Finishing on a High

As the Seekers sang many moons ago, The Carnival is Over, for this is it, the final entry. No doubt this won’t be the last haiku I’ll ever write, so here’s hoping I’ve learnt something in the process of tackling this project that I can use as my mind engages with other forms of writing in the new year.

Fireworks are always a good thing on New Year’s Eve, but without any photos of my own on file, plus a reluctance to use a free internet image as I wanted the whole shebang to be my own creation, and the fact I’ll probably fall asleep before Sydney Harbour explodes at midnight so I can pinch one off the TV, here’s my best attempt at brightening up the last page.

Sayonara.

Zoom, whizz, boom, sizzle

see the year out with a bang

and not a whimper

Penultimate Pronouncement

With the wrap up of this little diary only one day away, I thought it timely to do some sort of reflection on what the experience has taught me. I say little, but in actual fact this project has blown out into two hundred and forty pages of photos, poems and ponderings throughout the year. From making the commitment on January 1^st to post a haiku each day, I wondered if I would come to regret that decision and abandon the whole affair somewhere along the way.

Even though I was forced to face the computer each day to produce three lines summing up something from my day, the routine took on its own momentum, helping me to reflect, find a moment, an image, a thought, a memory, and encapsulate it in a handful of words. I have always tended to be verbose with my writing, penning inordinately long sentences when a couple of lines could have produced the same result, so having to restrict myself to three lines, and no more than seventeen syllables, was quite a discipline.

But it was a helpful discipline, one that caused me to think about how to capture the essence of something, get to its core, how to weave a few words together to create a mental image with which anyone can identify.

Reading the works of what I term real haiku poets, mine pale into insignificance. Their skill and artistry in capturing a moment frozen in time never fail to inspire me, and I have far to go if I wish to emulate their creativity.

After finishing my Haiku Project of 2017, a year-long poem and photo journal, the idea for the online Haiku Diary 2018 was born, and I’m thankful for two things. That I stuck with it, and that tomorrow will see it completed. I’m itching to return to other forms of writing which have been pretty much shelved for the past two years, though I have a hunch that not only will the writing of haiku affect how I approach other projects, but that my thoughts will often gravitate towards expressing myself in three lines instead of three chapters.

Just one day to go

time for a new direction

think I’m haiku’d out

Gorgeous Day

It’s no wonder Cataract Gorge has become Launceston’s premier attraction, not just for tourists but for locals as well. Not many cities can boast such a natural wonder right on its doorstep, for within a few minutes’ drive or a decent walk from the edge of town, you can leave the noise and bustle behind and be transported into natural bushland and established gardens harking back to the Victorian era.

 

Events and festivals might bring larger numbers of visitors to the city, but such occasions come and go, whereas the Gorge is an incredible gift to the region which keeps on giving all year round. Springtime sees the return of colour, with new growth on bare trees and flowers bursting into life, then warm Summer days find family picnics spread far and wide, with the glistening swimming pool just begging to be used. Autumn sees a softening as deciduous trees come into their own and show their magnificence, but it is often in Winter that the Gorge attracts more visitors than usual. Every few years, the north of the State has a habit of experiencing exceptionally high rainfall, and if the Gorge is in flood, it becomes a mecca. The usually calm waters are transformed into a broiling witch’s cauldron as floodwaters thunder through and pour into the Tamar River, an awesome and spectacular sight.

 

No matter what the season, the chair lift ferries people back and forth over the water across First Basin, hikers are out in force, making use of both easy and challenging trails, the suspension bridge dares you to cross it without a drunken swagger, while all and sundry photograph the surrounding wonder, and watch with fascination the peacocks roaming the gardens showing off their finery.

It’s all too easy to forget the marvels we have in our own backyard, yearning instead to see the sights in far off destinations. Travelling near or far to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds and culture of any country or region can be an illuminating experience, but let’s not take for granted the valuable natural assets around us that can also provide enrichment on more than just a physical level.

Gouged through rock

cold waters tumble

gorge defined