Poetry Friday--Haibun (No, It's Not a Rabbit Haiku!)

I love the way ideas fall into my lap sometimes. On Sunday, I received a Google Alert for "haiku," which provided a link to a post from India titled "You know the haiku? Now meet the haibun, the other Japanese form." I found it is a good introduction to haibun. If the term is new to you, haibun is prose interspersed with haiku. Please take a few minutes to read the post for more information.

I found it fortuitous that the article ended up in my inbox this week because I had no ideas for today's post. Without taking on a Sketchbook project, and, without participating in this year's Summer Poem Swap, I've written/shared almost nothing besides haiku for the past two months.

Over the years, I've written a handful of haibun, but the form never held much interest for me. As a matter of fact, a quick search of Random Noodling posts reveals only one from 2011, which you can read here. However, the article inspired me to revisit haibun and to try my hand again:

Fairy Post Office

My late mother used to say, "The best laid plans of mice and men do oft go awry." The fact that she quoted Robert Burns* so often, was indicative of how things generally went in our lives.

Not much has changed over the years. My plans are almost always more grandiose than what can be fulfilled in the time allotted or with my particular skill set. So, when the library staff finally, after a year, determined to do something in memory of our co-worker, Jena, I was ready with ideas, plans, and schemes. Not all were executable, but, I was determined to show that we put some effort into the long overdue tribute. Our goal? To create a fairy village.

My personal goal was to complete a post office to provide a place for children (and adults) to leave messages for the fairy folk. I completed it, yet it is nearly nothing like the structure I had imagined. If my mother were here today, I would tell her, "Those mice and men plans sometimes turn out okay."

an envelope
left behind in a drawer
...the stamp missing

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

*The exact line, from "To a Mouse," by Robert Burns is, "The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men/Gang aft agley." You can read the complete poem here.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the project for a Poetry Friday post that included a fairy poem from Shakespeare. After work on Friday we had plans to add a few more items and try to put some finishing touches on the project. New England weather doesn't care about our best laid plans, and with rain expected, we'll be postponing the work.

As I wrote above, I finished the post office. I collaged animal and flower stamps to the interior because Jena used to collect pretty or unusual stamps to share with her granddaughter. Several of us saved stamps for her over the years. Here's a photo, which shows the front and the stamps on the inside, taken prior to the installation of the roof:

I'm adding a link to a new Facebook page I set up for the library's "Pixie Place." I'll be posting new photos as items are added, so visit the page! And while you're out visiting, also stop by The Logonauts, where Katie is hosting this week's Round-Up.

Maybe next Friday I'll have a bun-haiku, or two, for you!