John Budan
Heirloom
I find it while cleaning out her cramped apartment. After the President was shot, he was carried from Ford’s Theatre and placed in her ancestor’s rented room. Pinned to rust-stained fabric, the note describes how her ancestor removed the bloody pillowcase from Lincoln’s deathbed as a souvenir. The artifact has been passed down in her family since the Civil War.
I continue filling the dumpster.
museum shadows
a faux pioneer
spinning flax
About the Author
John Budan has published widely. He lived in France where he found his alter ego Guignol in Paris at the Jardin du Luxembourg.
Clearly a difficult subject. This haibun is concise and well-written. I like how “spinning flax” in the haiku could symbolize the cycles of birth and death. It seems the faux pioneer could (perhaps unintentionally) symbolize how appearances can be misleading, and seems to point to life beyond physical appearances, though the darker mood permeates the piece. Much respect to Abraham Lincoln. Despite the dark times he lived in, I feel like he was a kind person with high ideals and values. An important haibun. Thanks for sharing.