The Sway of the Branch ~ a tanka sequence

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

Endings..and Beginnings…

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!!)

Winter Speaks

 

melting in my mind

this one intricate fragment

of the everything

a snowflake moment

magnified by your touch

~~~

the core

of autumn

long decayed -

from every snow-heavy tree

winter speaks

~~~

what we feel

what we say…

I watch it rising

over the snow

a mist veiled sun

~~~

trying to put

the beauty of icicles

into words

but they keep melting

before I can

~~~

night wind

humming to yourself

as you shape the snow

listen…

my heart knows your lonely song

~~~

the bronze outlines

of a Starling’s wing-feathers–

winter sunrise

~~~

the wafer

of communion

melting

in my mouth–

snow moon

~~~

new frost

on old snow

crunching beneath my feet

a carpet

of last winter’s memories

~~~

I don’t seek

to understand life

or love

but hold you while you’re here–

snowflake in my hand

~~~

the year drawing in –

only a few pale colours

left in winter’s pencil case

~~~

sunrise on the snow

in a fork of the ash tree

a robin

~~~

winter birdsong…

their voices more beautiful

when the world is white.

~~~

hedgerows thicken

with silhouettes of sparrows

winter dusk

~~~

Wagtail in the snow…

winter colours in

the last patch of sunset

~~~

the last star’s chimes

hang in the air–

icicles

~~~

tanka & haiku by Claire and Amy

December 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Gogparty ~ Part 2 selection

winter gathering

driving home

every autumn evening

I measure the emptiness

of my heart

against the moon

http://twitter.com/alotus_poetry

I gather

your smiles

they remind me

wherever I go

I am home

http://twitter.com/LunaJune

an old skipjack

comes home to the place

of her birth,

and all the old people

come out to meet her

http://twitter.com/kujakupoet

 

the winds of war

gather on their border

will they come to blows

again this Korea

divided North and South

http://twitter.com/haikumonk

 

the spider

gathering her web

fly fishing

in the skies

within my home

http://twitter.com/hkfeaga

Florida

this winter

of spring days

just catching

my heart

http://twitter.com/KrisLindbeck

childhood

“are we home yet?”

now alone in my car

and under my breath

I ask constantly

http://twitter.com/CoyoteSings

 

 

Crisp clear night

time to go home;

in my spacesuit

I open the door

and step off the Earth

http://twitter.com/expatinCAT

under the moon

she dances with stars

nights under her spell

softly

she returns home

http://twitter.com/BeyondRoses

home

is the cat

waiting

at the door

pleased to see you

http://twitter.com/sgwarnog

this, too

was once a home -

raindrops gather

in an empty

snail shell

http://twitter.com/cirrusdream

her peeled skin

floor gathered

exposed to elements

beyond her control

you can see her heart

http://twitter.com/sanded77

Stuck at home

on my own

gathering dust

like ornaments

on the shelf

http://twitter.com/Firebrand12

 

must leave home

to buy some groceries

trusting the party

will save it’s highlights

for my return

http://twitter.com/MarcoBom_74

 

 

 

wandering

mindlessly

looking for

the place called home

my home is you

http://twitter.com/sheluvsu2

“When you kids

leave home,”

Mom says,

“Then I’ll buy expensive

face creams and perfumes.”

http://twitter.com/tankaqueen

I gather up

the loose threads

of my life

and stitch together

a quilt of memories

http://twitter.com/Charm47

here

when I found poetry

I knew

my heart

was home

http://twitter.com/tinanguyen

my warm shirt

washed once in hot water

small

and even smaller

I miss my little daughter

http://twitter.com/offthepagepoems

Loved ones

across the

four winds

once gathered

are home

http://twitter.com/mwwise

his broad hand

reclines

at home

in the small

of my back

http://twitter.com/myearthgirl

 

can they really

read my mind

at dusk

crows gather

in the fields

http://twitter.com/monkeywillow

 

rain oh rain

home to melancholy -

gather leaves

on my yard

and down the street

http://twitter.com/shayruldawn

whiners gather

together they drone

so much easier

than finding eons of happiness

on their own

http://twitter.com/dsceiorg

in a world

where nothing

seems real

i have found you

now, i’m home

http://twitter.com/Ysabeluna

 

here,

where the wild geese gather

in winter,

your heart will find

the end of a long flight

http://twitter.com/kujakupoet

Mom making a pie

I loan her my thumb

and then my favorite job–

poking a hole

so the blackbirds can sing

http://twitter.com/tankaqueen

in the musty bedsit

of my absence

I trawl

the white noise

for blips of home

http://twitter.com/ldwilkinson

 

tiny souls in trees

calming my mind

never more than two branches

away

from home

http://twitter.com/CoyoteSings

Or do I still live

in the kitchen

with my mother cooking

or lying in the honeysuckle

in the empty lot?

http://twitter.com/KrisLindbeck

 

ripped out

but still beating

coursing with mother’s love

home

is where the heart is

http://twitter.com/ThoseThr3Words

 

his gait

gathers glances

from the room:

nary an eye-white

is seen

http://twitter.com/InVinceWil

a haven

cloistered and safe

a small flame gutters

deep inside

the home within

http://twitter.com/Haikujots

 

Never mind, my friends

we will continue

#gogparty at my bamboo home

with some sake

and sprouting moon poetry

http://twitter.com/amoz1939

Home

is wherever the cat

feels comfortable enough

to sleep

on your lap

http://twitter.com/Nature__Lover

*our youngest gogparty-goer

and all the photographs in this post

are by her (Amy)

 

Freya -the stray kitten who made her home with us for 3 months before she found a permanent home

Thank you to all who came to the gogyohka party

on Twitter, please scroll down and see the selection from the first half or click on the gogparty link at the end of this post.

..poetry is where the heart is.

Gogyohka Party Fall 2010 ~ gather & home: a selection

On November 23rd Tina Nguyen and I hosted the second Gogparty of 2010 on Twitter, inviting the Twitter community of micropoets across the globe to share their 5 line gogyohka poems on the themes ‘home’ and ‘gather’. There were some new faces alongside established published poets and it was lovely to watch the party unfold. A good time was had by all, judging from the feedback!

I have tried to represent as many poets as possible here, with links to their Twitter pages. The poet’s name and link appears beneath each poem. These poems came largely in part one of the proceedings, so, with so many to get through, I will post a second selection in the next few days… if you don’t have a poem here today, stop by again soon for part two!

Thank you everyone who joined us. I hope the spirit of community expressed through poetry brightened your day a little. (For those of you in the southern hemisphere, lucky you..it’s freezing here!!)

Best Wishes,

Claire (@ThoseThr3Words)

—

sounds of a party

from along the street

but with nothing to wear

nothing to bring

i stay at home

http://twitter.com/forgottenworks

the first flicker

of sunset

gathers at one corner

of the sky

catching a gull’s wing

http://twitter.com/Nature__Lover

crouching by the fire

sorting by size

and shape

the thoughts of you

I’ve gathered

http://twitter.com/myearthgirl

come home

where my arms

gather you up

amid pecan pies

and parades

http://twitter.com/shayruldawn

as dusk gently falls

i gather papers strewn

into a neat stack

before heading home

life wraps up another day

http://twitter.com/yearning4d_sky

I leave ~

everything behind

now

I follow you

your home is my home

http://twitter.com/amoz1939

pour me some words

i want to gather

my stray thoughts

and arrange them

into a poem

http://twitter.com/cirrusdream

my headlights

clear as cold rain

gather miles of night

almost

home

http://twitter.com/ten_ten_ten

home is sunlight

warmly spilled

on an old wood floor

through

an open door

http://twitter.com/moonflowernco

Snow’s flakes

gather

on my outstretched hand

but do not

melt.

http://twitter.com/expatinCAT

Neon agitates

sweeping the night

into a place

where fairy moths

are quite at home

http://twitter.com/marousia

home for me

is more

a mindset

than

a place

http://twitter.com/monkeywillow

I gather

Leaves

Fallen from the trees

To blanket Mother Earth

For I am Autumn

http://twitter.com/dsceiorg

gathering

thoughts

my home baked

poetry pie

(sorry bit burned)

http://twitter.com/EdjoFrank

I never felt

at home anywhere

a child of the Midwest

raised in the Northeast

so I make my own.

http://twitter.com/karolnielsen

only here

in Edmonton

dancing big sky

frees you to gather your thoughts

harvest your dreams

http://twitter.com/JGChesney

time collected

the gathered napkins

lay still

bare dining room table

forgotten

http://twitter.com/hkfeaga

white roses

and fresh linen

neatly folded

even her letter

smells like home

http://twitter.com/ThoseThr3Words

the brazier

under the shadowed bower

warms me

in the sheltered grove -

I call my home

http://twitter.com/Haikujots

there’s light

in the window

candle soft of fire

for the weary soul

to find home

http://twitter.com/BeyondRoses

here in the privacy

of my own home

I gather up and reassume

a skin I was once

entirely wrapped up in

http://twitter.com/ldwilkinson

in silence

I sneak away from home

but the squeak

of the old stairs

betrays me

http://twitter.com/TinaNguyen

round and round

and round again

the gathered circle

the gold and orange

feast

http://twitter.com/honeygloom

I gather my wits

and words

and show up late

breathless

Anyone home?

http://twitter.com/haikunut

A Flock of Words (part two)

 

november

the fir tree already dressed

with finches

~~~

blackbird

finds the key to unlock

the sunset

~~~

wearing his best

black bib and tucker ~

great tit

~~~

 

rising

in the east

of my dreams

from a distant world ~

robin song

~~~

incoming rain

an ink stain spreading

across the sky

as I read your message

muted birdsong

~~~

first frost

the finishing touch

on a wren’s song

~~~

strains of sunlight

goldfinches sing autumn

into the willow

~~~

a drop of joy

slowly spreading ~

sunlight

in the bird bath

rippled by a dove’s wing

~~~

a heron drinks

from its reflection ~

crescent moon

~~~

enough

to know that somewhere

an osprey

has stirred

this mountain mist

~~~

throwing my mind

from this edge of gold

where a mountain

lifts autumn

to the hawk heights of blue

~~~

released once more…

I watch this memory

make one circuit

of the dawn and return

to open hands

~~~

crow wind

the bones of autumn

picked clean

~~~

first of November

the sun caws

at crowrise

~~~

night hangs

on the silence

of crows

~~~

dawn

after the fireworks

a wren opens

a new batch

of sparklers

~~~

poetry and images by Claire, October~November 2010

A Flock of Words (part one)

Birds, as always, have been featuring a lot in my poetry of late, but they are notoriously difficult to capture on film — although, Amy has received a fantastic gift from a friend which hopefully is going to enable her to take some good shots of our resident songsters! In the meantime, I’ve included some typical autumnal scenes, the habitats of our feathered friends, in part one of this celebration of the birds enchanting us every day.

 

 

raindrops

from the cotoneaster –

robin song

~~~

songless

the female robin –

yet, listen!

how the poet’s heart sings

when she finds her voice

~~~

my first step

on the swaying bridge

to morning

dreams loud as crows refusing

to let go of the night

~~~

a skein of geese

the tribal beat of summer

fades away

~~~

a crow’s wing

the dark gleam

of elderberries

~~~

 

in no hurry

collar turned against the rain –

crow

~~~

hope is the whorl

of a snail shell glinting

in the thrush’s eye

~~~

I wake

high in the hills of dawn

my clearwater mind

spilling over pebbles

of birdsong

~~~

morning breeze

I caught you before the rush

swinging

on the garden seat

listening to a robin

~~~

autumn

an open casket — a glint

in the magpie’s eye

~~~

autumn dusk

as clouds settle

the colour of oak leaves

the last drops

of a robin’s song

~~~

first frost

the finishing touch

on a wren’s song

~~~

in which life

will I find

the ink

for this flock of words

crossing the sunset..

~~~

words and images by Claire (accept the images indicated -which are by Amy!)

October 2010

In the thickets

 

 

Male House Sparrow

 

waking

not a moment too late

not a moment too soon

to hear the Sparrow’s

first soft note.

~          ~          ~

 

deep in the hedge -

a dozen worlds , souls and hearts

and that’s just the leaves.

~          ~          ~

in the tangled mass

are many tiny bodies

yet big songs and hearts.

 

Photography and poems by Amy (13)

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Light

we look for greatness

and yet it only takes a shift

in the light

for a cobweb to become

a gateway to a new world

~~~

rain bows

to sunlight ~ seven colours

of reverence

~~~

dawn

catching her breath

on a spider’s web

~~~

soothed by sweeps

of cirrus where she smooths

the creases

my mind stretches

into a clean sheet of sky

~~~

where night knelt

like a pavement artist

to chalk the colours

of my dreams ~

morning rain

~~~

life moves on…

I open an old box

of emotions

gingerly unwrap the tissue

handle the glass

~~~

after the rain

the cellophane

unwrapped ~

a new box

of birdsong

~~~

clear blue dawn

I set my mind skimming

like a stone

across the lake

of this day

~~~

autumn pond

red maples glide

across a cloud

~~~

autumn dusk

leaves and pipistrelles

catch the breeze

~~~

dusk

the ghost of a sky

and a brush

of sadness

I cannot name

~~~

carrying fire

on wings of lace ~

red dragonfly

~~~

still pond

eye to eye ~ the dragonfly

and its reflection

~~~

at the edge

of this paper sky

sunset’s flame

~~~

a Chinese dragon

uncoils

from fire

smoke of incense

by candlelight

~~~

words and images by Claire

September/October 2010

Coal Tit Sunday

Coal tits are very active at this time of the year, they collect food

(especially peanuts) and store them for the winter, like a squirrel.

~          ~          ~

Flitting back and forth

the Coal tits play

on Autumn’s breath.

~          ~          ~

The rain stops

the blue sky waits

for the coal tit’s song.

A coal tit holding onto the side of a tree trunk

Veiled behind

the crow’s

dry croak

the humble twittering

of a coal tit.

Photography and poetry by Amy (13)