> November wind --
> a sparrow rides on
> a swaying branch
>
> November wind... for most of us, this may well conjure up cold,
> darkness, a blast of chill in the reader and a perceived chill in the
> sparrow and the branch.
>
> Not so in this case...!
>
> November is a lovely warm month in Kenya, the month when the short
> rains peter out, and the sunshine coaxes the young plants up and into
> strong growth. Not yet hot (that is January), but the most ideal
> warmth, and an atmosphere full of hope. The jacarandas and many of
> the other beautiful trees are in flower, and the wind is mostly
> gentle, with the odd gust now and again.
>
> This haiku was written as I looked out of my bedroom window at my
> cherished camel foot (bauhinia) tree, now taller than our house and
> only a couple of metres away from my window. The tree has become a
> home for a group of sparrows, as well as attracting weaver birds,
> sunbirds, firefinches and the occasional mousebird. It is my delight
> to look out the window and watch the birds doing the many things that
> birds do, in the dense foliage of the tree.
>
> One sparrow was sitting on an exposed branch, as a somewhat stronger
> gust of wind made the whole soft tree sway, and the branch sway a
> little bit more. These birds have great balancing skills, as well as
> great muscles in their feet! The sparrow just sat there, balancing
> and riding out the wind.
>
> In Kenya, it is tempting to use the month as a kigo, because the
> seasons are so similar to each other (see our discussion on kigo and
> haiku topics in Kenya) :
>
> http://kenyasaijiki.blogspot.com/2006/12/kenyan-seasons.html
>
> In an international readership, this does require the reader to be
> open-minded about the month and to read the haiku in the knowledge of
> where it was written... Worldkigo is quite demanding, isn't it --
> both for the writer *and* the reader... :o)
>
> Some more about this soon!
>
> Isabelle.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kigohotline/message/145

Dear Isabelle san,
thanks for sending such a WARM november wind ...

as for the open mind about worldwide kigo, I would encurage any haiku
poet who writes from outside the standard Northern Hemisphere (with
Japan at its base) to give a short footnote about from WHERE he/she is
located and what this kigo means in his/her local context ...

This also holds for the use of place names that might not be
understood easily by anyone or use of dialect and so forth in your
regional haiku. Let us comunicate our diverse culture through haiku !

Just as you did here, this is a wonderful example of how we all can
enjoy our different regions and kigo!

Again, Thank you, Isabelle san!

GABI

Use of Footnotes
http://wkdhaikutopics.blogspot.com/2007/03/footnotes.html