Carpe Diem Haiku – Richard Wright’s “scarecrow’s old hat”

To let Richard Wright:s haiku:

The scarecrow’s old hat
Was flung by the winter wind
Into a graveyard.

inspire us to do a solo-renga again. My effort follows below:


graveyard hinges wail
icy gusts come visiting
breathing death

shoveling the frozen dirt
another grave to fill

black against the snow
crow and widow side by side
backs against the wind

perspiring in the cold
coffin lowered carefully

today begins
her life in loneliness
long-stemmed rose

resting on mahogany
mingling words with muted wails

Funeral in the Snow near the Old Tower by Vincent van Gogh

Funeral in the Snow near the Old Tower by Vincent van Gogh



December 21, 2014

10 responses to “Carpe Diem Haiku – Richard Wright’s “scarecrow’s old hat”

  1. I love the starting haiku about ironmongery. Reminds me of the beginning chapter of “A Christmas Carol” by Dickens. This solo renga is wicked sad. 🙂 Awesome!

  2. Reminds me of two things…
    The old west and of New Orleans, were the possession would be joyous.

    I read so many stories of devoted couples who seem to pass so closely together not wanting to be without the other… and yet some widowed folk live long in sadness. Well captured.

  3. I really like the tone you manage to capture here – treading that fine line between the sad emotional side and the business-like side of conducting a funeral. It’s expertly judged throughout, I think.

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