loss
When cherry blossoms
scatter –
no regrets
Issa
I slept last night beneath our cherry tree, its branches bare of blossoms after the early freeze—this loss, a surprise, much like the morning I awakened and you were gone. Life goes on, so the cliché would have me believe, but the void inside looms, ever-present, like the weight of snow this seemingly endless winter.
Am I to believe that love will return, much like the cherry blossoms I hope for in another springtime?
Will I be one with you again, once I follow you into the void? I reach for the soft assurance of the touch of satin, the flowering branch I culled before cruel winds doused my hope. I listen to silence.
hanami whispers
what appears lost shall return
do not be afraid
Today a dVerse Haibun Monday, Kansen Sakura invites us to consider the Japanese concept of hanami. What? You don’t know what that is? Come over to dVerse and learn about it.
My reflections on the Easter Season which many of us celebrated yesterday influenced my haibun–what do the seasons, typified here in the mystique of cherry blossoms, have to teach us about doubt and faith?
Photo: dautrich
Labeled for noncommercial reuse
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
sMiLes..
mY friEnd..
whEn LoVe
iS ReaL iT
LiVeS on..
TrUly..
thaT’s
aLL i kNow..:)
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That’s all anyone really needs to know.
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I can feel the deep loss and pain in your words .As the seasons move forward, we must trust that hope and renewal return again. A very moving piece.
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I was touched by the flowering branch I culled before cruel winds doused my hope. I listen to silence. The photo complements perfectly. All in all, a fairy tale. Would that it were true!
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Your note on the deeper meditation within is valuable…your poetry shares the metaphor well. Beautiful work.
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Beautifully written!
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“the void inside looms, ever-present, like the weight of snow this seemingly endless winter.” Oh Victoria….such an amazing line this is. The hanami of hope indeed. Gorgeous. in the same year, in March, I lost my grandmother, father, and grandfather who died from grief at the loss of my grandmother. It seems March tries to destroy my family – that the bad things happen in March. It is the hope of spring and the blossoms that has pulled me through the winter. Thank you so much for this haibun and haiku…
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Sad for your loss, yet comforted by your words of hope. Beautifully done, Victoria!
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The sense of loss in this is palpable…but then your closing haiku gives so much hope!
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I love that there’s hope in this poem.
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“the void inside looms, ever-present, like the weight of snow this seemingly endless winter.”
So painful to read but bearable with it’s touch of hope. Lovely write
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Beautiful, painful hope. Wonderfully written!
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Bittersweet haibun, Victoria; I love the photo with the poem and how you expressed the loss and then hope. I trust living this life is for nothing. 😉
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…my last sentence should read “I trust living this life is not for nothing.”
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Ah, the hanami of hope 😉
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Very beautiful. I do believe it to be true, that the lost shall return!
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Oh, I do believe we will be one with those we love again in the hereafter. We really must not be afraid!
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The winter cold and snow makes loss seem even more so. But the last line of your haiku gave me a quiver in my heart. I thought God was speaking to me…
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And this is very moving Victoria ~ But your gorgeous haiku is filled with hope and courage ~ And we up here in Canada, are also looking out for the first budding of spring ~
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Two weeks ago now I watched the snow fall like cherry blossoms that would not be able to recover from that cold. yes we must hope for spring
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This I found so heart wrenching Victoria…..sometimes it is our faith that carries us through those moments when we seriously doubt the future. Beautifully done…..have a good day….
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