[Collaboration Haiku] #8 School x Spring

Hello! I am Ishida Reiko (Haiku pen name: Sakura Hana), a remote worker who loves haiku and the Sengoku period. Thank you for joining me again today.

Yesterday morning, I went to my daughter's class observation. While they are often canceled due to COVID, this one was held. Since it is her final year of junior high school, I am glad I was able to attend. Compared to when she first entered junior high, she seemed much more composed and somehow more mature. It makes me feel happy, yet a little lonely.

Schools have a very strong sense of the seasons, and they are full of seeds that could become haiku.
I found myself looking for things that could turn into haiku.

Today, I would like to share two haiku from that experience.

The thing that caught my eye most when visiting the school was the soap at the hand-washing station.
The soap in the soap nets all looked clean and brand new.
Even after asking my daughter, I didn't know the reason, but I felt it was because it was the new school term. Seeing new soap lined up at a properly cleaned hand-washing station makes one feel a bit straightened up.
It felt as if I could see the students, all ready to do their best with a fresh mindset for the new term.

It is still April. It is a time when classmates are still somewhat reserved with each other. I imagine the opportunities to wash hands have increased due to the pandemic. With brand new soap, washing hands thoroughly seems to make the heart feel a little lighter, too.

And, one more.
This time, I observed an English class, and I was surprised by the quite loud volume of the audio source the teacher played for listening practice.
I was worried it might disturb the class next door, but the two classes on the same floor were both having lessons in different rooms, so they were empty at that time.
Parents were observing from the hallway, and the sound of the listening tape was echoing through the corridor.

Of course, there is no such phrase as 'spring corridor,' but yesterday it was very sunny, and because the wind was so strong, it was one of the places where I could fully feel spring through the sunlight, the draft, and the scenery visible from the windows.

The seasonal words used in the haiku introduced today are the following two.
📙Spring(Kigosai Saijiki)

And the song I would like to introduce to go with these two haiku is this one.
This is a song that was played at my daughter's sports day when she was in kindergarten.
I feel it has a similar embracing quality to the gentle spring sunshine, and it is one of my favorite songs that gives me a little push.
🎵Happiness(Amazon Music)

Until next time.