Friday, March 18, 2011

Haiku My Heart

It is just a field,
Its day has long passed for gain,
Yet, treasures lie there.

If you read the previous post, you'll find that this was a week for traveling back on some roads of my childhood.  This particular field is located at Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Alabama.  The Grotto is a pilgrimage attraction for the Catholic faith.  Brother Joseph built many small shrines from bits of glass, seashells, and cold creme jars during the 1930's -1950's. It is an amazing place to visit.

At one time a college was thriving on the grounds.   The college closed many years ago.  Though a prep school is there now, so many things have changed about the landscape. My dad was the farm foreman there back in the 50's and 60's.  Then, the vast expanse was dotted with bales of hay which my dad took so much time to harvest for the livestock.  The fields also produced vegetables for the students' meals.  As the foreman, my dad worked 6 days a week from 7 in the morning 'til 5 in the evening.  He never complained.  

This week when I visited, I saw the barns and other building on the campus in disrepair, no longer used.  The roofs are falling in.  I couldn't help but think to myself that no one knows ....no one knows the stories these acres and acres could tell.   But, I do.  I lived a few of the stories back in the day.

Click here to enjoy more heartfelt haiku on Rebecca's blog



10 comments:

Ramesh Sood said...

What lovely feeling splashed here.. I enjoyed.. yes memories grow on such fields.. revisiting the past to steal some glorious moments is very heartening.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

One never knows what lies just beneath the surface of an ordinary field...

Marilyn & Jeff said...

Lovely haiku, for me it's a field but to you it holds many treasures. This is true of so much in life.

Noelle Clearwater said...

It is always quite amazing to revisit old childhood haunts and see what has changed. It can trigger old memories, some heart opening and treasured and some better left put away. Yours sound like ones that you wished to take out and look at for a time. I think that you may now have more compassion for the people of Japan, knowing what it is like to have lost something familiar, sacred and special to your memory. A lovely post.
xo,
Noelle

rebecca said...

dear marilyn,
your post speaks volumes. there is an honoring in your remembering and such melancholy too. it seems where ever i go i feel the stories of those before me. you know the voices, stories and the sweet emotion of family days.

thank you for this remarkable nod to the passing of time.
so tender, it tugs at my heart.

Anonymous said...

I love the image.

All the best, Boonie

foxysue said...

It was lovely to read your story connected to the landscape, these are treasured memories - funny the word verification for this post is
alocker, synchronised hey!

Have a good weekend.
Sue x

ms pie said...

love your story and 'ku... there is history everywhere that time appears to erase in sunset and sunrise... i find the mystery of land one of the greats that loses it's place in the view of city lights... thank you for sharing your journey...

Jenny said...

So thought-provoking. It makes me reflect on the mundane places and things that have touched my life in ways that nobody else can possibly imagine.

Thanks for sharing,
Jenny

Margaret Pangert said...

Marilyn, your haiku expresses volumes! The memories of childhood, the disappointment of going back as an adult, but still knowing the treasures are there. Achingly beautiful! Most of the farms and dairies from my childhood are gone, too. Everyone wanted more for thei children: college, cerebral jobs... Big comglomerates now supply the vegetables, fruit, grain, milk. But no one can erase the unforgettable memory-treasures as far as the eye can see. I would love to see the Grotto--I love that kind of mosaic, reminds of La Sagrada familia by Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona.
Thank you for the stroll down memory lane--it meant a lot to me.