
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
We don’t know why an entire populace disappeared, leaving kingdoms built over centuries. They must have hiked up far off hills, explored caves, to find the right granite to build a city for their gods, for their future. They must have traveled across land and sea to find the sculptor who would for the rest of his days retrieve the deity from the holy rock. They must have been visionary architects, seeing a flat piece of land and imagining temple doorways oriented to the sun’s greeting at dawn, drawing light in to bathe the gods. They built the towering temples they had imagined. The temples still stand today. Still. Silent. Sapient. In testimony to the tens of thousands of lives who lived, loved, dreamt. We do know they dreamt. Dreamt that their fields will flourish, dreamt their children will laugh, dreamt that the lotus ponds with pink blooms will light up souls, dreamt of tomorrows.
waters still flow
quenching roots of our little lives
surging past morrows
***
Mindfills by s.s. for
Ronowan writes Haiku challenge – morrow and surge
Eugi’s weekly prompt – tree of life
d’Verse Haibun Monday hosted by Frank Tassone – hike
Colleen’s Tanka Tuesdays – poet’s choice
What a truly enchanting haibun SS. I enjoyed the read and your wonderful haiku!
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Thank you so much for reading! Really appreciate it
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This is an amazing secret of the jungle… you cannot refrain from wondering.
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Human mysteries … the why of it. Thank you for reading
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The lenghts to which people go–including jungle hikes–to celebrate the divine. Lovely write!
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Thank you 🙂
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I especially like the ending, telling of what they dreamt.
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you liked it. We dream first and then we do right?
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Oh, the intrigue. I’d love to know what secrets are in those temples. Amazing piece and thank you for participating.
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Thank you for reading 🙏
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You’re welcome!
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That giant tree has transformed the temple into a convenient platform upon which it rests. I have to ask who are the real gods?
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and where they really live… 🙂
So in that place there’s a conundrum. Do treasure the temple and cut the trees or treasure the trees and let them speak of the divine
Thanks so much for reading
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Well said! You are welcome.
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What a beautiful piece and you managed to get all the challenges in there!! “…and water still flows…” as time marches on. Wow. This is so powerful. I love it! ❤
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Thank you Colleen. You’re kind
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Aww, thank you. You write lovely poetry. ❤️
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☺️
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A stunning haibun and an amazing hike in a place I know very little about. The story of the entire populace that disappeared had me enthralled, and I want to know more. I especially love the thought of visionary architects ‘seeing a flat piece of land and imagining temple doorways oriented to the sun’s greeting at dawn, drawing light in to bathe the gods’, and the water ‘quenching roots of our little lives’.
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Angkor wat does make you imagine all of those things!
You’re a lovely soul to have sent in your beautiful thoughts. Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for inspiring me to write 🙂
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Trees are unselfish.
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So they are 🙂
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