Three Spells for Winter

In December, I set myself a challenge: write a haiku for every day of the month. I (almost!) managed this. I didn’t confine myself to the strict structure of the haiku, but instead used the practice to explore how a limited number of words can evocatively capture a thought, feeling or experience. It was a way to refine my writing craft and also became a spiritual practice, in which I found a moment of beauty within each day of my ordinary life.

Here are three of my favourites:

Friday 5th December: Dawn

Night’s frosted elegies
Cling to webs and empty trees
In morning’s fading memory

Friday 11th December: Winter Roots

Fibres, woody and nerved,
Spark the morning blue,
Do they wither underground;
Or brighten black earth too?

Wednesday 24th December: The Foxes

Two sparks of amber
Bolt through the night
Tails like rusted stardust