the ewe and her lambs
a meandering track
of bluebells
~
treading on tree roots
we walk an uphill path
starred with May blossom…
the green greener
for the blue
~
Summer’s Day
the braid of our lives…
as swallows weave
morning’s seamless blue,
we renew our vows
~
to the ends
of the earth…
white butterfly
~
oak leaves
a swaying canopy
of light and shade,
your vows, then mine –
the pipes of an unknown bird
~
flurries of blossom…
opening and closing
the butterfly’s wings
~
Claire
1.5.2011
Due to a family crisis posts may be a little sporadic in the days to come. Amy and I will endeavour to keep Skimming the Water (http://skimmingthewater2011.wordpress.com/ )going, although last week’s poems were few and far between. I will also try to continue to archive my tanka at http://thosethr3words.wordpress.com/ At the Edge of Dreams
I will try to keep you updated as far as possible.
One piece of good news.. I have been selected as one of the contributing poets for the spring/summer 2011 cycle of Daily Haiku: http://www.dailyhaiku.org/
Thank you to all who have sent lovely messages etc on Twitter. Your kind words, prayers and good wishes are a great source of strength at this difficult time.
Claire
I was honoured to have Kuniharu Shimizu turn three of my haiku into beautiful haiga art pieces on his website here:
http://seehaikuhere.blogspot.com/2011/03/haiku-527-claire-everett-haiku-1.html
http://seehaikuhere.blogspot.com/2011/03/haiga-528-claire-everett-haiku-2.html
http://seehaikuhere.blogspot.com/2011/03/haiga-529-claire-everett-haiku-3.html
Kuni_san’s work is a treat to all lovers of haiku and haiga and I recommend visiting the website regularly, particularly in the light of the recent terrible events in Japan, as this master of haiga is creating some beautiful pieces for posterity, http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2l04309Kx8k/TYfrik-nZ_I/AAAAAAAABQg/q0zGMWTUl40/s1600/natori.jpg for instance…
Meanwhile, here in County Durham UK, we are grateful for the long-awaited arrival of spring.
being human
I see spring flowers
paling as they bloom…
tear-stained
the face of morning
Claire
March 2011
throw back
this sheet of sky…
sun breaks
in the rushing of the weir
earth breathes underfoot
hollow
the hush of the reeds
when we speak her name,
wet our lips with her fruits
and share her grain
her smile
is a patterning
of flame on water …
singing in her veins
she takes the offering
who remembers
the long forgotten dead?..
a breeze stirs
the willow catkins
a thousand distant suns
every cell of green
grows in inhalation
whose blood is this…
coursing in my temples
in the hooves of horses?
~
~
~
~
All photographs by Amy (except the first crocuses).
crocus and snowdrop poems by Claire, hyacinth and pansy poems by Amy.
first snowdrops - Osmotherley, North Yorkshire
the first splash
of ewe’s milk…
snowdrops
towards springtime…
on the twisted oak
the tick of buds
in the quarry
a ribbon for the oak
and a cup of sunrise…
like an exhalation,
a vanishing hare
a cloth of moss
on the altar stone…
birdsong
~~~
Claire
1st February 2011
I have 3 tanka and 5 haiku in the winter issue of Simply Haiku, volume 8, number 3:
Please support this wonderful online journal, which is also now open to submissions.
A number of my poems have also been featured at Haiku News:
http://www.wayfarergallery.net/haikunews/?p=2626
click on ‘more by this poet’ to read them all. This is a fantastic venue, combining short form poetry with headline news and is well worth bookmarking!
Due to personal reasons, my time on Twitter may be a little sporadic for a week or two, but Amy and I will keep you updated here, as best we can and will continue to blog weekly over at Skimming the Water: http://skimmingthewater2011.wordpress.com/
Best Wishes to you all!
Claire
you taught me
the colours of birdsong
how a blackbird
can sing the morning sky
bluer than a dunnock’s egg
~ ~ ~
I feel your smile
at the corners
of my mouth…
the sway of the branch
when the robin has flown
~~~
hours before you died
your heartbeat against my ear…
nothing is certain
when the mountains
gather mist
~~~
as if the storm
had never passed
thirty years later
cold rain at my window
and still you don’t return
~~~
at rest
the butterfly tilts its wings
against the breeze…
a subtle shift in the light
the way you brushed my hair
~~~
making my way
from the tangle of a dream…
is that your voice?
all at once the forest path
is strewn with spring flowers
~~~
In memory of my father:
Eric James Price
8/4/1930 – 12/1/1981
by Claire
Claire and Amy have started a new blog – a collaborative writing project for 2011, called Skimming the Water. The inspiration for the title came from Amy’s electrifying kingfisher sighting right at the start of the year, which resulted in a lovely haiku.
The details of the project between Mum and daughter are here:
http://skimmingthewater2011.wordpress.com/about/
The aim is to blog weekly the response poems (much like a tanka set, or sequence) we have written, the vast majority of which will be new poems, ie. ‘untweeted’.
The Spider Tribe blog will continue as it always has – a venue for our poetry, artwork, spiritual musings, photography and celebration of nature.
Please bear with us, it’s a work in progress and I (Claire) am a little technologically challenged! 
but we hope you will enjoy sharing this journey with us.
Thank you for your support and your daily inspiration, poets and readers alike.
Claire and Amy
the last star’s chimes
hang in the air…
icicles
~~~
winter solstice
her grandmother’s hands
as she lights the fire
now becomes then
in the scent of woodsmoke
~~~
so this is where
all the blown kisses gather…
winter catches her breath
on galaxies
of snowflakes
~~~
watching the birds
picking over the bones
of winter
this time of the ancestors
something in me stirs
~~~
day-break
a glass bell
of wren song
~~~
scent of breaking light
the shortest day
this night
a black flower
we have pressed between us
~~~
new beginnings…
the flame of a candle
in the darkest night
this moon
When the Deer Shed their Horns
~~~
birdsong gathering the stars
~~~
humming to herself
the white notes in the score
moonlit snowflakes
~~~
night’s breath
on the dandelion clock
of a winter moon
I’ll give you the world, my love–
a snowflake in my hand
~~~
from the throat
of a blackbird
morning sky
~~~
through winter mist
the dark weave of bare trees
at dawn
chaffinches begin
their tapestry
~~~
tanka and haiku by Claire 2010~2011
Yule blessings
little spider
on the hearth
~~~
the world still goes on
out there –
a blackbird pecks and pecks
the frozen ground
for a worm
~~~
afternoon chill-
a flock of sparrows bathe
in a meltwater puddle
~~~
winter solstice –
a blue tit appears
out of nowhere
~~~
the crunch of frost-
a male Bullfinch rises
from the rosehips
~~~
birdbath water cascades
from the shake of a starling’s head
– winter sun
~~~
in the midst of the thaw
two squirrels court
in the willow tree
~~~
new frost
on old snow
crunching beneath my feet
a carpet
of last winter’s memories
~~~
the year drawing in –
only a few pale colours
left in winter’s pencil case
~~~
winter birdsong…
their voices more beautiful
when the world is white
~~~
crisp white snow –
all the warm tones
of a Wren’s breast
~~~
the core
of autumn
long decayed –
from every snow-heavy tree
winter speaks
~~~
tanka and haiku by Amy 2010~2011
Wishing you all a Happy New Year!
(stay tuned for a new project by Claire & Amy for 2011…
watch this space!!)
