Late last year there was a family situation which required a great deal of my time and energy, and then my wife and I left Australia for a six and a half week holiday in Ethiopia, Morocco and Spain. I had limited internet access during that time so no posts appeared here. Besides, we were having too much fun exploring new countries and having wonderful experiences. I’ll be writing about these experiences and showing my 1000s of photos on my other sites, Trevor’s Birding and Trevor’s Travels.

While I was away I still kept up my writing. Every day I added new entries in a journal. In all I wrote nearly 140 pages describing what we’d done and seen, and responses to those experiences. Much of that journal will be expanded and posted on my travel site. The beauty of having a book to write in as my journal was the convenience factor. I didn’t take my laptop with me though I could have used my daughter’s computer. Instead, I could write in my journal anywhere: on the plane, in the waiting lounge of airports, on a train (we used trains a lot in Morocco and Spain), in bed or even in the garden.

Taking a notebook with you wherever you go is an important way of keeping your writing moving along and developing. You can jot down anything that comes to mind: a scene, a description of a character based on a real person, accounts of little scenes that may make it into a novel or short story, or even a poem or two as you are having a coffee break.

During my travelling time I wrote in my journal every day. But I also wrote a great deal of poetry. I usually can only produce a dozen or two good poems a year, but in the last 7 weeks I’ve written 55 poems, so inspirational was the journey. Some are haiku but most are much longer impressions of what I was seeing and doing. All the non-haiku poems were free verse. Some will find their way onto this site in coming weeks.

We went to Ethiopia first to visit our daughter who had been teaching in an international school in Addis Ababa. What they are doing there is inspirational and she is planning on returning in a few years’ time. After two weeks there, my wife and I, accompanied by our daughter, toured Morocco and Spain, spending two weeks in each. Many of our experiences will inevitably find their way into short stories, more poems and even a book or two. My wife has already come up with a picture book idea based in Ethiopia.

Good writing.

Australian Magpie (male)

Celebrating dawn’s
Soft glow the magpie trumpets
The new day with joy.

 

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2011 Trevor W. Hampel

Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens

 

Scarlet petals glow
In dawn’s new rays – a beacon
Heralding the sun.

© 2010 Trevor W. Hampel

All rights reserved.

 

To read more of my poetry, click here.

Let me explain. Most writers, myself included, desire for our words to be read by others. Sure, some people write only for themselves and that’s fine. I would contend though that the majority of writers dream of having an audience for their words, preferably a large one. I like to know from my readers that I have written something that has intrigued, challenged, entertained, inspired or instructed them – not all at the same time , of course, though that would be great.

It always amazes me where my writing ends up being published. Sure, I’ve have had some small publishing successes. My stories, poems and articles have appeared in books, anthologies, magazines, newspapers and I’ve performed some of my poems in public too. One of my plays was featured on a national television programme. Last year one of my poems was set to music and performed at the ANZAC Day ceremonies in Belgium. Cool.

My latest publication success is intriguing. It’s always nice to be invited to submit something and that is what happened earlier this week. A simple little haiku I wrote some years ago has been published on the Ocean Portal site of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Why not head over there and have a look. They are celebrating National Poetry Week by inviting readers to submit their own poems celebrating their love of the ocean.

Links:

• Ocean Portal site – Your Ode to the Big Blue
• Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
• National Poetry Month

And if you are interested in reading some of my poetry, click here.

Good writing.

Persistent begging
Of baby magpie. Gaping
Mouth worm-filled. Silence.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2008 Trevor W. Hampel

Australian Magpie (juvenile)

Buzzing honey bees
Hover around the flowers
Bringing forth sweet dreams.

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2008 Trevor W. Hampel

To read some more of my poems click here.

Strutting White-winged Choughs
Pick dried grass – moustached mouthfuls
Of mud nest lining.

All rights reserved.

Copyright 2008 Trevor W. Hampel

To read more of my poetry click here.

White Winged Chough carrying nesting material

Haiku poetry is a traditional Japanese form of poetry. It has been popular there for many centuries. In the Japanese form, haiku consist of only three lines.  The first line has five ‘sounds’, the second line seven ‘sounds’ and the last line again five ‘sounds.’ The whole poem often makes some reference to nature, and the last line is often reflective in tone.

Haiku written in English are slightly longer, because they are based on syllables rather than the Japanese ‘sounds’. The 5 – 7 – 5 pattern is retained, but this time in syllables. Therefore, the first line has five syllables, the second line seven syllables and the last line five syllables.  Again, many haiku are about nature and are reflective in some way.

Here is an example of one I wrote a few days ago:

Persistent begging
Of baby magpies. Gaping
Mouths worm-filled. Silence.

Notice that the poem is untitled. They are usually designated by the first line (or numbered). I usually give mine a title, but only for the purpose of filing on my computer. The first line could do this just as well.

In recent years, haiku writers have departed from the strict 5 – 7 – 5 syllable count. This has been an endeavour to get back to the conciseness of the original Japanese form. It is a very compact, precise and concise form of poetry. That is the beautiful essence of this form of poetry. I usually try to stick to the 5 – 7 – 5 syllable count as I believe it is a good discipline in compact writing. From time to time I do try to use less syllables too.

I understand that there is no plural form of the word haiku.

There is another similar form that has emerged in Australia. It is called Rooku. It looks like a haiku in that it has only three lines. It basically has no other rules except that it must have an Australian theme. Here is an example of one I wrote today:

Sleepy seagulls
Congregate near the boundary.
Cricket ball scatters their dreams.

If you’ve ever attended or watched a cricket match at the Adelaide Oval, you will understand the picture painted by those words.

Read my haiku poems

I invite you to read some of my haiku poems by clicking here. I’d love you to leave comments.

Raindrops on rooftops
And glistening fresh tree leaves
Are delights of spring.

© 2008 Trevor W. Hampel

All rights reserved.

Heat haze shimmering
Over sun dried crisp dead grass.
Shady tree comforts.

© 2008 Trevor W. Hampel

All rights reserved.