The Crow Walk

Alan Summers has been inspired by 'haiku hike' to revisit, update and share a favourite walk of his made some time ago now. His memories of the walk 'renewed' and shared with us here. Thank you Alan.

The Crow Walk
Australia

coarse grass curls
round my walking shoes
an ant enters my bag



the wind sways
part of a woven hat
once grass

a dragonfly hovers round a leaf drops heavily through branches
the day moves into that inbetween time

fading last note
torresian crow sounds
the darkening sky

woodfire
flickering in the light
distant horses

now under a black black sky stars more bright than I've ever seen
some seem to shift and move vibrate to suggest something more
last sighting on this travel of Jupiter above Venus

susurrus of moths
round fire that flickers on
like the night

it's cold now 3a.m. brittle cutting cold the moon's no longer full
this brutal simplicity of a night dark as a raven’s abode

a thin trail
to the stars
woodsmoke & embers

I see a lightening from dark to metal grey a quickening between trees
becomes a hurt violet into morning



early hours crow
I invoke a prayer
to its god and mine

a red sunrise
through pale blue
trees rekindling the fire



The Crow Walk ©Alan Summers 2006

(different earlier versions of the haibun text published in ‘Paper Wasp’ haiku journal, Queensland, Australia 1997; ‘Azami haiku journal’, Osaka, Japan 1998; and ‘Blithe Spirit’ British Haiku Society journal, June 2004.)

Images©Alan Summers2006

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