In the gusts of wind
As you breathe new life
The whispers of grief
For your fallen ones

When the last one drops
I will go with you
And in one last breath
We will bow and sing

It was beautiful
 
 
 
#Poetry #english #InspiredByNatureSeries #nature #forest #tree #ecology #deforestation #environment #grief

Dec 11, 2024 – cold night

Night, cold and pitch dark,
Shivering in my arms, wait
For soft morning light

Dec 15, 2024 – snow drift

Giant wall
Of fresh pearly snow —
The wind blew

Dec 16, 2024 – crane

Light as a feather
The crane expands its wings. Fly!
To the Heavens rise

Dec 18, 2024 – dark cloud

Snowy mountains shine
Draped in evening light. A brush
Paint the dark clouds bright

Apr 5, 2025 – crisp + plum

Powdered white morning
Crisp red blossoms – Winter plum
First to usher Spring

May 29, 2025 – river

Windy riverside
Lost in reverie – Unwind
My thoughts drift away

June 28, 2025 – draft

vibration
down my spine a chill
there's a draft

June 29, 2025 – desolate + profuse

Beach town in winter
Not a soul to collide with
Profuse emptiness

Sept 13, 2025 – pumpkin + dew

Pearly dew
Comes with Autumn wind
Pumpkin smiles

Sept 14, 2025 – chrysanthemum + wild rose

Wild rose long withered
Grace can bloom in the Fall frost
But this too won't last

Sept 15, 2025 – deer

Through trees ray of light
Touching the deer standing guard
A crane takes its flight
 
 
 
#Poetry #Haiku #english #HaikuSeries #DailyHaiku #DailyHaikuPrompt

Already long gone is
The bright verdant of Spring
Soon all the leaves will turn
A vibrant rust color
Then with a glass of wine
We'll reminisce those nights
Dipping in the tide pools 
Or by the bonfire

When tickled by the cold 
We'll see our breath escape
Seeking the quietude
In seclusion we'll wait
For the nightingale song
To fill the night again

_______

This poem was written using all the prompts from @dailyhaikuprompt@mastodon.world for the week of May 17-24, 2025. I usually use those prompts to actually write haiku but this time I just had a different kind of fun with them.
✓ Yellow
✓ Early frost
✓ Field 
✓ Silence
✓ Verdant
✓ Rust
✓ Road
✓ North wind
✓ Breath
✓ Wine
✓ Nightingale 
✓ Bonfire
✓ Pool
✓ Leaves
✓ Tickle
✓ Seclusion
 
 
 
#Poetry #english #InspiredByNatureSeries #nature #seasons

What was and what will be – a year in review

 
Endings are often times of reflection,
a little pause before again it all begins.
What a beautiful year of creativity
2024 has been for me.

In a world that has gone mad,
riddled with wars and genocides,
exploitation and competition,
where what matters is to be efficient
in destroying the essence of life.
Still within the last hopeless convulsions
of a system on the verge of collapse,
I managed to find solace.

In January, with a dear friend of mine,
a fellow procrastinator and creative mind,
we committed to a weekly rendezvous.
In a café every Sunday, an afternoon to just do.
Do the thing, no more excuses,
“I'm not good enough”-s and “who am I to”-s.
Don't I have anything better to do?
With no chasing results and no expectations,
a little pocket of time of joyful creation.

In just a year I have written more
than I had ever done before.
By the hundreds, poems and haiku,
writing challenges, drawings and of course dance.
Finally letting go of perfectionism,
things I'm proud of, some things not so,
but no matter what, I feel content.

So in whatever shape or form,
and with no AI involved,
into our days let's try to insert
those, even tiny, creative pockets.
“Joy is an act of resistance.”
Because when we find joy,
we say no to what fools us
into an artificial happiness.

Living is not about dreams of grandeur
or sensational bucket list must-dos,
that we buy with our life and time,
throwing ourselves into the grinder.
Maybe living is about things insignificant
making up the fabric of the existence.
Those little moments that can become,
within the boundless realm of imagination,
an entire magical world that opens in front of us.
 
 
I wish you all a fulfilling year, full of little pockets of creativity, turning insignificant moments into joyful magical worlds.

Note: “Joy is an act of resistance.” is from a poem by Toi Derricotte
 

2024 in numbers

125 poems and haikus
1 month-long writing challenge: Writober
1 short story written over 25 days: The Cave
130+hrs of dancing and about 50 choreos learnt
200+hrs of voice acting for 1 project, definitely not enough and hoping for more new projects in 2025 (demo updates coming soon-ish)

I don't know what 2025 will bring but I will be sure to keep this weekly or even daily creative practice alive. I will keep writing, dancing and will try to draw more, practice calligraphy more and to go back to a more consistent Chinese study.

And if you're in Vancouver, BC and want to join in on our Sunday creative session, give me a shout. The more, the merrier.
 
 
 
#Poetry #english #writing #2024review #YearInReview #2025 #dance #VoiceActing #dubbing #creativity #creation #joy #imagination

I only have a vague idea to start with, but otherwise, just like you who will be reading this, I pretty much have no clue where I'm going. I'm just hoping that at the end of the 25 days, I'll have a story that somewhat makes sense. Maybe it will fall flat, or maybe it will be the best sh*t you've ever read in your life (lol). Will I even finish it? Who knows.

So let's set off on this adventure together…

This post was updated daily and is now complete.

______________

 
 
 
#Fiction #ShortStories #english #MentalHealth

I'm giving myself some rules/directions:
- prompts picked from random writober lists
- 131 characters including spaces (as in “from 1st to 31st” of October)
- written in about 10 minutes (as in the “10th” month)
- I'm giving myself freedom of style: poetry, micro-fiction, non-fiction...
- I will write in English mostly, but I might decide to switch to French sometimes

OCT 1 – TO BEGIN

October 6 already...
I'm always late. For everything.
Starting things is hard.
I guess I shouldn't fear the endings to begin with.

OCT 2 – SHADOW

“Don't you see them? In the shadow. They've been waiting.”
“For what? I don't see anything.”
“Yes. Exactly.” she said with a smile.

OCT 3 – CAFÉ

Alors comme ça, tu lis dans le marc de café ?
J'y noie plutôt mes pensées.
Et je le prends noir, sans sucre ni lait pour le diluer.

OCT 4 – MIST

Misty mornings had always been her favorites. Foggy remnants of what the night had tried to conceal. Maybe someday she'll remember.

OCT 5 – CHAOS

His head is buzzing. They're all shouting, each in their own echo chamber. He needs help. He's losing control of the others. Again.

OCT 6 – METAMORPHOSIS

Inside
the space of my body
and within
its periphery
subtle vibrations
From its core
transforming its margins
the smallest of dance

OCT 7 – MEMORY

Can you tell us what really happened? Not the alternate history.
Is it ok to store this? Won't they know, that erasure didn't work?

OCT 8 – INK

The Priest dipped his brush in blood darker than night, inking unfathomable life onto the talisman. Only then did the world unveil.

OCT 9 – HORIZON

When night falls
We are left hanging
Over the horizon's cliff
With the sun diving
Wondering if tomorrow
There will be a new morning

OCT 10 – RAIN

(A third of the way through, time for a cheat day. Quadruple serving with 524 characters.)

She rushed down the stairs and stopped dead in her tracks. Her son had managed to slip out of bed at the first light of dawn without waking her up. And now he was out in the rain, looking up in awe, laughing his innocent heart out, while she could only watch from the doorstep, puzzled and terrified at the same time.
The rain had no effect on him.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a movement behind the curtains in the house across the street. Then she heard the sirens. The neighbour had already called the police.

OCT 11 – WHISPER / SILENCE / STORM

(Triple prompt, triple threat. But back to 131 characters.)

Heavy is the silence
of the instant before.
Filled with dread
when in the wind I hear,
electrified whispers
of the impending storm.

OCT 12 – ESCAPE

(Escaping my rules again... Another 524 characters.)

With each step, as I enter deeper into the woods, I feel the weighing burden of my life lifting off my shoulders. Soon, the hammering noise of the city is replaced by the hushed whisper of the trees. And at that moment, I know I might never turn back. The sudden fear of the complete unknown is gut-wrenching, yet my soul has never felt quieter and my heart more sure of the path forward. The moon, witness of my escape, comes to envelop the night. A soft glowing light to guide me through the maze of snarling inner fights.

OCT 13 – WILD + FRAGILE

Running Spiraling
Deaf blind Not caring
I hurt you You hurt me
You hurt us We hurt them
We collide We all die
All savage So fragile

OCT 14 – GLIMMER

After groping in the dark for hours, she finally caught sight of a glimmer. One last effort.
Was she ready for another life though?

OCT 15 – IMAGINATION + BREAK UP

I'm really sorry but I don't think it's gonna work. It's not you, it's me.
You sadly can't live up to the one in my imagination...
 
 
When you can't choose a prompt, you add a layer of fun and challenge by using all of them. And since I have many days to catch up on, why not build a story up over a few days.
5-day micro-fiction, 5x131 characters, using 4 prompts each day.

OCT 16 – BIRD + SMILE + ART + RITUAL 1/5

The ritual had begun. An enigmatic smile on her face, she held the bird down. Sacrificing without killing was an art only she knew.

OCT 17 – DANCE + COSTUME + FICTION + MASK 2/5

She couldn't explain her inner dance with the bird's spirit and the costume and mask were just props feeding the fiction of it all.

OCT 18 – DIZZINESS + JOY + ROMANTIC + ENCOUNTER 3/5

This romantic encounter with another reality always filled her with a mix of joy and fear, feelings so intense she even felt dizzy.

OCT 19 – STARE + SPELL + CHARACTER + DUALITY 4/5

Staring at the wide open-winged bird, as if it had cast a spell on her, she was becoming the character, a mirrored copy of herself.

OCT 20 – EARTH + NEIGHBOR + LIBRARY + NARRATOR 5/5

Like a narrator stepping into her story, her neighbor at the library coughed. She was back to Earth, an inert open book on her lap.
 
 

OCT 21 – WATCH + SOLITUDE + ERASE + DESERT

I let the wind erase my steps in the sand. I want to conceal my presence, to protect my solitude. So I can keep watch over my self.

OCT 22 – MUSIC

A party's beating in the distance
An owl's hooting in the backyard
And in between a sea of silence
Sings the symphony of the night.
 
 
Family time means no writing time. Catching up with another several-day micro-fiction. 9 days x 131 characters, using 4 prompts each day.

OCT 23 – SHELL + FRACTURE + PRINTMAKER + REBELLION

DAY 1
I was shelled during the rebellion and fractured my leg, but I still managed to find the printmaker. The message is now on the way.

OCT 24 – MUTATION + APPLE + SIGNS + MADNESS

DAY 2
Some signs of the mutation started showing just over a week ago in the Big Apple and it's already complete madness out there. Scary

OCT 25 – SWEET + LEAF + IDEA + BEWITCHMENT

DAY 3
Some of the sweetest people I know have gone crazed with leaflets propagating the idea of bewitchment rapidly flooding the streets.

OCT 26 – SOLITUDE + BOOK + VOICE + FRAGMENTS

DAY 6
Feelin so lonely today. From the printshop, I hear only scattered fragments of voices. The few books around are my sole companions.

OCT 27 – SHIVER + CANDLE + COMMA + STORM

DAY 8
Last night, lightning was drawing commas in the darkness and thunder was sending shivers down my spine. Too risky to light candles.

OCT 28 – FALL + LANTERN + FRAME + SECRET

DAY 15
Fall nights are cold. I wish I could use the lantern I found to warm up but I have to keep my position secret or I could be framed.

OCT 29 – MAGIC + COFFEE + DRAMA + REBIRTH

DAY 18
Seems like ages ago since I was watching dramas while sipping coffee. It will require some magic for the city to come back to life.

OCT 30 – STORY + DATE + ANTAGONISM + FALL

DAY 25
Our ceaseless antagonism led to our falling. Soon, I might be the only one left to tell our story. Not looking forward to this day.

OCT 31 – FLY AWAY + HALLOWEEN + END + SPACE

DAY 31
The last birds flew away this morning. I heard them, and I couldn't help but cry. The space now is empty. I feel so small in this infinity. If only it was all just a bad Halloween prank. But no one came since I've sent the message. So I guess this is how we end.

(Special Halloween promo. Double the character count.)
 
 
 
#Poetry #MicroFiction #english #français #CreativeWriting #writober #writober2024

Mar 23, 2024 – Light and Shadows (inspired by a moment)

Dancing on the wall
Light brings the world in. Shadows
Inner reflection

May 18, 2024 – Heavenly Well (inspired by a moment)

Playing hide and seek
Sun and wind in bamboo leaves
Kiss heavenly well

See the video of the moment that inspired this haiku.

Note: A heavenly well is a semi-enclosed space within a classical Chinese garden where several of the garden's elements meet (the 4 elements of a traditional Chinese garden are water, plants, rocks and architecture). Video shot at the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver, Canada.

The following haiku are from prompts.

June 21, 2024 – river

When I look at you
You're never the same, changing
As the time flows by

June 24, 2024 – dawn + rain

Through my sleep
Drips a soft melody
Foggy memories

July 7, 2024 – smouldering

From a past fire
Smouldering still. Underneath,
A lurking danger

July 8, 2024 – morning cloud

Out of my dreams
Sun rises. Still on the edge
Of my morning cloud

July 27, 2024 – plum

A plump purple plum
Juicy and ripe. I'm drooling
Craving for a bite

July 28, 2024 – overcast

Sky blends with the sea
A uniform grey, leaden,
Weighing down on me

Sept 14, 2024 – sea bass

As I dive under,
life muffled by the sea, heart
bass-thumping for air

Sept 22, 2024 – twilight

A soft scattered glow
Fade into uncertainty
The night is still young
 
 
 
#Poetry #Haiku #english #HaikuSeries #DailyHaiku #DailyHaikuPrompt

每人有自己位的
细心观者识天理
一千歌百万耳语
森林密被风带走

To each their own place and purpose
An order only known to the attentive observer
A thousand songs and a million whispers
The forest secret is carried away by the wind
 
 
This poem was inspired by the enchanted mess of the forest. But a mess only in appearance. Once we pay close attention, we realize that every living being, birds, animals, insects, plants, has a place within this rich ecosystem. And all are equally important. Same goes with each and everyone of us within the rich ecosystem that is humanity. We all have a role to play that is equally essential. It might not be obvious, blurred by the chatter of millions of voices, and this secret, this truth is sometimes escaping our understanding. Which is why we always have to listen and pay attention.

It is my first poem in Chinese, so I hope I'm honouring this beautiful language.
 
 
I had submitted this piece to the first International Calligraphy Contest organized by the Dr Sun Yat-Set Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver with Master Su Jiangang back in Summer 2023, for which I garnered an honourable mention. I was so honoured and humbled by it.

It was such a great challenge for me.
First, I challenged myself to write my very own original poem in Mandarin for it. So I did some research on Chinese poetry to try and understand the rules and secrets. It was a very superficial research but still super interesting, and it's exciting to know how much more there is to discover in this new-to-me territory. The poem, I know, is full of mistakes, incorrect Mandarin as well as improper use of the rules of Chinese poetry, but I tried my very best for it. And let's say it's creative license haha! But I must say, I'm so freakin' proud of myself no matter how bad it might be.
It was also a great opportunity to practice my calligraphy, which I find so soothing and meditative, and so meaningful at the same time. I practised each character over and over. Of course I can see all the flaws, imbalances and wrong proportions, but again, I'm proud of it nonetheless.
 
 
 
#Poetry #mandarin #chinese #english #InspiredByNatureSeries #nature #forest #calligraphy

May 20, 2024 – waterfall

In a cloud of mist
Up the waterfall, Dragon
Granting the koi's wish

鱼跃龙门

May 21, 2024 – shade

Refreshing shelter
Away from sweltering heat
The shade of a tree

May 22, 2024 – thunder (2)

A deep vibration
Rumbling in the distance. Angst
Storming our resolve

May 23, 2024 – cicada

When rise the first song
The drums of summer – sounding
The carefree season

May 24, 2024 – bamboo shoots

bamboos shoot upright
growing resilient with time
thriving of the wise

May 25, 2024 – cool

The cooling night breeze
Now distant memory. Heat
Sizzling to a freeze

May 26, 2024 – wellspring

Pure and crystal clear
Illusive infinity
Life gushing out

May 27, 2024 – cocoon

Cradled in your arms
Used to be a safe cocoon
Now burnt to ashes

Ringing in my ear
The silence replaced your voice
Screaming all my fears

And those who should hear
Have chosen to stand aside
And to watch us die

Yet another time
Never again has become
Never say never

#stopthegenocide

May 28, 2024 – green leaves

vibrant green of spring
new leaves bright and fresh, with time
will be left wilted

May 29, 2024 – brief

One hundred haiku
Short and concise – poems for
A moment in time
 
 
And that concludes this little personal challenge of writing one haiku a day from prompts, for 100 days straight.
It's a very fitted coincidence that the 100th day's prompt was “brief”. A short-term ephemeral challenge for an art form that is brief in essence.

I will not stop writing haiku of course, or poetry, or anything else for that matter, but I will now focus on different things. Right now slightly longer forms of poetry and trying to make some progress on my novel. I'm also currently exploring classical Chinese poetry and I'm finding it quite mesmerizing, so yes, I am working on a poem in Chinese 🤯.

Anyway, stay tuned.
 
 
 
#Poetry #Haiku #english #HaikuSeries #DailyHaiku #DailyHaikuPrompt

May 10, 2024 – airing out

Windows open wide
Letting a gentle breeze in
Fragrance of new life

May 11, 2024 – cloud peaks

The dark mountain peaks
Veiled in white misty clouds, reach
For the heavens high

May 12, 2024 – moth

Silent spiral flight
Under cover of the night
Blinded by the light

May 13, 2024 – peony

The Queen of Flowers
Blooms open its heart. A gift
To show you the Way

May 14, 2024 – new clothes

Colourful spring dress
Swirling in the wind. In awe
Nature looks like new

May 15, 2024 – kingfisher

In one skillful dive
Swooping on its prey, the king
Bright plumage display

May 16, 2024 – breeze (2)

Caressed by the breeze
The leaves exhaling. Singing
The forest old song

May 17, 2024 – summer moon

On a midnight stroll
Looking for fresh air, the moon
Lighting up the way

May 18, 2024 – fragrant

Whispers of wood scents
Linger in your wake. Sensual
Memory of you

May 19, 2024 – porch

Sitting on the porch
I still hear you humming. Song
Gifted to the wind
 
 
 
#Poetry #Haiku #english #HaikuSeries #DailyHaiku #DailyHaikuPrompt