Colin Myles's Blog, page 16

March 23, 2020

Free E Book . . . Haiku Collection

In these times of isolation and distancing and in my own way to give a little bit back. I have made Haiku Moments free on Amazon for the next 5 days  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L6FFP9S/

Feel free to share the link with anyone you know
Stay Safe
Colin Myles

P.S
FreeHaikuCollection
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Published on March 23, 2020 03:47

March 19, 2020

Saint Patrick's Day 2020 ... Haibun



In the year of the virus and with everything closed down, it was a different St. Patrick's day. The rain kept rolling in from the west, sheet after sheet of sweeping rain. Close to midday it began to ease up. So I hopped in my car and headed to a local beach. No sooner had I got there, the rain came back with more force. Sat in my car for awhile and after twenty minutes was able to walk the beach.

sound of the ocean
disturbed by odd passing car
village church bell peels

high tide flowing in
drizzle veils distant headland
murky surf on boots

Colin Myles Haiku Collection
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Published on March 19, 2020 03:53

February 26, 2020

Sunshine After the Rain . . . Haibun



After two weeks of relentless rain, woke to Sunday morning to sunshine bathing us in luxurious warmth. The temptation to believe that spring may have arrived was real.

sun shines through bare branches
sweet birdsong melodies rise
a joyful morning

Later on drove over to a local beach. The sun had begun to fade and lose it's lustre. Still families were there, building sandcastles and searching for unknown treasure.

shallow midday sun
parents,kids, building sandcastles
ebbing tide reveals

Colin Myles Haiku
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Published on February 26, 2020 02:43

January 1, 2020

Books I Read in 2019



What follows is a list of paperback and hardback books I was grateful to read in 2019.

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Death of a Naturalist By Seamus Heaney

The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair

Human Chain by Seamus Heaney

How the World Thinks by Julian Baggini

Lanny by Max Porter

Prefecture D by Hideo Yokoyama

The Shoemaker and his Daughter by Conor Cleary

The Flame by Leonard Cohen

Grief is the thing with Feathers by Max Porter

Narrow Road to the Interior and other Writings by Matsuo Basho ... translated by Sam Hamil

The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr

In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki

1,000 Poems from the Manyoshu by Otomo no Yakamochi

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories by Jay Rubin

Arabs by Tim Mcintosh-Smith

This list does not include the books downloaded and read on my Kindle. I enjoyed them all, from poetry to hard hitting reporting, history and storytelling.

Colin Myles

P.S.
Have a great year of reading in 2020


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Published on January 01, 2020 02:38

December 9, 2019

The Trawler - Haiku Poem



Above is the video that inspired this haiku.

rusted trawler's hullbreakers racing to the shoregulls wade water's edge

Colin Myles
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Published on December 09, 2019 02:56

November 11, 2019

Haiku 5 Poems



Here are five recent haiku. Written as the month of November slowly eases us into winter.

1.
dank dreary morning
horses grazing at stream's edge
crows fly by chatting

2.
wind farm a turning
horses graze as mist rises
stop let cars go by

3.
sitting in my car
watching endless grey clouds drift
lunch hour of daydreams

4.
delivery bike
weaves their way through traffic cones
the night time roadworks

5.
icy north wind blows
people in wraparound scarves
silver birches all bare

Thank you for reading.

Colin Myles Haiku
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Published on November 11, 2019 02:39

Haiku 5



Here are five recent haiku. Written as the month of November slowly eases us into winter.

1.
dank dreary morning
horses grazing at stream's edge
crows fly by chatting

2.
wind farm a turning
horses graze as mist rises
stop let cars go by

3.
sitting in my car
watching endless grey clouds drift
lunch hour of daydreams

4.
delivery bike
weaves their way through traffic cones
the night time roadworks

5.
icy north wind blows
people in wraparound scarves
silver birches all bare

Thank you for reading.

Colin Myles Haiku
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Published on November 11, 2019 02:39

September 19, 2019

5 HAIKU [ in progress ]



Last Saturday, I took a stroll down by the pier as the tide was almost fully out. These five haiku in progress attempt to capture what was happening as I stood at the end of the pier wall.


1.
view from pier wall
Oystercatcher's Kittiwake's
wade beside old tyres

2.
on crumbling wet sand
Oystercatcher's Kittiwake's wade
tide rolls over tyres

3.
tide rolls over tyres
Oystercatcher's Kittiwake's
on crumbling sandbanks

4.
beneath rolling tide
abandoned tyres catch the ebb
Oystercatcher's watch

5.
stand on pier wall
departing tide over tyres
one Kittiwake watches


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Published on September 19, 2019 02:27

August 20, 2019

Pole Vault over a Mouse Turd



The above title comes from a quote by Wayne Dwyer.

I came across this note whilst on a shredding binge and it struck a chord. This is a great line to sum up, what you, I and others have experienced in the workplace over the years.

How many times have you come across someone or some committee complicating the hell out of a simple solution to a challenge ?

A small challenge quickly resolved, is easier than sitting around watching it grow larger in people's minds. Then it becomes big and and people feel the need to create a complicated solution, that will allow them to vault high over the original small challenge. When all that was needed was a dustpan and brush.

You are now free to think back to all those times when you had to stay back, attend endless meetings and watch a dustpan and brush turn into a Frankenstein solution.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
confront the difficult
while it is still easy
accomplish the great task
by a series of small acts"  Chapter 63 Tao Te Ching
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Published on August 20, 2019 02:32

July 4, 2019

Your Customer

When it comes to defining your customer, the following quote from 1890 is one of the best I have come across.

A customer is the most important visitor on your premises
He is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him

He is not an interruption in our work
He is the purpose of it

He is not an outsider in our business
He is part of it

We are not doing him a favour by serving him
He is doing us a favour, by giving us an opportunity to do so

GANDHI

This possibly is the platinum rule of customer service.

Colin Myles Author
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Published on July 04, 2019 02:38