Home Makar, by Britta Benson

Here’s my response to the micro season of ‘The Sparrow Builds Her Nest’. You can find more information and plenty of haiku inspiration on Naturalist Weekly (https://naturalistweekly.com/2023/03/24/micro-season-the-sparrow-builds-her-nest-2023/). I chose to respond in the form of a haibun and to give it a little Scottish twist. I hope old and new world sparrows will find it

Pupa, by Britta Benson

Here’s my response to the micro season of ‘Leaf insects turn into butterflies’. You can find the full prompt and explanations over at Naturalist Weekly: https://naturalistweekly.com/2023/03/17/micro-season-leaf-insects-turn-into-butterflies-2023/ I have always been fascinated by the process of caterpillars turning into butterflies. It seems such a totally impossible endeavour and still, we observe it again and again. Is

When the present looks like the past, by Britta Benson

Here’s my response to this week’s W3 poetry challenge, set by Poet of the Week, Kerfe Roig. You can find the full prompt guidelines and Kerfe’s poem here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2023/02/22/w3-prompt-43-weave-written-weekly/. Kerfe asks us to write a haibun that contrasts past and present. This morning, I looked outside my window, and the present felt very much so

8th December 2022, by Britta Benson

Here’s my response to my W3 prompt (https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/12/07/w3-prompt-32-weave-written-weekly/). I always struggle a little to write to my own guidelines and it often takes me that bit longer to come up with an idea. This time, however, nature lent me a helping hand and set the scene for me. She didn’t scrimp! I had everything right

Preparation, by Britta Benson

I follow the Naturalist Weekly and love learning about the micro seasons (https://naturalistweekly.com/2022/11/18/micro-season-the-daffodil-flowers-2022/) We are currently in the micro season of daffodil flowers. At first, that sounded quite bizarre to me. It’s past mid November. Certainly no daffodils here in Scotland. Then, of course, I realized, that that wasn’t strictly true. Here’s my haibun about

The grand finale, by Britta Benson

I wrote this haibun in response to Mark S’s micro-season blog on Naturalist Weekly. You can read the full post by clicking on this link: https://naturalistweekly.com/2022/11/04/micro-season-the-maple-and-ivy-turn-yellow-2022/ The grand finale Autumn, performing a beautiful return to primaries. Reds and yellows replace attention grabbing green. The surprising chemistry of self-preservation. Letting go, such an intentional process, a

That late buddleia flower, by Britta Benson

That late buddleia flower Mid September, and a very last flourish of nature. The butterflies flutter and rejoice, not a minute to waste… I watch their excited little dance, admire the unadulterated happiness purple brings. Until next year. Make most of last bloom! Full colour seeks mirror feast. Last rush before rest.

September haibun, by Britta Benson

September haibun Early autumn and the leaves on the trees seem to negotiate their colour and condition on a daily basis. I love this time of year, this give and take of change, the slight hesitations and then, that wholehearted surrender. Limbo, almost. Leaf! Breeze whispers, chill tugs, night weighs… Still waiting. Not yet!

How to explain summer, by Britta Benson

Bit of poetry news: I’m W3 Poet of the Week over at The Skeptic’s Kaddish – a weekly poetry challenge I cannot recommend highly enough. You can check it out here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/08/10/w3-prompt-15-weave-written-weekly/ Also: My haibun ‘How to explain summer’ has been published on Whispers & Echoes today. (https://whispersandechoesmag.home.blog/2022/08/10/how-to-explain-summer-britta-benson/) This requires some explaining… I’m in London

Maybe that’s just what I want to do, by Britta Benson

I often use prompts in a very loose way. This month, Rebecca Cuningham’s Poetry Challenge is all about writing a haibun. Theme: door. Door? Well, Rebecca also mentions portals, beginnings, invitations and next steps. That led me to a reflection on writing, so I guess, I went a bit along the portal line of thought.