always there

 

when I call

you’re always there

charlie girl

 

Yesterday on February 28th our beautiful Afghan Hound Charlie Girl who has inspired my haiku and this blog finally succumbed to the serious illness’s she has bravely been struggling with since mid last year.  Today Jill and I have deep feelings of sadness. Charlie was an exceptional dog who shared our lives and travelled widely with us as I wrote and imaged on many posts. Lots of my wonderful readers have expressed lovely responses to Charlie’s stories and images. She will live forever in our hearts and also  on Haikuhound.

alone

 

single gull

empty summer beach

loneliness

Pacific Gulls are often seen alone, especially after breeding has finished and the young ones are granted independence to hang out together or forage alone. This young bird was enjoying one of the last sunsets of our summer down at Ricketts Point.

act with honour

break the web

people power

beats the spin

 

This haiku shares images of two recent people power protests in Melbourne Australia that my wife Jill and I participated in . What was happening in these images happens around the world, sometimes involving tragedy for participants if they are in quasi democratic or dictatorial  countries.

When governments cross the line in the sand through their governing, people power has to drag them back, in both instances seen here we did  to some extent. The ballot box is where all people who can vote should vote and vote wisely for their future. That is unless men with machine guns stand beside the ballot boxes. Then people have to………….

To really understand the background of this haiku I invite you to visit a page sharing wisdom and advice recently posted by Al the Author in the UK. https://altheauthor.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/haiku-spider/

 

Tension mounting

warming earth

time for tense message

climate change

This week I was nudged towards political observation by Al the Author for Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 85 challenge words Tight&Warm.  This image shows  some members of our local Climate Change Action Group sending a collective message for the consideration of all Australian politicians via the Australian Conservation Foundation.

In case you don’t have a magnifying glass, ( friend gave me one for my 60th) the messages read from left to right

We must look after our planet

No earth no economy

It’s a moral issue

We need hope for a future

Woof .  The dog is pitching his thoughts in particular to the flat earth believing, climate change deniers of  conservative political persuasion. (they may understand one word grabs)

I care for the environmental future

All our childrens’ future is at stake

The world is home for everyone

To see how other poets of international renown react to Ronovan’s challenge this week click on https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-85-tightwarm/

5 milky smooth haiku

smooth and still

no milk from this cow 

forever

1. This cast statue of a cow guards the entrance to the Black Rock veterinary surgery. There is not much call on bovine healing skills in suburban bayside Melbourne

 

cows grazing

milking has finished

smooth evening

2.  A beautiful Autumn sunset in the far West of Victoria near Yambuk.

smooth water

strawberry milkshake 

pink sunset

        3. Port Phillip Bay turns on another fascinating sunset for those who    appreciate it.

smooth singer 

milking the marrow 

from a bone

                       4. A young magpie enjoys what is left of Charlie”s bone

bright young bird

feathers like milk froth

down so smooth

           5. A fledgling Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike calls for its parents.

This is my contribution to RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 84 Milk&Smooth. To explore creative haiku from an international array of poets visit https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-84-milksmooth/

gem of a sunset

 

brief farewell

a flame of colour

gemlike sun

This was the sunset from Ricketts Point last night. I have probably covered the details of this beautiful place in a number of posts now, usually with a sunset image or two. Rarely are we disappointed .

This is my contribution to  RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 83 Gem&Flame. Visit this site of poetic creativity with blog links out into a wonderful world of haiku, poetry, writing photography and more. Go to https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-83-gemflame/

rain coming

 

sky soldiers

marching past the bay

rain tonight

An evening last week when a rare cold front moved up from the West and delivered some rain to parts of Melbourne.

many different stars

star 1 sun star

Every night the sun sets across Port Phillip Bay and most evenings we get a chance to say goodbye till tomorrow. What do children think as they watch a sunset?

the star shines

a child wonders

about life

 

 

star 2. tennis star

Roger Federer was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the semi finals at this years Australian Open. Whilst Roger’s career is up and down and he has not won a Grand Slam for a couple of years now he remains world number 4. Many budding child tennis players worship Roger and hope to become as good as him one day. In this image Roger had won a semi final and went on to become the Open Champion that year.

a star fades

somewhere a child dreams

to be him

star 3. future star

The DaliLama regularly visits Australia. His wisdom, understanding of life and messages for world harmony offer politicians of all persuasions directions for peace and harmony. To me he is a star of hope for the future.

star of hope

the dali lama

reborn child

star 4. remembered star

I have more time these days to spend with my cameras photographing whatever interests me. Sunsets are becoming my favourite subject  because of the range of poses created and the variety of views over Port Phillip Bay offered evening after evening. Here are a couple of my memories from last year.

as a child

my favourite view

of our star

These 4 haiku and accompanying images are my contributions to RonovanWrites Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge 82 Star&Child. A weekly haiku challenge taken up in growing numbers by creative poets from around the world led by Ronovan . You can views these amazing artistic expressions at https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-82-starchild/