A haibun
Jerusalem is unseasonably cold this month.
March is ostensibly a spring month, right? And Israel is a Middle Eastern desert country. It should not be as cold as it is right now. Nevertheless, in the past two weeks, the temperature in Jerusalem has ranged from 5° C (41° F) – 17° C (62.6° F).
Many are unaware that the temperatures indoors in Jerusalem tend to be lower than outside because the city’s buildings are constructed of or faced with a pale limestone, known as Jerusalem stone. This was instituted as law during the British Mandate for Palestine period, before Israel became a sovereign state, but the law was never changed.
Of course, during the warmer months, this is lovely because our apartment is generally cool – quite a relief when we come home, drenched in sweat from walking up and down the hills of Jerusalem through the searing heat.
But today? Well, it’s late March, but I’m still wearing my turtleneck and sweater, with my back and shoulders draped in a fleece blanket… And every so often, I pass my cold hands over the portable radiator directly to my left.
Jerusalem stone
golden glow beneath the sun
belies cold within
Go Dog Go Cafe’s Haibun Wednesday
- This week’s prompt is to write a haibun about the weather while writing in the present.
- From Poetry.org:
- In How to Haiku, Bruce Ross writes, “If a haiku is an insight into a moment of experience, a haibun is the story or narrative of how one came to have that experience.”
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
Thank you for your stories that accompany your poetry. They really help widen the view of how something so creative came to be. Thank you for sharing this. 🙏
That’s very kind of you to say, Hamish. Thank you for your feedback!
I hope you’re doing well.
❤
David
David! I just had an idea. Please mark this post. It would make a captivating first chapter of a book. There is great beauty in your description and it’s as if I’m viewing it from behind the lens. I know you’re a poet but do consider writing fiction as well.
It’s been unprecedently hot in Delhi. From the fridge we landed in the frying pan. There has been no spring.
Funny enough, it’s hot now in Israel, and it was cold last week! No spring here either, Harshi 🥵
Oh lord! That’s alarming.
Spring…always (even in winter). 🌺🌻🌷
💐 Filipa 💐
[…] Week’s Entries on WeatherDavid [ben Alexander] – Spring, or: Winter?Ron. – InevitabilityOut of the Cave – Haibun […]
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I love this…I’m in south texas and the air conditioner is ALWAYS on…you often need a light sweater even in the summer 😂
💝 Donna 💝
Oh this is a familiar feeling,
Here in the tropics, it is just the same
With the seasons and how the bricks in the wall respond.
Jerusalem Glow now part of ceremonial art, they won’t let go?
Depicting the nature of Jerusalem Glow, the haibun is on point
❤ Abi ❤ ~ yeah – it was instituted for aesthetic reasons, and Jerusalem is known as the 'City of Gold' in large part because of the color of the sunlight on the Jerusalem Stone…
No wonder it prevailed given the sentiment
yup
💚💚
Amen
Interesting information about your unseasonably cold weather and the history of building construction in Jerusalem. I am fascinated by old architecture – a contrast to where I live. The cooler days seem to be lasting longer for us too. I am enjoying it while I can! A most descriptive haibun, David. ☀️
💚 Michele 💚