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She gathers feathers.
Those of swans or maybe egrets. Both birds from Japan, which grace her river. Both birds are pure white, so she is never sure from which of these two avian creatures each has been released. |
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The central part of every feather, called the rachis, proves quite supple, so she starts creating ensō
from the plumes. Traditionally the ensō, or rough circle, either closed or insufficiently completed, leaving a small gap, is made by just one brushstroke of ink. But she begins to make them, merely moulding feathers into slightly imperfected circles, where the barbules fail to meet and leave a gap through which imagination can escape the void within. Each one is unique.
moon on water
never gazed through
twice
from the plumes. Traditionally the ensō, or rough circle, either closed or insufficiently completed, leaving a small gap, is made by just one brushstroke of ink. But she begins to make them, merely moulding feathers into slightly imperfected circles, where the barbules fail to meet and leave a gap through which imagination can escape the void within. Each one is unique.
moon on water
never gazed through
twice
Diana Webb has been writing haiku for 30 years. She edits the print journal 'Time Haiku ' and is occasionally guest editor for the online haibun journal 'Drifting Sands'. Her four haibun collections have been published by Hub Editions and Alba Publishing, and her most recent collection 'White Coat on Peg,' which includes the best of her haiku from the last 20 years and her most recent haibun , is published by The Magic Pen Press. Diana has won both the haibun award from the British Haiku Society, of which she is an active member, and the Genjuan haibun contest.
Illustrations by Linda Gould
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