For Frank Tassone’s haikai challenge. a stormy sequence.
half the day is dark
for some the half-light too
when things are unclear
and mysteries slip
between light and shadow
shadow
the reverse of light swells
when birds settle with folded wings
and prowls the rustling grasses
on determined feet
feet pad silently
except for crackling of leaves in August drought
amid the gentle sighing of boughs
in the cooling air
cradling pigeons
pigeons fall silent
when dusk fades
from dying gold to feather-grey
hush among the leaves
still heavy with heat
heat rises
swells in waves of cloud
crackling with lightning
sparks of faulty connections
illuminating the underbelly of the storm
Jane Dougherty Writes 
Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #5: Jane Doughterty’s latest #Gogyohka #sequence for my current #Haikai Challenge!
Thank you, Frank!
Wow!! Nicely penned ❤❤👍
Thank you!
That’s how it’s been here–and we had that weird yellow light, too.
“and mysteries slip
between light and shadow”. ❤️.
And I wrote about secrets and mysteries today. 😀
The weather is getting wearisome. Did you get any rain? We had a couple of hours of thunder and lightning but not a drop of rain.
I was out yesterday (until 3am this morning!) so I have some catching up to do.
We didn’t have rain yesterday–a day off. There’s a slight chance of thunderstorms today. Right now the humidity is 92%. It’s so icky. You were out till 3 AM?!!!
It sounds silly but we bought a sink, an old ceramic sink from someone hundreds of miles away. The seller’s sister offered to offload it on a motorway service area on her way down to Portugal. We had to meet them where the Spanish motorway branches off from the Mediterranean one at midnight, pick up the sink and drive home. It was a two hour drive back and they were late.
Wow–what an adventure. It’s like a spy thing meeting at midnight. 😏.
Motorway service areas are scary at night. Loads of sleeping trucks and truckers. It was surreal, when we left the motorway, driving on completely empty roads with Abba full belt and the windows open, like rowdy kids from forty years ago 🙂
I can imagine that it’s scary, but that’s a fun image of your car ride. 😀
There were some very strange people around. It’s holiday time and they’re on the road.
I can smell the rain.
I thought I could but the weather was just pranking as my youngest would say.
I really like how the repeated word creates a spiral feeling. Strange days. (K)
Thanks. The spiral insisted so I gave it its way. The scariness is just increasing day by day.
I love how you shine a light on the darkness with ‘shadow
the reverse of light swells’ and then
‘Illuminating the underbelly of the storm’
And those words links at endings and beginnings are so powerful, feeding of each other like bolts of lightening hitting its target and shooting back into the atmosphere. August is intense Jane.
Thank you! It’s too hot, unnaturally hot and everything is suffering. The last week the temperatures have been between 37° and 41°C and it’s going to continue, don’t know for how long. The storm we had the other night was just sound and fury, not a drop of rain. The birds sound so weary.
Those dry storms are so strange- like a clamour of an argument without any words to back it up. We might go up to 22 again next week. 😯
We had more than that last night 🙂 Stifling! And another storm, just lightning along the western horizon, no sound, no cloud. No rain either unfortunately…
It’s now a few days later, and I hope you’ve had some rain. It continues to be preternaturally hot here, though there has been rain. It seems that everything in nature tries to settle in for the night of half-light and the “pranking” of a storm. It’s a beautifully sounding poem, but you need the rain.
We had a proper storm with rain two evenings ago, but it has left no trace. The following day and nights were just as hot and sticky and the water seemed to evaporate, leaving not even a damp patch! Today is calm and cool though, almost autumnal in comparison.