You really have to be paying attention to see the beginning of winter in Phoenix. It is a little cooler, but it is still as warm as a Michigan summer. The sky is still bright blue. Our flowers are brilliant, and the sun shining through the leaves of the bushes and trees is a painting.
Still, according to #TankaTuesday, this is the first week of The Beginning of Winter (November 7 – 21) Ritto 立冬. I thought I would try a new-to-me form, the gogyohka. This form is not truly syllabic, but Colleen Chesebro’s research has shown it to be more about breaths. It is a five-line poem, like a tanka. A gogyohka does not need a kigo word, but I am playing along with the seasonal prompts, so I am including “long night” as a kigo.
Some super cool news this week. Both my full-length collection Rooted and Winged and my chapbook Our Wolves are finalists for the American Book Fest 2023 awards! https://americanbookfest.com/2023bbapressrelease.html
I’m so pleased with how my books have done with the awards, but they could both use more reviews on Amazon (and Goodreads, too, but especially Amazon). It only takes one or two sentences to help the algorithm, so if you have read the books and liked them, please consider taking the time to drop Amazon a line or two.
It’s been over a week that I have been walking every day. I am so happy that I have been able to sustain this routine, and that my health has permitted. It’s a beautiful walk near me, and so far it’s been almost eventless. I am a little dismayed, though, how few birds I am finding this year. Has anyone else noticed this where you live or is it just here?