milky way

My siblings and I have been named dawn-lit mountains. We stand on the land of this remote region, rarely visited and unknown to many. I am located at the far eastern tip of this land that I call home, the first to be illuminated by the rising sun. The sprawling earth and rivers behind me require more time to shake off the shackles of darkness.

At my dazzling best I want to shout, “Hey, look at, look at me!” but there isn’t anyone around.

Oh, Sun God Aditya, would you tell the people at Kanyakumari, who gather in thousands to see you dip into the ocean, that there are mountains up here also worth seeing? And don’t forget to tell them that when they arrive, you will be here to greet them with a warm "Good Morning."

gold-tipped wings
of a Himalayan eagle . . .
cloudless sky

 

Author’s Note: This haibun is inspired by Meghadūta (Samskrit: मेघदूत Cloud Messenger) a lyric poem written by Kalidasa (c. 4th–5th century CE), who is considered to be one of the greatest Samskrit poets. It describes how a yaksha (or nature spirit), who had been banished by his master to a remote region for a year, asked a cloud to take his wife a message of love.