flowering quince | kanzen sakura

Haibun: Flowering Quince

04 Mar 2019 8 Comments

by kanzensakura in haibun, Haiku Tags: ancient bush, blooms, flowering quince, joy

A second haibun for Merrill’s prompt, March Madness.

Haibun: Flowering Quince
My ancient flowering quince is blooming, always the first of my yard flowers to do so. The weather is crazy – freezing one day, warm the next. Rainy one day, icy the next, sunny and warm the next. My quince blithely ignores all the weather. It begins to bloom mid-February whatever the weather. I love this bush as it feels like a member of the family. It was transported by root cuttings from England when my family immigrated in the early 1700’s. It cheers me no matter what. No matter that my father, grandmother, and grandfather all died in the same month of March, the same year. The pink flowers proclaim resurrection.
rosy pink flowers
sing eternal life – eternal joy –
my ancestors smile

Red is the color of peace

05 Jul 2018 20 Comments

by kanzensakura in Musings Tags: flowering quince, love, peace, red, sharing, tomatoes

For Paul’s prompt at Real Toads about Peace. This is an old poem previously posted but reworked and tightened up a bit. I truly believe that we carry peace around with us, that it must be found within and shared out like excess red tomatoes from my garden.

Red is the color of peace
Peace comes in many colors – like the rainbow,
like us humans or animals or flowers.
You may not think so, but red is the color of peace –
the tomato plucked from the bounty of my backyard garden
and handed over the short fence to the neighbor next door –
red of holly berries nestled among dark green clusters
of leaves hidden deep in the forest, with white snow
softly falling or the cardinal perched on the branch –
The red of maple leaves preparing for winter sleep
or the red of the rose given to a beloved.
Long blondeblackbrownred braids tied at the ends
with perky red bows.
Red is the color of peace – of units of blood donated
for someone about to undergo life saving surgery
for the child with cancer
or the service person needing
emergency treatment.
The wild apples are red and hang down far enough
a herd of deer can satisfy their hunger.
Red are the azaleas planted by my father years ago
that continue to bloom after all this time.
Strawberries from my garden are rich and red and sweet.
Red is also the color in the jars of preserves
I make and give out as gifts to anyone.
Red is my generations old flowering quince
blooming in a freezing snow.
The heart your child drew and the words “I Love You”
hangs with pride on your refrigerator door
photographed and posted on Facebook so everyone would know
– drawn with a bright red crayon.
Peace is what we make it and it is colored by our souls,
our hearts our words and actions.
If our words and actions do not speak of peace and hope
how can we be peace and hope to a world
sadly in need of both?
You may not think so, but red is the color of peace.

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Signs of Spring

12 Feb 2018 26 Comments

by kanzensakura in General Poetry Tags: 44 word poetry, flowering quince, Quadrille, spring

Today is Quadrille Monday at dVerse Poets Pub. A quadrille is a form unique to dVerse – exactly 44 words excluding the title and including a word at the choice of the Pub Host. Today the word is “murmur”. Come join us as De Jackson (Whimsy Gizmo) is our host today.

Sign of Spring
The sky looks sad today –
spits of rain
clouds over all.
wandering about the yard
I look at the sodden lawn.
I walk over to the flowering quince
and see tiny tight red buds
all over the black branches.
Behold! A murmur of spring.