Banana Blossom ~ #004 April 2014 – Haiga and Haibun for NaPoWriMo and the Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Nature
Spring Reach
new growth rhizomes. on the backyard banana tree. need attention. long over due extras. need to be removed. too many start-ups drain nutrients from each other. i just need one blossom. at a time. to be fruiting.
the first blossom came to maturity about the end of last Summer. it took a year and a half from the time i planted the tree. two years from the time the tree was given to me.
that one planting sent out several other trees. which i let grow. now. early Spring. another tree has blossomed. this blossom has more than doubled the number of bananas on the first tree. i am delighted. however. i need to selectively remove the over surge of new rhizomes that are coming up fast.
i use a machete. it takes me an hour. working in the rain. which begins as i start. thwack. thwack. . . .thwack. i bring one tree at a time down. moving each to the compost pile. i remove 6 or 7 of these new trees. i leave 3 trees standing. including the one now in bloom.
liquid runs from each nip of the machete blade. like a gutter full of water in a rain storm. it is clear—i can not see it. until it dries. dark brown. the stain will not come out of my clothing. no matter how many times i wash or bleach. i wear old clothes. when i work. around banana trees.
i like the fruit. which i can buy in a store. about two pounds (6 or 7 bananas) for $4.00 (local apple banana price). however i also enjoy. the thrill. of banana trees growing. and fruiting. in my yard.
the color. blue-greens to green-yellows. yellows, cream-yellows and oranges. browns. and grays. and of course the deep purple-blues to purple-reds. and sometimes a light patina of blue. and a deep. rich. velvet. red.
shape patterns. repetitions. spirals. delicate forms. subtle and bold lines. repeating. arcing out. lost and found. radiating.
sounds. in the wind. a hushed clattering. soft. muted. light. strong. this song. day or night. in the breeze.
the way a banana tree interacts with rain. catching it in pools and beads and letting go in drip lines and rivulets.
and the amazing way a banana tree simply grows. in sunlight. i like that.
rain muted color
with pen and brush
I reach for Spring
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Altered Photograph Compilation
- 8 x 12 Inches @ 300 ppi
- Digital Drawing and Painting
- iPad 2 Digital Camera
- Top Camera App
- Perfect Effects 8
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 12
This is my response for NaPoWriMo and the Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Nature, April 7, 2014 found on the Lens and Pens by Sally blog. The theme or focus for the 1st Monday of the month is Nature.
My response is in the form of haiga and haibun. Two of the many Haiku and Related Forms in the field of poetry.
- Haibun is prose or poetry (other than haiku) plus one or more haiku.
- Haiga is image which includes haiku as a part of the image—image and haiku as one work.
Below are the Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge themes for each Monday of a month:
- 1st Monday: Nature
- 2nd Monday: Macro
- 3rd Monday: Black and White
- 4th Monday Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Animals, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Objects, Portraiture, Still Life, Street Photography, or Travel).
- 5th Monday: Editing and Processing with Various Apps Using Themes from the Fourth Week (31 March 2014 will be the first challenge for this new theme).
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NaPoWriMo
April is National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) 2014. I hope to contribute at least one poetic writing each day—although I will post these on my blog only as I post (which currently is about 2-4 times a week).
On Sunday (April 6, 2014) I worked in the yard cutting back a variety of overgrowth. The following haibun as well as the first one above (and the photograph) came from this afternoon in the yard. The haibun that follows formed in a comment on the Red Dragonfly blog (which I’ve placed here exactly as it is there). I highly recommend the Red Dragonfly blog if you are interested in Haiku and Related forms. Currently the Red Dragonfly blog is focused on haibun.
My NaPoWriMo response for April 6, 2014:
Spring Cuttings
I do not remember many winters with as many cold days and nights here as this winter. I was surprised the temperature was 68 degrees when I woke last night. when I lived in upstate NY, forsythia on a bank, the edge of the property facing south, always seemed to open early in Spring. I liked that yellow moment. now I’m going outside. to pay attention to long Buddha Belly bamboo. cutting it. the bamboo is in the ground. not potted. so it does not have the characteristic belly of constrained root systems typical of the name. I want to use the bamboo. that is why I’ve let it grow so long. however I am not ready with the materials I would need to follow up on my thoughts—even though I have plenty of ideas in the back of my skull. so it is likely I will just cut it back, as it has grown far across the walk now. maybe cutting some in ways I can use just that way it will be cut. still. I plan to cut bamboo in a few minutes. because. Hawai’i.
bamboo Spring
the leaves brush my face
in the rain
April 6, 2014
Kailua, Hawai’i
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