wondering
if I ever thanked you
narcissus bloom
(originally posted on the Facebook page of The Haiku Foundation, in response to a call for Thanksgiving haiku)
__________________
I try to say thank you a lot these days, both because I haven’t always been so good at it and I feel like I have a lot of lost time to make up, and also because I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for lately.
So thank you. Yes, you. The one reading this post. You could be doing something else, like basting your turkey or watching the game (don’t ask me what game, I don’t pay attention to that stuff). Instead you’re here, paying attention to my words. That’s pretty amazing to me. That is a gift that I don’t take lightly. So thanks, again. And have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Red Dragonfly 
I don’t celebrate…But lovely post, Melissa; had to acknowledge…because i find this blog a treasure 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you and others who read here,
wishes,
devika
cool. aloha Melissa – & and happy giving thanks day to you and all too. – it’s still dark here so i’m not out barbecuing the turkey – yet. …and the game(s) probably arnt on either – yet. however it is 4:32 AM and i’m reading your post. i like what i find here – so cool on here.
music
in the darkness
the wind meandering
through leaves
now look what you’ve done. i’m writing 4-line ku. sheesh. talk about breaking my rules. cool on that.
oh. wait…
dark music tonight
this way that way the wind
through leaves
oh. or…
dark music
the wind through leaves
this night
Nice haiku, Melissa! I hope this holiday season brings you a lot of poetic inspiration.
Charlotte D.
Thanks for your blog, Melissa.
Carlos
Devika, Wrick, Charlotte, Carlos — Thanks to all of you for your kind comments. 🙂 Hope you are all having a wonderful day, whether or however you are celebrating. I just woke up from my turkey-induced coma and am heading out for a walk before apple-pomegranate pie is served. (My husband and son cooked dinner, I had the day off. Treasure and inspiration indeed …)
Melissa, this is a wonderful haiku.
I read it yesterday – at work, on Twitter, on my phone – and knew immediately that it would become one of my all time favourites.
We don’t have Thanksgiving here, so I read it outside that specific context.
I thought of Narcissus, in mythology, who was preoccupied with himself, so to speak, and this opened up new layers of complexity in the poem.
Inspired work!
Mark.
I’m so glad you like this so much, Mark! You win the prize for being the first to notice my deliberate mythological allusion (or at least the first one to say anything about it). 🙂 I’ve been thinking about trying to work more references to literature, history, etc. into my ku — it’s very much in the Japanese tradition and I think you’re right, one subtle reference can really enrich a poem’s meaning.