Saying Hello, Saying Goodbye

Today marks the beginning of NaHaiWriMo which will see poets all over the globe writing a haiku a day for the month of February. You can find all the information here. I've written two today while out (using the pen and post-it notes I keep in my handbag) and think I might have gotten hubby on board, too :)

To welcome in the new month, here is the February page from my haiga calendar. The haiku placed Highly Commended in the 2008 NZPS International Haiku Contest and was published in the NZPS anthology, Before the Sirocco. The photograph was taken near my parents house in Kihikihi, Te Awamutu, and is very similar to the view I now get to see every day from my hill in Hobbiton, Matamata. (You can click on the photo to see a larger version.)




February 2012 - Kirsten's Calendar of Haiku & Photography

February 1st was also a day to say goodbye: The Grandfather of haiku in New Zealand, Cyril Childs, passed away on 27 January and his funeral was today in Dunedin.

I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Cyril at my first Haiku Conference in Christchurch in 2008. I remember his kind eyes and warm smile, the encouragement he gave me, and his passion for haiku. My condolences to his family and friends, and his haiku family and friends in New Zealand and around the world.

You can read some of Cyril's haiku on his Haiku NewZ Showcase page here and read the tributes to this wonderful haijin here. May he rest in peace.