HAIKUsutradhar: 4th August 2023 Sangita Kalarickal

HAIKUsutradhar. weekly prompts

A FRIDAY FEATURE

4th August

Lev Hart, the mentor for HAIKUsutradhar, would be pleased to answer your questions and concerns.

host: Kala Ramesh

the month of august: Sangita Kalarickal

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ haikuKATHA - the monthly journal from Triveni Haikai India!

founder/managing editor: Kala Ramesh

associate editors:

Ashish Narain

Firdaus Parvez Hemapriya Chellappan

Priti Aisola Sanjuktaa Asopa

Shalini Pattabiraman

Suraja Menon Roychowdhury Vandana Parashar Vidya Shankar

Haiku, senryu and haiga/shahai (photo haiku) posted here on this thread will be picked up for Triveni Haikai India's monthly journal - haikuKATHA. For each issue of haikuKATHA, we take poems from the 3rd of the previous month to the 2nd of the current month. This is just to facilitate all the forums working on their weekly prompts. At the moment we are not looking at found poetry, rengay and other split sequences. Other than haiga, no photos are to be shared on our blog on account of storage/memory limitations.

................................................................................................................................. Our host for HAIKUsutradhar Akila G. has stepped down for personal reasons. Kala Ramesh is the acting host for some months now. Associate Editors, Madhuri Pillai, Akila G., K. Ramesh, Shobhana Kumar and Reid Hepworth have stepped down for personal reasons. We wish them the very best. A huge thank you to all our poets who have given so much of their time and expertise. . ........... For some more exciting news! CHECK THESE FORUMS: Tanka, kyoka and tanka-prose to be posted on TANKA TAKE HOME and Haibun to be posted on THE HAIBUN GALLERY Please do visit: 'triveni spotlight' 'open sky :: SAMVAAD' and 'thinkALONG' Good poems and challenges are posted in these forums. Check them out. ***********************************

The poems you post will also be considered for the haikuKATHA Monthly Journal each month. Due to a sudden increase in activity, here are some quick guidelines, for HAIKUsutradhar:

1. From July 1st onwards only 2 haiku (numbered 1& 2) per week/prompt are to be posted on HAIKUsutradhar. 2. Please do not post two poems in one day/in 24 hours ... just one and in total only 2 poems per week from Friday to Friday.

3. For each poem you share, please comment on ONE other poem which isn't yours!

4. Post only your unpublished, original poems.

5. If poets have NOT ASKED for FEEDBACK, please do not give. 6. Most importantly, please do not post a variety of drafts, along with a request for readers to choose which they like most. Only one poem is to be posted. 7. If you revise your poem, please post the revision above the original. When selecting poems for haikuKATHA, the team will assume that the version on top is the one you prefer.

Please do not delete your original.

************************* Post your best haiku and let's have each issue with your best work.

Poems previously published on your webpage or social media will be accepted.

Poems previously published in peer-reviewed or edited journals or anthologies and contest winners that were published elsewhere will not be accepted.

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PROMPT: August Week 1

Every time I face writer’s block, I feel that my muse has run away into my little garden. So, this month, come walk with me down my garden path. The idea that flowers depict various human traits is quite ancient, but recently we have been reminded of it at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral where her son chose relevant flowers, for example, adding rosemary representing remembrance or oak to symbolize strength.

Let’s delve into the language of flowers and more importantly what it means for the haijin. We will combine floriography with cultural and seasonal references. Each week I will add a photo from my garden, of the relevant flowers but this is not an ekphrastic prompt. Please think about the particular flowers, what they stand for in your particular culture, the season they represent. Thus we have chrysanthemums in their full glory in autumn or the Sakura blooms screams spring. For your reference here are a couple of links for some saijiki:

https://www.trivenihaikai.in/indian-saijiki

http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html

Let’s start with the flower which has won the hearts of folks around the world, and has found its way even into Indian cuisine! The rose, red one denoting love, represents summer, early autumn.

What does rose signify for you? What memory does it trigger? Here’s a photo of a rose called (for obvious reasons!) Ketchup and Mustard

Have fun! Sangita Kalarickal