“Finding the Heart Stone,” A Haibun

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inTanka Tuesday Poetry ChallengesTags:, , , , , , , , , ,

Welcome to my contribution to my Weekly Poetry Challenge, where you can write your own Haiku, Tanka, or Haibun using the prompt words of “stone and turn.” The words were perfect for me this week.

Journey with me into the magic of the horizontal realm from The Heart Stone Chronicles – The Meadow Fairy, to be published in the spring of 2018.


I stood at the muddy edge of the barren field gazing at the leafless tree located near its center. Before me stood a massive cottonwood tree bursting with hefty trunks growing in different directions battered by the howling prairie winds. At the top, the branches grew into a tangle as if the wind had forced the limbs to grow into a muddled canopy sheltering that which remained buried below.

I stepped forward, and my feet seemed to move of their own accord. I plowed my way through the half frozen puddles that remained from the last snow, dirty slush squishing beneath my boots. Somehow I knew it was imperative that I reach the tree.

A desire so great
seethed deep within me – coaxing,
a provocation.
Always there calling my name
whispering songs from the nymphs.

As I grew closer, I noticed an icy crust of snow which swirled around the base of the enormous tree trunks like a woolen scarf wrapped around a chilly neck. Half buried, and partly exposed, I discovered the heart-shaped green calcite fairy stone. The snow had melted exposing the rough hewn upper portion, and rivulets of water formed a streamlet around the base of the rock like a moat rimming a castle fortress.

My own calcite pendant inherited from the calcite stone of my ancestor’s pulses and reflects the colors of the rainbow in the pools of melted snow around me. The heart responds to the heart, and the fairy Rath lifts.

I turn when I feel my eyes drawn to the tangled branches above. My hand covers my mouth in surprise as I watch the golden bee hive appear. It hangs, suspended in a timeless and hazy dimension filled with the ancient gifts from the gods. Gilded honey drips and the bees fall to the ground.

My quest has begun –
the sacred heart stone revealed,
the answers I seek.
Yet questions turn in my head.
What is slaughtering the bees?

© 2017 Colleen M. Chesebro

This tiny heart stone is what prompted the name of my YA paranormal/fantasy, The Heart Stone Chronicles. Book One, The Swamp Fairy is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

Thanks for stopping by. ❤


Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

34 thoughts on ““Finding the Heart Stone,” A Haibun”

    1. Thanks, Merril. This is the theme of my new book. Abby must solve the mystery of why the bees are dying. Of course, she gets help from a fairy nymph. 😉❤️

      Liked by 1 person

        1. Abby is moving more into the paranormal. All I’m going to say is that she has a “rainbow” aura. Hugs to you, Erika. ❤

          Liked by 1 person

  6. I love fairies. Everybody in my office (when I was working) knew about that. To the extent that, for my retirement party, someone gave me a beautiful hardcover pop-up Fairy book. I love your story and the Haibun!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Miriam, thank you for your kind words. My “fairies” are fairy-nymphs based loosely off of the elementals in Greek Mythology. My books are all climate-literature related with the theme of saving our planet before it’s too late. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m not into Greek Mythology, but just the little bit that I’m exposed to, I like it. The theme of one book I read almost word for word, s based on 24 positive elements in Greek Mythology. I think saving the planet before it’s too late is a reality. Your book must be very interesting!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Thanks, Miriam. I had a real life encounter with a fairy nymph and I was so inspired these books are the product of that experience. ❤

          Liked by 1 person

  9. Lovely, Colleen. I’m looking forward to your book, but I do not understand where you get the time to write and do all these different blog posts. You amaze me. Hugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Michelle, thank goodness I can type fast. LOL! I will be hunkered down for the next few months working hard on this book. I want to stay involved in our precious community so I try to carve time out to interact. I spend a lot of time in my own head so it is important for me to interact. Hugs and love! ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Pingback: Colleen’s Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 49 #Haiku #Tanka #Haibun: Soar & Wait – 🌼Colleen Chesebro Fairy Whisperer 🌼

  12. We’ll that’s intriguing Colleen… what a place to stop! Are you onto your next book already? I love how you worked your poem into the theme of your book… very clever! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: