Category Archives: NaHaiWriMo

‘advent wreath’ #5 December 2012

advent wreath
the first candle already down
to a stump

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NaHaiWriMo prompt: ornament(s)

Isn’t time passing quickly? Even the candle in my advent wreath burned down already. For those not familiar with this kind of wreath: it is a wreath that sits on the centre of the table (in this case my table) with four, in some cases five, candles; one for each of the weeks of advent. Each week one more candle is lit, until we reach Christmas! At this rate of burning however, there won’t be much to light on that last Sunday!

 

“With Cherries on Top”

A new downloadable book was made available on the 16th of November 2012 by Michael Dylan Welch, writer and poet, and founder of the NaHaiWriMo site and FB community. Titled “With Cherries on Top: 31 Flavors of NaHaiWriMo,” it is a sparkler of haiku, senryu, and micropoetry. It is excellently designed and presented, with fantastic photography, and also well-proof-read by Christina Nguyen. A haiku fireworks to enjoy on many a winter evening.

Image Credit: Michael Dylan Welch

This is how Michael Dylan Welch introduces it:

“In August of 2012, the NaHaiWriMo page on Facebook featured daily writing prompts from 31 different prompters. Each prompter selected at least five of his or her favourite poems written in response. Michael Dylan Welch selected from these poems to produce the online PDF book, With Cherries on Top: 31 Flavors from NaHaiWriMo”

This book is available for free download, from www.nahaiwrimo.com

I am honored to have a few haiku of my own included, and to have been one of the 31 prompters of the month!

‘Syntagma Square’ #14 November 2012

Syntagma Square
a marble head rolls
off its plinth
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NaHaiWriMo prompt: landmark
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For Syntagma Square see here
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This poem alludes to G. Seferis’ lines (see below) about the ‘Greek problem’ of ‘having’ to live up to their
ancient ancestors…and not knowing how to, of course.

I woke with this marble head in my hands;
It exhausts my elbows and I don’t know where to put it down.
It was falling into the dream as I was coming out of the dream.
So our life became one and it will be very difficult for it to separate again

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From Mythistorema, copied from wiki
The link here

In the Garden of Absence – Thank you!

While my first book of poetry, “In the Garden of Absence” is at the printers, being fitted into its paper dress, smoothed, sewn, and shaped physically into a book I can hold in my hands, I’d like to say

a huge thank you to Michael Dylan Welch for his generous Afterword “Presence in Absence.”

Also  a huge thank you to my daughter Maria Pierides for her permission to use one of her paintings, “Welsh Hill,” for the book cover, Maria Pierides and Rubin Eynon for designing the cover, and Thomas Geyer for his help with formatting the print edition.

Special thanks to the members of the nurturing NaHaiWriMo Facebook community (now over 1000 people!) for their continuing inspiration, warm support, and encouragement.

‘winter grass’ and ‘winter reeds’ #12 November 2012

1
winter grass
feeding the lost pigeons

2
winter reeds
a dove becomes
my friend
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‎NaHaiWriMo prompt: peace

Interesting to be reminded today that doves and pigeons,
together with the olive branch have been used as
symbols for peace, love, lust as well as the human and Holy spirit since
antiquity, and featured widely in ancient Greek
mythology, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and other religions
and cultures.
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On another note, haiku #1 is a two-liner. I did try to twist it
into the more usual three- and one- line shapes, but
it wouldn’t listen to me.