Photo by Sophie Turner on Unsplash
births' maelstrom of wind and trees -
mirrored in still lake.
New Zealand is another of those places I've seen in movies and on TV that calls a 'spiritual fanfare' to the adventurer in me. In New Zealand's north island the landscapes of myth and legend merge into a tapestry of wild places, many untraveled by man.
According to Māori mythology, the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui. Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it right up from the sea. While he was not looking his brothers fought over the fish and chopped it up. This great fish became the North Island and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui ("The Fish of Māui").
Source: wikipedia
This is a land of rainforests, majestic wind-whipped coasts, towering mountains and wide-open wilderness. The scope of Te Ika-a-Māui (the Māori name for the North Island of New Zealand) is unlimited for the adventurer traveller and nature lover.
The lonely mountain in the title picture is Mt. Taranaki (or Mt Egmont), an extinct volcano surrounded by trekking routes and a protected forest reserve.
When I first viewed this picture my thoughts were; why didn't Peter Jackson use Mt. Taranaki as the location for the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit movie instead of Mt Ruapehu in New Zealand?
For me, this majestic mountain straddled by a lake would make a much better location than the one they chose, take a look yourself and let me know what you think in the comments.
The stillness that I find in nature was reflected in the title picture which inspired a feeling of meditation that informed the tone and subject of the Haiku.
When I walk in wilderness places here in the UK, I often find that landscapes (or mountains) feel like they are imbued with a spirit or consciousness. This feeling echoed in the poem with the personification of Mount Taranaki giving birth to a maelstrom of wind and trees.
New Zealand is another place that I dream of travelling to as a source of inspiration for my fantasy writing. I hope one day to visit the solitary mountain in the title picture - and breath the breeze that birthed the landscape surrounding Taranaki - perhaps feeling Māui’s spirit of the Great Fish of Māori mythology.
Thanks for reading 🌿
I have decided to challenge myself for a month (until the 23rd of July) to post Haiku and accompanying blog on Hive at least 3-4 times/week. Each week will have a different theme based on picture prompts from either Pixabay.com or Unsplash.com.
This week's broad theme is wanderlust.
In this first week, I will share pictures of countries that I have always wanted to visit and write a haiku/blog focused on these places.
To read more about the aesthetics of true haiku, and the difference between haiku and senryu, please check out my post: Haiku Vs Senryu - The Aesthetics of Form
The picture used in this post is creative commons, linked below pic. If you have enjoyed this Haiku, please check out my homepage @raj808 for similar content. Thank you.
If you would like to join a team of content creators promoting their blogs on Listnerds reach out to me in the comments 🙂
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