My first Cherita

winter sun has woken
sombre sharp-suited magpies
clatter in the trees
the garden is elemental
a gathering of gnarled
and feathered sentinels

Kim M. Russell, 2018

My response to Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #17 Out of The Carpe Diem Box

Chèvrefeuille has surprised us with a new Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation feature, called ‘Out Of The Box’, in which he challenges us with a different kind of poetry that’s not Japanese. This weekend he has introduced us to the Cherita, the Malaysian word for ‘story’ or ‘tale, which is a linked poetry form that tells a story in the form of a one-line stanza, followed by a two-line stanza, and finishing with a three-line stanza. It can be written solo or by no more than three partners. It does not have a title.

The challenge is to create Cherita from a given theme: for participants in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s Winter Time and for participants in the Southern Hemisphere, Summer Time.