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

A Small Stone Stuck in the Mud . . .

I photograph
my neighbour's tractor
stuck in the mud

a handful of stones, Monday 18 March, 2013

 

Bedbound...

         


          bedbound...
          three finches take turns
          in the bird bath

a handful of stones, Friday, 16 December 2011

There are still a lot of finches flitting around at our new home, but none of these ones are showing any interest in the bird bath. Luckily, in our rural setting, we don't need such an item to attract all the bird life, and we are happily enjoying watching them where ever they may nest, rest, play, fly and feed.

To all my Facebook friends: Although very exhausted from the move, etc., I'm not bed bound just now, thank God! I know you've been leaving me messages of support and I thank you all :) 

Unfortunately, between needing to rest and my dial-up connection, I haven't been able to get back on Facebook. The good news is that I've reached another milestone: only six-months of treatment to go, and the start of my latest 3-month cycle and bone marrow aspirate is being held-off until after Christmas and New Year. Phew!

A very happy Summer Solstice to those in my part of the world :) It's been a rainy summer here so far and I'm loving it as it's filling up our water tank! A happy Winter Solstice to the bulk of my readers over in the Northern Hemisphere. I hope everyone is writing some Solstice haiku...

November Round-Up - The Hills Are Alive With Haiku

Gosh, so much happened in November that I don't know where to begin! Definitely the busiest month this year, jam-packed with good things. It started with a short honeymoon after my partner and I were wed on 31 October. A week after getting back we bought a house. Then about two weeks after that we moved!

We've been in our new home a week now and are enjoying the quiet and quirks that come with a life lived in the country. One change that we weren't expecting was the downscale to dial-up Internet. Although it is kinda cool to be so rural that we can't get broadband. It means you have to slow down. Perfect!

Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:

• week four-four - submitted ten haiku to Notes From the Gean, three haiku accepted!
• week forty-five - submitted ten tanka to Ribbons, one tanka accepted!
• week forty-six - submitted five haiku to the Thom Williams Memorial Contest (first time submitting here)
• week forty-seven - submitted five haiku and five tanka to paper wasp (awaiting outcome)
• week forty-eight - submitted five haiku and five tanka to Kokako (awaiting outcome)

November saw my poetry appear in a handful of stones twice, and my first week of haiku published on DailyHaiku, which you can read here. I was very pleased to see that the 'bride-to-be' haiku went on-line the day before I got married!

Only four weeks left now of submitting each week and I would have achieved the goal I set for myself in the first week of January. I won't be keeping it up in 2012 (especially not with dial-up!) but I'm sure I'll find another challenge to excite my senses. There is certainly a lot of haiku to be found around these parts :)

By The Light

          the day after chemo
          he reads by the light
          of his cellphone

a handful of stones, Thursday, 24 November 2011

A Small Stone of Love

     at the door
     with muddy gumboots
     he offers me his love &
     a freshly pulled carrot

a handful of stones Thursday, 10 November 2011

October Round-Up - A Surprise Or Two Or Three...

I had a couple of great surprises this month: I was excited to receive a contributor's copy of paper wasp and to find that four of my haiku and four of my tanka were published inside! And I was absolutely ecstatic to be accepted as a contributor for Cycle 12 of DailyHaiku where 28 of my haiku will appear over the next six months. My first week of haiku started on 30 October and can be read here.

Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:

• week forty - submitted one haiku to the Polish International Haiku Competition (first time submitting here)
• week forty-one - submitted ten tanka (+1 for the contest) to Moonbathing (first time submitting here), one tanka accepted!
• AND submitted ten tanka to Notes from the Gean, one tanka accepted!
• AND submitted one haiga to Yay Words!, which appeared in Aubrie Cox's Tea with Trolls post
• week forty-two - submitted two haiku, two tanka and one haiga to tinywords (first time submitting here)
• AND submitted six small stones to a handful of stones, three accepted!
• week forty-three - submitted two haiku to the Sketchbook Sep/Oct 2011 "cemetery" Haiku Thread
• AND I submitted my second set of ten haiku for Daily Haiku

During the month, my haiku, tanka and haiga appeared online at DailyHaiku, Notes from the Gean, Issa's Untidy Hut, Chrysanthemum, Yay Words! and in paper wasp (print). And there's much more to come this November and December as all my diligence in submitting each week, and trying so many new journals, pays off. Only eight weeks left!

But wait, there's more...

I've left the biggest surprise 'til last...

Cameron and I eloped last week and were married at 2pm on 31 October in Auckland (NZ). Here's our favourite photo from the day, which was taken just after our first kiss as a married couple!

Count Me In!

Better than January resolutions... a river of stones is an international project organised by Fiona Robyn to encourage people to engage with the world through writing a short observational piece (a small stone) every day during January.

I have blogged before about Fiona Robyn's blogzine a handful of stones. Her creation of NaSmaStoMo (National Small Stones Writing Month) is a great way to bring new life into her 'small stone' philosophy and to engage the senses of people around the world.

Now you have two challenges to kick off 2011: NaSmaStoMo in January and NaHaiWriMo in February. So are you in?

                          

Two Online Opportunties for Your Haiku

Four and Twenty: short form poetry

A monthly online pdf poetry journal interested in fresh and emerging voices. Named for their guideline on what short form poetry is - poems with four lines or less that have no more than twenty words. Full submission guidelines here. The website also features a Four and Twenty of the Week, and if you join them on Twitter or Facebook you'll receive their Monday to Friday writing prompts.

a handful of stones: celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary

This poetry blog zine is edited by author Fiona Robyn. A small stone is described as, "...a very short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment." One is published each day. Read more about the small stone philosophy here and check out the submission guidelines here.