Oh, 2016. You were….something.
We have been putting our heads together (not literally, we live in different hemispheres) for the last few weeks wondering how we should end this eventful year, how we could possibly sum it up. For us, now neck-deep in our mid to late thirties, the days feel very full. Bustling, joy-peppered and chaotic at times. The personal tightly interwoven with the political, domestic with global, beautiful with difficult. Our lives all-of-a-sudden deeply rooted in communities – families, neighbourhoods, workplaces and the web of fine friends spread around the globe. Between the two of us we have mortgages, multiple kids, marriages and meals to get onto the table. We have work and worries. Love and obligation. A thousand things we want to be doing, a thousand less desirable chores to match. Barely a minute to send each other an email yet an instagram / pinterest addiction we really should ditch. It’s both meta and minutiae, you know? Both of us up at our respective 4ams wondering if we are parenting properly. Wondering when “parenting” became such a loaded verb. Wondering about our latest manuscripts, the books we should be reading and if we are any good at writing at all. Wondering about climate change and the dire state of world politics. Feeling about as competent to look after a marriage, a manuscript, a family, a career and the state of the planet as a anxious pre-teen with a major acne problem. And yet looking in the mirror and seeing a grown-up. We’re in charge now? Seriously?!
So, we decided that the only way to sum it all up, this baffling, surprising year, was to give ourselves very few words to do so. Those of you who have followed us for some time will remember that we used to play a similar game every week called Sweet Little Something. Each of us would post a photo and write an accompanying haiku to go with it. So that is what we are doing with 2016 : selecting a couple of photographs from the year and writing haiku to tell its story…some part of its story.
We would be thrilled to have you play along too. You can post a haiku in the comments OR link to your personal blog / website and write one there. All haiku welcome. If you’re unsure how to write a haiku here is a brief guide. Haiku is arguably the simplest and least snobbish form of poetry and has a long history of unfussiness. Haiku is for everyone. It doesn’t have to refer to a season or strictly follow the 5-7-5 syllable rule. Not in our book, anyway. If you happen to be a teacher or parent and want to submit your kid’s haiku for 2016 you can use the contact form to send it to us. We will implode with happiness.
For now, here are our humble haiku and odes to turbulent 2016…
Drawing a circle
slowly; feels shabby.
Until it is done.
– Hannah
Boy and jellyfish
share a world, a moment
in the quiet blue.
– Ria
If I were a cup
you would be raspberry fizz
filling it up.
– Hannah
The best houses are
unexpected in colour, place,
and inhabitants.
– Ria
We will be taking a break from Fork & Fiction until we click over into 2017 – the 11th of January 2017 to be exact – when we will be back with blog posts, book news, musings and more. While we are both in need of a holiday we are looking forward to returning refreshed and revitalized with more to share with you. Write a haiku, leave a comment or send us a note with your feedback – we LOVE to hear from you. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your kind attention, your comments and messages over the course of the year which make us feel so heard and supported.
Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday from us and ours,
Ria & Hannah
x x x
P.S. Added bonus features for scrolling down so far – Haiku by Trump (!) and many Brexit haiku. In case that kinda thing tickles your fancy.
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