cool spring morning (haiga)

Chrysanthemum 13, April 2013 (click to enlarge)

Kirsten's 2013 Calendar of Haiku & Photography: First Quarter

We're a quarter of our way through the year already and I haven't revealed any of the pages from my 2013 calendar yet! So here's a catch up of the first four months (click on images to enlarge):

January 2013 Haiku & Image by Kirsten Cliff

February 2013 Haiku & Image by Kirsten Cliff

March 2013 Haiku & Image by Kirsten Cliff

April 2013 Haiku & Image by Kirsten Cliff

As with last year's calendar (see here) I used images that I thought my family would enjoy, and haiku that I thought they'd 'get'. I hope you've enjoyed this taster of what's to come throughout 2013. More soon! :)

I have arrived . . .

By which I mean that my bounty of A New Resonance 8 books arrived yesterday . . . By which I mean that the postie left a card in the letterbox saying that the parcel was too big for said letterbox and that my driveway was "too scary" to ascend for the delivery, so I was to go into the post office to pick it up myself!

This huge, and quite heavy, US postal bag is what I found when I got there. Wow!

I am super excited to be in this volume with sixteen other "emerging" haiku poets, and to be the only Southern Hemisphere dweller amongst them. A New Resonance 8 is published by Red Moon Press and edited by Jim Kacian and Dee Evetts, and is said to be the finest volume yet.

Front cover (click to enlarge)

If you'd like to buy your copy from me, and have it sent from Hobbiton, I'm including one of my unique handcrafted cards in with every book. It'll be my gift to you for supporting my creative journey. Here are two examples of the cards I have to send out. I'm also happy to sign the book for you, just let me know. 

I can receive payments via PayPal if you're outside New Zealand. Or if you're a Kiwi, there are a range of ways you can make a purchase. Please email me. Book priced at NZ$20 / US$17 + P&P.

Back cover (click to enlarge)

My congratulations to all of the poets in this volume (see back cover image above) some of which I've had contact with, and others that I haven't. Didn't we do well? I hope readers enjoy what we all have to offer. I know I'll be enjoying the experience for a long time to come.

In This Wind

lemon blossoms
the push i needed
in this wind

a handful of stones, Saturday, 20 April 2013

Moonbright

moonbright

my anger takes form

before me

a handful of stones, Wednesday, 10 April 2013

touch wood

facing away
from the morning sun
in the bonds
of a silent friendship
my shadow       my grief 

the early bird catches the worm. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. make hay while the sun shines. the grass is always greener on the other side. only fools go where angels fear to tread. don't worry, be happy. shit happens. beggars can't be choosers. you can't have your cake and eat it too. if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. out of the frying pan, into the fire. that's the pot calling the kettle black. make love not war. hugs not drugs. give peace a chance. communication is the key. the truth will set you free. no news is good news. cat got your tongue? 

this exhaustion
fills me up
& surrounds me . . .
every word carries
the weight of tears 

let the cat out of the bag. when the cat's away, the mice will play. the cat who got the cream. money makes the world go round. money is the root of all evil. life's a bitch, then you die. anything that can go wrong will go wrong. up shit creek without a paddle. it's just a phase. keep calm and carry on. just do it. break a leg. dream big. love they neighbour. no man is an island. time waits for no man. a stitch in time saves nine. out of sight, out of mind. an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. the writing is on the wall. you can't teach an old dog new tricks. you've made your bed, now lie in it. it'll be all right on the night. tomorrow's another day . . . 

the strain
of a spider's web
across my cheek—
dividing life into before
and after leukaemia 

Haibun Today, Volume 7, Number 1, March 2013

 

Through the Fog

winter solstice ...

a hawk glides on

through the fog

Kokako 18 (April 2013) 

Haiku & photograph by Kirsten Cliff