The Friday Fictioneers virtually gather each Friday (and often on Wednesday and Thursday as well) to publish their 100-word pieces inspired by a picture prompt posted by Madison Woods on her blog. New writers are always welcome and you can read any or all of the other entries by clicking on the link at the end of my piece. The photo this week is by Sandra Cook.
The Journey
Life in eight haiku
Young and filled with hope
Gentle smooth wide path beckons
Birds singing in trees
Walking together
Joyful talk with much laughter
Sturdy trees grow close
Dangerous trail now
So slippery and narrow
Easy to plunge off
When I trip or fall
Your hands help me rise again
Sun’s rays warm us both
Dark verdant foliage
Tempting us to turn aside
Onto wayward path
Weary from our walk
Searching for flowered meadow
Welcome refreshment
Dark clouds overhead
Continuing side by side
Weathering the storms
Long journey ending
We reach the top together
Home awaits us there
This, that and the other thing 
This is beautiful poem…i appreciate the brilliant format too. Very well done, vivid imagery
Thanks very much, Boomie. I’ve been thinking about doing a set of haiku for some time but it just wasn’t the right time until today. Wasn’t sure how it would be received, though, 🙂
I have always wanted to do it too but not sure if i could keep up like you did. I think this prompt was the perfect one for a form like that. I really enjoyed it, and they flowed well into a whole poem :).
I think you’re right that the prompt was perfect–the Asian picture, perhaps. I started with a few verses, then tried to work my way through a journey/life, alternating good and bad (or possibly bad) until the end. I wasn’t sure how many verses I’d be able to get in, but it was just the right amount to get me through without having to stretch the story. I’m pleased that it worked and that other people enjoyed it. For awhile, Bill was doing a haiku every day it seemed and I was giving him grief about doing an easy post with a haiku. It’s a lot harder to do this many, but it was fun. Can’t tell you how many times I went over it, tweaking a word or two here and there or moving a verse. It was fun. You do a very good job with poetry yourself, so I particularly appreciate your comments.
Very successful haiku–and sensitive treatment of your subject matter as well. Lovely.
Thank you!
Hi Janet,
You had me going. I thought for sure something bad was going to happen so it was a pleasant surprise to reach a happy conclusion. Nice job of syncing the form to the photo. Ron
Thanks, Ron. I know the evil twist at the end is popular and I’ve used it, but I tend to be upbeat and have to work harder to do the evil thing.
Wow. That was great. Smooth and lyrical. The haiku format is obviously perfect.
I liked:
When I trip or fall
Your hands help me rise again.
Since there are eight stanzas and this is a “life’s journey”, I took the liberty of interpreting each stanza as a decade in life.
And reading your post above, haiku is not easy, and I liked that you wrote that you worked on it. It is obvious that you put much effort into it.
To use some of your words, your poem was verdant, tempting, and a journey which takes us all home… Randy
Thanks so much, Randy. It means a lot to me coming from you.
A lovely metaphor, a meaningful and eventful journey. Very nicely done!
Thank you, Jan. Appreciate your time and compliment.
Beautiful metaphoric take on the prompt. Mine is here: http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/fridayfictioneers-my-dream/
Thanks for reading and commenting. I’m almost to you. 🙂
love the haiku I am always trying it but never think it is good enough but this is beautiful love the eight stanzas to tell the story.
Thanks so much! Mine don’t always work as well as I’d like; hence the many re-do’s of this. 🙂
each haiku flows so wonderfully into the next. Great job 🙂
Thanks, Carrie. I look forward to yours….but not until morning! 🙂
I like the idea of having connected haikus. It definitely brings something unique to that form of writing, and yours flows so well that I probably wouldn’t have noticed they were haikus if you hadn’t mentioned that they were.
What a nice compliment. Thanks.
i like when a poem can be about two things at the same time.
Glad you caught that, Rich.
i had the easy part. you had the hard part.
OK what am I missing here other than the individual journey and the relationship between two people (or spirits).
It can be a simple journey from one point to another or a life’s journey from marriage to the later years or even death.
That was an original take – a series of eight haiku. Really well done – I enjoyed it.
I hope it did justice to your beautiful picture.
Very much so, thank you.
A really nice take on the prompt. Good progression. Left me feeling good. Can’t say that about mine. I just couldn’t keep from going to the dark side. 27 this week.
Thanks, Rochelle. As you’ve probably noticed, I tend towards the more upbeat side, but that keeps life interesting. Once I’m up and have eaten (and maybe done a bit of work), I’ll do some more reading. Real life really interferes!
I love haiku, and this is brilliant! Thank you!
Here’s mine: http://unexpectedpaths.com/friday-fictioneers/dukkha/
Thanks so much. I’m off to lift some weights and have some breakfast but I look forward to reading yours and more later in the morning.
I never get tired of happy endings, Janet. I used to write serious, sober poetry. Then I discovered I could write silly stuff and make people smile. This one made me smile 🙂
Smiling is good, so I greatly appreciate you making me do it weekly. 🙂
I’ve read this four times already and each time I love it even more. What a wonderful piece!!
Thank you so much, John. I very much appreciate the compliment.
Ahhh. This was a beautiful, comforting poem. Much soul-soothing there.
Thank you. Always glad to soothe souls.
It was breathtaking.
I am number 44 this week
Thanks, Yaral. I just finished reading and commenting on yours. Thanks for stopping by, reading and commenting.
Beautiful poem. Nice imagery. I could feel a sense of their journey together.
Thanks.
This was a great way to approach the prompt – and the suggestion of a life cycle, paralleling the journey up the hill and through the gate, was a nice touch. It was subtle, but still perfectly clear. Nice!
Thank you, Brian. Glad to know I managed to do what I hoped to do.
Nice job! Could be an afternoon, could be a life, most likely a little of both. I appreciate poetry though my best efforts to write it always start with “There once was a man from ….” and descend rapidly from there. Very interesting work …
Thanks, Perry. Limericks can be fun, too. 🙂
Beautiful poem, nice imagery and well suited to the prompt.
http://adrarasdreams.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/fridayfictioneers-gate.html
Thanks. I enjoyed yours, too.
Great poetry…A smooth reading the whole way.
“Walking together
Joyful talk with much laughter
Sturdy trees grow close”
I love the the strength friendship and shared experience you bring out in that haiku.
Thanks for stopping by my page http://blog.tompoet.com/?p=470
Thanks for the return visit, Tom, and I’m glad you enjoyed the poem. I enjoyed visiting you as well and look forward to many more visits back and forth.
beautiful poem, beautiful heart, beautiful person
I’m glad you think so! 🙂
🙂
I love the way you make the changes in the path and the weather into a metaphor!
Thanks, Sharon. Glad you stopped by. Bill and I will be making a flying trip to Philly Friday-Sunday. I’ll wave in your direction (although I realized I don’t know which direction you are from downtown.) 🙂
East!
Have a great trip. 😀
A wonderful metaphor for life. I enjoyed it!
That makes me happy, Jan. Thanks for letting me know.
Really enjoyed this…I love that you chose to do your 100 words in haiku…very creative and well done. This journey, for me, first started out with two people taking a walk and then switched over to a life’s path…and supporting each other along the way. Our interpretations can be so varied…depending on our personal perceptions. That’s a very cool photo too.
Here’s a similar write that I did written in haiku and one tanka: http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/a-walk-in-haiku/
And I see that your name is Janet…I always like to know a name…if I can…
Gayle, that’s beautiful! I want to read more of your poetry and plan to stop by your blog again. We get a different photo each week, which makes things interesting. If you feel like giving me poetry feedback, click on my pull-down category link to find the poetry. I found some of my poems from many years ago and am gradually posting them.
Thanks so much…I’m glad you liked it. I’m a real newbie at poetry but do enjoy learning and trying new forms (there are so many!). Janet, could you provide me the link to where the Friday Fictioneers meet? I’m not familiar with Madison Woods.
P.S. Am in the middle of packing and moving so may be mostly not blogging for the next few weeks…but may be able to join in if I can manage.
Sure, Gayle. On Wednesday (usually the post is up by then), go to http://madison-woods.com/blog/ and check for the picture that serves as a post. Once everything is live, you can add the link at the bottom of your post (at the bottom of the FF post) and post your submission. It’s fairly self-explanatory (and if I can figure it out, you can, too) but if you have a problem, shoot me an email or comment. It’s a great group of people/writers and lots of fun, if sometimes a bit overwhelming. 🙂 Where are you moving from and to (if you don’t mind me asking)? I’m working on getting our Cleveland house ready to put on the market so that I can move to Naperville to join Bill after four years!! Good luck with all the moving and packing!
Thanks for the link, Janet…that’s helpful.
I live in Winter Park which is right outside of Orlando, FL where I was born and raised. My oldest daughter just gave birth to my first grandchild…a little girl about four weeks ago now. When she became pregnant she asked if I would move near them to take care of the baby when she returns to work. Well, I’m jumping at this opportunity…nothing would please me more. Both of my daughters live close to each other in the eastern coastal town of Sebastian…about 90 minutes from where I live now. So I’m packing up and will be taking off in a couple of weeks or so. I haven’t done this kind of thing in a long time…and am leaving my elderly mother and a sister behind. But, we’re not so far away that we can’t visit.
Now I’m curious as to what kept you and your husband apart for four years… And good luck with your move too!
I can’t resist, here’s a posting that I did with some photos of little Mira when she was born: http://bodhirose.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/mira-jaya/
What a cutie! And you look great, too. :-). I imagine you can’t wait to get there and do some spoiling.
Thank you, Janet…no, I can’t wait. 🙂
Another beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Shirley.
Great idea, tea, and well-executed too. I think you really have some of the life-phases captured beautifully here. The last line is my favourite.
Thanks, both for your reading time and the comments. I didn’t even realize until later that the haiku story was with an Oriental prompt! Fortuitous happenstance. 🙂
Dear Janet,
I was with you all the way on this one. Lovely haiku linked to love.
Aloha,
Doug
Praise from the praiseworthy. 🙂
Sorry to be so late reading back on your stories. I have been behind on some reading. These are very pretty little bits of phrases that roll together very nice into one big piece. I have not done much in haiku but know they can be hard to do. Your images and words work well together, Very nice.
Thanks, Joyce. I don’t mind that you’re “late”. Real life take precedent. So glad you like it.
Wow, you surely must take great pride in the journey you undertook towards such a compelling creation. You described both the tribulations and revelries of a life together. Thank you so much for sharing your link with me so I could walk along and enjoy this path with you. -j
Happy to share and I love hearing that you liked it. It was fun to do. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other through Friday Fictioneers!
janet
[…] As a Christmas present, here’s a 100-word haiku I did over a year ago in a Friday Fictioneers response to a photo prompt of a shrine at the top of a hill. The original post is here: https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/friday-fictioneers-the-journey/. […]
[…] under two years ago, my Friday Fictioneers story was told in eight haiku, adding up to exactly one hundred words as well. As I’ve learned […]