Simply Haiku: An
E-Journal of Haiku and Related Forms
Patricia
Rosie Stalker:
Haibun THE COLDEST JOURNEY
I take him into the hospital .......................again my son has Hodgkin’s disease .........................................no known cure they say the radium will give him an extra few months is this cause for celebration? ......................................................he
is eight years old he looks small in that bed, skin the colour of the sheets he cries and begs to come home I want to stay with him ..................................three
other children wait at home dark winter I
make my way to the bus stop .........................cheeks
already wet sliding
over to the window I stare into blackness he has been ill for two years how
much more can his body endure? the bus rumbles on I
dry my eyes someone sits next to me why here? so many other empty seats, damn you ..........................I
keep my face to the window A feeling of warmth gradually spreads over me — it is coming from the person
beside me — I
begin to feel calm as my crying subsides ................................................for the first time since this all began ...........................................................I
am at peace I turn to look at my fellow passenger
.................................................through the window .................................................a fragment .................................................of the waning moon .................................................for now .................................................the storm is over 1st place Haibun Contest, Yellow Moon, Issue 13, 2003. First published in Yellow Moon, 13, Winter 2003. Patricia Rosie Stalker was born in Manchester, England in 1940. Trained as a Registered Nurse, and Midwife. Spent one year in Chicago and three years in New York. Moved to Australia, spent thirteen years in the Air Force. Retired from the work force in 2001, and moved to the far north coast of New South Wales. Joined a creative writing and poetry class, and was fortunate enough to be taught the Japanese form by Janice Bostok. |