Here is Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday Weekly Challenge #263. It’s Taste the Rainbow week and the color is, green. Bonus points if you can write it without saying the color green.
I had a lot of ideas when I thought of green. I ended up with a haibun which is a combination of prose paragraph and a haiku. I’ll be out there dancing until the rains return and fill our lakes and wells:)
LOOK UP
The weather-beaten soil is devoid of life during another dry winter. Even the mushrooms gave up and retreated into the earth while the weeds withered into themselves. The mighty cedars and pines push their roots deeper in search of the life-giving liquid. Hose water provides what the season couldn’t, a lifeline for the thirsty potted plants. A rain dance in the forest becomes a prayer that there will still be the verdant lushness of spring where life burst forth from winter’s silence and offers the world hope.
heavy clouds gather
rain…mother nature’s nectar
bless our wilderness
You need the rain.
We definitely do. They show some coming, fingers crossed it makes it.
I hope so.
Nice response to the rainy picture prompt, Denise!
Thank you, Priscilla 🙂
I love the prose/verse combo form you’ve been using. Nicely done. Hopefully you get rain soon.
Thank you, Staci 🙂 It’s become a favorite of mine to use. Fingers crossed the clouds bring us a gift soon.
I love this prose/verse combo and the challenge to write about the color green without naming it. An assignment I had in a writing class many years ago was to describe a color without naming it. I chose yellow. It was a challenge, but fun to do.
Thanks, Joan 🙂 Yellow would be a tough one to pull off, but challenges sure open our minds to new possibilities and are fun.
I love this and I’m going to join you in the rain dance. You all need it badly. Great response to the prompt!
Thank you, Jan! I appreciate all who join in the dance 🙂 All that positive energy will summon those rain clouds .
They said it was the driest February on record in my state.
Wow, that’s scray how wide spread this is. Fingers crossed for a wet spring.
Very nicely written Denise. Green is a fave colour and you did it justice with your vivid imagery.
eden
Thank you, Eden 🙂 It’s a beautiful color especially in springtime when it almost glows.
We need rain so desperately, Denise! I could see the forest around you in your haibun. The UN is addressing the Climate Change right now. I don’t know if we’re too late to save the earth.
Very desperately, Miriam! There is nothing like walking in the forest after a good rain. I hope things can change too. I wish I saw more action to prevent wildfires. There is still trees leaning on power lines and dead trees everywhere. All we can do is hope and pray for a positive outcome. Xo
It’s getting so bad, Denise. Last summer, I went with my daughter to Bend, Oregon. Driving there from Portland, we saw many mountains with trees burned to the ground. At one spot, my son-in-law, Will said, it took 50 years for some young trees to come back and 200 years to grow to the size before they were burned. Most of them were tall evergreen trees. The air in Bend was bad. We were not sure if we could go out at all, but fortunately we did.
California is in great danger because there’s no break for the trees to come back. There’ll just be flooding even if rain. I don’t know what we can do to just save California, let alone the planet.
It’s not good, Miriam. When we drive to see our son in Eugene I see so many dead trees adding to this.
Your words: “A rain dance in the forest becomes a prayer of Hope/Peace/Blessings.” I wish you all that and miracles. Thanks for the lovely words. I wish you rain too. xoxo
Thank you, Selma 🙂 I will always be rooting for those miracles and rain. Xoxo
This speaks so vividly, Denise, both the prose paragraph and the verse. I pray that spring will bring the rain you need.
Thank you, Mae. This is a favorite way to write. Fingers crossed spring treats us well.
Wish I could send you some of our rain! Lovely response to the prompt, Denise. Wonderfully vivid 💕🙂
That would be so wonderful if you could! Thank you, Harmony 🙂 xo
You have such a beautiful way with words, Denise. Thank you for sharing with us. <3
Thank you, Mar 🙂 Your kind words make me smile. Xo
Beautiful response to the prompt Denise. I like how you drop hints of green and yearn for rain… lovely images!
Thank you, Balroop! I do hope some rain visits soon.
I love your halibun, Denise. It tugged at my heart and pulled me into nature’s nector. Lovely metaphor. 💗
Thank you, Gwen 🙂 Nothing like nature’s nectar.
Absolutely love this, Denise! I also love how the picture is almost completely devoid of color. 🙂
Thank you, Yvette 🙂 I was thrilled to find this picture.
That is a heart wrenching haibun. It reads like a prayer. I sincerely hope your prayers are answered. Where are you?
Thank you. I hope they are too. Northern California, we live in the forest.
Very well done, Denise. The photo and the verse were perfectly paired.
Thank you, Karen. I was lucky to find this picture.
This is lovely, Denise. I am sorry you are still in a drought, it is awful when it doesn’t rain.
Thank you, Robbie 🙂 Yes, the rain is so soothing and life giving.
I’m sorry to hear about the dry conditions, Denise. I loved your poem, though, especially this line, rain…mother nature’s nectar.
Thanks, Mark. We are having a bit of a reprieve today, which is nice.
This is so true, Denise. Ya know, Jews around the world pray for rain in Israel to come in the winter season… we need it desperately here in the Middle East!
-David
My hope and prayers are that everyone who needs rain—gets it! Thank you, David 🙂
beautiful infusion of nature.
Thank you, Jude 🙂
Exquisite poetry, Denise. I loved this, both the prose and the haiku. Keep up the raindance and rejoice when it comes.
Thank you, Diana 🙂 I love to do a thank you dance in the rain. We got dome sprinkles here finally. Hope you are getting more up North!
We are, but not like other years when it rains right through May and into June.
A lovely response to the prompt Denise. Wishing rain comes your way and hope the poor trees are spared.
Thank you, Marje 🙂 I’m hoping April and May brings us some of that rain at least for the trees.
I hope so Denise! X