Ice Castles on A Winter's Day: A Series of Haikus

One cold afternoon

Long before spring and its blossoms,
We find a treasure.

Deep in the city,

We behold structures, made of pure cold,

Held together with ice.

A castle fantasy dropped

Into the middle of a

Dreary winter's day.

Lovers and children
Equally delighted, walk

Mitten on Mitten.

Strangers smile in joy,

Offering to shoot portraits

On each other's phones.

Pure camerderie:

Sharing this moment of magic 

We did not expect.

It's a hidden treasure 

In this dusty muddy town ...

Time stands completely still.

We feel as though we

Could stay forever, caught up in

A frozen fairytale. 

Do you ever get into a rut? I know it's very easy to do, but last month, my husband and I broke out of our rut by doing something completely different.  For a belated Valentine's Day date, we visited Ice Castles! 

I had seen pictures of similar structures, mostly from Europe, but never knew they were available locally. When I saw some friends posting gorgeous images on Facebook, I was intrigued and then thought, "what an amazing idea for Valentines' Day!" 

These are  some shots I took of these magical structures. At first, I wasn't sure if might be "too girly" for my masculine husband to enjoy but my worries were unfounded. He loved it as much as I did. 

I absolutely loved seeing the genuine smiles on everyone's faces. Just being there seemed to open people up and total strangers were all offering to take photos of each other. It was really moving. 

About the Poems

The week's poem this week is actually a series of haikus. Even if you aren't a student of literature, there is a chance you are familiar with form of poetry because almost every North American child ends up writing a haiku at one point in their school career!

As you may know, an English haiku is usually made up of 17 syllables and is usually focused on some aspect of nature. It usually features a "turn" around the second line. 

What you may not have known (I didn't) is that the Japanese, the ones who invented the form, do not even have syllables in their language and their poems were always centred on the seasons. 

As this writer explains in his site dedicated to Japanese culture,  traditional Japanese haikus were always related to their four seasons: fall, winter, spring, summer and New Year's! Each seasonal poem had certain conventions and images that were expected. 

Thanks so much for reading and I hope spring is soon on its way, wherever you are! Please feel free to comment below and share with others if you think they would enjoy it! 

*All photographs were taken by the author and are copyright-protected. 

Love Sharilee. Hey thanks so much for reading. I would love to hear your comments and input in the space below. Also, if you like what you are reading, sign up through my Facebook page. or receive posts by e-mail by joining here