For our spring ginko White Pebbles haiku poets gathered at Edogawa Gardens at the Gosford Regional Gallery and Arts Centre on a glorious warm Saturday morning,14th September, 2024. Present were Beverley George, Maire Glacken, Michael Thorley, Marilyn Humbert and Colleen Keating with apologies from Samantha Sirimanne Hyde, Pip Griffin and Gwen Bitti and Kent Robinson.
The ducklings were not fluffy babies but teenagers and defying their parents who were trying to keep up for them.
We met in the Gallery’s cafe for a catch-up before a stroll through the gardens. Over coffee, Beverley gave us each some leaves she had collected to share, including a very soft, smooth acacia gun-metal leaf and a lemon myrtle leaf. Both stimulated lots of conversation about texture, aroma, colour shape and the patterns in the leaf, It reminded us to walk slowly and pay attention. And she challenged us to return with a leaf haiku.
We strolled the garden, enjoying the apricity – the warmth of the sunshine on our backs, the scent and colours of the azaleas and the business of ducks and koi carp sharing the pond and water features of the gardens. The duckling were a highlight following children around after food. The white pebbled garden was simply but beautifully raked.
Then we gathered to share our thoughts and words. Beverley said how happy she was to see so many White Pebble haikuists being published in Echidna tracks and encouraged us all to send haiku this month in for the next edition. We then shared our haiku. We making suggestions to improve our haiku Next, we considered the haiku and images that had been gathered on the garden walk earlier. This proved an extremely productive exercise. Michael shared his new working haiku on a small coloured card which he distributed as a gift for us to keep. We all liked this idea and decided to bring copies of our work to hand around next time. A few ideas that enriched my days:
lemon-scented gum
we drink mugs of billy tea
by the campfire
Colleen Keating
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abstract art
pond wriggles with koi
around the ducks
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We concluded the White Pebbles Spring meeting 2024 with our hope to meet on the second Saturday 14th December for our Summer meeting. (just a date to put in our new 2025 diaries when we get them – our Autumn meeting just for this one time will be on the third Saturday 15th March 2025 )
still as a statue
a water dragon stops
and stills passers-by