Skate Park, Ballina NSW Thursday 2 February 2016
After recent ginko at a coastal lake, an inland creek, and a pocket of rainforest, a return to the ocean seemed appropriate for the Cloudcatchers’ summer ginko. A summer gathering it was indeed, with a temperature of 37ºC in the shade.
The heat featured in many first drafts, but a gentle sea breeze did soften the intensity of our discomfort. The venue was the Skate Park in Ballina, where North Creek empties into the Richmond River, in sight of the river mouth.
There were eleven of us, including one fledgling Cloudcatcher, and two returning after their first taste of a ginko in spring. The focus this time was on ‘What makes a good/satisfying haiku?’ As well as a few quotes from the masters, we discussed around the table some guidelines for writing haiku, and experienced poets offered items of their work for analysis.
A subsequent email Round Robin includes images of a cormorant skimming the river, kiddies riding the Skate Park ramp, dogs seeking shade, and waves swirling round the sea wall. The Cloudcatchers’ autumn gathering will be held at low tide among the mangroves at Brunswick Heads, on Thursday 6 April 2017.
Quendryth Young
Australian Haiku Society 