Here’s to hoping that you survived your scary season, haijin! Congratulations to last week’s contributors:

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Onward!

November. The beginning of winter according to the traditional lunar calendars. All Saints day; All Souls day; Dia de Muertos: All these celebrations of the dead soberly remind us of our own end. The shortening days in the Northern hemisphere become more noticable this month, too, especially with the end of Daylight Savings time this Sunday.

And the landscape shows this, too.

Last weekend, we enjoyed a hike in Harriman State Park. The peak foliage had arrived, and the stunning displays of Autumn colors dazzeled in the late-afternoon sun. Then came Halloween, with its torrential downpour, followed by howling tempests. Overnight, the leaves of the trees in and bordering our backyard stood bare.

Such is November. And so, our kigo this week is an apt one for early winter (as reckoned by Tradition): withering wind (kogarashi).

This week, write the haikai poem of your choice (haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, haiga, renga, etc.) that states or alludes to withering wind (kogarashi).

As always:

Here’s how the challenge works:

1. write the haikai poem of your choice.
2. post the link of your post to Mister Linky.
3. pingback by posting the link to the challenge on your site.
4. read and comment on other contributors’ posts.

If you live in the United States, don’t forget that this Tuesday, November 5th, is election day. Be sure to vote!

Stay warm in the face of these withering winds, haijin!