Roofless: 3+ months on . . .

July 2014 - Photo & Haiku by Kirsten Cliff

Here I am finally writing a post for my birthday month of July. I was really hoping that hubby and I would be back home by the 31st, but it's not to be. Thankfully I have lots of good news to share . . .

Firstly, a remission milestone: I found out last week that I've been downgraded from three-monthly clinic visits to six-monthly. That is progress, folks! Still monthly blood counts, and a special blood test every three months for molecular studies. But all in all I'm moving further away from cancer. Phew!

As to the progress on my home: we now not only have a new roof, but all the internal walls and ceilings have been erected, as well as some parts of the flooring that needed repair. It's all looking much more like a house now, instead of a barren womb.

I'm told that plasterers are starting this week (that may be "Gibb-rockers or stoppers" to some of you not in NZ). After that it will be internal and external painters, kitchen and carpet installers, plumbers and electricians. Such a big job - I'm so glad I'm not the one organising it all!

The good news includes our contents claim being settled in full, too. All that the insurers said they would repair they have; all they said that they'd replace they have; the rest has been paid out to us to buy the things we need. So yes, you guessed it - I plan to shop it up on my birthday tomorrow! :-)

Many of my fellow poets have their birthdays in July, and here I'll just mention a few. Margaret Dornaus invited poets to write a moon haiku or tanka in celebration of her birthday. You can read the results on her blog here. And Chrissi Villa is asking poets to join in her birthday fun by writing a poem for her inspired by the music that you'll find at the top of her blog here. There will be prizes - find out more about it on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/704682542937953/

It was also my late Granddad's birthday on July 10th. I wrote this tanka during the summer, the last months of his life:

dreading
the call that says
he’s gone …
two petals left
on the last poppy

A Hundred Gourds 3:3 June 2014

Moondrunk

Wow, a month since I've posted here. That's how exhausted, strained, stressed and busy I've been. But things are looking up. Decisions are being made. I'm writing again, and submitting again. Have just started a summer kasen with two other poets and am looking forward to working and playing my way through that process. Collaboration is good for my soul.

moondrunk

we speak of God
in whispers . . .
my ache for touch bathed
in the music of his eyes

Skylark 2:1 (Summer 2014)

 

My haiku journal, which I also used for recording all manner of creative thoughts and ideas, was thoroughly soaked when a big storm left my home open to the elements this Easter. Mid-week I went in search of a new journal, and after 5 shops I finally found the journal that spoke to me.

 

Having a beautiful journal is not necessary for writing, but lots of the nice things we have we don't need, but they inspire us. The smallest things can bring joy. I hope you find a haiku / writing / creative dreaming journal that speaks to you. Maybe it's one of the ones that I created to help bring a little joy into this world. View them here in my online shop, Haiku On: http://www.cafepress.com/haikuon/11141019

 

June - winter for New Zealand, and being mid-year, a good time to take stock of where one is at. Through Facebook I'm participating in a month of daily "Abundance is . . ." (fill in the blank) to shine light on things I'm grateful for and to notice the abundance all around me. A haiku and two tanka of mine came out in A Hundred Gourds this month. I'd completely forgotten about them with everything that's been going on, so it was a nice surprise to find my work amongst the pages. And of course, there's the calendar of haiku and photography that I did with my hubby this year, for friends and family. Below is the June  2014 page, by Cameron Elliot:

 

 

Haiku & Photo by Cameron Elliot



Empty

empty cocoon
what I think about
when it's dark

A Hundred Gourds 3:1 (December 2013)

Dark Days

knowing that haiku
are all around me
but these dark days
I'm just too lost
to find them

                        A Hundred Gourds 2:4 September 2013

Ten Years Tanka

ten years too late
I've translated the Italian
he wrote me that Christmas
I await your presence
in Soave soon . .

                        A Hundred Gourds 2:4 September 2013

 

Nightlight

Somehow I knew about them before I arrived in Japan. But I was beginning to realise it was the small ones that I should be wary of. The big ugly black ones, that you could clearly see inching along the roadside, were much too heavy to scurry up surfaces. The charming little red ones however, would suddenly appear on the wall behind the customer you were with. I would jerk and point, though only my fellow foreigners seemed to cringe at the shocking sight.

godless month . . .
I dream of riding a horse
into my childhood home,
all the family waiting
and expectant

We foreign girls started sleeping with the light on. It seemed the only solution. I was not going to lie in that top bunk with red cockroaches running around my head. Japan was not going to beat me. I needed the money, and anyway, I wanted to hide from real life for a while.

between snowfalls . . .
I wasn't meant to
find a love like this,
my slight resistance
not lost beneath languages

A Hundred Gourds 2:3, June 2013

After Her Funeral

after her funeral

the duck shooter's 

constant call

A Hundred Gourds 2:3, June 2013

White Cherry Petals . . .

white cherry petals . . .

her family gathers in spirit

for the wedding

A Hundred Gourds 2:3, June 2013

A Hundred Gourds Haiga

A Hundred Gourds 2:2 March 2013 (click on image to enlarge)

The June 2013 edition of A Hundred Gourds is now online. I'm in there with two haiku and a tanka prose piece, along with work from many other wonderful poets. Get stuck in! :-)

With Each Slow Step . . .

I start again
my search for freedom…
with each slow step
the cow's udder sways
side-to-side 

A Hundred Gourds 2:2, March 2013 

Tanka and photo by Kirsten Cliff

When I told Him . . .

I was lucky enough to have this tanka made into a haiga by Ron Moss, who chooses a handful of haiku and tanka from each issue of AHG to illustrate. You can view it at the bottom of the page here.
 

the way he didn't
even look at me
when I told him…
midsummer & still unripe
this tangle of wild blackberries 

A Hundred Gourds 2:2, March 2013

A Happy Haiku Holiday Season . . .

December 2012 - Kirsten's Calendar of Haiku & Photography

The end of the year is upon us and it's time for me to look back and see if my ideas for 2012 came to fruition. My poetic leanings for this year were to:

• Make haiku and tanka a part of my everyday life -- I've certainly done this with having my own haiku calendar on my kitchen wall this year, the December page of which you see above. (See the pages for each month of 2012 at my side-bar link Kirsten's 2012 Calendar of Haiku & Photography.) I've created a second calendar for 2013 with all new photos and haiku, which I look forward to my family seeing for the first time come Christmas; and of course, having it on my own wall for the year. I also wrote haiku in cards this year, and made cards with haiku on them, giving them to family and friends. And I added haiku to the odd email or other message here and there, when I felt it might be appreciated. You can also read the post I did for New Zealand's National Poetry Day here about how I get my daily dose of haiku.
• Write more linked haiku and tanka verse -- Yes! All up this year I wrote 13 rengay with Cara Holman, all of which have been published, and three of which have been submitted to the rengay anthology. I had never written rengay before this and have found it very inspiring and enjoyable. I also wrote one rengay with Aubrie Cox, which was published in Kokako, and has been submitted to the rengay anthology as well. Mid-year I was part of a group that wrote a junicho; most of us for the first time. This was quite a different process to writing rengay, and a steep learning curve, but definitely something I would try again. The result of our efforts "Cold Sun" is in the December issue of A Hundred Gourds. Last, but not least, I wrote a tanka sequence with Margaret Dornaus, which was published in LYNX. This was another rewarding experience, and another first for me. We hope to write more together in the future.
• Write more haibun and tanka prose -- I wrote the most of these forms in a year than I ever had, and read a lot too! I decided that two of my haibun were worthy of polishing up and presenting to editors, and gratefully both were accepted; one in Kokako and one in Contemporary Haibun Online. Tanka prose I found a bit trickier and only in the last few weeks have I finalised two that I think are of a publishable standard. The first has been accepted to Haibun Today, and I'm waiting on news for the second. Needless to say I'm super pleased with my efforts and definitely want to keep writing more. I'm still interested in writing a poetic memoir in this fashion, although I'm keen to write it about a different time in my life than I'd originally conceived. Watch this space!

I did lots of other things in haiku-land for the first time, too, this year, like participating in kukai, judging a competition, and collaborating on photo-haiga. It's all made for a well rounded year of fun and challenges and learning and friendships. I'm looking forward to more! :)

There is a lot I'm interested in pursuing next year: collaborations of all kinds, finalising putting my first collection together, and entering the most haiku and tanka competitions I ever have in 12 months!

What will actually happen?

I don't know, because what I do know is that I can't do it all. I'm actually only a few submissions away this year from having done, what would work out as, one submission a week (which I did as a minimum in 2011). My coffers are running low. So it's a big period of concentrated writing that is needed right now. See you soon...

Here's to a happy haiku holiday season to all my readers!

May you eat, drink, write and be merry. :)

Cold Sun junicho

The first junicho I've participated in creating is now online in the new issue of A Hundred Gourds. You can view the whole piece here, and click on 'next renku' at the bottom of the page to read the Tomegaki for Cold Sun by our sabaki Sandra Simpson. My main contribution was the hokku, which also gave the junicho its title, and is considered an honoured position.

We started writing this at the NZ haiku conference in June where Jim Kacian was our distinguished guest and presenter of two Masterclasses. Jim was also a participant in the junicho. You can read a full write up of the Haiku Festival Aotearoa 2012, including Jim's workshops, in the fearture Sandra has written for AHG here.

Enjoy our junicho, and the rest of the December issue of AHG! :)

Launching into November . . .

Three launches that include my haiku are happening this month, and unfortunately I won't make it to any of them! Never mind because the books will arrive soon. :)

First is the launch of Building a time machine - the 2012 New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology, edited by Owen Bullock. I have two haiku appearing in this anthology: one that received a Highly Commended in the NZPS International Haiku Competition, and a further ku that was chosen by the editor. Order your copy here.

Second is the opening of the exhibition When North meets South, organised by Ruth Arnison. This is where artists of all kinds from the South Island chose haiku from poets from the North Island and made works of art inspired by them. I can't wait to receive my copy of the exhibition booklet that will include my four chosen haiku turned into works of art by four different painters. Hopefully I'll be able to link some photos soon!

Last but not least is the launch of the Haiku News Anthology, edited by Dick Whyte (NZ) and Laurence Stacey (US). I have one haiku appearing in this anthology and look forward to seeing this unique collection. Presales are now being taken here to support the printing of the book.

November 2012 - Kirsten's Calendar of Haiku & Photography

Above is the November page of my calendar. The photo was taken last year at Papamoa Beach especially for this project. The haiku is one of my most published ku, originally taking out Third prize in the Katikati Haiku Contest (2008). I've been busy making a 2013 calendar to give to family and friends this Christmas. Lot's of new photos and haiku to enjoy throughout the year. Remember you can see all the pages from my 2012 calendar at the link on the side-bar: Kirsten's 2012 Calendar of Haiku & Photography.

Last month I did several new photo-haiga in collabortaion with Cara Holman. This was the first time for both of us working together in this way, and we've deemed it a great success! Three have already appeared in Margaret Dornaus' Day of the Dead post. Five more have been sent to Aubrie Cox, the new A Hundred Gourds haiga editor, for consideration in the next issue. All have used my images with Cara's haiku; plus I also sent in three that are all my own work. I've only submitted haiga twice to a journal and look forward to seeing how these collaborations fare, and to doing more of the same in the future. Happy haiku-ing, friends! :)

Turning A Corner

in the pocket

with my silenced worries

this found feather

From "Turning a Corner" A Hundred Gourds 1:3 (June 2012)

A rengay by Kirsten Cliff and Cara Holman

Haiku & photograph © Kirsten Cliff

 

 

The Scent of Pine

fallen fence post

counting out pills

for the day

From "The Scent of Pine" A Hundred Gourds 1:3 (June 2012)

A rengay by Kirsten Cliff and Cara Holman

Haiku & photograph © Kirsten Cliff

Rengay Fever!

Ever since my long-time on-line haiku friend Cara Holman asked if I wanted to write a rengay with her back in February, I've been hooked! We have since written eight rengay together and all have been published or have been accepted for publication. And I must say we are pretty pleased with ourselves! It's not only great fun, but a really good learning experience, and it's kept me writing through though times when I wasn't otherwise regularly putting pen to paper.

There is something special and unique about writing in this way. It's kind of like a prompt but not quite; it's so much more than that. It's a conversation through time and place (Cara is in America and we write via email), it's a poetic dance that moves me to new heights, it's a wake up call to look deeper into haiku and Nature and relationship. I love it! :)

The first two rengay that I wrote with Cara have just come out in A Hundred Gourds (AHG) and can be read here - The Scent of Pine and Turning a Corner. I still really enjoy reading these two pieces, especially after a break away from them. This was the first time I've been in AHG as I'd never submitted there before. Please check out the publication if it's new to you.

The first rengay that we had published appeared in Aubrie Cox's Yay Words! project, fox dreams. You can read Dream Catcher here. Cara and I have just written another rengay for the new Yay Words! project, which has been accepted by Aubrie. To find out how you can get in on the fun, read Aubrie's latest call for submissions here. I also wrote a rengay with Aubrie last month; my first with a different partner. We will submit this for publication soon, and then I look forward to writing some more!

The biggest rengay task that Cara and I have taken on was to write about our cancer experiences: me with leukaemia and Cara with breast cancer. We came out with a rengay sequence comprised of four rengay that was at times hard to write, but that seemed destined to be written. We are very proud of this work and the places it took us, and are very happy to have it accepted by LYNX: A Journal for Linking Poets for their October 2012 issue.

So what next? In a couple of weeks I will be at the New Zealand Haiku Conference Haiku Festival Aotearoa 2012, where I'm taking the Introduction to Renku workshop with Sandra Simspon. She has just sent through some notes on the form 'junicho' and asked us to write some possible hokku to start us off on the day. And if you're a rengay writer, then don't miss this call for submissions by Michael Dylan Welch for a 20th Anniversary Rengay Anthology. Cara and I will definitely be getting ours submitted! Talk about rengay fever...

All I have to do is Dream...

Click on image to enlarge

I've been writing a few more dream haiku just recently, inspired by Aubrie Cox's latest call for submissions over at Yay Words! She is putting together another project, this time with a focus on DREAMS and FOXES. Find out how you can be involved here.

I've just finished a dream rengay, especially written for the project, with Cara Holman. This is our third rengay together, and I find it a very enjoyable experience. The first two have been accepted to A Hundred Gourds, which comes out in June. I hope Aubrie likes our latest one, which we've titled 'Dream Catcher'.