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20/100 Days of Summer
Free Haiga
NaHaiWriMo (The FB community National Haiku Writing Month) has been growing since its inception in February 2011. I have been a member and writing a haiku a day since then, as readers of this blog will know.
This coming August is going to be a special month.
“In Michael Dylan Welch’s (the NaHaiWriMo creator and co-ordinator’s) words,
“I’m pleased to let you know that, for the month of August, 2012, I’ve asked 31 different people to provide a single writing prompt for reach day of the month. I’ll be announcing the prompts each day, so you’ll discover not only a new writing prompt, but also learn who the day’s prompter is for each day. These 31 prompters include many of our past monthly prompters, plus a number of new folks. The prompters and prompts have all been selected, and the prompts are varied and fun, so August should be a particularly enjoyable month — and hopefully a little different, to shake things up a bit.
Now, to make this idea even more fun, I’ve asked each of the 31 daily prompters to monitor all poems posted and to select at least five favourite poems written in response to their prompt. I’ve asked them to select haiku and senryu only (no haiga, but poems used in haiga can be considered). To be selected, poems should be previously unpublished (we’ll assume so). So please post your best haiku and senryu, because the daily prompt providers will be on the lookout for their favourite poems from what you post (prompters, please also include one of your own poems if you write about your own prompt). If all goes well, I’d like to turn this into a PDF-format book that everyone can download for free. How does that sound?.
Thanks to all of you for your enthusiastic ongoing participation in NaHaiWriMo! Isn’t this place a hoot?”
Indeed, it is a hoot! An inspiring place for all haiku poets to hang around! Sharpen your pencils and smartphone styluses!
For more information about this FB community go here.
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making jam
the blackcurrant stain
on his new shirt
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: surprise
17/100 Days of Summer
The results of the International Kukai 4th of July Forget-me-nots are out. I am very happy to see one of my haiku reach 2nd place this time round.
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sticky notes
on the fridge door
forget-me-nots
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2nd place
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forget-me-nots
fading on her palm
his phone number
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4 (tie)
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cluttered desk—
next to her own picture
forget-me-nots
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9 (tie)
1
fault finder
under the sun umbrella
a dry patch
2
umbrella plant this dry patch under the umbrella
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: umbrella
14/100 Days of Summer
the voice
of the wind in your vowels
calm in the evening
NaHaiWriMo pormpt: sounds like
12/100 Days of Summer
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fan page
choosing the one with
ostrich feathers
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: fan
10/100 Days of Summer
I am very pleased to report that two of my haibun set in Athens, Greece, have been published by Contemporary Haibun Online: Feeding the Doves, a story inspired by a photograph on Robert Geiss’ wonderful blog “daily Athens photo”; and “The Haircut”, exploring the hardships Greek people are facing in the current economic crisis.
The actual photograph of the man feeding the doves that inspired this story can be seen here. In fact, visiting the site to look for the link, I realise that a version I’d sent Robert thanking him for the photograph, had been posted on his blog! So, let us keep feeding the doves!
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flight of pelicans
the meeting point
of parallel lines
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: flight
100 Days of Summer: Paint the Town Red
I watched the film A Greek Summer, or Nikostratos The Pelican, shown during the Munich Film Festival 2012. Does this count as red?


I am taking part in the Project 100 Days of Summer 2012. In the words of the organizers:
“100 Days of Summer provides its members with the opportunity to share their creative work within the intense framework of providing one artistic submission per day for 100 days. Officially, we are beginning on July 5th and expect the program to run through October 15th or so.”
Steve Veilleux provides the prompts using “cards from a game called ‘The Origin of Expressions’. ” He encourages us to use the information in any way we like, “borrow ideas from other postings, or create literal or abstract interpretation of the expression”.
Expression #1 follows (week of July 1-7):
“Paint the town red”
Meaning: Spend a wild night out
and
Expression #2 (week of Jul 1-7)
“out like a light”
Meaning: Fast asleep
So, here we go! We Paint the Town Red! I will be posting mainly haiku/senryu and micropoems with the occasional photo haiku and photographs.
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harvesting light
I reach for the pearl
inside the nest
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: what’s in the nest
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summer storm –
I leave my haiku
dangling
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: dangles
day moon
when the veil
slips
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Shiki kukai, June 2012, Free Format
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awakening —
the ice cream seller’s
deep voice
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Shiki Kukai, June 2012, kigo
These two haiku were my entries to the Shiki Kukai.
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cycling on the Roman road hand-me-downs
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: something local
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longing to be free all those stars
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In Things with Wings (p 61)
…
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stillness these moths have never known
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in Things with Wings, p72
rainbow dress
it doesn’t live up
to its promise.
in 3rd International Kukai – Rainbow
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no wedding bouquet –
her dress, though, is made
of roses
in #35 Caribbean Kigo Kukai – wedding bouquet
“Things with Wings & Other Poems” is now up as a PDF on Yay Words.
“Things…” is a collection of doodleku derived from a month-long challenge, initiated by Aubrie Cox on her blog Yay Words!
Throughout March 2012, poets were invited to participate in a challenge called “I Doodle, You ’Ku.” A doodle was posted each day and poets wrote poems in response to it.
I didn’t catch on until mid-month, but then what fun it was! Aubrie had the difficult task of choosing one/more haiku per day to go with her doodle. I don’t know how she did it, but the resulting collection is amazing! Truly splendid! Visit and see!