Thursday 9 May 2024
A showery day, so no trees and magpies for us this time. Instead we enjoyed the cosiness of a table inside with a view of dripping leaves beyond the window. Four of us settled in—Hazel Hall, Gregory Piko, Marietta McGregor, Jan Dobb—and we missed Kathy Kituai and Glenys Ferguson.
As usual we chatted informally, noting the bond that has developed since the six of us first came together, a number of years ago, to share our journeys with haiku. We appreciated the continuing contribution of Marietta’s photography to the enhancement of Echidna Tracks; a sensitive visual reflection of ET’s Australian essence. Consequently, we felt a growing concern about the recent intrusion of AI and its threat of producing mere universal images.
The highlight of the afternoon was our welcome back to Greg who has been absent from our recent get-togethers. Greg has been in Japan. He intrigued us with thoughtfully prepared travel tales about finding himself ‘in the steps of Basho’—though not consciously looking for them! His delightful and inspiring presentation evoked enthusiastic response. Thanks a lot Greg. We, too, enjoyed the journey.
Until next time. . .
Jan Dobb
Australian Haiku Society 