Friday, August 10, 2012

Haiku Monday: SOLITARY RETREAT



Welcome 
Haiku Monday 
players!
Where do you go when you need to take a break from your regular life?
More specifically
 where is your  best personal retreat?



This Fishy life is pretty nice but,
on occasion, 
a  goodly amount of solitude 
is necessary
 to restore  inner balance. 




It seems to me
 even the most social of creatures
 need to take a time out 
from the daily assault 
of 
 life 
in this new millennium.



The wonderful thing about 
solitary retreats,
 other than the fact of being solitary,
 is 
there are so many wonderful options!



For this weeks game
 please write  as many haikus as you wish
about
 your favorite solitary
 retreat


one 
you have actually experienced
or
one 
you hope to experience


However, 
please refrain from writing
 an ode
to your own residence
no matter how sustaining
 it may be.



Our format is to be classic
5-7-5
(I will endeavor to count correctly)



Because our still absent
Troll
introduced me to
 Haiku
there are always more points
 given
for those entries which do
honor the traditional 
kigo and kiregi
as well as the
5-7-5
format


We Fishy's are visual creatures!
While there are no
subtractions 
for entries without visuals
there are points awarded
 for
those visuals 
which brilliantly
 illustrate
 the 
haiku 

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice theme Fishy! I'll be back later.

Serendipity

moi said...

Perfect theme for my life this week. I'll be back!

Anonymous said...

Well, Fishy, someone has to go first.

Great theme. Even just thinking about such places of retreat is relaxing and restorative.(I like that treehouse, but somehow it seems a little closed in. My solitude seems to require an unfettered state.) I am interested to see where everyone else goes.

Since this is a series, this week you will find my visuals at http://tidewrack.wordpress.com/


1)
Calm-water sunrise

calls silently, “The canoe”.

Bare feet tiptoe out.


2)
March river unbound

burbles happily downstream.

Trout and I connect.

(A couple hours on the March river can seem like a whole day gone.)

3)
High lonesome. Roadless.

Realm of eagles, bears, wolves, elk.

Mountain light dances.


4)
Hunter’s unseen path

opens to secret places.

All else falls away.

(This is one reason why hunting season is so valuable to me. Melding into the forest puts me into a different existence.)

Karl said...

Good afternoon fishy.

Congratulations on your win. A most interesting topic this week. As a large part of my life tends to be a solitary retreat, this should prove to be challenging to put in words. I will start with:

The life of a diver.
Your companion, solitude.
Wet, calm, cool, happy.

Gee whiz, Red showing off a bit. Just kidding. You put up as many as you want, I enjoy them all.

Rebecca said...

congrats on your win and i'll be back later with my enries

Anonymous said...

Evening, Karl.

Miss Fishy has an uncanny way of picking themes that push my buttons. This was no exception. (Maybe she should give you a special dispensation for an opposite theme ;) since you are usually so solitary.)

In any event, this is a 2 week fix for me since I'll be out of pocket for the next competition. I should probably only play for fun this week.

Serendipity

grins said...

All the birch branches
outlined in white crayon snow.
Winter solitude.

In a patch of sun
A squirrel nibbles pine nuts
I forget the cold.

On my winter walk,
weaving in the spots of sun,
my dark shadows melt.

I will try to find some visuals before Mon. Can you tell I like winter?

Aunty Belle said...

Ah....can this theme come true?

@ Grins--"white crayon snow"? NICE!!

fishy said...

@ Serendipity,
nice way to start us off !

@ Moi,
sounds like you have had an interesting week.

@ Karl,
I love your last line as it signifies a life well enjoyed.

@ Becca,
Thank you!
For sure we are looking forward to your contributions.

@ Grins,
We all need retreats which can melt our dark shadows! Looking forward to your visuals.

@ Aunty,
Yes. I think so. For some of us.
Alas! Notre-Dame is so far away...

Rebecca said...

here are my entries post with be up tomorrow for visuals. enjoy...

voices loud hurtful
leave barren the winter field
solitude high price

rabbit hole~rainbow
escape on the wing of bird
lost in my own world

Anonymous said...

Hi, Fishy! I haven't played in a while, but solitary retreats pull me big time. Hopefully will have something up by deadline.

Cheers and thanks for a great theme!

GG

czar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
czar said...

Silent recharging--
Portable yet elusive.
Hard-hit hay. Huzzah!

GrumpyGranny said...

I.
Navajo silence,
slice of moon breaks midnight’s hold.
Vision quest morning.

II.
Backyard getaway
Nestled ‘neath soft twining trees.
Hidden in plain sight.

III.
On El Camino
yellow arrows point The Way
step by solo step.

Apparently, Blogger won't let me use the open ID function. My link is below. Sorry.

http://grumpygranny.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/haiku-monday-solidary-retreat/

Fleurdeleo said...

Silk, warm on her wrist.
His touch on her sleeve, like flames
at the palace gates.

grins said...

Red, I guess our minds are in tandem. Almost time for elk. You really should stay in once in a while LOL.

Your usual riddle Czar. You have the most cryptic haiku. Love it. I was trying to figure out where hay came in for a while. I had to read it a couple times. Duh.

Fleur, I've missed your three line romance novels so much. I'm glad your back.

fishy said...

@ Becca,
lost in a world of your own is,
by description, definitely a solitary place!

@ Czar
have you tried headphones with Gregorian chants? Amazing! Better sleep than any babe drifting off to
Brahms lullaby.

@ Grumpy Granny,
You know I love, love, love the concept of hiding in plain sight. In fact, if I could just perfect this ...

Fleur,
uh-huh those palace gates are great getaways.

@Grins
"three line romance novels"
is perfection! Too bad it is a comment not a haiku.

Blowfish asked where I would go for a personal retreat.
This was my answer:

Does it have a moat?
With 'gators or piranhas?
Great! Visa okay?

Looking forward to additional entries.
Deadline is 12am PST.
Good luck to all.

Karl said...

Good evening Fishy,

A few more to add to the mix.

Middle watch, four bells.
Contemplation, compass glow.
My companions, stars.

Rubber on the road!
Playing the Valkyrie ride.
Victory ...dig it.

When all said and done
Not solitary retreat
But spoons body heat

Serendipity: I will miss you next week. One here for you, reflecting a group retreat, a vacation to Belize. And a resort that wasn't.

Winter quiet respite
Maruba forest retreat
Choking smoke green slime

Fluer: Hmm, palace gates is that a metaphor?

czar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
czar said...

Fishy, your question is a serendipitous lead-in to

Jew ponders team change.
Otherwise silent monks chant,
Thaw wintering soul.

Visual:

http://www.catholicphotographer.com/Cross-Country-Pilgrimage-1/Abbey-of-Gethsemani-Jul-16/DSCN0713/593754200_PoUja-L-2.jpg

Fleurdeleo said...

Wow, this theme is bringing out some lovely entries; excellent references to nature. I love "my dark shadows melt".

And I am glad that my romantic haiku are appreciated!

Fleurdeleo said...

Wow, this theme is bringing out some lovely entries; excellent references to nature. I love "my dark shadows melt".

And I am glad that my romantic haiku are appreciated!

Fleurdeleo said...

Wow, this theme is bringing out some lovely entries; excellent references to nature. I love "my dark shadows melt".

And I am glad that my romantic haiku are appreciated!

Aunty Belle said...


I'se goin' wif Grumpy Granny--it's the flecha amarillo for me!

When Autumn gold crowns
The Pyrenees: Look, pilgrim!
God dances with His world.

Aunty Belle said...

But, as a Floridian, the ocean never loses its tug:

On ocean’s azure
Edge, minds meld to eternal
Hope: Vernal sunrise.

Aunty Belle said...

oops! Visuals at Ether Capacious
http://ethercapacious.blogspot.com/2012/08/haiku-monday-solitary-retreat.html

Aunty Belle said...

@ Czar
on my worst nights?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDhYGdK0KQg&feature=related (just listen, skip the visuals)

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8TNsTzyk1U&feature=related

or for a more contemporary chant:

Jan Garabek's Officiam--listen--go at least 2 minutes in...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D4LtzZACek

and another sample of his soothing but contemporary work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmIo2nttex8

czar said...

@AB, Fishy: Thanks for the advice, although the problem is not quality of nor inability to find sleep; it's finding any time for it.