WORMHOLES

‘Granny, could the dragon belch out fire?’
‘Of course it could, and it often did.’
‘Didn’t they try to defeat it?’
‘Lots of brave knights did try but nobody was smart enough.’
‘I’d put the dragon’s flames out with a fire plane.’
‘I’m sure you would my dear, but the poor knights didn’t have any then.’

cherry breeze
an old man in the park
puffs a dragon pipe

ONEthesunisrising
TWOwhatanawesomeview
THREEwishyoucouldseeit
FOURwonderwhatyou’redoing
FIVEtheicysummitdomeglitterswithsunlight
SIXpuffing
SEVENjustafewstepsmore
EIGHTandi’llreachthepeak
NINEit’stheninthstepormaybethetenth
TENmorepuffing
ELEVENheartbeatineverypartofmybody
TWELVEthelefttrekkingpole’sstillcreaking
THIRTEENisitthesummitcross
FOURTEENexactly
FIFTEEN...
SIXTEENyeah!
NOMORESTEPSthetop!

deadly hush
my shadow wades
in the clouds below

The world full of colours opened out just behind the park gate.
The passage of time sparkled with the rich palette of
shades of brown, ochre, red, pastel and yellow.
With each gust of wind,
one or two leaves took the first,
and at the same time the last,
short flight from the branch to the ground.
It reminded me of carefree dreams from my childhood,
when I had wanted to become a pilot so much.

fresh contrail
gossamer threads
caught in the fence

HOSPICE PATIENT’S RECORD
SYMPTOMS: progressive loss of cognitive ability
DIAGNOSIS: senile dementia
TREATMENT: none
MANAGEMENT: palliative care, providing with comfort

absent look
the temperature chart
mountain-shaped

Note: The haibun was inspired by a Joe Satriani’s song titled “Wormhole Wizards” (Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, Strange Beautiful Music/ASCAP 2010).

FASTER AND FASTER

20,000 years on average from the Sun’s core to its surface.
About 8 minutes and 18 seconds from the Sun to Moon.
One more second from the Moon to Earth.

crisp night
the shiver of moonlight
in her eyes

In a flash from her eyes to mine.

MIDSUMMER SECRET

We left the stuffy mountain hostel to catch some Perseids. I don’t remember what we were talking about while walking along a winding path through the dark forest. I simply followed the jasmine scent of her hair. Yet I do remember the warmth of breathless breaths and the only wish I made at the mountain tarn, softly illuminated by the Milky Way.

falling star
the first few steps
in a child’s path

ASTEROID

Surfing through TV channels, I come across a programme on the circumstances of life’s appearance on the Earth. A scientist explains that life came into existence as a result of an asteroid plunging into an ocean. That event generated sufficient energy to bond chemical elements of the ocean with the iron of the asteroid which in turn caused the appearance of bricks of life – amino acids.

night spring rain
the pitter-patter
between whispers

PHANTOMS OF THE THEATRE

The last rumble of voices fades out with the lights. The theatre hall plunges into a muted anticipation of the unknown.

silence in darkness—
a
few
rows
behind
coughing

During the interval, a feast of ringtones resounds through the foyer. Whereas the large mirrors, spanning each wall of the spacious restroom, capture the images of all who pass by.

in the mirror
my reflection
in the mirror
my reflection
in the mirror
my reflection
in the mirror

The restroom seems to stretch along the line of successive reflections deep into the mirrors. The third bell, inviting to the last act of the play, ceases this micro time travel within the framework of lights.

I smile
to myself
from the past
to myself
I smile

DÉJÀ VU

It was a usual day, somewhere in the middle of the week. The entrance door creaked as if saying: “Keep away from here!” The empty waiting room greeted me with the pleasant coolness of air conditioning. Everything seemed to be in its place—a round low table in the centre of the room, colourful out-of-date magazines and comfortable sofas. I stopped near one of the sofas, sat down and waited for the doctor’s invitation to the surgery, where my decayed aching tooth was to be treated. There was a calendar hanging on the wall, near the clock. Somehow a calendar in any waiting room shows pretty women. This one wasn’t an exception. Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tear a page out and it still hung in the previous month. The shrill sound of drilling was coming from behind the door of the treatment room. I consoled myself with the thought that my friend, who had recommended the dentist to me, was sure that exactly that dentist was the right person to solve my tooth problem. Out of boredom, I started thumbing through the nearest magazine but, more or less in the middle, I put it back in disgust. The sound of drilling stopped and the time of my appointment approached inexorably. I glanced at the clock on the wall and suddenly felt that I had seen all that before.

THE GARDEN OF CHILDHOOD

After many years, by sheer coincidence, I’ve found myself again in the garden which once belonged to my grandma. The place was surrounded by a high dense hedge which separated the garden from the outside world pretty effectively. I used to spend there a lot of time as a kid. I hid my treasures, crept up on cats, fed cross spiders ants, played different games with my friends. This garden was my enclave, microcosm, where I knew every stone, blade of grass, ants’ nest or spider’s web.

throbbing temples
the mist flows down
the nearby ridges