Two Haiku

During a Time of COVID-19

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own
understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

Empty streets echo.
A season of pestilence.
Cherry blossoms shiver.

Dreamed that my Father
rode up on a bike. “Hop on,”
he said. “I’ll pedal.”

The first haiku was written in the early days of the epidemic as it ravaged Wuhan, China, where I once lived for four years teaching English. That raucus, bustling city now with quiet, nearly empty streets signified the apprehension and fear of its inhabitants. Even the cherry blossoms, beloved of Wuhanese, seemed to impart a sense of dread.

Then the dream of my Father offering me a ride on his bike—I realized some weeks after I wrote this haiku that the cyclist was my heavenly Father, and that he was inviting me to trust him completely as he takes charge of my life, even the most frightening situation. He said, “I’ll pedal,” and all I (or any of us) have to do is hang on and trust him.