Tag Archives: haikuforhope

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Finishing up December’s #haikuforhope

unnamedWriting #haikuforhope during December was simply wonderful. Last year, I participated, but on a much more limited basis. I’m not sure if I created a haiku every day this year, but I was darned close! The process focused my attention amidst the blur of holiday activities and helped me tap into the heart of it all. I’m so thankful to have written along with others during the month, and as I’ve said before, reading their haiku was inspiring and educational. I learned so much from these fellow writers and mentors!

Along with writing haiku, another one of my favorite things about December was having break and more time to explore and take photographs. This was doubly rewarding, as getting out and about with my camera fuels my writing. My early mornings at the river inspired two of my final haiku and have sparked another poem that’s still in pieces but feels like it has potential. I also wrote a haibun with one of these haiku for this week’s Slice of Life. Finally, I took a field trip to Portland, ME to visit the “celebrity” Great Black Hawk who’s taken up residence in an urban park. There’s quite a story to go with this bird (here), but I was struck by the difference in how we treat this avian immigrant versus human ones. Another haiku was born.

Here are my final three #haikuforhope from December:

December 29th:

morning fog
drenches rising sun
watercolor world

December 30th:

bird immigrant
celebrated arrival
modern day irony

December 31st:

bald eagle and I
patiently await the dawn
morning communion

(If you’re interested, here’s the link to the haibun I wrote with this haiku for this week’s Slice of Life (here). )

All haiku ©Molly Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Sylvia Vardell at her blog, Poetry For Children. She is sharing an impressive and exciting list of poetry titles expected to be published in 2019. Talk about anticipation! Go take a look, recognize some familiar names (Yay!) and be sure to plan your yearly budget accordingly!

 

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Savouring the last dawn of 2018

11454297503_e27946e4ff_hWe faced east together, glowing with the light of the rising sun. How many mornings have I stood by the river and watched the sunrise with this eagle companion? Too many to count.

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I snapped a few photos and then turned to gaze at the pebbled clouds and the deep rosy sky. I watched the subtle changes from moment to moment, my camera dangling at my neck. Deliberately, I didn’t reach for it again. For just a few minutes, I didn’t take a photograph. I didn’t scan for a contrast of textures, an interesting reflection, a pattern in the ice. I didn’t wish the eagle would soar across the pinkening horizon. And I didn’t long for a visit from the three bluebirds wintering nearby. I just stood there, as still in my grounded place as the eagle was on his lofty perch. I sought to be content with the what is, rather than yearning for the what might be. I savored the moment on this last day of 2018.

bald eagle and I
patiently await the dawn
morning communion

©M. Hogan, 2018
#haikuforhope

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A flurry of haiku, #haikuforhope

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There’s still no snow in coastal Maine, but the flurries of haiku continue. I’ve been consistently inspired and impressed by the poems shared by #haikuforhope participants during this month. Here’s a glimpse at my week in haiku.

December 21st:

holiday baking
cinnamon-scented memories
inhale deeply…hold…

December 22nd:

drifting asleep
somersaulting through my day
mental gymnastics

December 23rd:

airport insight
hello is a prelude to
another goodbye

December 24th:

last minute wrapping
scissors flash, ribbons fly
paper tornado

December 25th:

Christmas Morning Miracle

dull metal barn roof
under moonlight’s soft caress
transforms to silver

December 26th:

Seasonal Preserves

today’s harvest yields
glowing jars of ripe moments
tomorrow’s sustenance

December 27th:

laughter drifts upstairs
their late night sibling revelry
sweetens my dreams

All haiku © Molly Hogan, 2018

Donna Smith is hosting this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at her blog, Mainely Write. She’s sharing thoughts on finding your way and a delightful angel poem inspired by the angels in her new home.  You can spend some pleasant hours exploring links to other poetry posts while you’re there. Also, if you haven’t had a chance to do so yet, I encourage you to visit Twitter and check out #haikuforhope.

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#haikuforhope

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I’m still participating in #haikuforhope, trying to write a haiku each day during the month of December. I wasn’t as successful this past week, and I missed a couple of days. Overall, this hasn’t been a productive writing month for me, and I’m more and more thankful for the nudge to write haiku!

December 15th:

A.M. Tragedy

morning’s sweet promise
takes an unexpected turn
fly in my coffee

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 17th:

hollyhock stalks
festooned with snowflakes
blossom anew

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 18th:

water, wind and cold
elemental alchemy
winter masterpiece

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 19th

cloud congregation
clusters on the horizon
anticipating dawn

©Molly Hogan, 2018

December 20th

Christmas Homecoming

the day passes
anticipating her hug
molasses hours

©Molly Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Buffy Silverman at her blog, Buffy’s Blog. Make sure to stop by and read her review of a beautiful book of science/poetry, The Stuff of Stars.

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More Haiku for Hope

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I’m so thankful for the focus of writing haiku this month. It’s been a blessing. Thank you again (and again and again!) to Mary Lee Hahn for the invitation to write haiku daily in December with #haikuforhope. Here are my contributions for the past week.

Dec. 8th

within busy days
one may discover oneself
disappearing

©M. Hogan, 2018
(street art from a corner in Puerto Rico)

Dec. 9th

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in bitter winter
River shivers in her bed
ice shatters like crystal

©M. Hogan, 2018

December 10th

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fading oak leaf
ignites at dawn
final blaze of glory

©M. Hogan, 2018

Dec. 11th

Full Moon Memory

the moon appliqued
intricate branches
onto indigo sky

©M. Hogan, 2018

December 12th

dizzy holidaze
life glides into focus
writing haiku

©M. Hogan, 2018

December  13th

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on River’s skin
Winter’s icy winds etch
hieroglyphics

©M. Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by the warm and welcoming Laura Shovan at her blog. She’s sharing a snowy poem by Jona Colson that is full of beautiful words and  imagery.

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On a Haiku Roll

unnamedRecently, I’ve been on a haiku roll. (Sounds like a special at a Japanese restaurant! lol) I haven’t ever meditated, but I imagine that writing haiku is similar–it narrows my focus and slows me down a bit. It brings me into the present, but also out of the present. I suppose that all writing does this, but the brevity of the haiku really intensifies that process for me. Also, the more I write haiku, the more I realize how much there is to learn about how to do it well.  I’m enjoying that challenge. (mostly!)

With lots of distractions and less writing time recently, it’s also been helpful to have a poetry invitation to motivate me–Mary Lee Hahn’s #haikuforhope or #haikuforhealing. This year, as for the past several years, she’s invited people to write haiku each day during the month of December. Even when I don’t tweet my efforts, I’m doing my best to participate daily. Thanks, Mary Lee!

inside the coffee shop
rain-streaked foggy windows
swaddle us

©M. Hogan, 2018

amidst whirlwind days
reading and writing create
an eye in the storm

©M. Hogan 2018

on the Christmas tree
faded paper and yarn ornaments
induce time travel

©M. Hogan, 2018

Also, I submitted a haiku to “A Sense of Place: City Streets–hearing”  at The Haiku Foundation (they have a weekly theme), and it was selected for that week’s final post (along with a whole lot more!). Yippee! Here it is:

hope in an inhaled breath
indifferent footsteps pass
the weight of a sigh

©M. Hogan, 2018

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Elizabeth Steinglass at her blog, My Blog About Me. She’s sharing a lovely poem about a menorah. Stop by to add some poetry to your holiday festivities!