Winter Afternoon

A splintered tree on a winter’s day, Sonoran Desert, Southern Arizona

~~ 1 ~~

Winter afternoon—
all his broken promises
come back to haunt her.

~~ 2 ~~

Winter afternoon—
her resistance to the cold
is growing weaker.

~~ 3 ~~

winter afternoon—
hearing the forecast with doubt
and great suspicion

~~ 4 ~~

Winter afternoon—
that clown of a weatherman
talks only in lies.

~~ 5 ~~

Winter afternoon—
her defiance of the cold
weakens by the hour.

~~ 6 ~~

Winter afternoon—
something in her soul demands
a bold new action.

~~ 7 ~~

Winter afternoon—
unafraid of the wind chill
she ventures outdoors,
embraced by the great white void
that erases her footsteps.

Haiku and tanka © 2017 by Magical Mystical Teacher


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Posted on January 29, 2017, in 5-7-5, 5-7-5-7-7, Arizona, haiku, Macro Monday 2, Poetry Pantry, Poets United, Sunday's Whirligig, tanka and tagged academic, clown, defiance, demands, doubt, lies, promises, resistance, suspicion, talk, unafraid, void. Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.

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Comments 18

Lisa Greenbow | January 29, 2017 at 8:47 am

Sometimes you just have to look it in the face and stomp it out.

Reply
Gillena Cox | January 29, 2017 at 9:34 am

Warm Wishes

much love…

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Sanaa Rizvi | January 29, 2017 at 9:45 am

Beautiful! Especially no 6 ❤️

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Cressida | January 29, 2017 at 10:40 am

You have captured a winter feel of bleakness.

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Sherry Marr | January 29, 2017 at 11:37 am

From resistance to immersion – a therapeutic path.

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Magaly Guerrero | January 29, 2017 at 11:47 am

I love that she although she’s afraid, she doesn’t falter. Winter will always be a bully, but a warm soul always knows that she can fight back. And when she does, she lives.

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Björn Rudberg (brudberg) | January 29, 2017 at 11:51 am

Winter afternoons in Sweden is very dark and almost night… I long for daylight

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C.C. | January 29, 2017 at 12:00 pm

The repetition of the first line across all of these works so effectively to convey a sense of how long this winter season seems to go on and on. I enjoyed all of this individually as well. Really well written.

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Mary | January 29, 2017 at 1:52 pm

Yes, those broken promises…..hard to forget them in the dead of winter.

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ZQ | January 29, 2017 at 2:32 pm

Whoa! Followed them all into winter’s oblivion… very dramatic.

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Iris | January 29, 2017 at 4:39 pm

This is incredible. I love how you connected them all with the same opening line and then brought it all home with that phenomenal tanka.

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oldegg | January 29, 2017 at 5:03 pm

I felt sorry for the weatherman for he doesn’t lie but merely forecast a likely scenario. Mind you they are pretty good in Australia as we have no high mountain ranges to interfere too much.

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Myrna Rosa | January 29, 2017 at 5:14 pm

Glad she made a decision to resist the cold. Can’t help but think of our political climate.

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Sallie (FullTime-Life) | January 29, 2017 at 9:00 pm

Numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 describe me. (All but the first and last). Your poetry is too beautiful for me to make a joke though and I’m ashamed of myself for doing so.

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Rosemary Nissen-Wade | January 30, 2017 at 12:04 am

Fabulous photo.

I sympathise with your protagonist; hate the cold myself.

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Susan | January 30, 2017 at 1:49 pm

Some of these explorers actually come back to tell us about it. Wow. What does it take for a culture to find a new way forward? I mean, we have Noah’s story and others. But what of today’s people who have snapped away from their homes?

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Pat B | February 1, 2017 at 12:43 am

Loved these haiku that were so connected with the repeating first line. I like how she progressed through the winter afternoons.

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purplepeninportland | February 3, 2017 at 10:20 pm

I like the sort of theme running through these. 1,6, & 7 are my favorites.

Reply