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Writer's pictureKala Ramesh

THE HAIBUN GALLERY: 19th September 2024. Harriot West, featured poet

hosts: Kala Ramesh & Firdaus Parvez

A Thursday Feature 19th September


Things I’ll Never Tell You

 

1. Albertsons carries your favorite almond biscotti so you don’t have to drive across town to Trader Joe’s.

2. Grilled fennel is back on the menu at Gianni’s.

3. Our favorite waiter asked where you were and looked surprised when I said I didn’t know.

4. Gianni asked how you were doing and looked surprised when I said I didn’t know and didn’t care.

5. The trillium on the Ridgeline Trail have lost their petals.

6. I don’t know how I’ll bear it when the wild iris bloom.

7. Before I changed the sheets, I slept on your side of the bed for a week.

8. Sometimes I cradle your pillow.

9. Sometimes I wish I hated you.


sleepless night  I google the stages  of grief


Harriot West 



Don’t you love the way this haibuneer has pushed the boundaries with this work? A traditional list-poem, this stunning piece of work sits so beautifully as a haibun. 


So, this week, we invite you to push the envelope. Get creative and see how far you can gently push the form and stay true to it. 


Here are some more links to her work:

Until One Day I Said Enough: Harriot West on Haibun, an interview by Jeffrey Woodward in Haibun Today (Volume 9, Number 1, March 2015)


Harriot West and Minimalist Haibun by Ray Rasmussen in Haibun Today (Volume 8, Number 4, December 2014)


PLEASE NOTE:

1. Only two haibun per poet per prompt.

2. Share your best-polished pieces.

3. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written.

    Let it simmer for a while.

4. Post your final edited version on top of your original verse.

5. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.


We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished haibun (within 300 words) to be considered for inclusion in haikuKATHA monthly journal.


Important: Since we're swamped with submissions, and our editors are only human, mistakes can happen. Please, please, remember to put your name, followed by your country, below each poem, even after revisions. It helps our editors; they won't have to type it in, saving them from potential typos. Thanks a ton!


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PLEASE NOTE:

1. Only two haibun per poet per prompt. Please put your name and country of residence under your poem, it makes the editors' work easier. Thanks.

2. Share your best-polished pieces.

3. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written.

Let it simmer for a while.

4. When poets give suggestions and if you agree to them - post your final edited version on top of your original version.

5. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.


We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished haibun (within 300 words) to be considered for inclusion in the haikuKATHA monthly journal.

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243 views101 comments

101 Comments


vidsvenky
vidsvenky
Oct 02

One of the best pieces of Harriot West . Always impactful how ever times you read it. Thanks for sharing this as well as the link to her other works

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When I click "like" I come back later to find it gone. Am I the only one?

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Mohua
Mohua
Sep 27
Replying to

I am also experiencing the same thing.

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#1

25.9.24

Self-edited


A Morning Checklist

 

-A spoon of Moringa powder is needed to replenish essential minerals.

-Gentle stretches align the endocrine system and kickstarts metabolism.

-Gratitude journalling will attract abundance.

-“Chant that shloka to the deities, who reside in the palms”, mother’s voice rings across the lost years.

Sunlight streaming in through the window, prises open the eyes, urgent and impatient. There maybe be a time in the future to see how all of this works.

 

cavernous day…

hacks

to smudge rude shocks


Geetha Ravichandran

Chennai


Feedback welcome


24.9.24


A Morning Checklist

 

-A spoon of Moringa powder is needed to replenish essential minerals.

-Gentle stretches align the endocrine system and kickstarts metabolism.

-Gratitude journalling will attract abundance.


Edited
Like

23/9/24 #1


Lingering letters

 

cooling tea

I tuck her blanket

into the stars


Just a few reminders, my love:

- don’t waste time worrying about the cost of the utility bills. Use what you need to, I’ve set up direct debits for everything

- wash the bedsheets once a week and hang them outside on the line in fair weather so that you bring a little of the outside into our home

- trim the topiary bird with kitchen scissors. Do this every few weeks in the summer months, less so in winter, otherwise it will lose its shape

-  wear your knitted scarf and hat when going outside in the cold so you don’t catch a chill.

-  choose slippers that fit…


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Replying to

Thank you, Lorraine. That's so helpful. My likes disappear too by the way. It seems to be a glitch that comes and goes. I can't always comment either for some reason.

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No.1.

23/September/2024


Bare room


Tomorrow is her first death anniversary. I have arranged all to be done according to our Meitei requirements. The rituals, the food materials to be cooked for our near ones to partake and other smaller things.


Our daughter has come from Delhi. She has finished her Masters from Delhi University and inspite of her tight schedule, she is here to help.


I can't sleep. In the darkest hour before dawn, I hear her voice. Like just before our eldest was born. I tell her not to worry, I am here for her.


Just then, the priest knocks on my door.


supermoon

another tale for us

to walk a mile more


Feedbacks are welcome 🙏


Subir Ningthouja

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Replying to

A beautiful haibun steeped in tradition.

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