2012 November PAD Chapbook Challenge- Day 22
Today’s prompt ( by Brenda Bishop Blakely) is somewhat daunting: to write about paradise. A bit of a tall order, considering I have approximately 6 – 10 words to dedicate to the task. So I will just write about something nice I experienced this morning instead.
On this Thanksgiving, as on all other Thanksgiving, I like to pause to think about those things, both large and small, that I am grateful for. What comes into my mind immediately are family, friends, community, and the amazing world of nature in which we live. As I looked out my (second story) bedroom window this morning, I found myself almost eye-to-eye with a very large squirrel, who had climbed out to the outermost branches near the top of our Japanese maple. I’ve always marveled at the gravity-defying acrobatic feats of squirrels, but this was one of the most daring I had ever witnessed. The sight of an obviously well-fed squirrel balancing his considerable weight on pencil thin branches to eat the dried maple seeds that still clung to the branches made me smile. Perhaps I am anthropomorphizing a bit much to say the squirrel is grateful for the abundant seeds, nuts, and bulbs it readily finds in our yard, but it reminded me that in spite of obstacles, my family, along with all the fauna in our neighborhood, is pretty well provided for this Thanksgiving Day. Wishing everyone who celebrates it a very Happy Thanksgiving, and for those who don’t, a happy day of reflecting on gratitudes instead. In spite of the considerable rain, the bare tree branches, the seemingly never-ending piles of soggy leaves to rake, and the shorter days, November still has much to offer. I guess my idea of paradise, to get back to the prompt, is a world in which everyone gets what they need, including our animal friends.
breaking dawn
a gray squirrel balances
on bare branches
The closest I can find to “bare branches” in The Haiku Handbook is “tree leaves fall”, an autumn kigo. More poetic responses can be read on the Poetic Asides blog.
Prose Posies 