When we got closer to the sea we saw how the chill of winds over water had made the spring progress a little slower. We felt like gaining back some of the time we had lost, to be able to drink the light green of birches once again, to walk slowly, to stop the constant rush of time. Splash of orchid purple blended with the cowslip yellow, and through the trees we saw the mirror of the sea.
We walked for an hour or three, time ceased to matter, we walked across meadows and through forests where in dappled light the anemones spread its carpet, pretending to be stars at night. We walked in garlic fumes from ramsoms ready for harvest. We picked a few to be cut for salad with tomatoes later. Before we left, we sat down on the shore to eat the picnic we had brought. Sedated ourselves a little more by looking at the sea.
silhouetted green
the stately birch – a matron
drunk from sap
A path through woods leading to the sea. © Björn Rudberg
Today it’s Toni handling Haibun Monday at dVerse. She wants us to write about how we relax. Do you practice meditation or do you like me enjoy a flower walk in spring. Write a compact haibun, and let the haiku be about nature. Come join us at 3 PM EST.
—
May 23, 2016
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Oh this is a joy, both haibun and photo. Sedating oneself by gazing at the sea…I love the thought of that. The anemones make me smile.
It felt like time slowed down in that wonderful landscape.
I love the anemones. I have tried to naturalize them in my small group of woods. No luck. But there are violets and sometimes daisies and tiny bluets.
Our wild garlic has been and gone. Pity as I always love it.
If you get out in time and get some leaves it’s wonderful to pick a few.
Oh, I always pick some, it’s just that they’re all gone now. It’s a short season.
This is a feast for the senses, both sights (like anemones being stars) and the taste (garlic, tomatoes in salad) ~ I am sedated, asking spring to stop a while ~ I am envious that the walk leads to the sea ~ Here we only have lakes & rivers (at my side of the city) ~
The wild garlic is a wonderful treat… something between chives and garlic..
Loving the sap-drunk birches. Inspired me to join the Haibun prompt this week.
Great… it’s inspiring to relax…
And much fun to write a haibun! Have posted on my blog but will link up at dawn India time!
I will rush over to read…
Pure essence of meditation I sense after reading your prose poem. A delightful honesty of serenity and hope. Love this Bjorn very much. 🙂
Meditation is a good word for what it can feel when nature is as good as this.
Exactly. The touch of wind feeling our muscles is a relaxing moment for earth herself. 🙂
P.S Got a new new poem. If you have time go check it out. You might want to pop out a dictionary. 🙂
I was intrigued by your title, and was quickly caught up by the tranquil pace of this idyllic scene. Beautiful work.
Sometimes I wish that spring was much longer… and this was a great way of arresting time.
Reblogged this on chithankalai.
I like how you are able to deceive time in this, to recapture beauty and serenity in nature. So far, all of the ones I’ve read have had nature in them. This was so peaceful and healing, especially since I know you have been steeped in deadlines.
I sometimes manage to recapture even more of this time by going north… If you travel to the mountain it can feel this way in July.
Ah yes, the sea, the sea, & here in Western WA we, too, get forests that grow down to the beach. You lovely haibun makes me want to drive the 100 miles to the Pacific, & enjoy it, but alas it’s Monday, & it os raining. Your haiku is superb.
Thank you.. yes it was one of the best days I can remember.
I love your sap drunk birch, and your beautifully detailed walk. I am walking with you.
A walk definitely clears my head–and the wonderful walk you’ve described here is like good, good medicine.
Such beautiful, calm writing. Lovely, Björn.
A passionate pause here, Bjorn. The sea sealed the deal for me. Water is a sweet escape!
I enjoyed coming along as you sojourned by the sea. It reminded me of how different your sea must be to the one we would see. The Florida Atlantic is a different animal than what you must experience. For one thing, we don’t have trees that near the water. I suspect your water moves more like what I experienced when I lived near the Pacific.
Still, it was altogether a soothing bit of poetry. Thank you!
Ah…perfection. A flower walk and a calm sea, what could soothe the soul better than that. Thanks for the tranquility, Bjorn.
“time ceased to matter” I love every beautiful word of your haibun
“We walked for an hour or three”….love this. The sense of time can dissolve in nature. The wild garlic sounds scrumptious especially with tomatoes.
“Sedated ourselves a little more by looking at the sea.”
– my favorite sedation, as well. 🙂 Wonderful.
I loved every bit of this. That opening line is utterly arresting, and the idea that walking, to where the coolness of the water has kept spring fresh and new, is like walking to a place where time runs slower– that’s such a magical idea, and your words breathe it to life with perfect tranquility. The descriptions of nature are sumptuous and lyrical, but never (excuse the inadvertent pun) flowery. The poem flows with naturalness and sincerity.
Always a pleasure to read your work!
I felt tranquil just reading this lovely piece of wandering. The haiku is a perfect match.
to eat the picnic we had brought.
Sedated ourselves a little more
by looking at the sea.
Relaxed to eat from the picnic basket and overwhelmed by the constant lapping of the waves. How nice!
Hank
You are so right to make the haibun compact and keep the content about nature, Bjorn. Having not written in a while I think I wrote something to just get it off my mind. Does that happen to you as well? There are so many places to go to unwind and relax where it is easy to meditate and have a pleasant picnic where I live just outside the city. It also sounds invigorating.
The idea of the birch trees being drunk with sap is very appealing – epitomises the oomph that the advent of Spring gives me. A delightful haibun.
to drink the light green of birches once again
in dappled light the anemones spread its carpet, pretending to be stars at night
What a beautiful experience altogether!
This is lovely! The prose reads somewhat like a splendid journal entry recounting an enchanted outing … the haiku: like an image captured and committed to mind, to be recalled in contemplative moments, over the course of a lifetime.
drunk with sap, perfection….