Poetry Corner: Walking at Night

POETRY CORNER

– 7/06/16

♣ We welcome and encourage your response especially in the form of short poems. You may reply by leaving a comment below.

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Barbara Kaufmann

Haiga by Barbara Kaufmann.

Barbara Kaufmann, who lives on Long Island in NY, has no more babies to walk but finds strolling at night, under the stars, one of the many pleasures of retirement. When the children were babies, she lived in Connecticut and Massachusetts where the night sky once revealed an amazing aurora borealis!

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Maryam Pourrahimi

The Man with his Ney

As I was standing by the window looking at the night sky, and the stars which were appearing one by one, I heard the sound of the flute of a man who was playing it at our street. It is nothing strange here at our street. many young and people come to this street at different times of the day and night, and start to play their instruments. some have Tar or Setar, some have violin, some guitar, and some of them sing at the same time as they play the instrument. my most favorite is flute specially if I hear it at night while everywhere is dark and silent, just like tonight. some bats are flying among the branches of the green tree in front of the window and the stars at sky are shining more brightly now.

walking at night
a man and his flute
commune with the stars

Poet Maryam Pourrahimi (Mrym Prhm) lives in Khorasan-Mashhad, Iran. She says “the kind of flute the man is using is a Persian Ney, mostly used by the shepherds when taking care of their cattle in the mountains. They always walk from street to street. And people who hear the song go to give them money. I usually listen to them from the window pane and If I am not too tired and I have money ready at hand I walk downstairs and give them money.”

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Fountain at Pasadena Water and Power, on Fair Oaks at Glenarm, shortly after it opened on Christmas Eve, 1938, electrically designed by Sharon Hawley’s uncle Knowlton Root Birge (Photo – private collection of Sharon Hawley).

Roy Kindelberger

meteor shower
on a midnight walk
stops us at a fountain
cascades upwards and down again
there’s always more

Roy Kindelberger lives in Bothell, WA. He says “Tai chi and long walks make me think of the flow of water in a fountain or a distant meteor shower…A fountain reminds me of Tai Chi or when a poem just flows.

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> The Poetry Corner is hosted by Kathabela Wilson. She says “Maryam’s story touches me personally since Rick and I have visited Iran three times, and walked there at night. It brought back a memory of walking in the mountain garden above Tehran. Lit with colored lights, after dark, families would walk and have picnics at midnight in the summer, when the heat of day was over and the night cool and sparkling, Roy’s tanka echoes my own feelings for Tai Chi and the familiar fountain for those in Pasadena! And so many of us have soothingly walked a baby at night! A surprising poem on our theme by Barbara, and so perfect!”