Day 31 Gratitude

What started 31 days ago as a mindful challenge...composing one haiku a day for the month of January, has become a welcome respite in my day. I have enjoyed the discipline of pausing to consider a moment during my day...a sight, an emotion, a memory and choosing how to craft the haiku. I have immensely enjoyed reading other's haiku and am so grateful to those who shared this challenge with me or simply "liked", commented, or shared some of the submissions. Over the next week I will attempt to aggregate and post the many haikus that were tagged with #haikuchallenge16. Stay tuned for the collection! Again, deep gratitude to each of you for reading and sharing during this first month of 2016 and being a part of #haikuchallenge16

Gratitude

A month of haiku

poignant, funny, transcendent

filled with gratitude

Day 30 Points of View

Points of View

Meandering bridge

twisting, turning points of view

new ways of seeing

Day 29 Sculpture

Sculpture

Linear patterns

light and dark against the sky

natural sculpture

Day 28 Challenger

Challenger

Thirty years ago

my little girl on my lap

we watched in horror

Day 27 Contrail

Contrail

Bisecting the sky

contrail through the atmosphere

grateful I looked up

Day 26 Spring Preview

Spring Preview

Bright yellow petals

teasing us in the winter

a preview of spring

Day 25 Resilience

Resilience

Tenacious ivy

tendrils push upward through snow

resilient and strong

Day 24 Journey

Today's haiku was inspired by the disparate tracks I observed in the new fallen snow...one very focused rabbit clearly on a direct mission, and the more free-flowing one choosing a very circuitous route...which one do you relate to?

Journey

A tale of two hares

one focused, one meanders

a lot like humans

Day 23 Snow Day

Snow Day

Panda in the snow

pure bliss and exuberance

total mindfulness

Day 22 Muscle Memory

For many years, I had a standing date with the ballet barre....and then "adulting" happened and I moved on. Today, after 40 years, I took a barre class...the muscles that used to be so flexible have tightened, some of the bones that supported my balance have been broken, my joints do not move as fluidly as they did in my youth...but inside me there was a remembered wellness...and for that I am grateful.

Muscle Memory

Hello ballet barre

it's been over 40 years

muscles remember

Day 21 Robin's Song

Robin's Song

On a winter day

I hear a robin singing

tenacious, hopeful

Day 20 Anticipation

Talk of a big storm in New England and the East Coast for the weekend has put many into panic mode today. Today's haiku takes a look at the fear of potential future events.

Anticipation

no flakes of snow on the ground

breathless weathermen

Day 19 Pause

Pause

Before the dawn breaks

a pause between night and day

delicious silence

Day 18 Mom's Birthday

Day 18 of #haikuchallenge16 is in honor of my mom, Alice Wellette, on her birthday

Mom's Birthday

Happy birthday, Mom
off to a Bernie rally
rockin' 86

Day 17 Sunday Paper

Sunday Paper

A Sunday unfolds

newspaper sections awry

no pages unread

Day 16 Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition

Snow falling gently

flowers of the tropics bloom

juxtaposition

Day 15 Inspiration

Inspiration

Black pen to paper

creating inspiration

new patterns emerge

Day 14 Dream Big

New year...time to push the limit on comfort zones

Dream Big

Dream big, live larger

a leap into the unknown

trusting the process

Day 13 Frost Flowers

This is Day 13 of the 2016 Haiku Challenge. The concept is simple...challenge yourself to compose one haiku a day for the month of January.  Composing a haiku about something you have noticed, felt, experienced or have been mulling over is often both reflective and surprising. One piece of advice...don't set your poetic bar too high...simply notice, write down a few single words and then play with the idea of distilling them into the pattern of three lines consisting of five syllables, seven syllables and five syllables. I promise it will make you pause and be a bit more mindful of that moment. Feel free to post your creations in the comment section of my daily posts on this blog or other digital spaces (use the hashtag #haikuchallenge16) Enjoy!

Frost Flowers

Frost flowers appear

the windshield art warms my soul

winter gratitude

Day 12 Simple Not Easy

Mindful challenges

breathing in the dentist's chair

simple not easy