winter tree

winter tree

letting in

the dark

Shiki Kukai, January 2013. Assigned keyword: window

first calm

after the holidays

familiar strangers

at the bus stop

Shiki Kukai, January 2013. Assigned kigo: "first calm," that is, first of the new year. This "first" business is derived from traditional Japanese haiku and is well grounded in traditional Japanese culture. It has never traveled well, and there is no reason it should. Even in Japan, it's a throwback to the old lunar calendar, according to which the year began on the threshold of spring. Thus, the arrival of the new year was followed almost immediately by the first signs of spring, which were celebrated in poetry.

Around here, January 2 is just another winter day.

at the mall

at the mall

in search of discounts

Martin Luther King Day

8

year's end

8 movies

on my 10-best list

long night

long night . . .

another minute

clicks into place

First published in Frogpond

book chat

book chat

her opinion

of my Kindle

Posted as a comment at Gillena's blog

kitchen

my kitchen window

the moon in the middle

of the sky

moon

winter moon

a tired old man

in my mirror

I've been too busy to spend as much time as I'd like at my blog or yours, but things are clearing up.