The Old House

It is an old house that has not been lived in for quite some time and now sits unattended. The large empty rooms are dusty with dirty windows that reach the floor. In what would have been the dining room, there is a rusty button mounted in the floor once used to summon staff from the kitchen. The kitchen, devoid of modern appliances, sits in shambles. Behind the house is a swimming pool with water that is now black.

dreaming of days past
a tired building sits and waits . . .
spirit languishing

I was young when we visited this house with my parents and grandparents. My memories of it are clear, yet I am the only one who remembers it. Could this place just be a childhood dream that has remained vivid all these years? Or could this be a place, which to a young boy, was too fascinating to forget.

in the still of night
drifting on the edge of sleep . . .
faint rememberings


— Dan Hardison


Photo by Dan Hardison
Tellico Plains, Tennessee


Haibun, Contemporary Haibun Online - October 2013, vol 9 no 3

Dawn of Autumn

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Cookeville, Tennessee


World Haiku Association, Oct 2013

Young Again

It is time to leave the hospital and we decide to have dinner down the street before making the long drive home. It has been a long day and we just want a light meal somewhere quiet. As we finish our meal, my sister asks if anyone is thinking about dessert. “There’s an ice cream shop two doors down,” she says. He immediately looks up and with a sheepish grin and a twinkle in his eye says, “ice cream sounds good to me.” We walk the short distance and enjoy a round of ice cream. As we make our way back to the car, he is eighty years young.

rain puddle . . .
stepping cautiously
through childhood


— Dan Hardison


Photo by Dan Hardison
Wilmington, North Carolina


Haibun, Contemporary Haibun Online - October 2013, vol 9 no 3

Prelude to Harvest

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Hendersonville, North Carolina


World Haiku Association, Sep 2013

Antiques & Collectables

Walking along a downtown street, a window caught my eye. “Antiques and Collectables” read the sign above. There was a rocking chair, a baby carriage, a chair just right for a child, a glass lamp, a toy car, a pretty little doll, figurines, old magazines, and faded photographs. Old things, sentimental things, all cherished possessions once.

clock on the wall
ticking away the time . . .
gone forever


— Dan Hardison


Photo by Dan Hardison
Wilmington, North Carolina


Haibun, Simply Haiku - Spring 2011

Harbinger

Cinquin and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Red Clay State Park, Tennessee


Sketchbook, Jan/Feb 2012

Summer Rain

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Wilmington, North Carolina


Sketchbook, Jul/Aug 2011 - Vol 6, No 3

Drops of Rain

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Wilmington, North Carolina


World Haiku Association, July 2013

Passage of Time

I remember her as a toddler – spindly legs and small for her age. We would go on walks together and when she tired, I would carry her on my shoulders. Then came adolescence and she worried about her weight and looks, but I knew it was just a phase as she passed into a pretty teen. Now she is starting college and talking about what she wants to do with her life. I look at this beautiful young woman, who is now taller than me, and I realize just how far we both have come.

growth rings of a tree
telling the passage of time . . .
marks on a doorframe


— Dan Hardison


Photo by Dan Hardison
Wilmington, North Carolina


Haibun, Contemporary Haibun Online - July 2013, vol 9 no 2

Footprints in the Sand

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina


World Haiku Association, June 2013

Days of Summer

Before plastic bottles, soft drinks (also known as soda pop) came in glass bottles. To encourage their reuse, the empty glass bottles could be returned for a deposit. But even with its bounty, glass bottles could still end up along the roadsides much as their plastic counterparts do today.

As a kid, we would bicycle down the road and collect these discarded bottles, and return them to a grocery store for their reward. Then we would buy candy and baseball trading cards with our newfound wealth.

clap, clap of cards
on the spokes of bicycles . . .
days of summer


— Dan Hardison


Photo by Dan Hardison
Brunswick County, North Carolina


Haibun, Contemporary Haibun Online - April 2013, vol 9 no 1

Smell of Coming Rain

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Maury County, Tennessee


World Haiku Association, May 2013

Evening Fog

Cinquin and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Balsam, North Carolina


Cinquin, Sketchbook - Nov/Dec 2010

Awakening Song

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Wilmington, North Carolina


World Haiku Association, Apr 2013

Serendipity

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Columbia, Tennessee


Sketchbook - Jul/Aug 2011

Redwood of the East

All along the Appalachians, the American chestnut stood. A towering tree as wide as a man is tall, with a canopy of blossoms like snow in springtime. From fences to tannin, from furniture to cabins, with a nut that was prized by wildlife and man, this forest wonder was valued by all. But like an unseen fire, a disease from afar would imperil this American treasure. From the North to the South the destruction was spread until a ghostly forest was all that was left.

whisper of a moon
fading from night’s empty sky . . .
thoughts of yesterday

It has been many years since the American chestnut reigned with only bleak reminders of this once great tree. But there are those who are hopeful that the day will come when the American chestnut will grace these mountains once again.

something in the air
riding on the winds of change . . .
a new beginning


— Dan Hardison


Photo by Dan Hardison
Blue Ridge Mountains, Western North Carolina


Haibun, Contemporary Haibun Online - April 2013, vol 9 no 1

Liminal Days

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Chattanooga, Tennessee


World Haiku Association, Mar 2013

The Cascading Stream

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Cookeville, Tennessee


Sketchbook - Jul/Aug 2011

Embraced

The symbolism of the circle can be traced through ancient history and all cultures, and is usually connected with nature and the concept of being inclusive or continuous. Our lives are reflected in nature's life cycle and the circle -- both physical and spiritual. The Celtic knot, often referred to as the mystic or endless knot, draws on this inspiration by having neither a beginning nor an end. Overall, it gives a sense of continuity, while its interlacing segments suggest being interconnected. The Celtic knot, like the circle, is all encompassing -- not bound but embraced.

children playing
in the warmth of springtime . . .
liminal days


— Dan Hardison


Image: Pastel rubbing from a carved wood block


Haibun, Contemporary Haibun Online - July 2012, vol 8 no 2

Last Rose of Summer

Haiku and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Cookeville, Tennessee


World Haiku Association, Jan 2013

Wintry Day

Tanka and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Bledsoe County, Tennessee


Tanka, Sketchbook - Sep/Oct 2010

White World

Cinquain and image by Dan Hardison
Photo: Wilmington, North Carolina


Cinquain, Sketchbook - Jan/Feb 2011