may june morning evening, from "off~the~wall"

On 6/5/07, Greve wrote:I guess many expect tooooo much of the AHA moment

aha! to me means exactly the moment you know before you roll the ball that this one will be a strike, exactly the moment when you know that you are the master of every double chicane in the race and you can't miss a change of gears, that moment when the herbs and the omelet and the cheese marry, when the sugar in the onions caramelize and the onions become like exquisite fine crystal in the olive oil, when the rose in bloom in your window box is all roses which ever bloomed anywhere, when your son walks in and opens the fridge and takes out the milk and you know he isn't a boy anymore, when you sit at the wheel of an Aston Martin for the first time and know the sound of just touching your own foot to its pedal, the first taste the first time in your life of a Stilton and it just happens to be a perfect Stilton, your boyfriend leaping over the parked car when you show up unexpected, the taste of the first sip of fresh made tea after a long day of fasting in the heat, the sound of a nightingale anywhere anytime, frogs in june under a full moon in a clear sky, fields of fireflies, any tornado anywhere any time if you are close enough to taste it, a perfect surfboard on a perfect wave and you are the only one there to see it, your best friend telling you to go f*** yourself the way he does when you know he is embarrassed by how much he loves you, just any cup of tea any time any where if you really want that cup of tea at that moment, the passing away of your mother, waking up in the hospital after the accident, just about any poem by basho or issa, a Palestinian teenager helping his crippled teenage twin go pee, an Israeli teenager in uniform on a train sitting across from you with sad blue eyes, The Acropolis, the Kaaba in Mecca, Lourdes, a bell in a zen temple in the woods during maple syrup time, the last cup of tea in a sesshin, the little kid at the end of the aisle when she smiles when you wave at her and her surprise, a boy reaching his hand up to take mine and holding it firmly, some odd aha! moments that popped into mind

rain in May thunderstorms and lightning reading some Basho rain in may heather and roses in blossom and even the christmas cactus past midnight reading Basho rain drops drumming the windows two young chinese guys visiting remember being 21 and jim outside the kids playing football i see where my ball went bright green aphids and I spray and spray past midnight reading basho rain drops drum the windows

On 5/21/07, Bill wrote: Isa, in "past midnight," would you consider moving lines 2 & 3? past midnight, ...raindrops drum[ming] the windows, ...reading Basho.

Yes, but the scene is: past midnight reading basho and then: rain drops drum the windows. it's like the rain drops are a gift from Basho...it works better without the "ing" (?)

mother's day, 2007

my mother's laundry
hanging the wash
on Mothers' Day

Mother's Day
so May today
I plant some roses

by Mother's Day
my mother's azaleas
were all in bloom

Pamukkale, Michael and John, at the Four Seasons ... Pamukkale cotton white cliffs towering white clouds Pamukkale is the site of one of the most famous early Anatolian cultures and a religious center, where wool was dyed in highly alkaline spring water which creates cotton white cliffs full of small pools where people still go for water cures downpour lightening and thunder dinner by candlelight climbed up the cliffs too exhausted to take the waters in Pamukkale, the waters run from the springs inside the ancient baths, out over the white alkaline cliffs and gather in pools... it is only during the summer season that people bathe in the outdoor pools and preserved antique spa: the same water in the spa used to be be used by the weavers too to cure special woolen cloth with colors only possible here through the chemical reactions with the waters... especially valuable colors only produced here were reserved for royalty in Greek and Roman times.. ruined temple walls between the stones bright red poppies *busloads of tourists pay their respects to the fallen temples ~~~*busloads of tourists : summertime~~~ paragliders glide on the thermal vents above the cliffs isa in pamukkale

On 6/4/07, ...someone (a fan?) wrote: I loved all this information. "ruined temple walls" is my favorite.

The city is amazingly well preserved for such an ancient place, all the masonry being stone with no apparent cement and no Roman structures or sense of anything Rome anywhere I could see...The Turkish government has also taken down all the tourist trap constructions on the site itself and you are not allowed to wear shoes in the areas where the water runs down the white cliffs, and they have built paths for the tourists to wander safely in and out of the natural alkaline pools. I was really amazed at how much I was NOT in pain, and after walking in 40 degree heat all through noon to 4-5pm, I was still able to walk the next day (yesterday).



That night it finally rained and the electricity went out.



shattering thunder claps
dinner on the patio
by candlelight



cloudless blue morning
boys swimming
breakfast by the pool



my guests going to Greece
watching the bus
turn into the rose bushes



my apple uploading pictures
time to shut down
for the train



train station
old and empty
station master hollers when the train comes



Michael and John stayed at my place for two weeks and went to Ankara, Cappadocia and Antalya before I could catch up with them so I hosted them in Pamukkale. Selcuk and Ephesus would have been to far for me. So, this morning they went off the Ephesus to visit the shrine of Mary (aws) and then ferry to find their friends on an island somewhere in the Aegean. I am too exhausted to go back up to the old city above the cliffs and keep myself busy until the driver comes to take me to the train. Slept the entire way, except for breakfast where I spend almost two hours speaking with interesting strangers and trying to pick up the conversation with the waiter where he had left it off the night before. Mehmet, everybody called him, said how much he wanted to meet and get to know me better. But I guess he slept on it and daylight gives him a better alternative. Tell him where he could find his pictures on the Internet, which brings him a smile to his face, and requests from my fellow travellers too for the URL.

Isa fakir in pamukkale with michael and john [can]

Istanbul

early morning breezes
chicken
cooking in the kitchen

afternoon

suddenly after working for a while I notice I am all alone, and everyone has gone, mid afternoon. Go to the hardware store to look at some pipes to make some open storage systems NYC loft style in my crowded bedroom/office/nest/chilehane/hide-away. i take my cameras and shoot neighborhood color and characters

my son's best friend
stops to help me
bored he says

at the hardware store we buy three white polypropylene pipes and all the fixings

kids in sleeveless shirts
smiling, old folks frowning
shooting neighborhood shops

and an exhaust fan for my room

at home we repair the floor broken by the plumber and my son retrieves the pail he threw away afterwards and washes out the cement

alone again

aroma floats on setting sunlight
arabic style chicken and rice
french herbs and spices


isa in istanbul

morning

guests get home about a quarter after three a.m., after a night on the town, celebrating Ebru's passing her final jury to become a licensed architect, and we talk till dawn, and dance in the front room, and listen to "o sisters let's go down, down to the river to pray" and "death, won't you spare me over til another year" and I say goodnight, sleep tight, as they continue quietly telling jokes and listening to music...

through the kitchen window first light

the morning call to prayer
the birds all in conference
dawn

and the guests and my partner all finally fall asleep



isa in istanbul

Practice is often a fine example. So, you may find it usful to consult this site: http://contemporaryhaibunonline.com/ahhv4.html , john

Dear Isa, When I started writing "my Haibun" I wrote a large amount and then added a haiku or two. But Ray from Contemporary Haibun Online told me to cut it down and
make it in present tense. Also there is a lot of room for exploration in haibun, so I would say experiment and find what works for you. thank you yvonne

Dear Isa, I'm happy to see this Isa. Celebrating until dawn wonderful. thank you.
yvonne

I only know basically Basho. What I have done in the past is more like a ("Bashoesque") travel journal like a weekend trip to Jordan from Palestine, including lots of checkpoints, two weeks in New York including several days at our home in the Catskills,
not travelogue but a journey which resulted in an illumination or three even, distilled in one or three verse and a few paragraphs of images, distributed to friends family and blogged and filed away for future reexamination, love and peace , isa

Dear Isa, It seems to me this works for you, so then why not follow that:) thank you yvonne

Callum: I greatly value some of your insights, I feel there are some real diamonds in your emails, but I also feel they can get lost amongst the rock. Cheers, Callum.

Isa: we all make mistakes sometimes, and obviously this is one. i already apologized for this one. you won't have to worry about it any more. i took care of it. isa.

This is wonderful Isa. And I love your taste in music, too! :-) carole

Your last ku definitely made my hungry for exotic food ... and the rest of your haibun is so graphic, it's almost as if I"m watching it in a film. ella

isa- this is lovely. Best wishes to you. tish

sunday sunrise

my son staggers in

falls asleep

isa, How about: first sunlight, ...my son staggers in, ...falls alseep ~vaughn

thanks for me that's too distant and unfelt , isa

is Sunday an important part of this verse? You could add church bells, or the sound of bells. While the bells play, ...my son staggers in, ...and falls asleep. There certainly are lots of ways to go with this:) thank you yvonne

thanks! not possible in Istanbul, and irrelevant: church bells are so far removed from the meaning it would take the whole existential point away, and make my son a footnote to a church.and the whole theology thing entirely outside the family nexus... son ~ sun is the fulcrum son+sun, the rest is commentary, isa

exhaust fan installed

alone again

i miss john and michael

if not now?...god tells the prophet (saws) “you thought it was your hand that threw the sand when the enemy ran...” if i am for myself... god tells job(aws) that is the way it is, and job(aws) says” i only ever heard about you before, but now i see...”