tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54734156719943822012024-03-13T04:44:24.713+01:00SwedeheartHaiku from Swedencatharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-35815440510542658132010-08-25T00:29:00.003+02:002010-10-16T22:13:08.734+02:00roller coaster screamsroller coaster screams<br />tonight they carry across<br />water and time<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="300" width="400"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=ae1131f878&photo_id=3957123656"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=ae1131f878&photo_id=3957123656" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />When I asked <a href="http://www.rotstein.se/blog/" target="_blank">Michael Rotstein</a> his permission to use this marvelous time lapse video of Stockholm amusement park Gröna Lund he said he liked my blog and I was welcome to use the video. But, erm, did it really fit in with haiku, haiku being so serene...?<br /><br />He was quite right, and I wouldn't have chosen his video for this haiku had it not been for the fact that I want a Grande Finale. Cos yes I've decided to let this blog take a nap. This has been my third haiku period so far in life and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I hit a fourth one. If I do, I'll return to this spot.<br /><br />But for now it's good night. Thanks for reading and commenting!catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-74443091099654458512010-08-25T00:19:00.000+02:002010-08-25T00:20:17.407+02:00august lostaugust lost<br />a city map drifts<br />face-down to sea<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbyladybug/22539583/in/photostream/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 188px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku/regn.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbyladybug/"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY abbyladybug</span></span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-84137334268955462102010-07-02T23:47:00.014+02:002010-07-03T00:17:17.221+02:00the sun thrusts itselfthe sun thrusts itself<br />at big man's sax<br />this day never ends<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annajarske/188839116/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 240px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku/188839116_ff81ea2b50_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annajarske/"><br /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annajarske/">PHOTO BY ***annajarske.com</a><br /></span></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-39301051427227153072010-06-07T17:05:00.017+02:002010-06-07T17:31:43.211+02:00two voicestwo voices<br />one for each language<br />the immigrant<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.lyonphotography.co.uk/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BGVzgmVSTEuwghyF3wseoYI_bz6iZ8IJdFvqyn4Fqp8ykM32GUIhHsinqugzP7ldtjCVdtzHUiI4d-_UlyHzZD-zTnXZpGJvnD_R8s4s0FXuNiqA4dbjwLRxeZlAd3tI3vp3GNKRZMDk/s400/ellis.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480051766476819602" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.blogger.com/www.lyonphotography.co.uk"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:78%;" ><br /></span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:78%;" ><a href="http://www.lyonphotography.co.uk/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >PHOTO BY JAMES LYON</span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-24772031888209484622010-06-06T02:22:00.002+02:002010-06-06T02:35:37.429+02:00no i'm okay"no i'm okay"<br />but i saw my shadow<br />and it shivered<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesperll/475363356/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpGNsiFVjzaX43gPbtp4Dg-s091CkWKqCQ41rCP-5uqStmcZTYl731qz90cPgmDjR0EDxwPbkHa2sxrwkDCFsmQcQ_PKCzkpZdlL6XfZbENVB2LgbWkSLzbDbcfn5KYy0iTSpBnQBPd8b/s400/thoughtful.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479449646393313378" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesperll/"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY jesperII</span></span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-29023142948095686212010-05-18T22:14:00.004+02:002010-05-18T22:20:08.040+02:00little sparrowlittle sparrow<br />shouting on the sill<br />shut up<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45179842@N05/4159105280/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrPPEMoRsNjIxEoT0dLnnSQqdNzdEZZfZgMTn_o4aLTbmANg4N_ULqf2KZNxOoHVTYObnJvAb-V9EWweY9gFmNi33YF2xixoKsqhFK2RPbNzBH2ygMar-6eKl7vxAP6iBRoZD5UF4JBpu/s400/pillow.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472706241833227106" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45179842@N05/"><span style="font-size:78%;">PHOTO BY PILLOW*SOMNOGRAPHY</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-79998862381611841072010-05-18T22:04:00.006+02:002010-05-18T22:59:10.292+02:00little sparrow hip hop haiku senryulittle sparrow<br />shouting outside on the sill<br />will you shut up<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45179842@N05/4159105280/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaICZIcaOPSnbGn50dBEQVEeVumWiJ0yvpbJ1a712Kinjhb-5QQKK5U6VwyP4QmdQ-L_Ul11hPblGQ3vdp9-dsqMvPgV36ixXGVSJtSLZ980mIS2MDnnQrIt36pHC4sv-y6DSVh7RV45YL/s400/pillow.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472704300722892578" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45179842@N05/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY PILLOW*SOMNOGRAPHY</span></span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-51462609819549163602010-04-06T01:29:00.032+02:002010-07-05T04:11:31.401+02:00homesick again!This is a proud rerun of one of my old haiku which was recently accepted for publication in <span style="font-weight: bold;">Frogpond</span>, The Journal of the Haiku Society of America. As I understand it, my foghorn haiku appears in the paper edition (not online) of <a href="http://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond/2010-issue33-1/index.html" target="_blank">Frogpond 33.1-2010</a><br /><br /><br /><br />homesick upcountry<br />can i call you some night<br />to hear the foghorn<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisawi/2717282536/sizes/m/in/set-72157606438933165/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 261px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20blandat%20postad%20opostade%20feb%202009/2717282536_28708040f9-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisawi/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY WIMMERSOL</span></span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-28869505783937306182010-03-03T22:58:00.009+01:002010-03-03T23:23:40.402+01:00crinkly fingercrinkly finger<br />the house he points at<br />is gone<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amala/2802562970/in/set-72157622649421763/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 230px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/oie_moln.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amala/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY AMLA</span></span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-31143827188499072452010-02-02T19:23:00.012+01:002010-07-05T04:04:33.345+02:00untoucheduntouched<br />all that snow on the sill<br />his son this old man<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/egazelle/362172243/sizes/o/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 143px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku/swedeheart%20postade%20skapad%20februari%202009/plle.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/egazelle/"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY EGAZELLE</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-47083978058927406882010-01-04T00:09:00.011+01:002010-07-05T04:14:49.533+02:00in your handin your hand<br />a tiny scrap of metal<br />keyhole shape<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynhooz/3961014403/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 160px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20blandat%20postad%20opostade%20feb%202009/3961014403_bb224d41e0_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynhooz/"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY ROBYN HOOZ</span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-4254399541221873022009-12-03T20:23:00.001+01:002009-12-03T20:25:26.068+01:00on foreign shores Ion foreign shores<br />how kind they seem, bananas<br />- like countrymen<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38915448@N05/4091391340/"><img style="cursor: pointer; height: 206px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/bananas.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38915448@N05/"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY I SAW THE SIGN (FLASH OUT ITS WARNING)</span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-73357188442800453502009-12-01T20:20:00.008+01:002009-12-03T20:20:19.635+01:00on foreign shores IIon foreign shores<br />how familiar and kind<br />the bananas!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38915448@N05/4091391340/"><img style="cursor: pointer; height: 206px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/bananas.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38915448@N05/"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY I SAW THE SIGN (FLASH OUT ITS WARNING)</span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-75055479583402124612009-11-13T01:32:00.003+01:002009-11-13T01:38:43.875+01:00forgetful senseiforgetful sensei<br />pain long gone but the needle<br />still wags on his scalp<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnieshulman/480524527/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0O9ImyUQWLIlukltlCFAR6s3sNwGiol1dcksEOIfGFGKB8O0_rkyWVivi43ls3ynvFr_OVgIae5CqP4kJzYgxHtLuVVLZVC7ZZPXpRB7xNH3r0H1msHKGE86r_hwA6kPAIa_ZJii93kq/s200/here+it+is+your+moment+of+zen.PNG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403379730066105314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnieshulman/"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY BONNIE</span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-72207424060173222262009-10-19T23:29:00.007+02:002009-10-20T00:13:18.864+02:00suitcase wheels, leavingsuitcase wheels, leaving<br />how different their sound now<br />to when you arrived<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_hartland/427140940/sizes/l/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku/427140940_4beb127e65_m.jpg" border="0" height="150" width="200" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_hartland/"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY HARTLANDMARTIN</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-28170507537056851952009-10-05T18:58:00.010+02:002009-10-19T23:44:31.589+02:00suitcase wheelssuitcase wheels<br />how different their sound<br />now we know<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_hartland/427140940/sizes/l/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku/427140940_4beb127e65_m.jpg" border="0" height="150" width="200" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_hartland/"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY HARTLANDMARTIN</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-26581618622326400392009-09-06T17:45:00.005+02:002009-09-06T17:53:39.809+02:00power cutpower cut<br />a name long forgotten<br />lights up<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimobase/21554678/in/set-501357/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 295px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/mygrandmothersredpingad-2-1-1.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimobase/"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY MIMOBASE</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-24481225764873510702009-08-04T17:35:00.018+02:002010-07-05T04:17:10.828+02:00silver weddingsilver wedding<br />has anyone told'em as yet<br />their butts look alike<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buzzby09/972241433/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 201px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20blandat%20postad%20opostade%20feb%202009/hisandhersliten-1.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:100%;" ><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buzzby09/972241433/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"><br /></span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204); font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buzzby09/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">PHOTO BY *LOUISE**</span></a></span></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-41048822839602784692009-07-02T22:17:00.025+02:002010-10-10T05:53:28.805+02:00john megas' haikuriver does its thing<br />morning light falls with a bang<br />on single-hair brush<br /><br /><br />I had to battle Paul Robeson, O.C. Smith and Robert Redford to arrive at this haiku. But here it is and I hope you like it now it's yours, John.<br /><br />"John"? John who?<br /><br />John Megas. John Megas is a painter and printmaker working out of Minneapolis, MN. When recently I stumbled upon his paint-on-demand blog <a href="http://johnmegas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Panda Licking on a Light Bulb</a> I was on a natural high for hours, just falling in love with everything I found there: The miniature paintings, the stories behind the commissions, the reflections on the process of painting – the whole package. I left a comment and I couldn't believe my luck when, the next day, John suggested a trade: A painting for a haiku! I leapt at it!<br /><br />No further directions were given, just the request that I write a haiku for him and he would then make a painting for me of anything I wished. The fact that I leapt at it doesn't mean I didn't realize that writing a haiku on demand sort of goes against the grain of how a haiku will normally uncover itself. You need some kind of flash to set you off, whether you think of it as inspiration or as having at some point in life had a teeny tiny glimpse of a <span style="font-style: italic;">kenshō</span> experience and suddenly you know that if you apply yourself to the task RIGHT NOW you may be able to take the experience just a liiittle bit further and come away with some contraband on a piece of paper. Pompous? Nah. Consider the zen saying: "Before Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment: Chop wood, carry water." We're still here, it's still life – ain't nothing pompous about it. (BTW I'm not calling myself enlightened, if it sounded like it…!)<br /><br />But you are gonna need that particular flash, one particular "glimpse moment" that will send you reeling. (In a Zennish way, of course;-) If you are to write a haiku on demand, then where do you look for that flash? Can it be hunted down? Will the haiku be any good? As haiku poet Issa noted:<br /><br />Writing shit about new snow<br />for the rich<br />is not art<br /><br /><br />What if something similar applies to writing a haiku to use it as currency for a painting=:O But I desperately wanted one of John's paintings and so I hurried to say yes before I could say no…!<br /><br />I knew I had to refrain from writing about his paintings - they hadn't settled yet, for me. I turned first to the tools of a painter (more about that later) and next to Minneapolis itself, where John Megas lives. I needed to see what he sees, every day. It took some fighting to get through to the city though; I was attacked by Little Green Apples in my head repeating the line It don't rain in Minneapolis in the summertime over and over again, insisting that I use the summer rain image along with some ultramarine. But the draft wasn't too good and I abandoned it long before I googled the lyrics just for fun and learned I had been confusing Minneapolis with Indianapolis all along, duh. Minneapolis is snow, not rain, and bearing Issa's words in mind I'd better steer clear of snow haiku right now, ha ha… But I still love ya, O.C. Now will you please unstick yourself from the inside of my head and stop humming that one single line please, the game is up.<br /><br />Anyhoo. Minneapolis turned out to mean Water City. Wikipedia tells me there are twelve lakes within the city. That struck a chord with me – my own city, Stockholm, is built on fourteen islands. At one point I had an outline down on paper involving the words "Twelve Lake morning", where Twelve Lakes was my haiku name for Minneapolis and where my cunning plan was to plant an oh so subtle suggestion in the reader's mind luring him to superimpose the image of the twelve lakes on his own mental image of a palette never directly mentioned by me. A hidden double exposure. Yeah. Neat, that.<br /><br />Perhumps a bit too neat? I'm not sure, but either way, those twelve puddles had nothing on the Mississippi, which had now planted itself firmly in my mind. Minneapolis lies on both banks of the river and I really wanted to harness the great Mississippi. Odd as it may sound, I do have a special feeling for it, although I've never even been to the US of A.<br /><br />But now I was invaded by the film title A River Runs Through It, instead of Little Green Apples… The title of Robert Redford's film doesn't even refer to Minneapolis and the river isn't the Mississippi and even if it had been I could hardly have used that line…! …but it's such a great title and I blocked myself for a while there, obsessing over not-writing-those-words. Still, trough it all, I stayed connected to some kind of genuine feeling for the spirit of that Big River and I knew I had to stay on that track. Knowing which track to stay on is half the work done so I never despaired.<br /><br />Not until Paul Robeson started singing.<br /><br />And persisted to sing. Ol' Man River inside my tortured brain, over and over. Of all the clichés… I give up. I'm a ham poet. Sorry John I just can't deliver. The wrath of Issa is upon me and he's feeding me sound bites he knows I can't use. (I mean, had it at least been Stan Freberg's more politically correct version Elderly Man River…;-)<br /><br />But the great Mississippi was still there the next day, still strong, still willing. I tried to contact the spirit of the river to ask which words would carry what a river does. Its job description. Is it "run"? Yes. Obviously. A river runs, we learned that at the movies in the previous chapter;-) But I was after something else. A long list of verbs presented itself but none of them conveyed the true mississippiness, the way I imagined it. So I watched the Mississippi on YouTube ha ha. And I carried the Mississippi inside me all day and all through the night. And I felt it and it spoke to me by not saying nothing and the message was it jes keeps rollin' along. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Aaaaaargh!</span><br /><br />But that really was it. The cliché had turned warm and living in my hands. Yes indeed: It jes keeps rollin' along.<br /><br />Doing its thing. This was what I had come for: The river heeds the call to be a river. The river knows about riverness. What to do and what not to.<br /><br />John speaks about his tiniest brush on the blog, it's mentioned in the blog post entitled Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo. (I shit you not.) He says it looks like one fat hair and he originally bought it to make the needles on an acupuncture painting. That charmed me. I was playing around with palettes, gesso, paint, ink, palette knives - but I kept on returning to that single-hair brush and I saw it lying on a table bathing in sunlight. Not the vamos a la playa kind of sunlight.<br /><br />To me, John's haiku has something to do with dedication and the sacredness of work. A while back I came across the Italian phrase for giving birth: Dare alla luce – literally to give to the light. It was that kind of light on the single-hair brush, the kind that you give to.<br /><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >John Megas' paint-on-demand blog</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://johnmegas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Panda Licking on a Light Bulb</a></span> <span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >where you'll find <a href="http://johnmegas.blogspot.com/2009/07/haiku-from-sweden-and-dream.html" target="_blank">my miniature painting</a>. Sweeter deal was never closed on <span style="font-style: italic;">this </span>blog - I love the painting!</span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-19434157516444757782009-06-17T18:49:00.030+02:002009-08-30T18:17:23.397+02:00merry berries, huhmerry berries, huh<br />poor li'l brethren and sistren<br />come a-tumbling down<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">*in winter, waxwings often have no choice but to feed on fermented berries and fruit and they do get absolutely ferschnoshked </span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">to the point where they start falling out of trees and it's all they can do just to lie on the ground without holding on</span>:-(</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/raceytay/3024119117/sizes/l/in/set-72157614341358992/" target="_blank" title=""><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 216px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/3024119117_882c13f917_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY </span></span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/raceytay/" target="_blank" title=""><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"><span style="font-size:78%;">[ r ♥ c e y t ♥ y ] {I br♥ke for bokeh}</span></span><br /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">these are cranberries and they don't ferment as readily as the waxwing drug of choice rowan berries do - but I so love this photo...</span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-70926592916122734832009-04-04T15:36:00.013+02:002010-07-11T21:43:30.718+02:00encased, sunken deepencased, sunken deep<br />into that doorway ahead<br />stomach and smoke rings<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skyd/33756685/sizes/m/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20blandat%20postad%20opostade%20feb%202009/33756685_2dfc3f984e_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skyd/33756685/sizes/m/"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/skyd/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >PHOTO BY SkyD</span></a></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-39347918812508606382009-03-09T22:23:00.018+01:002009-08-30T18:09:14.843+02:00strange fruit it bearsstrange fruit it bears<br />causing the sparrows to gawp<br />the hen party tree<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob2506eos/1226049162/sizes/o/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 190px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/1226049162_fd604a48b3_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204); font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob2506eos/">PHOTO BY BOB2506EOS</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">*hen party to the british<br />bachelorette party to the american</span><br /></span>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-85115484721783383862009-03-08T16:34:00.007+01:002009-08-30T18:06:18.113+02:00snow melts around itsnow melts around it<br />the bell that came crashing down<br />in the fire<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericinsf/8997030/sizes/o/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 240px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20two/8997030_42a7baa8b9_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericinsf/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY ERIC HUNT</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-55587645656890543112009-02-04T01:33:00.028+01:002010-07-11T21:55:06.246+02:00homesick upcountryhomesick upcountry<br />can i call you some night<br />to hear the foghorn<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisawi/2717282536/sizes/l/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 240px;" src="http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii118/buckstops/swedehearthaiku%20blandat%20postad%20opostade%20feb%202009/2717282536_bfdb39ae5d_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisawi/"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;" >PHOTO BY WIMMERSOL</span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473415671994382201.post-44315569456068836002009-02-01T21:32:00.013+01:002009-08-30T17:52:49.135+02:00swedeheart haikuswedeheart haiku:<br />fingers a-pickin' <span style="font-style: italic;">sakura</span><br />inside a mitten<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paribus/207982402/sizes/o/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 160px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/207982402_7ba0096a58_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paribus/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">PHOTO BY PARIBUS</span></span></a>catharina jarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01249323347043943963noreply@blogger.com0