NaHaiWriMo 2026 Week 2 Atmosphere / Elements

 

8. ZEPHYR

trembling leaves –

gentle breeze or, yes

a lorikeet!

9. LAVA

I love to see

(on screen) fiery boulders

erupting

*

a spill of red

down the mountain-side

settling to black

10. FOG

the morning fog

rolls back along the ground –

old memories

11.LIGHTNING

his new book –

illuminating

and fiery

*

filling the sky 

sudden burst of light –

shocking

*

watching the storm

breathless on the front step

the cats and I

12. ICICLE

a cold childhood –

that splinter of ice

in my heart

13. EMBERS

that night we sang

the fire burnt down to embers

then you were gone

*

family nights

roasting chestnuts

in the coals 

*

nights with Grandpa

letting the fire burn low —

all his stories

14. DRIZZLE

in thunder

and pelting rain, I pray

for a drizzle

NaHaiWriMo 2026 Week 1 Botanical / Growth

1. BLOSSOM

heat wave –

frogs yell in chorus

blossoms dry

2. EVERGREEN

comforting

sea of evergreen –

Australian bush

*

from the lookout

grey-green vista blends

hills and gullies

3. WILLOW

from a willow branch

enclosed in green curtains

the swing Dad made me

4. PETAL

remembering

my husband – a petal 

drops from the rose

5. ROOT

prompt: root –

my naughty Aussie mind

tries to think ‘plants’

*

that tree –

a weed not pulled up

by the roots

*

here in the tropics 

how I miss

the taste of parsnips

6. THORN

beneath

the fullest bloom

the thorn

*

a sideways push –

the rose thorn snaps off

instantly

*

my father’s roses –

thorns and aphids but

that scent!

*

My wish for you: while you smell the roses, may you navigate the thorns. (American sentence.)

7. SAPLING

thin sapling

clinging precarious

spider-web

More

 

sunlight

a little more

each day

as Spring begins

waking slowly

Written for the 'Tanka Poets On Site' facebook group (prompt: More).

Deer

in America

my first time seeing deer –

shy, delicate

they appeared to me

though locals called them pests

Written for facebook group Tanka Poets On Site, 

for 25 Aug. 2025, prompt: Deer.