HAWMC #6 Health-Related Haiku Day

Not surprisingly,

this prompt annoyed me slightly.

Haiku's so much more

than five, seven, five,

repeat ad lib, any theme,

counting syllables.

OK, now I've gotten that off my chest, let's see if I can play nice! The five-seven-five syllabic structure is not an obsessive rule in traditional haiku. What's more important is that there should be some sense of grounding in a specific season, including a specific "kigo" word that symbolizes or represents a season. 

Yesterday, I enjoyed using ekphrasis to muse about health, although I'd never done so before. Since health is closely tied to seasons for many of us--since, in fact, many of our health conditions feel like seasonal fluctuations manifesting in our bodies and psyches, let's see how much fun we can have with haiku!

The other symbolic piece I want to weave in today is the concept of persistence and resurrection in dirt. I recently repotted this aloe plant with dirt Phil grubbed up from under the house where it wasn't quite so frozen. In the warmth of the cabin, from that dirt sprouted a horsetail! You can see it to the left of the pot in the photo.

This plant, equisetum arvensis, renowned in superfoods circles as a great source of silica, is a grass from the age of the dinosaurs and is the most pernicious weed for gardeners in this area. It's a plant-fungus symbiote, with underground networks that can spread 30 feet in a year. You can break it into pieces and every node will grow. It feels like it's made of toughened glass.

Let Spring warm your dirt.

Plan your chosen cultivations.

See what weeds grow.

Seeds brood inert ~(in earth)

What might I allow to sprout

When I declare Spring?

Life--from dust to dust

Year--journey from seed to seed

Each death, a new life.

If my body fails

Let it fall and mix with earth

live on in new form.

If my mind should fail

Let it fall into my body

ground from which to rise.

I'm going to leave it there for today and see if I can get my work done, prepare for a weekend guest and continue to avoid succumbing to Phil's 'flu! I'm so grateful not to be worse afflicted, but I am working at about half my usual speed, which is difficult for me... Back tomorrow with at least one recipe.

YOUR health haikus?? I'd love to hear them.