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Fireflies below Goat Hill

(haibun excerpted from e-mails with friend Sylvia)


Did end up doing the Goat Hill walk again last night. Set a slower pace than the 2 major treks last week, although still did it in about 1½ hours. The sky was overcast with rain clouds, so I didn't expect the same magic as experienced on Thursday with the "Green Tara" sunset. But nature always rewards those who visit ... when I got to the foot of Goat Hill, the swampy fields were full of fireflies zipping around. They more than made up for the lack of stars:

no stars
as scudding clouds depart:
fireflies everywhere!

Sylvia replied, "Great haiku! I love it! ... probably because I've always found fireflies fascinating."

Her enthusiasm made me further reflect:

brief cosmos
the mating rituals
of fireflies

I had been doing the walk in the beginning stages of meditation - starting with shamanistic awareness, then gradually raising meditative energy and entering the next realm. Hiking in this state of awareness, I had been surprised by the mysterious flickerings:

night walking
in mild meditation:
fireflies ground me

These lighthearted reflections on fireflies and their rituals inspired the final poem:

Zen monk
playing hide and seek
with his soul



Chris Faiers
"Cricket"
Box 69
Marmora, Ontario, Canada
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revised 4 December 2007
URL http://www.eelpie.org/cricket/fireflies.htm