A Sparrow’s Call
Originally written 1 February
1994 in Foster City, California. First published in Mirrors 7:2, Summer 1994. Also anthologized in Journeys: An Anthology of International Haibun (Hyderabad, India: Nivasini Publishers, 2014), edited by Angelee Deodhar.
The rhythm
of the rain on the leaves stops me short. Slowly, the sun from behind a summer
storm cloud washes the dripping flower-strewn meadow with gleaming light.
Between distant trees a rainbow shimmers.
rhythm of the rain
on the leaves—
a sparrow’s call
these woods
so green and dark—
mossy antlers
tinkling brook—
a clatter of stones
at its edge
its slow fall . . .
a green oak
leaf
and a damp cocoon
My muddy
tracks follow me across the hillside meadow to the edge of this wood. The
sunlight, stronger now, stretches its rays into the darkest reaches of tall oak
and birch and poplar. The trail leads into the forest’s heart.
calling me
into wet woods,
the sparrow’s short song
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