Writing under Rāhui

Visits to my blog over the last seven weeks have been the most numerous I’ve seen for several years.  People confined to home are spending more time on the internet, and I’m benefitting.  It’s not easy finding new things to write about when social interaction is limited, plus I’ve been reading fewer books.

I have been watching more television, thanks to Vodafone TV and Netflix.  Last night I watched Becoming, the documentary about Michelle Obama, a truly amazing woman.  The previous evening I saw The Two Popes, which gave a fascinating glimpse inside the Vatican and the Catholic Church, but neither of these films inspired me to write a post about them.

In this morning’s early hours I again listened to Jim Mora’s interview with Neil Gaiman, currently in lockdown in Aotearoa.  I love Neil’s Mushroom Hunters poem, and found his interview enthralling, although I’ve never read his books.

On days when I don’t post, the number of blog visitors declines, and I’m keen to write regularly.  This week I took the brave step of posting stories about my parents and my birth.  Brave, because I don’t usually share such personal details, but I thought Why not?  Both my parents and my only sibling are long dead, so they won’t be complaining.  I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a memoir, and for me the easiest way to do this is by gradual blog posts.  Trying to create a book of memoir seems like too much hard work, requiring research for social context, plus it would be  unlikely to ever be published.  Blogging is an easier way to go, and satisfying, especially when I receive comments.

Poetry writing has hardly happened for me during rāhui, except for a daily couplet in my Poetry Diary.  That gift is one I continue to use and cherish.  The WEA offered an online course in Haiku which I enrolled for, and which started today.  To my relief it comes via e-mail rather than in Zoom sessions, and I hope the discipline of a shorter form may joggle my muse into action.  The tutor is Japanese, and uses Japanese examples, but promotes the 5-7-5 syllable format.  This confuses me as I was taught that the Japanese language doesn’t have syllables.  They use on, sound symbols that are usually based on consonants rather than vowels, and 17 (5 + 7 + 5) is a characteristic rather than a rule.  Poets in Aotearoa are not inclined to use 5-7-5 for haiku that gain publication.  However the 5-7-5 format is a good discipline and it will be fun to experiment.

Tomorrow, the 50th day of rāhui, we will move to Level Two, with more freedom to shop, eat out, have haircuts, etc.  It’s interesting to remember that the 50th day after the February 2011 earthquakes was the day we were finally released from the inner city cordon.  Is 50 a magic number?  When will we next be restricted for 50 days?

My poetry may come alive
if I embrace five-seven-five