Early plows spent the night clearing our lonely streets of snow. All night I heard their blades scraping the pavement. It was a constant background noise that kept me awake and anxious.
With snow no longer falling and the plows gone, morning is quiet. Anxiety is gone. There is enough snow to make the world beautiful without causing chaos.
Around me people are rising and getting ready for work. Their windows light up one by one, making growing constellations of people joined by their stories. Each constellation is made up of neighbors, friends, loners … even rebels with petty rivalries.
Let the day dissolve with the snow. For now, morning is born in lovely pastel promise.
Iris tinted snow – /
human hearts in window stars – /
gleaming in pale dawn //
View from an apartment in Kazan, Tatarstan, taken by Marina, via Pirate.
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I wrote this haibun in response to Pirate’s Weekly Līgo Haibun challenge. Last week’s entry (“Stubborn Heart”) went out at the last minute; thankfully this week’s entry is being posted a bit earlier!
Our challenge was to write a post as close to 123 words as possible using one of two images. I chose the winter view from an apartment in Kazan, Tatarstan, taken by Pirate’s friend, Marina.
The colors of the photo reminded me of Vincent Van Gogh’s Vase with Irises and Starry Night Over the Rhone.
Please visit the other writers’ entries, too – they are linked here.
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Tagged: constellations, dawn, haibun, relationships, snow, Starry Night over the Rhone, Tatarstan, Vase with Irises, Vincent van Gogh, violet, Weekly Līgo Haībun Challenge, winter
