Written for: dVerse Poets Pub: Haibun Monday – “Transitions” (guest host: Merrill)
“For this Haibun Monday, I want you to write about change, but specifically, I’d like you to write about a transitional time in your life. It could be something profound—a near death experience, for example. It could be about starting or leaving a job, getting married, or having a baby. It could be how you feel when the seasons change. How you define transition is up to you. It could even be about how you helped someone else through a transitional time.”
At twenty years of age, due to circumstances,
I wound up in a hospital. While my eyes were closed,
I could see a tunnel filled with light. Though not awake,
I thought I detected murmuring sounds around me.
A flicker of light came through, the voices grew
louder. My eyes opened, and the first thing I saw
was a number on a white wall. I thought I was dead,
and was assigned this number in some sort of afterlife.
broken-winged bird
unable to fly away
mends on summer morning
Oh, that experience has such connotations to it — it can both be scary and peaceful. I remember one such incident.
The mending of the broken-winged bird is beautiful. Well penned. 🙂
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Thanks so much, HA. It was both scary and peaceful, more scary after I was awake.
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Very much as others have described near-death experiences. We’re left to wonder what was the number you first saw! Great write.
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Thanks, Bev!
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The tunnel with the white light is a common theme, but the number is interesting. I wonder if it had other significance? The haiku links perfectly with your prose–wonderful image of the broken-wing bird healing in the summer morning.
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Thanks so much, Merrill!
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Numinous moments that alter our perception – how were you after?
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Shaky, and trying to live and enjoy life again.
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I wonder too if we will be given a number in our after life. This must have been an unforgettable experience and changes your perception of life. I love the mending of that broken winged bird, a beautiful haiku!!!
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Thanks so much, Grace!
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It is interesting how medication affects our minds. Glad you were mistaken!
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Oddly, I wasn’t glad then, but I sure am now.
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Interesting that you saw a number on the wall. I saw my father at foot if my bed and was peaceful knowing he was there waiting. The image of the broken winged bird is beyond gorgeous.
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Thanks so much, Toni!
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Wow!What an experience. Numbers, eh! Interesting write.
Pat
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Thanks,, Pat!
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This one is so mysterious… I would maybe be different if i had ever seen anything like that… do you remember the number?
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110 sticks in my mind, but I am not sure.
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The haiku is perfect for the experience you’ve described in the prose. People still ask my husband if he saw or heard anything during his 6 minute cardiac arrest; during the time he was on life support in the CICU — until he miraculously opened his eyes and was back on earth to join us. Thankful for every day.
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Thanks so much Lillian! Glad he is back.
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a broken winged bird says so much, when the spirit just wants to lift off but the body cannot be coaxed. your haiku is priceless.
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Thanks so much, Gina!
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I like how you described this awakening or coming back to consciousness.
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Thanks, Frank. It is something you do not forget.
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Ah these are the moments one could never forget. You wrote this experience so well.
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Thanks so much, reading!
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What a scary moment!
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It truly was.
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