Mindful Writing Challenge – day 30

lone pink carnation blooming between the wildflowers


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 29

amongst the mountain mist helicopter sound


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 28

this yellowhammer's insistent call
rings out through the sun-drenched valley


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 27

dry grass still the red of the poppies


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 26

that little bud of reassurance the grows within me
when I open the blinds at 7 a.m. and find the cows 
walking back to the paddock after the morning milking


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 25

my morning of colours . . .
the pure white of the basil flowers against the scented green leaves
the black & yellow stripes of a wasp dead in the windscreen wipers
the pink of my shirt matching my tall glass of berry smoothie


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 24

arriving home
to the scent of last night's roasted red peppers


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 23

sun haze
these bees in & out
of the cornflowers


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 22

sunlight streams with warmth into my study
a scatter of rainbows adorn the walls, floor, and I
created by the crystal hanging in the window


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 21

a crumpled tissue in my pocket
all the memories come flooding back


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 20

lighting a candle 
for the first time this year
the smell of pear blossoms 
as I think of you
& start to smile

~ for Kat


Find out more about the January Mindful Writing Challenge here.

Mindful Writing Challenge – day 19

the morning grows colder by the hour & goose bumps appear
I search out some winter clothes to wear this midsummer's day


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 18

clock tick
tractor rumble
bird song
leaf rustle
house creak
computer whir
cow moo


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 17

the tears come suddenly 
and itch on my cheeks as they dry


Find out more about the January Mindful Writing Challenge here.

In Memoriam: Kat Creighton

I was very shocked and saddened to hear today that fellow writer Kat Creighton has passed away. She was a lovey and talented woman, whom I had the pleasure of writing with in 2012. 

Kat was going through a tough time emotionally after Hurricane Sandy hit her home town on the Jersey Shore. I reached out to her and asked if she'd like to write with me as I'd found collaborations to be a beautiful way of connecting and inspiring during and after hard times. I'm so glad she accepted my offer! 

Below is our tanka sequence, the first Kat had written, which was published in LYNX. Rest in peace, Kat. You will be sorely missed in the haiku community, especially on Facebook, by myself, and many, many others.

Uncharted Depths
by Kirsten Cliff & Kat Creighton

heatwave--
seeing myself reflected
in his sunglasses . . .
how long have I been
inside this chrysalis

these ruins
swaddled in fresh snow
and I
beneath boundless stars
wriggle out of the darkness

hoping I'll know
when I've become whole . . .
so much to learn
watching the sunflowers
watching the sun

morning frost
reaching for a source
of warmth
I rearrange by color
the sea glass on the sill

lightning storm--
still this humid air
remains . . .
my mixture of old
and new scars

where the ice ends
and the river begins
uncharted depths . . .
the measure of this life
mapped in ebb and flow

on the wave
of a cuckoo's song
we drift again
over last night's dream
. . . this need for control

every leaf
from every branch
long gone . . .
so much starlight to carry
my endless prayers

watermarked
across this expanse of sky
two rainbows
shedding the shadow
from my heart

finally free of winter's grasp
the footlamps along the path
guide me
to a space wide enough
for wings

Please go and read more of Kat's poetry on her blog my ninth life. You can also read her work in the Living Haiku Anthology here and find out more about her here where she was featured as a NaHaiWriMo prompter.

Mindful Writing Challenge – day 16

the wind's swirl hugging the house
searching for the cracks in between


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 15

walking to the car after a blood test
I feel a warmth on my arm and find it
bright red, running down to my wrist


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 14

summer morning chill
I find a patch of sunlight and become a cat


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 13

break in the wind
the neighbour's dog barking 
then not


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 12

swaying gums
my mind sways too


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 11

I open the curtains and see the cows
even before I put on my glasses
slowly walking in a line down the track
back to a fresh paddock after milking


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 10

a man leading his child along on a white pony in the morning sunlight


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 9

a tissue in the washing
creating snow as I hang it on the line


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 8

the moon phases missing from my new diary
I vow to look out the window tonight instead


Find out more about the January Mindful Writing Challenge here.

Mindful Writing Challenge – day 7

the musicality of the word musicality


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 6

my eczema

set to 'high itch'

summer heat

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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 5

Monday morning after the holidays and the world seeps back to normal
I take down the Christmas tree, leaving an emptiness behind me


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 4

like the storm
my headache gathers and explodes into sound


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 3

summer market
the way each stall holder looks up as we pass


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Mindful Writing Challenge – day 2

dark morning

the bruise on my leg

turning purple

Find out more about the January Mindful Writing Challenge here.

Mindful Writing Challenge – day 1

century old oak a sparrow leaves the path

My first small stone of 2014 for the Mindful Writing Challenge. (I started a day late to fit in with most of the rest of the world.)  Come join me! :-)

In Memoriam: John Carley

I remember his prompt of 'karumi' over at the August 2012 NaHaiWriMo. I came up with:

thoughts of you
a shift of light
on the mountainside

So poignant now. RIP John Carley. Thanks for your teachings and your friendship.

Welcome to 2014!

What better way to start the new year than with the first page of my calendar of haiku and photography, which I did jointly with my husband this time round. Below is actually the view from our lounge at this time of year, often complete with a herd of dairy cows chewing their cud. Just click on the image to see an enlarged view and to read Cameron's previously unpublished haiku. Didn't he do well?

January 2014 haiku & photo by Cameron Elliot

If you're a regular reader of Swimming in Lines of Haiku you'll probably notice that I've changed the look of the blog for 2014: a fresh, clean slate to start as I mean to go on. And before I do I'd like to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all my readers and supporters, to the editors that have accepted and published my work, to those I've written and celebrated with, to those who bought my desk calendars and New Res anthologies: Thank you so much! Let's do it all over again.

Wishing you all the best for a year ahead of reading and writing, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the festive season. If you're looking for a way to kick-start your writing year then join in the January 2014 Mindful Writing Challenge. Maybe I'll see you there! :-)