Fleur's Pearls: March 2013

What a cornucopia of tasty delights this (last) week's Haiku Monday'ers brought to the table!

Many apologies for the late results. I am truly sorry to have kept you waiting and messed up our time frame. To quote the Csar, "I loathe it when Haiku Monday stretches until Friday". (Insert vaudeville drum crash.)

I began this write-up from San Diego where I have been running a conference for Mechanical Engineering University Department Heads for a week. Between our Skyped-in general session speakers, conference dinner on the Midway and managing attendees deeply offended by continental breakfast sans fruit, juice or gluten-free muffins, I have ingested your Haiku.

This is one of the best collections ever; thank you so much for playing and visiting with comments. These entries are SO DELICIOUS they’ve earned their very own personal Breakfast Pastry Award as follows!

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From Becca:

kneeling at the white throne

butterflies swoosh and flutter

a life blooms inside

ALMOND CROISSANT AWARD

Csar and Rafa know well that I gag at all images grubby, distasteful and downright un-classy. Becca's rose-colored use of "white throne", and swift movement to butterflies swooshing and fluttering through a supremely joyful conclusion demonstrates a clever cut from veiled misery to awe. Her haiku almost makes me want to post another Craig's List ad and lure myself a 30-year old baby daddy. Almost.

Becca: I honor you with the Almond Croissant Award for wit, elegance, gracefulness, butterflies conjuring summer and a sweet surprise in the middle.

Also from Becca:

scribbles of color

rainbows and lollipops swirl

an artist emerges

Becca, this entry wins you the pop-art Pop-Tart award. Your haiku offer an interesting idea on the Bloom theme: can we pinpoint the moment an artist blossoms? Is this based on her creation—or on an audience’s appreciation (and market place’s validation?)

POP ART POP TART AWARD

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From Boxer:

Century old friendship,

broken by life's circumstances,

old friends walk the sea

Boxer, I honor you with the Elephant Ear Pastry Award. Your haiku reflects time, enduring memory and patience. This pastry is sweet but not cloying and multi-layered.

Elephant Ear Pastry Award

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From Csar:

Stuffit Leopold.

Youtoo, Molly. Brooks's Bloom --

A Wilder "Springtime."

Footnotes:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Bloom

2. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063462/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08akOt2ku

Csar, you have managed to stuff a dizzying amount of material into 3 brief lines and 3 long footnotes. There hasn’t been this much head-scratching drama since Miss Aretha Franklin, mink coat over her shoulder, jar of pickled pig’s feet under her arm, strolled into a Macon hotel and dropped that jar to smash all over that lobby tile. Good twist on the traditional use of “Bloom”; highbrow and well-crafted; nice punctuational cut, clever use of Wilder “Springtime”--and in keeping with your current dictatorial tone. Your entry is a complex labor of love—if a somewhat aquired taste.

Csar, I bestow on you the Boyoz Turkish Pastry Award:. This savory offering is creating using a long list of instructions, a mosaic of fillings and is often garnished with deviled eggs. It’s not for everyone; but its appreciators are fervent. You can count me among yours.

BOYOZ PASTRY AWARD

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From Serendipity:

The first bloom of spring?

Shy flowers from under snow?

Not so much -- slime molds!

Excellent images and cut! Serendipity, you have blown away our Disney-esque images of early Spring. “Shy flowers from under the snow” captures every young girl’s dream of skipping those awkward years and morphing right from adorable child to fetching vixen. (Wait, what? Possibly I am projecting.) Serene Dip, for keeping it real (a little too real), I grant you the Classic Bran Muffin Award.

BRAN MUFFIN AWARD

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From Foam:

Night shadows unfurl.

Evanescent lights flicker..

Fireflies whoop, "hump night!"

ÉCLAIR AWARD

Foamy, I adore that sly and comical cut from elegant, romantic scene setting to getting DOWN! This haiku evokes summer nights, and the poetic language in the first two lines lulls for the kill with both “whoop” and “hump”. For this clever contrast, I bestow on you the Éclair Award. Sure, it looks all pristine: but what happens when you bite into it? Whoop! All over the place.

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From Karl:

Youthful beauty blooms

yet fade with time and trial

bring grace and wisdom

CRANBERRY BREAD AWARD

Karl, I particularly like your phrase “fade with time and trial”. I think your entry captures one of the classic human experiences—one that many feel we have to embrace by default. Do we really gain grace and wisdom as we age? Is it an acceptable trade for losing our youth and beauty? Or are we resigned to the idea because it’s our only choice? For the bittersweet theme that you have built your haiku around, I bestow upon you the Cranberry Bread Award.

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From Rafa:

(A birthday ‘ku for his mum.)

Winter winds from north

Subside. Flowers burst to bloom

Born at cusp of Spring

Rafa, this is a lovely offering for your mom, and presents a nice mix of opposites: cool and warm, gusty to calm—bare to color: all with promise to offer. For this lovely feeling of anticipation, I bestow upon you the ICED CINNAMON ROLL AWARD. Your haiku is cool like the last snow upon a mountain top, warm like sprinkled cinnamon, and filled with delight like each wound up layer below.

ICED CINNAMON ROLL AWARD

Also from Rafa:

an ode to the sweet smells of Spring

Blushing with sun's light

Pregnant flora's wakening

Births the coming SPRING!!

Peanut and Jelly Donut Award

Rafa, for this entry’s elements of color, fragrance and fecundity you have won the Mother of all donut awards: The Donut Plant Peanut and Jelly Donut Award.

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From Foam:

Eventide's moonbeam..

Shimmers on glistening shaft

Wilting happily...

Foam…I think you got everyone’s attention with this one! Talk about afterglow. Absolutely sensuous, langorous and a nice little twist on “bloom” with “wilting happily.” This haiku is the best one to read outloud.

Please allow me the honor of presenting you with:

Italian Cream Horn Award

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From the CSAR, who couldn’t resist going all traditional:

Bright bursts foretasting

Spring! Heralded arriving,

Silence when they fall.

Csar, this is beautiful. The contrast between “heralding arriving” and “silence when they fall” is poignant. I love the use of “bright bursts” for buds. The “bright bursts” and bittersweet anticipation of the life cycle’s end has won you the Blueberry Lemon Scone Award.

BLUEBERRY LEMON SCONE AWARD

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From Serendipity:

A spring blooms with hope

when Mom called today. "I'm home...

The hip is solid!"

Very nice, Serendipity! Excellent homage to mom’s good hip. For that, you win the Healthy Whole Wheat and Raisin English Muffin Award!

Healthy Whole Wheat and Raisin English Muffin Award

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From Fishy:

What blooms within grief?

Surely ...that first sprig of hope,

love does survive death.

Fishy, this is so touching; a theme that affects all of us sooner or later. I like the use of “sprig”. It seems the perfect size—fragile and small. I award you the Buttered White Toast Award for the sense of comfort that I feel from your haiku.

Buttered White Toast Award

Also from Fishy:

Rose blooms on my cheeks

spawned my Summer memories

of ocean brined flesh

Fishy, you brought the seasonal reference to life the best with this one; also, you have the best phrase with “ocean brined flesh.” I can absolutely taste this giddy summer day with the sun, salt and slightly feverish feeling of anticipation that a light sunburn brings. I bestow upon you the:

BAGEL AND LOX SANDWICH AWARD

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From Aunty Belle:

His chill morning kiss

Burned: Scarlet efflorescence

Stained thy cheek...with shame.

Aunty, clearly there’s enough material here for a short story; haiku did capture a whole lot of heightened emotion. I do like “scarlet efflorescence” and the old-fashioned tone. For all the guilt and shame herein, you need an award that’s up to the task: I deem you the winner of the KRISPY KREME COMPLETE DRIVETHROUGH COLLECTION AWARD.