This String has now closed. Please enjoy the haiku posted in the comments. Thanks to all the poets worldwide who have contributed to this event. The event lasted eight days, from 12.30 am ACDT on 21 December 2024. The String closed at 12.30 am ACDT on 29 December 2024.
The Australian Haiku Society welcomes contributions from haiku poets worldwide to the Summer Solstice Haiku String.
We will be holding the Haiku String on the day of the Southern Hemisphere Summer Solstice, which occurs in Australia this year on Saturday, December 21st. To accommodate international poets who may wish to participate, the String will remain open for contributions until Sunday, December 29th, 2024. Contributions may be made on the website during these dates only (not before).
Haiku String – Instructions (please read all the instructions including formatting).
For many Australians summer means a relationship with water or the lack of it. Visits to the seaside or river to relax, swim or surf, precious dam storage, irrigation of crops, fighting bushfires, dealing with floods, and the many other aspects of water are a part of summer.
This is the first verse of ‘The Days When We Went Swimming’, written by Australian poet Henry Lawson in 1899.
The breezes waved the silver grass,
Waist-high along the siding,
And to the creek we ne’er could pass
Three boys on bare-back riding;
Beneath the sheoaks in the bend
The waterhole was brimming –
Do you remember yet, old friend,
The times we went in swimming?
Henry Lawson
The AHS invites you to share three of your original, previously unpublished haiku or senryu on the theme of your relationship with water during summer.
We invite you to explore a multiplicity of ideas in the String. The haiku will be linked by subject and theme. We also welcome response haiku written in reply to others already published in the String.
- Please contribute up to three of your best previously unpublished haiku or senryu.
- Haiku should be posted in the comment box at the end of the post.
- Each poem posted must be an original work by the poet making the post. Please include your name as you wish it to appear.
- Formatting request. Because AHS aims to produce some e-books using a selection of haiku from these events, please enter your name below each haiku you post. This helps immensely when we compile the haiku for presentation in a book.
Posting your work in the AHS Summer Solstice Haiku String 2024 assumes the following:
Copyright of each haiku remains with the author. We request nonexclusive permission to publish your work on the AHS website and republish it online anytime.
Looking forward to your contributions.
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Australian Haiku Society 
scuba diving
the way I see myself
the way I’m seen
.
the sharp rocks
from the river of childhood
rounded by weather –
I always keep in my heart
just our beautiful moments
.
pandemic drought
it doesn’t dry anymore
the farmer’s eyes
.
Mirela Brailean
Romania
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unrestrained
waterfalls rushing headlong …
this fleeting life
Natalia Kuznetsova,
Russia
LikeLiked by 2 people
currawong making her last calls
fairy lights flicker in a little tree –
the short night begins
– Helen Williams, Boonwurrung Country | Melbourne, Australia
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Karen Morris-Denby 21 December 2024
Gisborne New Zealand
sea spray
invisible winds
lovers kiss
Karen Morris-Denby
Gisborne New Zealand
giants of the sea
roll with every tide
whales beach
Karen Morris-Denby
Gisborne New Zealand
white horses race
through bright rainbows
tides change
Karen Morris-Denby
Gisborne New Zealand
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the wind
whispers in temper
summer breeze
Carlo R. Guinita
under the brazen sun
the water
all sparkling
Carlo R. Guinita
the sun dips down
with the horizon
I’m settling at the shore
Carlo R. Guinita
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dams are empty —
rainfall, not technology
can save us
Keitha Keyes
Sydney, Australia
out in the paddock
water from a hessian bag
an acquired taste
Keitha Keyes
Sydney, Australia
bore water only
for the sheep and pigs —
windmills creaking
Keitha Keyes
Sydney, Australia
LikeLiked by 1 person
Valerie Derry MARDI NSW
December 21 2024 at 3.25 pm
red dust descending
gum tree’s parched breath lingers
on a sleepless moon
cool water
drools from the tap
mocking summer heat
white sails waft
across the blue expanse
taken by the tide
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Please ignore previous comments as formatting is wrong.
a smile
bringing wrinkles closer
first raindrops
Subir Ningthouja
—
ants on a sticka
in the floodwaters …
riding the Ark
Subir Ningthouja
—
bright skies
the farmer’s dull eyes
as cracks widen
Subir Ningthouja
—
LikeLiked by 1 person
ocean pool
the scent of salt
and sunscreen
Louise Hopewell, Naarm / Melbourne, Australia
boogie boarding
kids sharing my wave
show me how to really boogie
Louise Hopewell, Naarm / Melbourne, Australia
river rapids
the kids pretend
to be platypus
Louise Hopewell, Naarm / Melbourne, Australia
LikeLiked by 3 people
wild wind
rain falls and dries
on the bitumen
Jo McInerney
Boolarra, Australia
almost still
perch at the edge
of brown water
Jo McInerney
Boolarra, Australia
river gums
cling to the banks
dry channels on Mars
Jo McInerney
Boolarra, Australia
LikeLiked by 1 person