Haibun Hummingbird Burner

Time anew, harvesting nectar.
Flowers keep my wings from drowning rain.
Life, surrounded by sweetness of honey.

The final class of each convening of my flagship ceramics course, Imaginary Objects, is dedicated to an experimental challenge. For the Winter session, we took a favorite or created poem then let our intuitions guide us in striking words to reduce the structure into something akin to haiku while either retaining or transforming the meaning. I began with a verse composed by poet and cousin Imani Harris, called "Honey." I reduced it quickly and the resulting poem sounded very clearly written from the perspective of a hummingbird.

I sketched a contour drawing of a hummingbird in flight then reduced that shape to a short segment. For this Imaginary Object we rolled a d10 to get a random function — I serendipitously rolled Incense Burner. I imagined this burner as a freestanding ribbon glazed only on its widest plane, all the way around. Its curvilinear shape is subtly cantilevered, making an impossible shape possible.

Year: 2026. Materials: ceramic stoneware, Midnight glaze, and poetry.

This burner is designed to accommodate bamboo-core stick incense, incense cones, and rope incense. No incense is included.