Home » cho 16:1 | April 2020 » Haibun: Fistful

Praniti Gulyani

Fistful 

When father came back from the far, far land where he had gone, he came with a pocketful of shadows. And just as I put my hands into his pockets to see what he had got me, the shadows dripped down, forming small puddles around my feet. 

There were all kinds of shadows—shadows of revolvers, bullets, shadows of grass-blades, of dew, of overturned bottles, of baskets, of rough, dry beds, of cardboard, of medicine-strips imprinted with the smallest lettering. . .

“I bring you my life, son,” he said, smiling, “a life which you too will have to live one day. Tell  me, which part do you like best?”

first champagne. . . 
a new fullness 
to the moon 

About the Author

Praniti Gulyani is a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl from New Delhi, India. A self-described “lover of words,” she dedicates her poetry and prose to her maternal uncle, Mr. Anuj Khanna, who enriched her world-vision and “showed her the light.” 

10 thoughts on “Haibun: Fistful”

  1. For me the imagery is stunning. To see life and all that it witnessed as shadows that have accumulated inside a pocket and become a puddle really present the heart of the piece. I find when reading a Haibun, the link and shift in the piece is not limited to the piece alone, a good Haibun often results in a link and shift in the thinking of the reader.
    This one moves me similarly.

    Then the juxtaposition of the question with the haiku is brilliant. it reminds me of how I often find myself telling my son something deep and he responds back with something mundane like, ‘What’s for tea?’

    Reply
  2. This really is an excellent haibun, such intriguing prose and the haiku is a perfect touch. For someone so young you have an extraordinary sense of the form.

    Reply

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