Equal Parts Sunflower and Fireplace

Posted bymarialbergPosted inExploring, poetry, promptsTags:, , , , , ,
Equinox Opening by Maria L. Berg 2023
Capturing Fire by Maria L. Berg 2023

Today’s prompt for Haibun Monday at dVerse poets pub is Equinox.

Burning Brightly

In the morning I entered my garden curious to see if the tiny acorn squash had grown, but I couldn’t tell. I picked two small cucumbers, and then saw her bright yellow head held high on her skinny stalk. The first sunflower I’ve ever grown opened the morning of the equinox. As if summer left me goodbye kisses to linger so I would not grieve it’s sudden parting half way through this day. Enraptured I rushed to capture the moment my heart singing. Yet I knew the rains were coming and though yesterday I was swimming, suddenly my behavior changed in curious autumnal ways.

By afternoon I had cleaned the years of soot from the fireplace glass, torn up boxes and crumpled up paper, a rest for the wood I fetched and nestled inside. But to my horror as the flames grew, rising toward the flue, a moth fluttered from inside the overlapped screens. I wished he would fly up the chimney before the flames licked his wings, but somehow he squeezed through an unseen space and flew to the window, his body shivering against the pane. He didn’t flee the cup and paper capsule I used as transport, but flew so fast into the rain, it felt like summer left again.

A day of equals
sunflower and glassed-in fire
both hold me enrapt

Published by marialberg

I am an artist—abstract photographer, fiction writer, and poet—who loves to learn. Experience Writing is where I share my adventures and experiments. Time is precious, and I appreciate that you spend some of your time here, reading and learning along with me. I set up a buy me a coffee account, https://buymeacoffee.com/mariabergw (please copy and paste in your browser) so you can buy me a beverage to support what I do here. It will help a lot.

23 thoughts on “Equal Parts Sunflower and Fireplace”

  4. Wow, Maria. This is beauty in all its forms. Your writing is filled with such emotion – the two scenes you depicted so elegantly reveal much about how you look at life… so positive and full of appreciation. Beautiful, Maria. Very beautiful.

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  8. I want to downplay it and say I have a sappy heart, but why downplay the wish that creatures live? I am happy for that moth. ❤ You had the same reaction as I did, perhaps it’s instinct. I used a tabletop fireplace over the weekend (partly because I wasn’t feeling well and the flame seemed nice with all the rain and cool weather) which I hadn’t used since March. It’s like bring on the pumpkins and autumn. We’re ready. Loved your haibun. Many happy returns for our gardens. 🙂

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  9. I like the grieving and the preparing going on in this. My favorite part: “The first sunflower I’ve ever grown opened the morning of the equinox. As if summer left me goodbye kisses to linger so I would not grieve it’s sudden parting”

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