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
Simply Haiku spring 2011, volume 9, number 1, went online yesterday. The journal appears to have had a makeover and is beautifully laid out and easy to navigate with lots of wonderful poetry, reviews and articles http://simplyhaiku.theartofhaiku.com/ I have five haiku here:
http://simplyhaiku.theartofhaiku.com/simply-haiku/claire-everett.html and three tanka:
http://simplyhaiku.theartofhaiku.com/simply-tanka.html
There is also information about the We Are All Japan project here:
http://wearealljapan.blogspot.com/
bullfinch pair by Amy Claire Rose - aged 13
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All photographs by Amy (except the first crocuses).
crocus and snowdrop poems by Claire, hyacinth and pansy poems by Amy.
Celebrating, not Valentine’s Day, but its origins and the inspirational, compelling beauty and power of the wolf.
Beneath the layers of curled and crumbled
decaying leaves
and deep in the bosom
of the rich-smelling earth flower
bulbs begin to stir,
thrusting their green shoots above the soil
as slowly spring begins to loosen her coil.
All tightly wrapped in folds
of the richest greens and prettiest yellows
buds wait to peel back their layers
one by one,
until the sun bursts them into flowers.
and day by day these grey winter skies
will melt away into kingfisher-blue.
and day by day
song by song
bud by bud
winter will give way to spring.
Poem and photo by Amy ~
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
In celebration of winter solstice 2010 (Mothers’ Night to the ancient people of this land)
a tanka set by Claire and Amy (13)
undeniable
berries of fire thorn
burn through snow…
my mother’s fighting spirit
I feel it in my veins
all the words
you have given me –
the joy of poetry
you have carried for so long,
now I carry it with you
in a sconce
of blackened hedgerow
a robin’s flame…
her light in your eyes
finding joy in such things
winter
fierce, yet beautiful…
from the deep, dark
undergrowth, a tiny wren
lets out a huge song
low winter sun
a candle’s flame reflected
in a copper bowl –
the further I travel,
the closer we are
a candle lit
to welcome the light…
we toast our hearts
on a fire of thoughts
filled with snowdrops and sunlight
showered with love
you gifted us with moonlight…
after Mothers’ Night
blushing behind dawn’s veil
this lunar eclipse
have I ever said
‘thank you’ for the gifts
you give each day?
the rising of the sun
and the rising of the moon…
paralysed one side
you walk a jagged path
through lightning
to sit with the neighbour
terrified of storms
don’t be afraid…
see winter’s peaceful smile
in every snow~laden berry
and remember there’s always light
at the end of the tunnel
in the darkest depths
I feel the slowing
of her pulse
yet the light of spring
quickens in her womb
no matter how dark
and no matter how cold
it feels now
she’ll never forget how to bring
us warmth in the turning year
waiting for a sign –
out of the blue
a gust of starlings
makes sense
of an unfathomable sky
when you need it most
someone, somewhere
will bring you hope…
I throw a crust
to a hungry sparrow
the longest night
her lips on the cold cup,
‘be well, be whole’…
rising in the east,
robin song
___
“Waes Hael!”
Be Well, Be Whole!
