HAPPY NEW YEAR

wish you were here
we could take a cup of cheer
for auld lang syne

Merry Christmas !

your christmas decorations
are all up by now
in your lovely  house
a year flown by already





you
in good spirits
flitter about your tree
with a few dance moves
rearranging small sporty base ball baubles
swigging a few nips of bourbon
warming the cockles of your heart
preparing for the holiday season
looking forward to sleep ins
viewing the ice and  falling snow
from a warm and cosy bed







Merry Christmas !

Christmas 2019

Sundays Whirligig # 244 
In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti
This week's words: moan worship stable hay frosty give part bleak lamb milk shepherd bliss

2019
a bleak year
of moans
of suffering
in too many parts
of the world

a bleak year
in short supply
of the milk of human kindness

thoughts
of the shepherd spring to mind
of all that he gave for us

in the distance a small bell tinkles
agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi
miserere nobis

thoughts of kinship at this time of year
peace and good will to all
and especially to those
despite our theological differences
who worship the impoverished homeless jewish child
born on a cold frosty night in a stable
surrounded by hay bales and cattle
jesus christ  the lord our saviour

memories of
wonderful christmases past
my favourite time of year
my grandmother
my mother
my great aunts
my china
with thanks for
the blissful moments i have enjoyed
due to the sacrifices and generosity
of my family and others

the surgeon utters
you're not robinson crusoe you know 
i know she replies


 

Boris Johnson recreates Love Actually doorstep scene

 it's a boris victory
 the importance of not being earnest
 of having a clown moment
 self effacing humour
 'aving a larf '
 may have been the cruncher

Midweek Motif  -  Poets United

Sunday's Whirligig # 243

no water
struggle to breathe
smoke not clearing
will wind up in a casket at this rate
no evidence to suggest leaves and blossoms
heal anything
somtimes there comes a time
to concede defeat

 

 

 

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "The Pond at Dusk" by Jane Kenyon: water, evidence, comes, leaves, casket, wound, smoke, sometimes, clearing, heals, blossoms,  struggle

Fine Knacks For Ladies

Carpe Diem # 1790 #1791

in the twilight rain
these brilliant - hued hibiscus
a lovely sunset


the richest jewel
in the seasonal crown
christmas hibiscus


Carpe Diem 1792





bare branches
a painting against the blue sky
leaves under my feet 
© Yozakura

waiting for the prince of peace
for unto us a child is born

the season of advent
stark branches outlined against
cold  winter blue  sky

the anticipation of joy
carols hymns and candles

Carpe Diem # 1798

cutting into with the ax,
I was surprised at the scent.
the winter trees.

unfolding at the
hand of the glass polisher:
camellia!  

 © Yosa Buson

surprised at the scent of
ink on camelia parchment 
lovely as winter trees

surprised at the scent of
success thought it would be sweeter
failure was familiar

ink on camelia parchment
aesthetic  written expression
love notes in a previous age

lovely as winter trees
in a stark snow forest
christmas bells and lights

Sundays Whirligig # 242

imagine not living in a hole
swatting bothersome flies
on the porch

imagine not being a fretful wife
looping and weaving negative thoughts
down by the bicycle shed

imagine a free delivery of roses
for the weekend

 

 

This Week's words come from " In Topeka, Kansas " by Tim Upperton:

free imagine wife swat hole fretful bicycle bothersome weekend roses looping flies

 

 

 

 

Carpe Diem # 1784

soaking wet
I can’t read the letters
on the signpost

walking through 
the bush clover,the pampas grass,
walking on through them

 © Santoka Taneda



soaking wet 
walking through the pampas grass
 sign post blocked by bush

Troiku

soaking wet
farmer dreams of pouring rain
to break the long drought

walking through the pampas grass
hikers unaware of big browns
fangs bared waiting 

sign post blocked by bush
lost in the wilderness
no cabin in sight

Bach - Cantata BWV 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme | 1 Chorus (...

SLEEPERS AWAKE
WACHET AUF








o lord
our planet is dying
drive mammon
and his toxic legions
from the earth

remove the rotten fruit
from the tree
sinking into a disease ridden mire


return us home
to the garden
to beauty
to sanity
to peace

restore our humanity
restore our gentleness
restore our humility

forgive us for our monstrous
mistreatment of each other
causing untold suffering

forgive us our cruel negligence
as custodians of all the creatures
great and small on this earth
 

Carpe Diem # 1782

SPRING

 

light carried in my arms
apple blossoms from a neighbor
on my doorstep

a floral branch
can make a persons day
restores hope


 SUMMER




devouring apricots
the fine hairs of her mustache
moist and juicy

ripe apricots
juice dribbles
down her chin

AUTUMN




broken by the storm
the asters’ fragrance rises
out of damp earth

scent wafting
over the garden
near the chicken coop

WINTER




rusty red the bracken
its shape lost as the cold
takes the bird’s wing

rusty red glow
cats curled up near the fire
crackling  logs

Jane Reichhold

Karl Richter - Passacaglia & Fugue In C Minor - BWV 582 (1969)

Sundays Whirligig 204

 

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "To be of use" by Marge Piercy: 

again , pitcher,  bounce,  rhythm , mud , smear 

strain,  vase,  work,  dallying,   heavy,  pass

 

     

 

they walk rhythmically in line

through the mud 

smears on their robes

balancing heavy water pitchers

like giant vases on their heads

on their way to work

the strain on their necks

visible

 

no dallying as they pass the market stalls

small children bouncing a ball

vendors hawking their wares

dogs  barking again

 

 

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "To be of use" by Marge Piercy: 

Autumn - Carpe Diem # 1781

the last rich dazzle
before the coming of winter
leaves fall silently

Carpe Diem # 1779

 For Jane Reichhold



may her gentle suffering soul
be cherished and granted peace 
by a just and merciful god

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

On awaiting a prognosis


 

tomorrow
determines everything
the night is long

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai - Weekend Meditation

blooming wildly
among the peach trees 
first cherry blossoms

eagerly picled by the florist
for her bridal bouquets

the lettuce 
leaves are just as green
eggplant soup

topped with mozarella cheese
sprinkles of pale sunshine

coming to the eye
especially at this time
May's Mount Fuji

just like the big poster on the 
classroom wall at primary school


butterflies and bird
restlessly they rise up
a cloud of flowers

nature's warning bells ringing
all is not well in the garden

spring rain
trickling into the wasp's nest
a leaky roof 

everyone's dream in nsw
shrouded in smoke and wild fires

life's journey
ploughing the patch of rice field
back and forth

daily grind with little respite
sleep a merciful release


© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Carpe Diem # 1777

cricket silence
between scraping sounds
autumn begins

Jane Reichhold

it touches the line
of my fishing pole –
this summer moon

Chiyo-Ni


autumn begins
with the silence of crickets
the summer moon moves south

autumn begins
heralding the darkness
brittle leaves fall  softly

with the silence of the crickets
come short daylight hours dark mornings
warm breath fogs the windows

 the summer moon moves south
crowned in bright orange by the
apocalyptic wild fires


 

Carpe Diem # 1775

how can such beauty be
a noxious weed but then
a breast cancer cell is too


 

Carpe Diem # 1773

the long dry grass
waves in the whistling wind
yellow and brittle

Carpe Diem - Virginia Bluebells

virginia bluebells



















1619...Jamestown

no bluebell  posies 
slaves welcomed to virginia
with a branding iron

Carpe Diem - Tan Renga Wednesday

crystal brook reflects
the willow trees  
birds sing their song

Yozakura

gleaming coloured carp flash by
basho's frog plops off the rocks



 

Carpe Diem # 1771 - Troiku Challenge

longing for the grass
at the bottom of the pool
those fireflies.

Buson 







longing for grass
the little wren hides under
the broken branch

at the bottom of the pool
a locket clings on to the seaweed
swirling with the tide
 
those fire flies
light up the trees and it's not
even Christmas

Tan Renga Wednesday

a clam
torn from its shell
departing autumn 

 Basho

a shag enjoys seafood lunch
on a gritty pebbled beach

October beach
in all the footprints
the tread of shoes

© Jane Reichhold

washed away by the tide
waves pounding the shoreline

Everyday Life

ravi wants to bring precision
poetry and creativitiy to his parsnips and peas
ravi wants his everyday kitchen experience to be
a celebration of life
revelling in the moment luxuriating in his preparation
for a sensational curry extravaganza
hungry stomachs growl - there's a problem
his family would like to eat before midnight

Midweek Motif -  Poets United

SCHUBERT - Impromptu n°3 (Horowitz)

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai - Birthday Month

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAIKU KAI 



 




ladies purses
magic to a child's mind
sprinkled with fairy dust





a fly should always
decline an invitation
from a  spider
who owns a parlour
sticky end will ensue





fragile gossamer wings
this delicate blue lovely
is a brooch that flies



 

without moving
the humming bird hovers
4 grams of genius







sounds like a rainstorm
a plague  blots  out the sun
shades of exodus



 


on the honeysuckle
the fragile wings of a butterfly
a fluttering sound
© Chèvrefeuille (October 2012)

picture perfect setting
a chocolate box fantasy


 


a whine in my ear
potential plague carrier
 thwack-one squashed mosquito










christmas beetles
nature's tree decorations
 have disappeared




they march in a line
like disciplined soldiers
team spirit rules



 

 a bunch of daisies
 someone left them at her door
she's waited so long










 a murder of crows
nature's essential scavengers
plaintive awful caw




pretty ladybird
it is said they bring good luck
children love them

reminds me of a kitsch ash tray
or a grandma's biscuit jar






apples and a jar
left out in the pouring rain
a still life masterpiece


 

little tom tit still here
sad so many other creatures
have become extinct

Sunday's Whirligig # 233

wearing her favourite pyjama suit

carefully stitching doilies

humming softly to herself on the porch

she watched her old neighbour planting

rows of begonias

making a mental note to assist her later on

with cleaning her dirty automobile

when suddenly

her waters broke

mio dio

stai calmo non ti agitare

 

 

dirty careful assist suit rows begonias automobiles softly porch stitch doily waters

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "Filling Station" by Elizabeth Bishop:

 

 

 

 

Dolcezza

many summers ago
i was stung by an italian bee
on my back in a florence flower market

the flower stall holder told me
it was because i was as sweet as honey

he put ice on the sting gave me a posey of flowers
and kissed me on the shoulder as i left

since that day
i have never had another bee sting
or been kissed by an italian  
think it's time to return


Midweek Motif - Poets United