I sit waiting. Orchestral music building. Gilded theatrical surroundings. Audience hushed. Clara, in white flimsy floating gown, on pointe. Drosselmeyer’s back to us. His arms outstretched dramatically. I know what is coming. The audience knows what is coming. And yet we gasp as the tree begins to increase in size, taller and taller. And our applause grows louder and louder and spirits soar higher and higher.
darkness waits for dawn
sliver grows to orb of light
always gifts the morn
Today we have a surprise guest host at dVerse. Bar opens at 3 PM Boston time for haibun Monday. A haibun is prose, which cannot be fiction, followed by a haiku. My prose refers to that most magical scene in the Nutcracker when the Christmas tree grows before our eyes. Photo: best sunrise photo I’ve ever taken in Provincetown!
lillian the home poet 
You took us there in that moment. I love it when our spirits soar higher and higher.
That is a stunning picture Lillian. Thanks for sharing.
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So glad you enjoyed, Grace. The photo is one of my favorites — I have so many sunrise and sunset photos from so many places — but this morning in Provincetown my camera really captured a spectacular moment! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed.
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Oh I have seen the Nutcracker once… but I do remember the music more than that scene…
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Love the music…..but I always wait for anticipation for three things in this ballet: the tree growing, the first snow falling, and the Russian dancers! 🙂
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I must have seen a different version of The Nutcracker but I love how you are showing us the anticipation and atmosphere of a fabulous performance and your sunrise photo is gorgeous!
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I tried to find a YouTube of the way I saw it…..there is always a “tree growing” scene….but the characters present at the time can vary from the mice, to Clara, to Drosselmeyer. I LOVE it when the tree grows and the music is perfect, building and building. Glad you enjoyed…and yes, this was a spectacular sunrise morning!
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The anticipation is wonderful…and the knowing…the knowing…so palpable.
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Glad you felt that in the poem…..I walk into every performance of the Nutcracker I’ve ever seen, waiting for the tree growing scene. I LOVE the scene! 🙂 I know it’s coming and yet I am thrilled with the anticipation and the seeing every time! 🙂
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I am amazed how some music can move me even when I know what is going to happen. It seems as if it is new and yet I’ve heard it before. Nice description of such a climax at a concert.
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Music can really create the mood — no doubt about it! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed.
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Great building of atmosphere here
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
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Fabulous haibun Lillian, I love how you so vividly captured that rise in expectation and the exhilaration of the delivery….you had me expecting and waiting as well…..and well worth it…
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Thank you, Michael. Loved the prompt and I do enjoy writing prose and then trying to think of a “natural” haiku that complements the prose. Glad you enoyed.
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Love it. We used to play a version of the Nutcracker on long journeys – with the story told alongside it. My daughter always loved the “Rushing Dancers”! I’ve seen it a few times, and I love the anticipation you capture – you know there will be magic! Thank you for transporting me.
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Exactly! The tree scene is sooooo magical! I also enjoy the moment the first snow falls on stage 🙂
My grand daughter was so enamored with the Nutcracker — she was Clara for halloween two years in a row 🙂
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Oh, such beguiling enchantments. 🌹🌹🌹
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Glad you enjoyed! Smiling I am over my second cup of coffee this morning, reading your comment.
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lol – (@–>–)
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I love your title. 🙂
This is my favorite part of the haibun: “Gilded theatrical surroundings. Audience hushed.”
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So glad you enjoyed. I believe there are a set of dancers in the second act that are candy delights? Can’t recall….but I thought the title fit because of that. Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
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Ohh! That is the feeling, the expectation! Thank you for putting it in words.
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…and no matter how many times I see the Nutcracker, I am always on the edge of my seat when this part comes! 🙂
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the theater can be charming and takes us in… just like your piece today… nice photo
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So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
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Love the theater and this poem, Lillian!
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Thank you, Walt. Glad you enjoyed….I truly love the Nutcracker and I am always on the edge of my seat when this scene comes…no matter how many times I see it, it never fails to delight! 🙂
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And yet we gasp! .. the wonder never ceases…
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It’s true….no matter how many times I see the Nutcracker, this scene never fails to produce a palpable reaction in the audience! 🙂
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I love the tree growing higher and higher and how you took us there with you to witness it. That is one of my favorite parts of the Nutcracker and always makes me clap my hands in delight.
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Exactly!!! No matter how many times I see the Nutcracker, I am always in a state of excitement and anticipation when this scene comes…and I also clap my hands with the audience in absolutely sheer delight! 🙂
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The ecstacy of waiting described in different ways by your prose and the haiku is quite yin/yang.in opposites. Nicely done, Lillian. ❤
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Thank you Olga, for the lovely comment. Truly appreciated! It’s true….we are in Provincetown one or two weeks every year and many of the mornings I awaken to watch the sunrise. I sit on the deck, camera in hand, in anticipation. 🙂 This particular morning….I snapped at the right time and the sunrise was indeed spectacular! 🙂
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I’ve seen The Nutcracker once in real life and several times on the TV and I know that scene! You’ve captured the anticipation of a magical moment in your haibun, Lillian/
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My favorite scene and I delight every time! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed, Kim.
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I’m very familiar with the music but I’ve never seen it performed live. Bucket list, perhaps
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Good one for the bucket list! I’m sure there are dvds 🙂
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Delight is an understatement, Lillian. And for me, waiting for that moment in the ballet/waiting for that incredible sunrise, perfect comparison. I will post my verbification on OLN–crazy week this week but I have so many verbs floating in my brain.
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Super! Will look forward to it on Thursday. Let those verbs multiply! 🙂
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Wonderful, Lillian. The sense of anticipation got me in the gut. And that photo! Awesome!
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Could not believe my camera caught it so well. It was a beautiful dawn! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it all.
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