Harvesting the Moon

Although trees are still mostly green, the year is finally turning. Autumn is here:  hedges are crimson with berries; leaves are yellowing, and the year is fading to brown. In the air, there is already a taste of frost. I find myself willing leaves to change colour and fall, so that I can crunch them underfoot and inhale the sweet smell of decay. Mushrooms and toadstools abound, some are bright splashes of colour, attracting worms and beetles. And in a few days’ time, fading storm clouds will be backlit by the moon, orange and cheerful like a pumpkin in the sky.

by light of the moon
harvesting the falling leaves
a brittle landscape

Kim M. Russell, 28th September 2020

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Haibun Monday: To the Moon!

Frank is our host this Monday, with a lunar prompt to celebrate the moon.  The reason for this prompt is October, which is going to have two full moons: the Harvest moon on October 1st and, on Halloween, the Hunter’s moon.

Frank reminds us that the moon is a traditional autumn kigo and that there are kigo for the Harvest Moon, as well as for the nights preceding and following it. He has also poems inspired by the moon, by Robert Louis Stevenson and Florence Ripley Mastin, and a haiku by Matsuo Basho.

Frank invites us to write haibun in which we use the word ‘moon’, alluding to whatever context we find most meaningful, remembering to include a seasonal reference, and a complement of divergent images that provokes insight.

54 thoughts on “Harvesting the Moon”

  4. I love the Autumn too. It’s such an enjoyable, cool season. You describe its essence perfectly here, Kim:

    “Autumn is here: hedges are crimson with berries; leaves are yellowing, and the year is fading to brown. In the air, there is already a taste of frost.”

    The taste of frost… So descriptive! I can imagine the coldness that strikes right before the Winter season. Another beautiful, well written piece. It’s quite lovely.

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  5. There is so much to love about Autumn, and you capture that sensual experience which it offers so well here. I must remember to count each Autumn blessing and keep the blues at bay!

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  6. I can’t decide whether I love Autumn more or this haibun! This is absolutely stunning in terms of language and emotions that come with the season. 💝

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  9. I like autumn for many of the reasons you cite, it’s just that wily weasel Winter, comes in roaring, stripping trees bare, coating us with ice and snow that raises my ire, and gets my goat.

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  24. You depict such lovely images of autumn (and its crackling sounds). That’s the part of autumn I like–when it’s clear and bright and the sun shines on the brilliant leaves. Early autumn is often beautiful. Later autumn not so much–and I don’t like the shorter days and then the dreariness and cold.

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