#820

live tree negatives

(like experimental films)

on the frosted glass

#819 (#031)

where once we would have

stalked the frozen earth hunting

i drive to the shops

#818

all winter, outside

is withering - waiting for

the spring to return.

#817 (#030)

what are you doing,

you solit'ry winter fly?

it's your holiday!

#816

the ravens exchange

small shiny things for their food

they watch out for us

a camera lens lost

returned next day by raven

they look out for us

a pearl coloured heart

her most treasured raven gift

they have love for us

See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31604026 (Accessed: 12th January 2024)

#815 (#029)

more hours inside 

lead to scornful stares - both ways!

(winter withering)

#814

a tiny whale’s tail

on the horizon (barely)

better on tv

#813 (#028)

warm and snug inside

only frozen wastes out there

winter seclusion 

#28

there is more that is 

not us than there is that is 

us : we must take care

of each other and the world

around us : love all neighbours

#812 (#027)

am looking like the

michelin man but so warm

in my quilted clothes

#811

there is more out there 

that is not us than there is 

out there that is us 

#810 (#026)

even a whale is

just a speck in the ocean.

we are all cogs, though.

#809 (#025)

feeling old with my

shawl wrapped tight around my trunk

but better than cold

#808

wherever you are

colour in winter fills you

discarding the grey

#807 (#024)

in bed i am a

foot warmer for my sweet wife.

no matter how cold.

#806

low sun on wet road,

a bright golden highway,

the pain in the eyes!

#805 (#023)

wild ducks swimming 

erratically around 

a-stirring my brains 

#804 (#022)

avoiding the ground

and its chill using a toy:

my childhood stilts

#803 (#021)

excitement as the 

morning bathroom view's all white

but it's frost not snow

#802 (#020)

they run from the tide

and then fly when they have lost

the sandpiper jive

#27

have you felt the rush,

the tea-coffee-caffeine rush?

the daily races

and the fight against drinking

too much: take corners slowly

#801 (#019)

the sun and the sky

brighten up the dull earth on

a clear winter's day

#800

before we move out

i want to see it flower

as when w(h)e arrived

#799 (#018)

“fugu? why eat a

fish that could knock you down dead?”

Candida wondered.

#798

dragon’s breath healing

a new life forged in fire

skin now as armour

#797 (#017)

the bald earth below

a hawk hunts starving creatures

ready to risk all

#796

campus cat sits and

waits outside Arthur Edwards

staring with purpose

#795 (#016)

floating fancily

no need to put head aloft

mandarin duck wins

#794

in the dew and the 

cold autumn sun I can see

the ghost of Basho

---

Written for the Tricycle November 2023 Haiku Challenge using the Autumn season word, Basho's ghost.

#793 (#015)

porridge steam rising

in the freezing kitchen air

the forge for my day

#792

the ghost of Basho

won't give me the solitude

that he often craved

---

Written for the Tricycle November 2023 Haiku Challenge using the Autumn season word, Basho's ghost.

#791

dancing in the new

year in the glowing flash of 

the Lohri fire

#790 (#014)

burning away the

old year with popcorn on the

Lohri bonfire

#789

by the old pond an

unexpected water noise

is it Basho’s ghost?

---

Written for the Tricycle November 2023 Haiku Challenge using the Autumn season word, Basho's ghost.

#788 (#013)

a mere rustle in

the very depths of the woods

an owl eats tonight

#787

Basho’s ghost points out

the flowers greeting me and

I start to scribble

---

Written for the Tricycle November 2023 Haiku Challenge using the Autumn season word, Basho's ghost.

#786 (#012)

children leaving school 

bright orange carrots in hand

snack time overspill

#785 (#011)

snow at the seaside

blankets on knees in shelter

eating cod and chips

#784

binge watched in error!

one episode left to air!

one week more to wait!

#783 (#010)

i watch the ravens

on the withered moor and ask

them to restore it

#782

a bright yellow coat 

on a stand of greys and blacks

like sunshine through rain

#781 (#009)

a heater under

a desk in a cold office:

nice, but no duvet.

#26

breath vapour hits the 

air and freezes, disappears,

dies before your eyes;

as life, it’s just as fleeting -

make the most of all meetings.

#780 (#008)

sipping from the cold

stream, the sheep wonder when it 

will be spring again

#779 (#007)

glowing and changing 

faces in the brazier

light - otherwise stuck

#778 (#006)

huddled in a group

keeping warm, breath vapour cloud;

pretending to smoke.

#777 (#005)

warming my cold hands

cradling a mug of bean soup,

breath-cooling the top.

#776

on the z axis,

dreams and unreality -

life without x, y…

#775 (#004)

the ice on the lake

thickness unknown from above

treacherous as life

#774

the spooky jet sounds

from the inside of the clouds

unnerve derelax

#773 (#003)

the Christmas-New Year

hibernation obscures the

start of the new path

#772 (#002)

first dream of the year

so tired i was asleep

in a swimming pool

#771 (#001)

the year's first morning,

the first diary entry

i am old yet new