The Start Of My Tanka Journey

These were my first two published tanka, appearing in Valley Micropress Vol.13 Iss.3 (April, 2010). They were written after Owen Bullock did a tanka talk at the Christmas do of the then Papamoa Poets group. The subject matter is very Kiwi summer.
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after the gypsy fair

seeing summer

in a flowering pōhutukawa

the smell of snow

drifts into my mind

Pōhutukawa tree, affectionaly known as New Zealand's
Christmas tree. Photo by Kirsten Cliff, Papamoa Beach.

plaza Christmas tree

decorated with starfish

and jandals

I automatically look

for a pair my size

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At the Graveyard

Inspired by my angel photograph below, I wrote "At the Graveyard" in late 2009. The shot was taken at Te Awamutu Cemetery on a spring afternoon in 2008. I'm heading to Te Awamutu over the weekend to spend some time with family and wonder what new treasures I'll find while exploring the nooks and crannies of places I know less well than home. I hope you enjoy your weekend :) Happy writing! (You can see more of my images on my Photography page.)


angel
By Kirsten Cliff © 2008


At the Graveyard

Sleeping angel,
white witch of the heavens,
are your wings heavy
here on earth?

Your radiance
has worn thin, grown pale,
have our sins weathered
His holy soul?

A cloud-soaked sky
draws each dream upwards.
I reach out to touch
what isn't there.

Copyright © Kirsten Cliff

First published in Valley Micropress, Vol.13, Is.1 (January, 2010)

Location, Location, Location

My fiancé and I love our home, but the location... Not so much. Somehow, in our rush of excitement to move in together, we ended up living on a very busy road. As I said, we feel in love with the house.

Two years on the traffic has increased, soon the road will be turned into four lanes, and to top it all off, a childcare centre started up right next door!

We are looking forward to moving within the year to a much quieter place. In the meantime, we long for winter so we can cocoon ourselves into the double-glazed goodness that is Wordsmith House.

Here are two poems I wrote in the first few months of our life here together:

Domain Road

At night
when the traffic slows
I hear the conversations
of the people walking past.

A woman calling her cat
the laughter of young lovers
that distinct sound
of a skateboard
rolling over the joins
and imperfections in the pavement.

When he returns
                               I sleep.


Writer's reign

We sat on the couch sharing
lazy-sunday kisses
our move into love-making

blanketed by the traffic noise
and the banging of the
horizontal blinds.

He said we would be
'right as rain'
two poets drafting

out a life together
safe in each
other's embrace.

Both poems: Copyright © Kirsten Cliff
First published in Valley Micropress 12:6 (August, 2009)

Haibun: Blackbird's pick 'n' mix

My insomnia has me awake early, and I'm exhausted. The low rumble of traffic has already begun, and as my feet hit the carpet I feel the vibrations through the floor. I head out to the lounge, and open the curtains on the dawn of another spring day.

bowing to the gods

the curve

of a lavender stalk

That scruffy blackbird is back. I watch him pluck worms from the wet grass, his jaunty pecks disturbing the disarray of dead leaves. With ruffed-up tail feathers, he finds one worm, then another, and hops to the concrete path in front of the dog-pawed ranch slider. He drops both worms in favour of the cockroach my fiancé stomped on and tossed out last night at my haughty insistence. The worms wriggle apart, and scoot in opposite directions. Which route is safer – heading back to the grass, or towards the house?

The blackbird turns away from me to crunch on the roach - dropping it, prodding it, clasping it once again in his beak. Does he sense my disgust? Or maybe he is too shy to receive my gratitude at having the signs of death cleared away.

all the street lights

flicker off

the sound of wind-chimes

He turns back to pick up the worms, then flies off with his breakfast bounty into the morning sky. I turn and walk to the kitchen to see what the fridge has to offer.

Copyright © Kirsten Cliff
First published in Kokako 12 (April, 2010)
A different version of the first haiku appeared in Valley Micropress (Vol.12, Is.08, Oct 2009)

Photo by Cameron Elliot

Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day twenty-two

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:


pressed against the window
bougainvillea flowers
& the neighbour's cat


Published in Valley Micropress Vol.12 Iss.5 (June/July, 2009)

Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day sixteen

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:

bowing to the sun

the curve

of a lavender stalk

Published in Valley Micropress Vol.12 Iss.8 (October, 2009)

Sharing a Haiku for NaHaiWriMo - day nine

I'm writing a haiku a day for NaHaiWriMo offline. Here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku I'm sharing one of my published haiku each day:


teaching haiku -
all the children
raise their hands


Published in Valley Micropress Vol.12 Iss.5 (June/July, 2009)

First post back is about haiku, of course!

Hello, hello! It's good to be feeling well enough to start blogging again :)

The world of haiku has been chugging along while I've been in hospital, and the fruits of my labours in late 2009 and early 2010 have now come to fruition. So while I wasn't doing much writing, the past months have seen me receive third place in the Katikati Haiku Contest 2010 (judged by Sandra Simpson), two haiku published in the haikai pages of Bravado 19 (edited by Barbara Strang), and a haiku in, what ended up being, the final issue of moonset. I also saw my first ever tanka published in Valley Micropress (Vol13:Is3) and had my angel photo appear on the following month's VM cover (Vol13:Is4).

I was in between hospital visits when the Katikati Haiku Contest had its prize giving on June 6th so was able to attend and catch up with my fellow lovers of the Japanese poetry forms. The Katikati Haiku Pathway was also celebrating its 10th anniversary that wet and wonderful day and you can read a write up, complete with pics and the winning haiku, here: http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/node/502 . The Wai Taiko drummers were thrilling once again, but hearing them indoors this time round was a full body experience!

The biggest haiku event, however, to have put a smile on my face since returning to Wordsmith House is my invitation to appear on the Haiku NewZ 'Showcase' of talented haiku writers in NZ. I'm honoured that my name and haiku will sit alongside such great haiku writers, those whose work I have studied, aspired to; some I am lucky enough to have met and call 'friend'. You can see the 'Showcase' here: http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/node/275 . I have to get organised and choose 10 of my haiku and write a short bio for my inclusion, which should appear online next month. Will keep you updated!