Category: Haibun

Facing the Sun

On By Al W GalliaIn Beauty, Faith, God, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Louisiana, Nature, Peace, Senryu, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It is only February and yet it feels like spring here in south Louisiana! The smell of early blooming flowers and greening trees lifts my spirit with hope for a good year ahead. I think about the snow and ice just about a days drive north and wonder: Is climate change real and is this the new normal? Whatever the case, I know we cannot control it and thank God for His many blessings, trusting Him to lead me on. Blessings and peace, my friends.

blooming azaleas…
birds at the feeder oblivious
to lawnmower noise

Al Gallia

Mosquitoes Humming

On By Al W GalliaIn Faith, God, Haibun, Haiku, Life, Rustic, Simplicity, UncategorizedLeave a comment 
rain drips
from the thatched roof
smell of cooking rice
Al W Gallia

She lives simply in jungle, subsisting mostly on nature’s sometimes meager bounty. Hers is a never ending hard life with very little time for leisure activities as she must provide for her children and aging parents. She has no electricity or other utility services. Her husband is seldom home.

steaming heat…
in the bamboo forest
a hacking machete
Al W Gallia

Today, regardless of weather, she hoists her fifty pound basket onto her back and starts her weekly trek to the local marketplace to sell or trade. Her sandals are worn and loose on her feet. Yet she hums and trudges on, thankful for all God has given her.

wild pig squealing…
a jet plane’s contrail above
the jungle canopy
Al W Gallia

And life goes on, as it always has for countless generations around our world.

A Desert Walk

On By Al W GalliaIn Haibun, Haiku, Nature, Rustic, Uncategorized, Walkabout2 Comments

In response to: Your Daily Prompt for March 6: Chafe

The hot dry wind spins the squeaking windmill without rest. The weathered cabin shudders from an unusually hard gust, and a horned lizard in the shade closes its eyes. After drying the sweatband of my hat, I sip from my canteen. It has been a good day.

desert trail…
the hot sand inside my boots
chafing my tired feet
Al W Gallia

Still Pond

On By Al W GalliaIn dragonflies, God, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Nature, Peace, Serendipity, Uncategorized3 Comments

Away from life’s busyness and noise, I relish my time of solitude in nature. The day’s stress resides as birds return to their nests and evening’s peaceful quiet settles over the little pond. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings.

passing clouds…
the damselflies like me
need a rest

Al Gallia

Growing Up Realtime

On By Al W GalliaIn Aging, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Nostalgia, Senryu, Uncategorized3 Comments

The 50’s were the time of my teenage years, when life was real, simple and direct. Radio and fuzzy TV! No cable, no computers, no cell or smart phones, no apps, social media, online gaming, or A.I.!

But bikes, local parks, Dairy Queens, drive-in movies, fishing, and realtime friends I could share life with were enough! Blessings and peace, my friends. Pray for our young folks.

fifties diner
whiff of youth’s memories
and bacon
Al Gallia 2023

Is It Spring Yet?

On By Al W GalliaIn Acadiana, Haibun, Haiku, Louisiana, Nature, Uncategorized2 Comments

In the cypress swamp the approach of Spring promises renewal of life and spirit, warming air and water, nesting birds, and budding trees and flowers; all creatures wait in anticipation of rejuvenation. The little blue heron stalks along lapping wavelets, watching… for careless minnows or frogs, its feathers ruffled by the southerly breeze. It is s good time to be alive.

a fresh breeze carries
the smell of bedding fish…
nesting egrets

Al Gallia
Anticipation

Blinded by Greed

On By Al W GalliaIn Death, Haibun, Haiku, Nature, Uncategorized4 Comments

I am proud to have one of my haiku selected for this week’s THF Haiku Dialogue! The theme was ‘failure’… and I felt sure the dung beetle, rolling his hoarded treasure toward home and oblivious to the danger, was surely headed for it! Blessings and peace, my friends.

loud mooing…
the dung beetle blunders
into milling hooves

Al Gallia 2023

Just Us Two

On By Al W GalliaIn Beauty, Haibun, Haiku, Louisiana, Nature, Senryu, Serendipity, Simplicity, Sunset, Thoreau, Uncategorized

quivering sawgrass
focused on the same spot
we wait, the hawk and i

Al W Gallia
Sunrise

How gorgeous the red-shouldered hawk looks in the morning sun, so intent and alert to its environment! Yet it allows me to stare and marvel at its uniqueness and beauty without any apprehension. I am so thankful whenever Serendipity chooses to expose her hidden secrets to me as she did at this moment.

“A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors”

Henry David Thoreau

A Fellow Traveler

On By Al W GalliaIn Faith, God, Haibun, Haiga, Haiku, Life, Nature, Peace, Senryu, Uncategorized

Out of the chill wind, I lean against the sun-warmed brick wall. A brief mid winter warmup lures my thoughts toward coming springtime in south Louisiana.

limp banana leaf
a young anole warms
in the winter sun

feeling the sunlight on my face
I too thank our loving God

Al Gallia 2023

An impatient commuter honks his horn at another car! For the moment, I am brought back into the real world where we humans continue our endless, chaotic struggle of cultures, morals, religions, money and power. But only briefly, as then I let my senses flow back to the blessed solitude, peace, and oneness of God and nature, to the promised hope and deliverance of my Christian faith.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find…”

Matthew 7:7

No Squirrels Out

On By Al W GalliaIn Beauty, Haibun, Haiku, Louisiana, Nature, Sunset, Uncategorized
Winter Interlude
bare cypress quivering…
tireless wavelets scurry
before the icy wind
Al W Gallia 12-31-2022

Lake Martin, Louisiana in the winter! Not an egret, heron, or alligator in sight. Sunsets, cypress trees, blowing moss, shadows… all provide such beautiful settings and colors for poetry and photos. Love it!