me and the old oak
communicate silently
at one with the earth
<> <> <>
©Jane Paterson Basil
Safar over at Blisters, Bunions & Blarney came up with a Haiku Challenge, and passed it on to Calen, who has now handed the baton to me. The way it works is:
Person 1 (Safar)
1. Create a haiku – no constraints
2. Pick a person to create the next link in the chain.
3. Person 2 (Calensariel)
Person 2 (Calensariel)
1. Create a haiku with one constraint
2. The first word of the haiku you create is the last word of the previous haiku
3. Pick a person to create the next link in the chain
Persons 3-20
1. Repeat the instructions for Person 2
Person 21 (that’ll be the last person in the chain)
1. Create a haiku with two constraints
2. The first word of the haiku you create is the last word of the previous haiku.
3. The last word of the haiku you create is first word of the first haiku in the chain.
And so the circle is closed.
A couple of ‘rules’ so that we get to keep track of the links in the chain:
When you participate, you agree that others are able to share your haiku, using the credits and the link back to the post that you provide.
Post all previous haiku on your blog, including all the credits and links provided. Add your haiku to the chain.
Credit yourself, and include a link back to your post. You might need to edit your post and add the link in retrospect.
Create a link back to this post.
Have fun!!
OH! And if you’d like to join in, please leave a note in the comments!
Raili, at Soul Gifts, says she’s no good at haiku. We’ll see about that Raili – I’m asking you to be the next link in the chain, and I know you won’t want to let us down 🙂
So shall we see how far we can get??? Here we go!
Mountain of paper noodles,
earthworm fodder to
keep mycelium running.
(Safar Fiertze, Blisters, Bunions & Blarney)
<> <> <>
running down life’s path
many trails beckon my heart;
which one leads to me
(Calensariel, Impromptu Promptlings)
<> <> <>
me and the old oak
communicate silently
at one with the earth
Ooo! That turned out so lovely. It just feels right and peaceful. WELL done! ❤
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Thank you. Did you see that lovely video Safar put up about the way trees communicate and nourish each other? For years I’ve been telling people that trees are social beings, and everyone thought I was stupid 🙂
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Well, that’s a cute idea.
Except it resembles chain emails! hahaha
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I’m glad to say I’ve never received any of them 🙂
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Well, you’ll be glad to know your poem chains are much more desirable alternatives!
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Thank you. I love poetry challenges like this one…
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beautiful ❤
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Thank you 🙂
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You got me, Jane. I couldn’t possibly let you down, so I will just have to turn my thoughts into haiku mode.
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Thank you Raili. You don’t really mind, do you?
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no 🙂
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Phew! 🙂
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I just realised! I think I know that tree!! Is it Edie’s accomplice from Harfinsain? Looks very similar….
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Now you come to mention it, I think it very well could be. I pulled it from Pixaby, but with all that publicity whipped up by Edie, the old man of Drake Lane got his picture taken on a regular basis. He must be all over the internet 🙂
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Yeah, he snuck in and caught you off guard !
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That’s what he does – he’s very dangerous, but what can we expect? After all, he’s not really a tree, but a bad man with a curse on him 🙂
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Yeah, I tend to forget that. Bad mistake 😦
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I love this Jane 💚
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Thank you Linda 🙂
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I love this too, it’s so close to my heart, and given this started by ruminating on talking trees, I like a haiku that engages in listening to their wisdom. Bravo!!
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Thank you Safar. I’ve always been close to trees, particularly oak and beech. A couple of years ago I spent six months living in a wood in Sussex, and was thrilled to discover Hornbeam (I live in Devon, and they don’t grow here – or in Yorkshire, come to that). I found them to be very protective.
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Hornbeams are beautiful. Yes, you’re right, I haven’t seen one since I was very little. I believe they have medicinal properties?
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They have antiseptic and astringent properties.
I’ve just checked online, and they do a whole lot of good things. They’re haemostatic, they relieve stress, anxiety and depression, they revitalize the body and mind…and more.
And their young leaves, when they unfurl in spring, are heartrendingly beautiful. I’ve never seen anything quite like them.
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Lovely idea, Jane. And some gorgeous words and imagery. Great work
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Thank you Lynn – I love this challenge, it’s so interconnected 🙂
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Lovely idea Jane. Very inventive 🙂
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lovely idea Jane…I would like to join in if there’s room for me. 🙂
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That would be great. Although it says to shout out if you want to join in, I’m not sure how you get into the chain. I’ll check and get back to you – or maybe I’ll start a new one up, if Safar doesn’t mind me copying the idea. I’ve been thinking about it anyway.
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I reblogged the post, tried to edit it to nominate someone else, messed it up, deleted it. I have never been technically inclined…LOL
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I dear – I hope you haven’t given up on it…
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oh no… I actually posted but it disappeared. today was not a good day……I will do my link tomorrow I know just who to invite as my pick for continuancee
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it’s awkward inviting just ONE person at a time, I was hesitant until I was invited specifically. I tend to be very literal….one of my idiotsyncracies.
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I don’t think it can work properly if people join in uninvited. The chain would becoem a tree with ever increasing branches, and the twenty-first person is meant to link the first and the last chain together. I’d love to write that final link. It could be challenging.
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I hadn’t read about a 21st person being the circular link. You are right…
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I wrote a haiku in response to this chain, and I’ll send it on in. I’ll invite someone, but its too exclusive.
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I see what you mean, but I can’t figure out how else it would work, as it’s meant to make a kind of necklace.
Maybe I’ll give it some thought as I find the idea inspiring.
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I’ll do it shortly today. Fell on my face again yesterday, lots of blood but bones still intact….I think I’m pushing my luck though.
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You keep falling over? Why?
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clumsy…stupid…think I’m 22 again…think I’m invincible…too lazy to avoid danger… to hear my BFF, and my daughter tell it I should blame my Crocs…love them, but a size to big…
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Throw the stupid things away!
Please. 🙂
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I have never in my entire life had shoes that I could walk and stand in for hours at a time without excruciating pain. I should, however, refrain from wearing older ones that don’t fit me. 🙂
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Shoes are a nuisance. As a child I went barefoot a lot of the time, and my mum never put me in shoes that were too small. A lot of kids were less lucky, so my feet were larger than average. In my teens I often wore men’s shoes – women’s ones didn’t fit. Luckily, these days feet are bigger, because there’s more awareness of the harm that too-small shoes can do, so shoes come in larger sizes. It’s made a lot of difference to me.
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high heels were my downfall, not stilletos, just regular three-inch pumps. I had a pair of knee-high boots once and wore them once when we walked and walked (my husband was a great walker) and my left foot hurt so much that even after I removed the boots the pain was still too bad. Finally started wearing sneaks and carrying heels in a bag if I had to have them.
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Good plan 🙂
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clumsy…stupid…dare-devil…too lazy to avoid danger…wear too-big Crocs…think I’m 22 again.
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uh…I posted the chain…but probably messed it up…where is it supposed to linked? help… (I never know how to do these challenges…duh…)
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The last link – to your own post – is toatally unnecessary. I just went to your post, and your haiku is absolutely lovely. I left a comment, but I think it went to your spam folder. Could you find it and click ‘not spam’ please? If you don’t know where your spam folder is, go to your site, hover over “My Sites’ (top left of screen) then click on ‘Comments’ in the drop-down box. At the top of the comments page click on ‘Spam.’ You may find other comments in there that aren’t actually spam. It would help those bloggers if you re-instated their comments too.
The spam bots are over sensitive, and once a blogger’s comments start going to spam it becomes a real problem for them.
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only one not-spam there, not from you. I fixed it though, from a regular…not spam.
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I don’t know what’s going on. I’ll go back to your site and comment again.
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I thought I just followed what had been done before. It seems confusing without the final link because of the numerical order…Sofar being 1, Calen 2, You/Jane 3, Raili 4, Spiritualdragonfly 5, Gradmama/Me 6.
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Sorry – my previous comment was confusing. I have a habit of staying up half the night blogging, when I’m overtired. Forget I said anything.
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story of my life…except I get more sleep now than I used to…guess I need it more…
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I’ll check for spam in my email queue.
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Linda, at Spiritual Dtragonfly has invited you to join the chain. This is the link to her post:
She asked someone who didn’t respond, so she’s glad you want to play. Have fun with it 🙂
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