Tag: Haibun

I’m drinking green tea—not one I brewed myself, but from Starbucks. It’s slightly bitter, astringent on the tongue, from the tea bag steeping too long. But today, I don’t mind. I take small sips to the last drop, savoring it as if it were fine wine. It’s 10 a.m., and a few scattered customers sit…

By the lake, a wooden staircase stood out. It was a simple viewing platform. Something stirred on the water’s surface. From above, through bare shrubs, I glimpsed white specks floating swans. Their feathers gleamed, long necks curved, reflections clear in still water. Some pecked at the surface, others preened, and a few drifted alone. Further…

A quiet morning. The first light of the sun appears. Everything awakens. Mist hovers over the lake, water shimmering. Walking by the lake, she glimpses a white crane standing across the water. Running closer, she crouches down, capturing the moment. A white crane stretches its neck, standing in the shallows. Quietly, carefully. Its gaze fixed…

I stand beneath the osmanthus tree in your humble, old yard, in the seventeenth century, watching you. You lean against the wooden door, eyes fixed on the narrow mud path outside, which still holds the fading footprints of your best friend, Xi Han. A gust of wind sweeps through, stirring a small pile of leaves…

While lightly walking in Lake Crabtree County Park one morning in August, I gathered with my friends. Four of us, dressed in summer clothes, strolled along the vast lake, with many people passing by. They lined up at a pavilion to register for a free two-hour boating session. We came upon a quiet nook where…

We stroll along a small path surrounded by a wooden fence in New Hope Park. The path forms a half-circle around an inclined grassy slope with a shallow pond nestled within. I noticed that a section of the wooden fence has recently fallen to the ground—it wasn’t like this a few days ago. My husband…

I wander along a small path known as the “Poet’s Walk,” lined with lush grasses. Despite it being near my house, I have never been here before. Today, the winding, narrow path beneath my feet ushers me to explore the unknown. On the halfway, I see tall trees with sturdy trunks spreading wide. Vibrant wildflowers…

I’m sitting on a sofa, glimpsing through the window the clear blue sky with some puffy clouds. One big white cloud is forming over the fir trees, shaped like a large pig, and then slowly drifting westward. After a while, the sky darkens but instantly brightens. The fir branches swing in the breeze. Inside the…

The grass becomes lusher and greener after the summer rain. Fir trees gently sway in the breeze, their shadows side by side, overlaying the lawn like rolling little peaks. In the strong sun, a large green dragonfly circles over the grass. I stand under the eaves and watch as it ignores me, flapping its sparkling…

In a bright room, they sit together for breakfast, their arms linked and smiles shining, lighting up everything around them. The two have a special friendship, like sisters. The older lady is American with short white hair, and the younger lady is originally from China with long black hair. She has lived and worked in…