Tuesday Poem: Oystercatcher haiku by Nola Borrell

cold wind
every oystercatcher
headless



Published with kind permission from the author.

This haiku was originally published by NZPS in 2004; it was also published in the International Haiku Calendar in 2005; more recently, it has been included in Nola Borrell's haiku and haibun collection waking echoes (Korimako Press), published earlier this year.


I am thrilled to share Nola Borrell's 'Oystercatcher' haiku this week as my first Tuesday Poem for December. As is strikingly evident, this beautiful haiku has graced several publications and is now part of Nola's haiku and haibun collection, published just last month (a perfect Christmas gift!).

Happening across Nola's poem, I was immediately drawn to the eerie image of these 'headless' wading coastal birds. Nola lives in Normandale, a hilly suburb above Petone/Lower Hutt and her inspiration for this poem arose when she caught sight of a band of oystercatchers on Petone beach with their bobbing heads tucked in to protect themselves from the bitter wind wailing around them. As you can well imagine, this gem particularly spoke to me, given that I am currently northern hemisphere bound and experiencing those piercing bitter winds and snow. I know just how those brave, wind-battled oystercatchers feel.

Nola Borrell's haiku have been published both in New Zealand and overseas since the mid 1990s and have won various awards. Her most recent publication is waking echoes (Korimako Press, 2013), a collection of haiku and haibun with photographs. She co-edited (with Karen P. Butterworth) the taste of nashi - New Zealand Haiku (Windrift, 2008). Her chapbook this wide sky was published in 2012 by Puriri Press. Nola was judge for the senior haiku section of the 2013 New Zealand Poetry Society international competition. She also writes 'mainstream' poems.

Please do pop on over to the NZPS Haiku page to check out Nola's new collection and perhaps purchase a copy for a special Christmas stocking filler (what a lovely thought!).

As always, there are some enthralling Tuesday Poems over at the hub this week, do check out what my fellow community TP members have shared.