in the early hours
the nightingale tames its song
a small splendid gift
Kim M. Russell, 13th May 2018
My response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #32 Use That Quote … Florence Nightingale
For this weekend’s meditation, we have an episode of the special feature ‘Use That Quote’. As this weekend is Florence Nightingale’s birthday and nurses all over the world are celebrating the International Nurses Day initiated by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), which is why our challenge is to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired by a quote from Florence Nightingale:
“Live your life while you have it. Life is a splendid gift. There is nothing small in it. Far the greatest things grow by God’s law out of the smallest. But to live your life, you must discipline it.”
writing in north norfolk 
Lovely, Kim.
Here’s an interesting note:
There is no nightingale native to North America, but there are entries in the notes for the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804 that reference the nightingale while on the Missouri River near my current home. (e.g. “…passed a Creek on Lbd Side 15 yd. wide, I call Nightingale Creek. this Bird Sang all last night and is the first of the kind I ever herd, [3] below this Creek and the last…”)
https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-06-04
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Thank you so much for the link, Ken. We have such a variety of birds in our wild garden and I’m delighted to have heard a nightingale. They are, however, difficult to spot.
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I like your haiku especially because you mentioned the nightingale in it. Your words show who Florence Nightngale was … always ready to help. Awesome …!
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Thank you, Kristjaan!
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‘tames its song’ – so deep meaning here, love your haiku
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Thank you!
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