Seventeenth small stone

some days
a wayward wind enters
this darkened alley...
rattling the blue windows, it asks:
do you still remember me?

My poetic year 2012

Michael Dylan Welch asked on NaHaiWriMo, how was your poetic year? Until then, I had not given any thought to taking stock of my year "poetically" and initially I was a little reluctant to look back, almost sure that there was nothing much to look back upon, but taking a tentative peek, I found it was not that bad, after all!

 The year started very well with my participation in A River of Stones, January mindful writing.It was a rewarding month-long experience and subsequently I had one poem included in the collection A Blackbird Sings by Fiona Robyn and Kaspalita. Maybe I could have had more included, had i submitted more poems instead of prose-pieces as it turned out to be  an anthology of short poems. Just a thought. But anyways, I really enjoyed writing the small stones everyday and posting them on the blog (and sticking them on the fridge door which was very well-received by the family)! Look forward to doing that again in the coming year...

Onto February, and THE (february) NaHaiWriMo which again i enjoyed hugely.A book edited by Michael Dylan Welch with selected poems from that month's posts is still in the pipeline.

March saw me participating in Doodle-ku by Aubrie Cox which has been one of the highlights of this year for me. The awesome doodles/sketches done by Aubrie must have brought out the best from all the participants.I have got tucked in there some of my best work this year, if it's alright to say so and the credit goes entirely to Aubrie Cox for inspiring them. Eventually selected ku from the posts along with her doodles were compiled by Aubrie in the collection Things with Wings and I had 15 poems included in that, but even a few of those that were not included remain close to my heart.It was a wonderful month of poetry!

Winning the XIV Calico Cat haiku contest  by Origa in May, held in memory of Hortensia Anderson was another treasured moment for me this year.This was my first ever participation in that contest and I was delighted to win! (View it here)

I was also thrilled  to win the 1st Haiku My Photo Challenge contest   by Chrissi Villa, judged by Kirsten Kliff the same month and no less happy to be adjudged runners-up in the2nd HMPC contest too, later this year in August. (View it here and here)

 Sometime in April I had  participated in theVancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational  and received an HM for my haiku.(View it here).

The biggest surprise of the year came when one of my tanka was included in the anthology Take Five:Best contemporary tanka, Volume 4 edited by M.Kei. I am still relatively new to tanka and the poem that was selected was my first tanka ever to be published, so I was simply delighted! It was such an honor to share the space with all the tanka greats.

There were the usual publications in The Heron's Nest, Frogpond, Moonbathing, A Hundred Gourds and Acorn and i continued to take part in NaHaiWriMo, albeit sporadically. But there was no way I was going to miss the August NaHaiWriMo with 31 different prompters.That was again an extremely challenging, but strangely fulfilling month. Though by the end of August my health had deteriorated so much that even sitting upright for more than 15 minutes had become a huge effort and I had to take a break for an indefinite period. Plans for all the contests I wanted to enter or journals where I wanted to submit had to be abandoned. So when With Cherries on Top, an e-book compiled by Michael Dylan Welch, with selected poems from August NaHaiWriMo posts was finally out in November,it was so gratifying to have 5 poems included in it.(View it here)

Throughout the year I had continued to participate in the Shiki Kukai Contests, but my best showing remained the 2nd place in both the formats in June Kukai.(See it here) Though it was compensated somewhat by the 1st place in International Kukai No. 9, administered by Rita Odeh and John Daleiden, that came at the fag end of the year. (View it here)..

Last but not the least, participation in Cara Holman's December haiku share on her blog Prose Posies...sharing and reading each others' poetry has been a great enriching experience!

So , in a nutshell, this has been my poetic journey in 2012. Many goals remain unfulfilled, but that is good, because otherwise what would remain to look forward to, to strive for in the coming year?

(Thirty-first) Final small stone

skipping stones
I learn to croon
like the stream


YAY..I'VE DONE IT! Finished writing thirty-one small stones! Haven't missed a single step throughout the month despite such a crazy schedule! I think i really deserve a pat on the back and congrats also to all the other fellow stoners who have finished this challenge successfully. It has been a fantastic experience, to say the least,enlivened by Fiona's inspirational newsletters and now on to February which promises to be another interesting and busy, busy month writingwise, starting with February NaHaiWriMo...the original haiku writing month.The prompter is ready and the participants are raring to go! NaHaiWriMo completes one year today. I wasn't there last year; i joined much later; but this time over I wouldn't want to give it a miss and i know you wouldn't either. So in case you haven't joined yet, how about joining me here on Facebook? It's going to be fun!

Thirtieth small stone -a love story

Simba is smitten with Berlin. Whenever he looks into those limpid brown eyes, Simba's young heart goes aflutter in the wildest possible ways. As Berlin goes for her evening stroll, he bounds off from corner to corner of the roof (where he is stationed most of the day hoping to catch a glimpse of her), not wanting to let her out of sight even for a moment; calling out to her to glance once in his direction. He believes one day, someday, they will be together...

Simba doesn't know that Berlin is slated to meet Rocky, a handsome hunk weighing a perfect 88 lbs, living two streets away who has been hand-picked to mate with her because of his impeccable pedigree, in order to keep the line pure...

Twenty-ninth small stone

cold night -
windblown dead leaves
closer

Twenty-eighth small stone

Over the rough stones the gurgle of a green brook. Hillsides covered by flowers with white muslin petals loosely draped around clusters of fiery red stamens...flowers that I've not been able to identify.
But why must we give a name to everything?

Twenty-seventh small stone.

The blackbird keeps calling its mate. Darkness is dotted with hasnuhana (night jasmine) buds. I can almost hear the sky throbbing with stars tonight.

Twenty-sixth small stone

On some days, the world goes by unobserved. By the time, I come out on the balcony with a cup of tea, dusk is already settling in with chirps getting fainter...from tweet to twe to ttt...

Twenty-fifth small stone

He stands next to the trash-cans, his back to the busy road, talking to the lamp-post all day.The stray dog cocks its ears and listens for a while.

Twenty-fourth small stone

sunlight on snowflakes things that won't wait

Twenty-third small stone

She has at least three fine lines creasing her forehead, two vertical frown lines between the eyebrows, innumerable crows' feet around the eyes and two more very conspicuous lines around the mouth. I also can see the beginning of a double jowl as she stares back defiantly from the glass windows of a souvenir shop. I avert my eyes and walk away.

craters on the moon...
I give a serious thought
to Botox

Twenty-second small stone

Tea for one. Stirring in the emptiness with a spoon.

Twenty-first small stone

The shimmering highway curves, stretches, then disappears into the hills. Two low-slung cars try to outdo each other. A clumsy red bus appears from nowhere and glides past them effortlessly.

Twentieth small stone

Dusk blue, sunset red and paddy-husk brown edged with tiny fuchsia flowers. Finally she settles on the brown one hoping to offset it with the bleak evening outside.

Nineteenth small stone

I try to walk fast, but still cannot catch up with others. I am overtaken by all the other walkers on the track. Not wanting to be left behind I quicken my pace even more. Now I am panting.I walk even faster. And then suddenly I am flying! I am airborne! I desperately try to touch the ground, but cannot do so anymore.
My recurring dream for the past few nights.

Eighteenth small stone

Above, a smattering of stars through the leafless branches.
Below, the trampled petals of markhamia.
Only a few days remain for her to leave.

Sixteenth small stone

Yay...!! Almost done! Halfway through the river of stones! Or, that's what I thought. Till I remembered there are 31 days in January! But no matter...all I need is a little attention and I'll still make it.

Each one of the perfectly round peas that rolls from my fingers into the gleaming steel bowl holds a tiny dot of light on its tip.

I know, I know...I'm writing a lot about peas these days, but my life is currently revolving around these 3 'P's
- peas, pots and pans! Poetry (the fourth P) will have to wait!

Fifteenth small stone

Twilight lingers a while on the rock at the cliff's edge making it grow more and more luminous with every passing moment.

Fourteenth small stone

that's the way
the cookies crumble -
New year's resolutions

Thirteenth small stone

Three monkeys chase each other along the rooftops. The mama monkey chews on a neem (margosa) branch and watches indulgently as her little one swings one-handed from another branch.The crows are not too happy with the goings-on and curse loudly.