How quickly

turning hawk
how quickly these tears
dry in the breeze

Kokako 20 (April 2014)

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 Just click on the image to see an enlarged view and to read Cameron's previously unpublished haiku.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! :-)

Through the Fog

winter solstice ...

a hawk glides on

through the fog

Kokako 18 (April 2013) 

Haiku & photograph by Kirsten Cliff

Haiku Hawk

Painting by Jenny Longstaff

This painting by Jenny Longstaff was inspired by my haiku below, and done for the When North meet South exhibition, now on at Bellamy's Gallery, Dunedin.

 misty moon

above the mountain range

hawk's cry

Organiser Ruth Arnison brought together haiku poets from the North Island and artists of all kinds from the South Island to create this unique fundraising event. A percentage of the proceeds of all sales goes to Ruth's amazing Poems in the Waiting Room project.

Dream Catcher: A Rengay With Cara Holman

Dream Catcher

Kirsten Cliff & Cara Holman

crosswinds

struggling not to recall

last night's dream

the morning sky

filled with rain

drifting fog

where does the dream end

and I begin

dream catcher

I tell myself what

I want to believe

across dandelioned fields

a hawk's shadow

river reeds

weaving daydreams

into stories

Published in 'fox dreams' - a Yay Words! project by Aubrie Cox

Away With the Birds

          rushing thoughts...
          the speckled breast
          of this thrush

Notes From the Gean, December 2011, volume 3, issue 3

I haven't seen any thrushes here at my new home in Hobbiton, but many, many other birds that will stop me in my tracks; mind and body. Some I saw daily in suburbia, like blackbirds (a favourite of mine and hubby's), finches (partial to these wee ones, too) and sparrows (of course!).

Then there are the beautiful array of new birds for my viewing palette, like the ever loud and proud peacock, the majestic pair of hawks, the magpie's with a nest in our gum tree, the native pukeko that drink from the cow troughs, beautiful swallows, cheeky minors, and various brightly coloured parrots. It's a busy place!

Needless to say, much haiku is being written about the birds and our amazing rural views. I just sent in a new batch of ten haiku for my third set on DailyHaiku Cycle 12. My second week-long set is running now and looking great :) I'm also getting a submission ready to send in to The Heron's Nest by 15 December.

And to my surprise, I had a great session over the weekend writing dragon haiku and tanka for Aubrie Cox's New Year's Day post over at her blog, Yay Words! I'd never written about dragons before, but once I got going I had heaps of fun. Check out the submission info here. It's going to be fantastic!