Still in lockdown under Stage 4 stay-at-home restrictions, the Fringe Myrtles had their 4th Zoom meeting of the year. Fourteen of us attended the meeting, including first-timer Andrew Korbel, and fifteen haiku were shared on the theme of ‘unity’.
The group found this a challenging theme and there were many and varied interpretations of it, including the following:
unmasked
these moments
we’d die for
Liv Saint-James
s l o w l y c o m m u n i t y a g a i n
Marisa Fazio
Both of these haiku are poignant illustrations of the lingering frustration of living in lockdown, an experience that Melburnians know too well. These are truly trying times for which meetings like these provide much needed sustenance.
Virtually the whole meeting (over 2 hours) was taken up by discussion of the haiku shared with each other, prompting lively and engaging debate about various matters related to the writing of haiku. These discussions are always interesting, especially in a group like this which is made up of people both new and old to haiku. As usual, the feedback was given informatively and respectfully and the group is fortunate to have such a spirit of collaboration.
A brief discussion of tanka concluded the meeting with a short introduction to the topic provided by Chilli. Michael Dylan Welch, current President of the Tanka Society of America who joined us once again from his home in the United states, was able to share some valuable resources for the group to consider.
During the meeting, Myron paid tribute to those members of the Fringe Myrtles whose haiku were published in the anthology, behind the mask: haiku in the time of Covid-19, edited by Margaret Dornaus (Singing Moon Press).
We look forward to our next meeting in November when maybe, just maybe, we will be able to gather in person.
— Rob Scott
Australian Haiku Society 