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Haiku in Response to Photography – Shadows of the Past (Ekphrastic Poem) by raj808

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· @raj808 · (edited)
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Haiku in Response to Photography – Shadows of the Past (Ekphrastic Poem)
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![cldp5ucbc00e90iszedbs1y2f_Tulum_Mayan_City.webp](https://cdn.liketu.com/media/raj808/images/cldp5ucbc00e90iszedbs1y2f_Tulum_Mayan_City/cldp5ucbc00e90iszedbs1y2f_Tulum_Mayan_City.webp)
![cldp5uik400e25hsz0upif98j_13320614_10154798372759045_4188107586617192392_o.webp](https://cdn.liketu.com/media/raj808/images/cldp5uik400e25hsz0upif98j_13320614_10154798372759045_4188107586617192392_o/cldp5uik400e25hsz0upif98j_13320614_10154798372759045_4188107586617192392_o.webp)
![cldp5unlx00el50szbd5f5fpn_TulumRuibnsSelfie.webp](https://cdn.liketu.com/media/raj808/images/cldp5unlx00el50szbd5f5fpn_TulumRuibnsSelfie/cldp5unlx00el50szbd5f5fpn_TulumRuibnsSelfie.webp)
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In molten swelter
Tulum casts Mayan shadows
of past jade trading.


© raj808, 2023

___

As I looked at these pictures from my travels in Mexico in 2016, I couldn't help smiling, as that day was so hot that even the locals were shaking their heads in bewilderment at the crazy Gringos wandering the ruins at Parque Nacional Tulum.

This ruined ancient Mayan city, located on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean Sea is one of the best preserved [Mayan sites in the Yucatan Penninsula.](https://tulumruins.net/)

I wandered the overgrown streets, stopping occasionally to shelter from the sweltering heat the under the trees with the giant iguanas and I couldn't help but be swept away in my imagination.  

Tulum's Mayan city was a seaport, trading mainly in turquoise and jade. 

I pictured the cacophony of different pre-Christian Central & South American cultures mingling in the streets. The flash of gold winged head-dress, blood red gowns beaded with stone idols.  

The same scene of market chatter you would see on the other side of the Atlantic at the time, but exotic in a way that has been lost to the ravages of history. And honestly, destroyed by the Zealotry of the Christian ethos of the times and the Spanish empire. 

In my mind, it was a fantastical scene that can only really be guessed at with the aid of a handful of archaeological artefacts that are left, and sites like the ruined city at Tulum.  

I find this type of place fascinating from a fiction writer's perspective; immersing yourself in a place like Tulum's ruined Mayan city, with an open mind and a fecund imagination, can open you up to past echoes. Glimpses of what might have been, and pure gold for informing fantastical settings for cultures set in fantasy worlds.     

Beyond all that, it's just cool as all hell... apart from the 48-degree celsius heat that was sending my Irish ancestry genes into meltdown as can be seen in the very 'red-faced' selfie above 😂

Thanks for reading 🌿
___

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](https://peakd.com/writing/@raj808/poetry-101-haiku-vs-senryu-the-aesthetics-of-form)

All images in this post are my own property, taken in Tulum in 2016. 
Camera - Samsung S7 Smartphone

If you have enjoyed this Haiku, please check out my homepage @raj808 for similar content.


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@beardoin ·
Visited Tulum in October just past and loved it, the place is amazing. Can only imagine what it was like at its peak. 
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@raj808 ·
Lol... hot as hades when i visited in the month of May. To be fair it was the end of May so basically getting into the Mexican summer.

It was a beautiful place, but i struggled with the heat some days. My trick was to cycle to the beach at like 5 or 6am and watch the sunrise, swim, but of yoga and generally chill until 11am then find somewhere in town with aircon or big fans to sip coffee until later in the afternoon.

The midday heat was insane, and those pictures taken at the ruins were at sind 1pm. That's why I'm like a beetroot in that pic 😂
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@teamuksupport ·
Hi @raj808, 
 Thank you for participating in the #teamuk curated tag. We have upvoted your quality content. 
 For more information visit our discord https://discord.gg/8CVx2Am
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