a river of stones - day thirty-one

small stone #31

once the third crane is folded

I'm no longer reaching for the instructions



My growing collection of origami peace cranes

If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Take a Break for Coffee

a river of stones - day thirty

small stone #30

my first fresh cherries in a season almost gone


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty-nine

small stone #29

for today, the wind is my muse, blowing a ragged collection of debris into the house & setting a drift the possessions found therein. I shall bathe in the power & the glory to refresh my spirit for the long day ahead.


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty-eight

small stone #28

he never writes on the line, always between them...
maybe he knows something that I don't


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Spirit First Meditation Poetry Contest

FREE entry!

Deadline: 31st January

Prizes: US$175, $125, $75

Special Category - Spoken Poem Prize: US$75

Guidelines:

• Poems may be of any length and style, but must have a theme of meditation, mindfulness, stillness, or silence.
• Poems may reflect any discipline, any faith, or none.
• Poems must be previously unpublished.
• Up to three submissions only.
• Please submit by email, with cover note listing author's name, address, phone number, and email address.
• Winners announced by March 31. Get more information here.

I have a poem that just fits this criterea, and as it's free to enter, I've got nothing to lose. So it will be my submission for next week, week five of 2011, but I'd better get it in first thing on Monday morning!

Maybe you have a small stone that you could develop into a poem over the weekend for this competition. After all, it was an exercise in mindfulness. Go on, give it a go! And let me know how you do :)

a river of stones - day twenty-seven

small stone #27

using my grandmother's old wooden pegs, I hang out my freshly laundered linen in the majesty of the summer sun


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty-six

small stone #26

the warmth of her smile as she waits for her burger & fries


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty-five

small stone #25

printing out info on writers residencies in Germany, Spain and India: I realise that I'm printing out my dreams to hold and look upon at will


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition Deadline 31st Jan

If I get my act together in time, this will be my submission for week four of 2011. I've never entred it before, but in my bid to get myself and my writing back out into the world after cancer, I'm going to give it a whirl!

Cash prizes totalling £360. Twelve haiku will be picked as monthly winners; 40 others will be runners-up. All will be published. Haiku should include a seasonal word or activity. Results announced on March 31.

Cost: £3/$US5/haiku; £6/$US10/3 haiku; £12/$US20 up to 10 haiku. It is now possible to pay via PayPal.

For full details see the Entry Guide on the Snapshot Press website.

a river of stones - day twenty-four

small stone #24

shoving the filing cabinet closed with my right hip: I disturb the collection of shells and driftwood of which I still can't seem to let go


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Reading the Haiku News

Have you been inspired by a news story that resulted in a haiku?

Then Haiku News is the place to submit it!

This is an online newspaper edited by Dick Whyte (NZ) and Laurence Stacey (USA) where "the personal is the political is the poetical."

I don't watch or read the news religiously, but Haiku News intrigues me.

I first thought it would be difficult to write haiku on a current event. Yet when I became open to the idea, I found that some news stories did inspire me, and I now enjoy having another outlet for my haiku.

I visit the site almost daily, and have read some very moving poems there. You can read one of mine here, and I sent in a further submission last week.

Please read the Submission Guidelines for full information.

a river of stones - day twenty-three

small stone #23

Sunday morning, the rain is coming down like it's winter, and I'm picking the sultanas from my cereal


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty-two

small stone #22

my tiffany lamp may be a reproduction but it still has a story to tell


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty-one

small stone #21

between the bursts of traffic noise I exhale with the poetry spoken by the wind through the trees


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twenty

small stone #20

luxuriating in the lingering scent of his aftershave


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of a stones - day nineteen

small stone #19

the sticking plaster wrapped around my toe is the closest I've ever seen to my actual skin colour


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

My Image as Cover Art for a Poetry Journal

The latest issue of Four and Twenty is out now, sporting one of my images on the cover! I was delighted when editor Vinnie Kinsella chose my photograph - artist's table. You can check it out here.

I have now added a My Photography page to this blog. You can view it by clicking on 'My Photography', which is next to the 'Home' tab, under the image of Mt Maunganui at the top this page.

a river of stones - day eighteen

small stone #18

the shine on this antique signet ring so much softer and more welcoming than one bought brand new - I think he'll like it


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day seventeen

small stone #17

wind chimes serenade the many shades of green

Front garden of Wordsmith House, Bay of Plenty, NZ 17.01.11

If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Photography Competition: Ellerslie International Flower Show

A competition for Kiwis with a chance to exhibit your photography at the Ellerslie International Flower Show 2011.

Focus on Flowers Photographic Competition
Two categories: under 18 years and open.
Deadline for entries is February 11th, 2011.
Check out the full Competition Conditions and Entry Form.

Best of luck!

a river of stones - day sixteen

small stone #16

losing myself in the force of the waterfall

Kaiate Falls, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand 15.01.2011



If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day fifteen

small stone #15

walking out to the garden, I catch the kiss of a spider's web


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day fourteen

small stone #14

each day the jacaranda fills the space a little more between us and them


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Submissions for Kokako 14 close February 1st, 2011

Kokako is a New Zealand magazine of haiku, tanka, haibun and related forms. It's edited by Patricia Prime and Joanna Preston, and is published twice a year in April and September.

Submissions should be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere. Editors ask you to please make just one submission of up to 10 pieces during each submission period to kokakonz@gmail.com

I'm currently getting my submission of haiku and tanka ready to send to Kokako. This will be my submission for next week, which is the third week of 2011. This week (week two of the year) I submitted to Haiku News, which I will tell you more about soon!

a river of stones - day thirteen

small stone #13

giggling like a naughty girl as my dart flies over the neighbours' fence, and running to hide while my boyfriend goes over to retrieve it


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day twelve

small stone #12

waiting to be called for my blood test
I think: I should have brought a book of poetry to read
and instead make poetry in my head


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day eleven

small stone #11

sitting out in the garden
staring at no thing
my thoughts racing
I look down at my lap
to find a praying mantis
swaying in the summer breeze
bringing a halt to my busy mind
and a smile to my lips


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day ten

small stone #10

a thrush finding the sunlight between shadows


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Submitting to Eucalypt: a Tanka Journal

Eucalypt is an Australian tanka journal edited by it's founder Beverley George who I first met in 2008 at Haiku Aotearoa (a haiku conference in Christchurch, New Zealand).

Submissions are now open for Eucalypt Issue 10 (out May 2011). Deadline is March 31st, 2011. Go here for full submission guidelines. On Friday, I submitted for the first time, and that is my poetry submission for the first week of this year.

Check out the website while you are there. It has tanka articles, and the winners of the Scribbling Awards recognising two outstanding tanka from each issue. A great idea! And some beautiful poetry. Enjoy :)

a river of stones - day nine

small stone #9

tomatoes not as sweet straight from the fridge


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day eight

small stone #8

greeting me at the garden gate     bougainvillea flowers


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

Thank You International Small Stones Writing Month!

I am so grateful for a river of stones (international small stones writing month) this January. It has refreshed my love of observing, exploring, experiencing, and writing poetry again.

And boy did I need it!

The greater part of 2010 was a test of my relationship with the world of writing (amongst other things).

I didn't write much at all. I had my hands full, and my spirit clouded, with leukaemia (a blood cancer I was diagnosed with on March 2nd, 2010).

I got through it. And started writing haiku and tanka to help me process my journey, making 19 of them into collage-style haiga from August to December.

Now I think, no I know, that it's time to move on. Finding and writing small stones this month is helping me do that.

I do still have more than 18 months of maintenance treatment ahead of me, which includes taking chemo in tablet form. But I'm in remission and through the worst. So from here on it's about attitude.
 
I've decided to submit to a poetry publication or competition every week in 2011. My submissions for last year were way down, and now I want to get back out there. Observing, tasting, trying, writing, reading, submitting...

a river of stones - day seven

small stone #7

noticing I'd used a pronoun when remarking on the state of today: "She's a scorcher!"


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

The Haiku Foundation HaikuNow! Contest

The Haiku Foundation announced today the opening of their second annual HaikuNow! Contest.

There are three categories: Traditional, Contemporary and Innovative. Everyone is allowed to enter one poem in each category. Entry is FREE, with cash prizes!

The submission deadline is March 31st, 2011 using an online form.
Judges are Jim Kacian and Jane Hirshfield. See the website for full information and guidelines.

a river of stones - day six

stone #6

shredding papers that I once found important


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day five

small stone #5

shopping mall
a wide open space
where Santa used to be


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day four

small stone #4

the small joy
of waking up
before the traffic roar

for a short time
all is still
and I am home


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day three

small stone #3

loading the dishwasher:
remembering
how he likes the teaspoons
in a particular slot
and how he said today
when we sat in the garden
"I like the shapes of the leaves on our trees."



If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day two

small stone #2

finding my childhood in the smell of the forest



Papamoa Hills, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand 1.1.11


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)

a river of stones - day one

small stone #1

marking on the new calender
which days I take one chemo tablet
and which days I take two


If you enjoyed this please click in the 'like' box below as your responses will help me choose which small stones to send in to Fiona to be considered for the book at the end of January. Thanks :)