A Companion

Moments and miles in a haibun

a forestbather in ukraine
2 min readOct 28, 2021

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This morning when I packed my bags I had a sudden need for company. The cows had been taken down from their summer pastures, and horses grazed in the fields with blankets over their backs. My presence seemed superfluous, all the more so as I was just passing through. So was the season. The last of summer was etching away in the colours of the leaves, and the forests were nearly silent of migrating birds. I felt weary, as if I had a great distance to travel, and the chirps of grasshoppers no longer bade me farewell in the morning. And then in a meadow I saw I was not the only one on a journey.

What is a haibun?

a piece of tight, descriptive prose, not a narrative but more a recital

the thoughts of the writer, without ANY dialogue or interaction between persons — it is a haibun not a story or scene

often can be thought of as a diary or journal entry

can have elements of nature, journey or travel

finishes with a short piece of poetry, haiku or orher — cultivating the relationship between poetry and prose is an art

the poetry should be in different typeset to further highlight the difference for the reader impact

  • For:
  • https://dversepoets.com/2021/10/28/open-link-night-302/#comment-313717

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