Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Just Another Rainy Day in Summer


First day of Summer was one week ago from yesterday. Yesterday it rained. A rainy day snuggled between all these warm days we’ve had. I didn’t believe the weather reports. I woke up and I believed because my body told me so. I have several headache triggers, one of which is pressure in the air and especially right before it rains. And that’s how I woke up. I took my pills, had my coffee, tried to shake it off. The pressure often begins in my mouth. I can feel this deep pressure between my teeth and gums in this one little corner of my mouth and it works its way down and all around. Sometimes I feel like a boat rocking back and forth; my system gets thrown out of whack. Sometimes medium pressure sometimes high. So the weather and I have always had this intimate relationship. Hot hot days do it too. I feel like a barometer sometimes and although it can be a nuisance, it also makes me appreciate the sensitivity of the body, nature—and the little moments in between.

As I walked out to the parking lot to drive to work I heard the sound of the squirrel—that mischievous chortle he does.  I have not heard his sound in a long while. I looked up in the tree where I heard him, but I could not see him—only my ears could see. I smiled and then my eye met two purple flowers growing from the yard beyond; they seized me and my smiles grew wider.  Thank you squirrel and thank you other cars for not covering the space and for my eyes to meet these two gifts today.

When I looked at the photo this morning, a final gift—a leaf— in the form of a miniature heart in the bottom right corner. It warmed my heart. And it’s these moments that make me forget the pressure, begin turning it out into smooth peace.

7 comments:

keiko amano said...

Rebb,

Our mood does affect our health, but we can't control our mood. If it rains, we have to wait for rain to pass.

The photo reminded me of a famous haiku by Kaga no Chiyo (1703-1775).

A morning glory
stole my well bucket
look for other well

Rebb said...

Keiko, Yes, I think you are right. It is important to wait for the rain to pass. The way that you have said it makes a lot of sense to me right now and may be the words I need to see today.

Thank you for posting the haiku. It’s perfect.

keiko amano said...

Rebb,

Take care of your health.

About your message, it no longer comes in to my email box. That's a good feature to have. hint hint. If you can do that, it will be great.

Rebb said...

Thanks, Keiko.

About the message and email box, do you mean about changing the settings so that no email notifications are sent at all? I may not know about that setting. Thanks for the tip.

keiko amano said...

Rebb,

I just noticed this comment. If I get a notification, I can reply earlier. Have you renovated your blog site or changed security? I don't remember what item, but I think you have changed something. I used to get a notification from your blog once I make a comment.

keiko amano said...

Rebb,

Your followers do not appear on your blog. They disappeared. So, I click "follow" but received the message, "you already follow this blog."

About other translation, a friend of mine sent me a good one she remembered. It is translated by Sam hamill : I don't know the translator.

since morning glories
hold my well bucket hostage,
i beg for water

I love it, but I told her that in haiku, strong words like hostage or beg do not fit. So, I would say, it is a fine Senryu instead of a haiku.

Rebb said...

Keiko, I only looked at the settings, but I did not change anything, at least not to my knowledge. It seems that eblogger has been acting up. I went to your blog and did not see your followers there either.

There is a check box at the bottom of the box where you make comments. I know if you check that, you will then get notifications in your email. I wonder if I also accidentally changed something without realizing it or if eblogger changed something.

Thank you for the other translation. I can see how hostage and beg are strong words for haiku now that you’ve pointed it out.