AnElephantCant abandon his mission
So once again he gives you fair warning
He may be slap dash
But he has another bash
At the Haibun on this beautiful Tuesday morning
Yep, he is still doing it.
The motivation provided by the temporarily suspended Haibun Thinking produced by his friend Al is still going strong, so AnElephant decides to continue his one-pachyderm assault on the elegant genre of Haibun.
Medville Bay by AnElephantCant
Prisoner of War
He is sitting on a bench gazing out across the bay to the early morning Mediterranean sky when he hears the German voices behind him.
In an instant he is transported back almost 70 years to the day the Allies landed on this very beach,
He had been conscripted on his 16th birthday, straight out of school, and shipped down here while more experienced troops moved northwards in readiness for the major battles ahead.
His unit was one of many captured with hardly a shot fired, trapped with embarrassing ease by a simple pincer movement.
He spent most of the next year as a prisoner of war at Toulon, then was put on a train to Germany.
Cologne, his home city, was scarcely recognisable, obliterated by Allied bombing.
His family, his house, most of his friends were gone.
So for 45 years he worked and saved towards his dream.
And retired to where his heart, inexplicably, had always been, to Medville, with its clear blue sky and magical sea.
And now, almost 25 years later, when his countryman seeks information, struggling to make himself understood in French, he answers in kind.
He is assimilated, he is home, he is at peace.
home for some of us
is simply the place
where we feel we belong
Sound Bite Fiction 
L’inspiration est partout à Medville, mais c’est l’écriture d’UnElephant qui la fait vivre, qui lui donne un corps.
Le haiku qui conclut l’histoire me touche particulièrement.
Nous sommes comme des arbres, nous prenons racine au gré de notre nature. Un pin parasol a besoin de soleil, d’une terre pauvre et de la Med. Un saule pleureur n’a besoin que d’eau douce.
A chacun son bonheur.
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Merci, ma chere amie, quelquefois l’inspiration vient des mots sages et les pensees curieuses.
Calins
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AnElephant’s words touch my heart. We are all looking for that magic place where we belong. I’m glad the prisoner of war in your story found his. Was this you or a friend?
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Thank you, Brenda.
A comment like this is what makes writing worthwhile.
The story is an amalgam of life experience, historical fact and imagination, triggered by an observation by AnElephant’s insightful and talented poet friend Emmy:
http://unbuttonedorundone.com/
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I imagine living in a paradise on earth contributes to the goal of the story. I knew you were not from Cologne, unless there is a Cologne in Scotland… 🙂 I will visit your friend.
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A great Haibun. I am hoping to be able to get this back up and running by the end of July 🙂
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Thanks, Al, and great news, my friend.
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