Thursday, April 27, 2017

welcome

first touch-
the way a bud welcomes
a butterfly
--Rita Odeh, Haifa/ Israel

There is a child like innocence to this scene, in Rita's haiku. We want to be lost in the flight of a dainty little butterfly
so easily tossed in the breezes and exclaim, Look! as it makes contact.

The colours are left to our imagination, we can therefore imagine our favourite flower and butterfly contact. This is such an ordinary happening, here in the Caribbean, however for those climes where there is Spring, after the Winter months, bringing back the warmth and newness, this is extraordinary, for each seasonal wait for Spring is rewarded.

The lightness of the butterfly in flight and in contact, revels in the haiku aesthetic of Karumi.

Her Line Two, extracts the essence out of this haiku moment, by her expression - "the way". She doesn't explain it; she invites us to tap into our own consciousness, to experience it, and bring to our reading, the Aha between writer and reader.

Well Done Rita!
gillena cox, founder/co-ordinator CKK



The prompt for this kukai was welcome

See the results HERE

Thursday, March 30, 2017

retreat

hilltop
a monk empties his thoughts
into the rising sun
--Adjei Agyei-Baah (Ghana)

Adjei's haiku opens with a command to our attention. One word, forms the voice of this poet into grabbing our attention.
"What is it about the hilltop Adjei"? is it the shape of it, is it verdant, is it parched due to scorching hot weather? All these ideas come to play in our minds, at the sound of the poet's voice.
His haiku continues as revelation his phrase, the interest of his haiku’s fragment.

So, it’s about a monk, Okay. And even though he gives us this bit of info in his haiku phrase, he cleverly applies the Japanese aesthetic of 'ma' where enough space is left in his telling of the tale for us to still wander in our minds filling in blanks.
This monk of Adjei's, he could be on the hilltop, or standing looking at the hilltop, or even be withdrawn in his private reading space, looking at a picture of a hilltop.

What we know for sure is he, the monk, awed by the spectacle directs his thoughts to no one else but the rising sun. A lovely setting of the monk's aloneness and his commune with nature. Be he, just absorbed in reverie, or creating alone-space in a crowd.

Thank you Adjei for an awesome haiku in this the 2017 anniversary of Caribbean Kigo Kukai
Well Done
gillena cox, Founder coordinator – Caribbean Kigo Kukai


Revisit
Results of the kukai
The kukai prompt was retreat

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Christmas beverages

snowflake cocoa . . .
enveloping myself
with old love letters
--Christine L. Villa, USA

The chill of winter greets us, as soft as snowflakes falling, we can settle into warm pyjamas, fluffy slippers or plain amazement like me; when, on vacation In New York, my sister called me to the front door and urged me to put my hands out, only to be caressed by, for the very first time in my life, nature's divine snowflakes.

Since my first snowflake experience is thus, when i read Chrissi's haiku, i could taste, the comforting hot chocolate, and remember the caress of nature, all at the same time. I had not yet gotten to Line Two of her haiku but i was wrapped up, warm and snug

Chrissi continue in her very evocative style, in this haiku, by wrapping herself, and us, in the process; as she smothers herself with a sense of taste, embrace, and memory What's not to love about this haiku.
I am not easily moved to tears, but, if i were one of those at Line Three, I would have certainly have had to reach for a kleenex or two.

This haiku affects our senses in a good way. We want to reach out and hug Chrissi. We want to tell her, this is what memories should be about, keeping us warm when the cold drafts of day to day, whatever the season, drift in.

Well Done Chrissi
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator


haiku prompt Christmas beverages
revisit the results of this kukai