Tag Archives: haiku

Winter Ginko: City Botanic Gardens

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Graham Nunn (Another Lost Shark) led us on a ginko (a haiku walk) on Sunday. Here are some of the local Brisbane poets and our haiku here:

Winter Ginko: City Botanic Gardens.

 

 

haiku invite

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cotton tree hibiscus flower

sunshine and gravity
pinned
to what has fallen

 

 

I’ve been enjoying photography lately. This photo seems to crave haiku. I took the shot over at Stradbroke Island recently. I’ve tried to write a ku but can’t seem to capture much. If it inspires anyone to write a ku i’d love to hear it.

my first haiku

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Mum gave me a box recently. It contained all of my schooling stuff from kindergarten and up. It’s a large box. Two large boxes actually. In it I found probably the first haiku I ever wrote. Here it is after years in an attic space, published for the first time:

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hawks on a kangaroo
pick the last bites of their meal
fly back to their nest

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I wasn’t expecting genius and nor should you.  I don’t remember the moment. It’s clearly Australian and I’m pretty proud of little Andrew having a go.

It does provide a good opportunity for a response ku though. To primary school teachers everywhere:

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one two three four five
one two three four five six sev
3 five 12… eight

 

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ginko – a haiku walk

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walking in thongs
along the track
every stick slithers

For the months of October and November I’ve been writing haiku with a group of poets in different locations in Brisbane.  Here’s a few of mine and a link to some of the other ku by the group.

longevity bench
the old man
smokes a packet

white stains
by the ice cream stall
sacred ibis

Here are the links to some of the ginko haiku over at Another Lost Shark.   Kurilpa Bridge    City Botanic Gardens     Brunswick St     Southbank     Mt Gravatt Mountain

 

Stuff going on (and a fishing poem)

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clouds swirl
the brisbane eye turns
with the tide

I’ve been a Pied Hill Prawn.   Not all business, some pleasure, and holidays.  More on that later.  Speedpoet’s went well.  I think.  I wasn’t in the audience so hard to say.  I had a ball anyway.  It was fun reading my poems and the haiku/senryu set with Sheish was sweet.  Sheish played harmonica between each ku.  A cleansing of the palate between images.   Loved it.  Thanks for those who came out especially to support and there were those Speedpoet’s regulars in the audience who were very encouraging.  Cheers.

I’ve been participating in Ginko walks for the past few Sundays.  It’s put on by the Queensland Writers Centre and lead by haiku poet Graham Nunn of Another Lost Shark.  Check out this link to the group’s haiku from Kurilpa Bridge.  Hop around Graham’s recent posts to see some anxious poetry about waiting for their baby to decide to head out.

Here is a poem from my recent time with the family down at the Tweed Coast.

Fishing
(with children)

The car park is a long piece of gravel
feet are light and the nylon line

must be cast for them.  Patience catches
nothing half way through a tide

that encouraging nibble
would be nice.  Their fish is given up

for casting stones into the river.  Heavy
sinkers are found at the bottom

of the box.  Another hour of biting
complaints and the car park is a long piece of gravel.

Speedpoets November 6th

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This Sunday 6th November I’ll be performing at Speedpoets as a feature poet. Yeeewww! The always encouraging Graham Nunn of Another Lost Shark gave me an invitation and I’m really excited about stepping up to read a handful of my poems. It’ll be the longest set I’ve performed. I’ll also be reading haiku and senryu as part of the set (with a little harmonica help on the side from Sheish Money). Can’t wait!

Also performing on Sunday is The Stress of Leisure with an old friend Pascal Burton (poet, artist, musician) and Ian from their recent residency at the Brisbane Powerhouse, AND a new friend (who for some reason insists on calling me Dustin) Michael Cohen who is the other local feature poet performing his humorous poetry.

There is also the open mic, free zines, entry is a gold coin so hope to see you there for the final Speedpoets for 2011 at Brew, Lower Burnett Lane, Brisbane City 2pm.

Finally a ku:

quiet all year until now
jacarandas

jacaranda haiga

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my japanese friend…

why you do not celebrate

the jacaranda?

I’m really excited, on Sunday afternoon I’ll be joining some friends under a backyard jacaranda with a few drinks to celebrate these few weeks of bloom before they litter the streets with purple muck mulch. I think there will be some Sake there too, just to link it to the cherry blossom festival.  Yewww!