The Seven of Pentacles from the Fenestra Tarot

Sunlight lingers on,

Shadows fall through the tall stalks

Still green and not ripe.

I love writing haiku. Not just because I have a short attention span, either. A good haiku is not about simplicity but about potency. By limiting verbiage and condensing a concept to its essence, it seems to allow for a pure experience of an awareness.

As something of an earth mama, I dig that traditional haiku typically includes a natural element (a seasonal reference, flora &/or fauna, planetary bodies, etc). That seems to ground the revelation in a real live moment, while simultaneously reaching to understand a force outside of the poet’s control.

In this haiku for the Seven of Pentacles, I wanted to capture the essence of the yearning for harvest – which is what this Seven reflects for me. It’s that time after hard work has been put into fields, but the crops have not yet fully ripened and the extent of the bounty (if any) is not yet known. Extending that metaphor into contemporary life, it signals a time of waiting on results – of working towards a goal while wondering (worrying?) about the payoff. I believe that there is always gain following good effort, but impatience often spoils the less obvious payoffs (experience, knowledge, facing your fears, accomplishment, etc). Too often we are waiting on the money and/or title following a great effort that we miss the real rewards of facing a challenge and completing a tough job.

I hope you like this little haiku. I intend to write more, maybe weekly. Or maybe just as often as the spirit moves me. I don’t expect that I’ll parse each one as I have done here today. I’ll leave it to you to experience the poem and have your own moment of revelation.

Namaste.

The Seven of Pentacles from the Hanson Roberts Tarot

Sunlight lingers on,

Shadows fall through the tall stalks

Still green and not ripe.