up what I was laying down.
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A fabulous transformation from ordinary (drab?) daily work to colorful (wild?) poetic thoughts!
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Thank you. That’s kinda what I was going for, letting a poem spring forth.
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…and happy first day of spring 🙂
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So many things to like in the prose part… the grind and the sound, those famous poets (glad it wasn’t Sylvia’s oven) contrasting to that tanka representing being freed by the spring
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Thank you. Glad to have managed this despite the daily grind.
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It is amazing the hum that goes on around us and we don’t even think about it. Nothing much better than the hum of spring birds coming back again!
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Agreed. I’ve been enjoying the wake up calls; mornings are never humdrum.
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so lovely! i felt the cold turning into warm while reading the poem.
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Aw, thanks. Spring has sprung.
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Nicely done. You caught the hum of life.
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It’s a cycle, hmm?
Thanks!
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Excellent response to the prompt. The collection of sounds worked beautifully. Love the contrast of the tanka!
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Thank you. I appreciate your kind comments!
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