ARCHIVE 2020 - the cherita

A N N O U N C E M E N T S A R C H I V E

21 December 2020

Wishing all our storytellers, readers and friends a very Merry Christmas and New Year 2020.

Have a healthy, safe and peaceful holiday season.

Thank you so very much all your tremendous support.

Storytelling is H2O for the soul.

Sending you all a huge virtual hug,

ai li

16 December 2020

Tell me a story
in 6 lines of wonder

just
my imagination

attempting a maze

in
a feathered
Alexander McQueen

ai li
from and still – the cherita #3:11 apr 2020

I’m now reading submissions for #4:9. #4:10 and #4:11 of the cherita – i.e the February, March and April 2021 editions.

Write yourself out of Lockdown and the pandemic. You know you can.

Please continue to stay safe and well during the festive season.

ai li

9 December 2020

Carol Purington 1949 – 2020

One of the cherita’s much loved storytellers Carol Purington was called home yesterday morning. She will be greatly missed. Carol was not only a consummate Cherita storyteller but she was also a fine Tanka poet. The loss to short form poetry is immeasurable.

Fortunately for us all, her cherita will live on within the pages of the cherita and so will her tanka in her various published books.

Here are two of her pubished cherita from the cherita to celebrate her life :

Grandma’s house

a basket heavy
with red-ripe tomatoes

I don’t tell
about the wolf’s shadow
that crossed my path

from not a memory, exactly,

and

Last party

our box
of half-burned candles –

my fingers close
around the fragrance
of dinner at eight

from the stories

Carol Purington

1 December 2020

on my way
edition 4:7 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of on my way showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Germany, India and Romania.

https://www.thecherita.com/on-my-way/

on my way is our seventh edition of our fourth year and the last edition for this year. What a tumultuous year 2020 has been!

January 2021 will see #4:8, the eighth edition of our fourth year, emerge to welcome in the start of a new year. Only 5 editions to go before we begin our fifth year of being with Cherita’s 24th birthday in June 2021. Almost a quarter of a century old and still so young at heart with its six powerful lines of storytelling.

Cherita has emerged from what was a twinkle in my eye to become this white crane that flies across the world to share its growing collection of timeless stories. I am humbled by its literary success.

on my way belongs to the ongoing the cherita series, currently numbering 45 on the list, as do my personal ongoing writing in one breath series of 14 virgin Cherita, Cherita and Tanka, Cherita and Haiku, and Cherita, Tanka and Haiku books, and lastly my poems for inner rooms series with its 18 Tanka and Haiku books. All these editions are available in paperback and on kindle on Amazon.

I would like to wish all our loyal contributors and readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a healthy, safe and peaceful new year. Thank you so very much for your strong and steadfast support. Cherita would just be a Malay word for story without our 21st Century storyteller custodians bestowing longevity to stories that need to be told and shared, read and remembered within the magic of its 6 lines.

I have edited on my way as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in on my way:-

Larry Kimmel/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Pauli Dutton/ Joanna Ashwell/ Patricia Prime/ Ruth Kay/ Jackie Chou/ Orrin/ Keitha Keyes/ Taura Scott/ kris moon/ Sherry Grant/ Stella Damarjati/ Bryan Rickert/ ai li/ Daniela Becher/ Carol Purington/ Cynthia Anderson/ Isabella Kramer/ James Haddad/ S. Radhamani/ Tim Callahan/ Réka Nyitrai/ Christine L. Villa/ Robert Horrobin/ Peter Jastermsky/ Pat Geyer/ Geoffrey Winch/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from on my way:

my mind’s
not right tonight

fireworks in

a bowl
of
molasses

Larry Kimmel

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless Cherita :

Larry Kimmel/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Cynthia Anderson/ Isabella Kramer/ Taura Scott/ Sherry Grant/ Christine L. Villa/ Joanna Ashwell/

on my way has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems

I have enjoyed the challenge of selecting and collating for this edition of the cherita and hope that you will find the cherita within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.
If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor
www.thecherita.com
storyteller oasis

N.B.
Currently you receive ongoing news and updates from the 1-2-3 press [on and about the cherita and cherita]. If you feel that you no longer wish to receive these updates, please unsubscribe. Thank you.

13 November 2020

SUBMISSIONS REMINDER

I am now reading cherita for our January and February 2021 editions of the cherita
#4:8 and #4:9 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

31 December 2020 for our January 2021 edition #4:8

31 January 2021 for our February edition #4:9

I look forward to reading all your timeless cherita.

ai li

1 November 2020

alone together
edition 4:6 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of alone together showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, Romania, Japan, India, Philippines, Australia and Poland.

alone together is the sixth edition of our fourth year.

I’ve just added the following to the cherita home page www.thecherita.com :-

‘Storytelling is about healing the heart and mind.

It enables us to remember and not forget those who went before us, and also of those who loved or hurt us with their words and deeds. The recording, both oral and written, and sharing of stories is age-old. When we start to write, we bring to life the lost words of yesterday – from just a few moments ago to the time of our ancestors huddled around a roaring fire in some smoky cave of all our beginnings.

Be the storyteller and healer you are meant to be. Make us laugh, cry and be entranced by six lines of your words.

Storytelling is H2O for the soul.’

Our contributors and readers will no doubt be familiar with Peter Jastermsky’s name and his work. He is a prolific Cherita writer and his timeless pieces have been featured in the cherita since telling a story, our very first debut edition. His new Cherita ebook The Silence We Came For can be purchased at the website below which has all relevant and required information :

https://payhip.com/b/3Oi9

Here is an extract from a longer forward which I wrote for his book :

‘If you love stories and believe in them, you won’t have far to go, to immerse, and lose yourself in this poet’s six-line journeys into a world populated with his personal truths, and his powerful desire to keep the campfires of storytelling nights burning.’

Alice Benedict’s Capriccienga and Pravat Padhy Kumar’s Hainka have been added to the growing list of new and original linked forms on my personal website under 6 new linked forms. I’ve migrated the Capriccienga from still’s original website where it first appeared in 1997, whereas Hainka has been newly created. Do explore these two original linked forms which have been showcased with examples on :

https://www.aili.co.uk

I have edited alone together as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in alone together:-

Orrin/ Joanna Ashwell/ Daniela Becher/ Patricia Prime/ Larry Kimmel/ Ruth Kay/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Sharon Hawley/ Jackie Chou/ Connor Orrico/ ai li/ Cynthia Anderson/ Peter Jastermsky/ Giddy Nielsen-Sweep/ Bon Callahan/ Gregory Longenecker/ Paweł Markiewicz/ Geoffrey Winch/ Taura Scott/ Sherry Grant/ Réka Nyitrai/ kris moon/ S. Radhamani/ Maricris Cabrera/ arvinder kaur/ Stella Damarjati/ Bryan Rickert/ James Haddad/ Carol Purington/ Partha Sarkar / Keitha Keyes/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from alone together:

my heart hopes

you are invited
my head pretends
not to care

reality
has no disguise.

Ruth Kay

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Joanna Ashwell/ Orrin/ Bon Callahan/ Paweł Markiewicz/ Réka Nyitrai/ Maricris Cabrera/ Bryan Rickert/ James Haddad/ Patricia Prime/ Larry Kimmel/

alone together has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.

N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

Once we notify you that we have accepted your poems for publication, either in the online journal or print journal, please do not share or submit your work elsewhere until we have published your work, or the editor will withdraw your work from publication. We also ask that you refrain from republishing your work in any medium for 90 days from publication in the cherita: your storybook journal.Thanks.

14 October 2020

SUBMISSIONS REMINDER

I am now reading cherita for our December 2020 and January 2021 editions of the cherita
#4:7 and #4:8 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

30 November 2020 for our December edition #4:7
31 December 2020 for our January 2021 edition #4:8

I look forward to reading all your timeless cherita.

ai li

1 October 2020

an old sadness
edition 4:5 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of an old sadness showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Poland, India, Ireland, and Germany.

an old sadness is the fifth edition of our fourth year.

Streisand’s Autumn is playing softly in the background as I begin to write this mailshot. This song was released in 1964. I can still remember the album cover of a young Barbra in a short Sassoon bob haircut in capris with her back to the camera on a deserted beach. Yes, fall is here with its colours of leaving.

London may be out of lockdown but there is a tangible trepidation in the air. Will Covid take hold again as Winter envelops us with its cold embrace?

With dark nights looming, I’ve decided to launch my second book of Cherita, Tanka and Haiku
sandalwood dreaming in tandem with an old sadness. It is a book of distant dreaming with my past imprinting its haunting footsteps onto my present. More details of my new book follow on below.

I have edited an old sadness as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in an old sadness:-

ai li/ Joanna Ashwell/ Cynthia Anderson/ Jackie Chou/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Ruth Kay/ Patricia Prime/ Larry Kimmel/ Robert Stewart/ Orrin/ Connor Orrico/ paula song sarmonpal/ Keitha Keyes/ Debbie Strange/ Anne Scott/ Peter Jastermsky/ Paweł Markiewicz/ S.Radhamani/ Geoffrey Winch/ Sherry Grant/ James Haddad/ Ritchie Albert/ Mary Gunn/ Paresh Tiwari/ Christine L. Villa/ Isabella Kramer/ Joyce Futa/ Deborah P Kolodji/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from an old sadness:

i
am

shadow
chasing
storms

Sherry Grant

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Joanna Ashwell/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ paula song sarmonpal/ Cynthia Anderson/ Anne Scott/ Peter Jastermsky/ Sherry Grant/ Paweł Markiewicz/ Connor Orrico/ Orrin/ Joyce Futa/ Deborah P Kolodji/ Larry Kimmel/

an old sadness has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

sandalwood dreaming
ai li’s second book of virgin cherita, tanka and haiku

This is my thirty second book and my second book of cherita, tanka and haiku. It belongs to my Poems for Inner Rooms series which are all available in paperback and on kindle on Amazon.

Here is a cherita, a tanka and one haiku from sandalwood dreaming :

family home
what’s left of it
making me cry

the memoir
left
on a park bench
suddenly
it’s dusk

searching

for the old gods
in mother’s house

i am the wanderer
come home
with farewells

ai li

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.

N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

27 September 2020

SUBMISSIONS REMINDER

I am now reading cherita for our November, December 2020 and January 2021 editions of the cherita #4:6, #4:7 and #4:8 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

31 October 2020 for our November edition #4:6
30 November 2020 for our December edition #4:7
31 December 2020 for our January 2021 edition #4:8

I look forward to reading all your timeless cherita.

ai li

1 September 2020

leave me here
edition 4:4 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of leave me here showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, India, Germany, Romania, Australia and Ireland.

leave me here is the fourth edition of our fourth year.

How time flies! Summer is almost at a close as I write this.

I have started dreaming of hot roasted chestnuts on street corners in the city whilst taking out of my cedarwood chest, my old prayer shawl and everyday fleece in preparation for the storms of autumn coming my way.

I will soon be writing about the colours of fall I experienced in the Lake District last year when I was cosily holed up in an old boat house on Lake Windermere, on those windswept days.

Two new books which include Cherita have surfaced, and which have been brought to my attention. The first is the colors of ash by Larry Kimmel and the second is Velocities and Drifts of Winds by Geoffrey Winch.

It would have been such a treat to have had both of these when I was at the Lakes last September. More information on these two books follow on below.

I have edited leave me here as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in leave me here :

ai li/ Debbie Strange/ Cynthia Anderson/ Joanna Ashwell/ Taura Scott/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Ruth Kay/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Patricia Prime/ Larry Kimmel/ Gregory Longenecker/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ James Haddad/ Barun Saha/ Isabella Kramer/ Orrin/ Connor Orrico/ Robert Horrobin/ paula song sarmonpal/ Réka Nyitrai/ Keitha Keyes/ Partha Sarkar/ Anne Scott/ Paresh Tiwari/ Christine L. Villa/ Rita Malhotra/ Maryalicia Post/ S Radhamani/ Mary Gunn/ Peter Jastermsky/ Joan Stern/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from leave me here :

i miss the hills
and trees of your place

by the lake

surrounding us
with jade
and lapis lazuli

Cynthia Anderson

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Cynthia Anderson/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Larry Kimmel/ James Haddad/ Connor Orrico/ Robert Horrobin/ Réka Nyitrai/ Paresh Tiwari/ Ruth Kay/ Maryalicia Post/ Mary Gunn/ Peter Jastermsky/ Anne Scott/ Orrin/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Joan Stern/ Patricia Prime/ Joanna Ashwell/

the colors of ash by Larry Kimmel
with a short blurb from ai li

‘This story-sequenced volume of tanka, cherita, haiku and short-form free verse allows the reader to discover Larry Kimmel’s wide range of subject matter, his fine use of language, and more importantly, the way he allows the form to grow through him, delivering to us his personal truths.

Kimmel is a writer and a poet I have time for. He brings every echo from his past to enrich our present.

I may have created the Cherita which dominates this collection but Larry Kimmel has endowed it with endless possibilities here.

I hope you will buy and treasure this book and immerse yourself in the poet’s fragmented world, a world in which he shows us again and again how we can cope and survive with the permanent ache of being human.’

ai li
creator of cherita
editor and publisher of the cherita

Two poems from the colors of ash :-

countless syllables

and still
and still

I’ve not
explained
myself

putting out
kibble
for the feral cat
snow
on every branch

Larry Kimmel

Amazon.com URL :

https://www.amazon.com/colors-ash-Larry-Kimmel/dp/B08DBRTTSP

and

Velocities and Drifts of Winds by Geoffrey Winch (ISBN: 978-1-913329-15-0)
is available from 1st September 2020. Published by, and available from Dempsey and Windle Publishing www.dempseyandwindle.com or from Amazon and other online book retailers, it contains seventy poems including haiku, tanka, cherita, haibun, tanka prose, tanka sequences and vers libre, and is themed around the winds of change – past, present and personal, including from You Bring Me (The Cherita 3.1):

How desire

overcomes
inhibitions

discovers
pleasures
in yesterday’s bêtes noires

“The poems follow the winds of change through landscape, art and history to offer a quiet wisdom on the nature of things grounded in close, physical observation.” Barry Smith (Director, South Downs Poetry Festival)

“The poems have a supple and intent reach, the poet’s eye is clear and far seeing …” Penelope Shuttle

For enquiries Geoffrey can be contacted via: http://www.slipstream-poets.co.uk/contact/

leave me here has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

I have enjoyed the challenge of selecting and collating for this edition of the cherita and hope that you will find the cherita within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.

N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

21 August 2020

THE PASSING OF VINCENT TRIPI
[Vincent “Tripi” Garzilli June 9, 1941 – August 17, 2020]

I was shocked to learn of vince’s death on Monday 17 August 2020 at the age of 79. He was a strong supporter and contributor to still which I edited and published in the 1990s, and a friend. I treasure all his beautiful books which he so kindly sent as gifts, especially the ones written when he was in zen seclusion. A number of his fine haiku graced the pages of various editions of still. What better way to celebrate his life but to share here with you some of his zen haiku which were published in still.

Earthworm
in the gardener’s hand
curves to his lifeline

The haiku poet hears the tree in the sound of an acorn.

Wind-within. It sits with me…the scarecrow on the hill.

No paths. Just remembering that the geese return.

i am writing. You are reading. This is prayer.

Have a safe journey dear vince. We will meet again.

ai li

12 August 2020

GENTLE REMINDER

I am now reading submissions for our October, November and December 2020 editions

#4:5 , #4:6 and #4:7 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

30 September 2020 for our October edition #4:5

31 October 2020 for our November edition #4:6

30 November 2020 for our December edition #4:7

I look forward to reading all your timeless stories.

ai li

1 August 2020

i heard it first
edition 4:3 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of i heard it first showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, Germany, India, Romania and Canada.

i heard it first is the third edition of our fourth year. London is finally out of Lockdown. After months of being indoors, I must admit to some trepidation of being out there again even though I won’t be without my face mask and gloves.

I continue to be grateful for being able to collate and publish 5 editions of the cherita and two of my own books during this lockdown period, and not allowing myself to simply drift and fret about a situation I was unable to change.

As you may have gathered from the previous month’s mailshot, I have been slowly migrating features from my original still’s website to my personal website.

A further 4 original linked forms join my 18 original linked forms on my personal website aili.co.uk and they are Crimenga created by Fay Aoyagi in 1997, Rhymga created by the late and much missed Carlos Colon in 1999, Literenga created by Jeffrey L. Salter in 1998, and lastly Historenga which was also created by Jeffrey L. Salter in 1998.

All my 18 original linked forms, and these 4 other linked forms have been migrated from still’s website with their original contemporaneous examples for each genre. All 22 original linked forms can now be enjoyed again with the moving September 11 Poems of Remembrance feature, the pieces of which were all written soon after the terrorist attack on the twin towers of 2001 when the world stopped being a safe place to live in.

I have edited i heard it first as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in i heard it first :

Patricia Prime/ Joanna Ashwell/ ai li/ Cynthia Anderson/ Ruth Kay/ Jackie Chou/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ James Haddad/ James Won/ Tim Callahan/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Larry Kimmel/ Isabella Kramer/ Erika Wilk/ Tim Gardiner/ paula song sarmonpal/ Robert Strickland/ Barun Saha/ Réka Nyitrai/ Orrin/ Bon Callahan/ Gregory Longenecker/ Connor Orrico/ Robert Horrobin/ John Hawkhead/ Debbie Strange/ S.Radhamani/ John Hansen/ Mirela Brăilean/ Anne Scott/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from i heard it first :

a cream scone

sliced in half
jam or cream

the debate
of what first
lazy days

Joanna Ashwell

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :

Joanna Ashwell/ / Kath Abela Wilson/ James Won/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Larry Kimmel/ Isabella Kramer/ James Haddad/ Ruth Kay/ Orrin/ Connor Orrico/ John Hawkhead/

i heard it first has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.

N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

20 July 2020

This more than generous review below of from my window, edition #4:3 of the cherita was posted on Amazon.com on 7 July 2020 in the US. As I have no idea as to who the reviewer is, I hope he or she will accept my grateful thanks for his or her kind support here via our Announcements page, and for taking the time to pen a few lines for Amazon.com.

ai li

the review of from my window on Amazon.com

‘5.0 out of 5 stars full of the beauty of story & the ephemeral within the concrete

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2020
Verified Purchase

a gorgeous book — one, writing as a bibliophile, whose quality gives me joy while holding it in my hands — full of gorgeous short-form poetry (cherita, specifically) and space enough (metaphorical yes, but I mean literally) for reflection or the soft serenity of a pause — a breath.

i am glad i have this book in my life.’

14 July 2020

GENTLE REMINDER

I am now reading submissions for our September, October and November 2020 editions

#4:4, #4:5 and #4:6 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

31 August 2020 for our September edition #4:4

30 September 2020 for our October edition #4:5

31 October 2020 for our November edition #4:6

I look forward to reading all your timeless stories.

ai li

1 July 2020

from my window
edition 4:2 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of from my window showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, India, Ireland and Romania.

from my window is the second edition of our fourth year. We seem to be finally coming out of our long lockdown in the UK albeit with baby steps.

I was delighted and greatly encouraged by so many of you who continued to flourish with your storytelling during this very difficult time in all our lives. Reading your submissions reminded me that we can absolutely either write ourselves out of an unbearably hot Summer or a severely arctic Winter with the right mindset.

Thank you for all your timeless and wonderful contributions during these last few months. Would an easing of lockdown spur us on to write more or fewer cherita? I wonder.

For those of you who may be interested in exploring all the 18 original linked forms I created between 1997 – 2009 [which includes cherita and lunenga] you may like to know that I have managed to migrate from still’s old website, to my updated personal website, the remaining 16 of the entire collection of my 18 linked forms, and they are tanka malam, kukame, gembun, legends, movierenga, orienenga, intimenga, sprenga, omenenga, losenga, numenga, ninenga, garenga, namenga, lorenga and septenga [which I jointly created with Alexis K Rotella in 1997].

My 18 original linked forms now join cherita and lunenga, along with the original September 11 Poems of Remembrance from still’s old website, and can all be viewed on my personal website aili.co.uk

I have edited from my window as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in from my window :

Joanna Ashwell/ Patricia Prime/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Jackie Chou/ Ruth Kay/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ ai li/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ James Won/ Larry Kimmel/ S.Radhamani/ Mary Gunn/ paula song sarmonpal/ Tim Callahan/ Pravat Kumar Padhy/ Robert Horrobin/ arvinder kaur/ Maryalicia Post/ Erika Wilk/ Alexis Rotella/ Réka Nyitrai/ James Haddad/ Tim Gardiner/ Robert Strickland/ Partha Sarkar/ Barun Saha/ Mirela Brăilean/ Cynthia Anderson/ Ron Scully/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from from my window :

the women are washing

yards
of saris

in the old river
the wedding colours
drown

ai li

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Joanna Ashwell/ Réka Nyitrai/ Tim Gardiner/ Connor Orrico/ Barun Saha/ James Haddad/ / S.Radhamani/ Erika Wilk/ Tim Callahan/ Taura Scott/ paula song sarmonpal/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/ Larry Kimmel/ Patricia Prime/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/

from my window has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

I have enjoyed the challenge of selecting and collating for this edition of the cherita and hope that you will find the cherita within worthy of a campfire gathering and the sharing of meaningful stories.

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.

N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

1 June 2020

a sense of place
anniversary edition 1997 – 2020
edition 4:1 of the cherita
edited by ai li

This edition of a sense of place showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, India, and Philippines.

a sense of place is our anniversary edition, and the first edition for the start of our fourth year. The Cherita genre will be 23 years old on the 22 June 2020. It seems like only yesterday when I was soaking in my Himalayan salt bath whilst birthing the Cherita. Tempus fugit.

We are still in lockdown as I am writing this mailshot, and the lack of movement and freedom continue to be a testing time for all of us. Can Life ever be ‘normal’ and ‘safe’ again?

We can’t be in control of a full return to normality but what we can be in control of is how we write ourselves out of a lockdown. All our writing efforts during lockdown may not emerge to be of publication standard but that is not the point. The point is when we start to tell our stories, we get lost in the very magic of storytelling. Our stories always begin with one word and before we know it, the storyteller is back in our midst, to captivate and enthral us all with the personal truths from our archive of memories.

I have now migrated our Lockdown Cherita feature to its own archive site on our website. You’ll find all 46 Cherita where your featured stories will continue to touch everyone as they have done before.

I have also recently upgraded our Spam email protection, and I would like to apologise to anyone whose email/emails may have bounced where the users on certain services/domains were identified as possible spammers [e.g gmail who have had a large number of hackers]. I have now updated my anti-spam service so I can once again receive emails from these domains.

I have edited a sense of place as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in a sense of place :

ai li/ Joanna Ashwell/ Taura Scott/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Larry Kimmel/ Keitha Keyes/ Cynthia Anderson/ Patricia Prime/ Ruth Kay/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Isabella Kramer/ Debbie Strange/ Jackie Chou/ James Haddad/ Robert Horrobin/ Neelam Dadhwal/ Ron Scully/ paula song sarmonpal/ Lynn Fayne/ Partha Sarkar/ Maricris Cabrera/ Elva Lauter/ Erika Wilk/ Sharon Hawley/ Peggy Castro/ S. Radhamani/ Mekhled Alzaza/ James Won/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from a sense of place :

on the river

the stillness of a heron
this moment
timeless

as if the clocks
had stopped forever

Patricia Prime

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Joanna Ashwell/ Patricia Prime/ Cynthia Anderson/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Isabella Kramer/ Larry Kimmel/ Debbie Strange/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Partha Sarkar/ Peggy Castro/ Mekhled Alzaza/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Jackie Chou/

An anniversary always brings out my restless creative longing, and so I decided to write myself out of this lockdown. The result is a new book of cherita and tanka.

i’m going home
ai li’s second book of virgin cherita and tanka

This is my thirty first book and my second book of cherita and tanka. It belongs to my Poems for Inner Rooms series which are all available in paperback and on kindle on Amazon.

Here is one cherita and one tanka from i’m going home :

burying

the silence
with more silence

the weight
of a blossom scented
evening

incense burner
the room
alive with
the shapes
of moving smoke

ai li

This book of 90 virgin cherita and tanka poems belongs to a collection of life journals written as contemporary cherita, tanka and haiku. These are poems for inner rooms. They take poetry into the realm of spirit and are touched by zen, loss, joy, the surreal, temps perdu, the erotic, humour, truth, the everyday, and the sublime. All the six senses are here.

My new book above explores my ongoing search for true identity and self and why we should not be afraid to be our true selves. My cherita, tanka and haiku will take you on a healing journey with words, minimal in content, but overflowing with personal truths and the deepest of emotions. I write without armour.

a sense of place has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.
N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

31 May 2020

I would like to reiterate my heartfelt thanks to all the poets whose cherita have been showcased in this special Lockdown Cherita feature.

You will find the Lockdown Feature Archive in our title bar.

Please continue to take good care of yourselves and be safe and well.

ai li

31 May 2020

THE LAST LOCKDOWN CHERITA
Here is our cherita for Sunday :

the night

getting
into bed

with me
it must be
lonely too

ai li

This cherita is from we cannot go back 2017 by ai li

30 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Saturday :

autumn gathers

in the gutters
a confetti
of crushed umber

now more than ever
the hug of spirit

Larry Kimmel

This cherita is from the night
edition twenty nine of the cherita july 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

29 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Friday :

blankets pulled back

shades drawn
why else be awake?

soon enough
the mourning dove
brings us its song

Peter Jastermsky

This cherita is from shadow dancer
edition thirteen of the cherita july 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks so much for the lockdown cherita feature. The emotional transparency of these pieces was a healing path through these challenging times.

Peter Jastermsky

28 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

sleep deprived

i’m up with dew
chanting

in your old
prayer shawl
dharamshala calling

ai li

This cherita is from dream merchant 2019 by ai li

http://www.thecherita.com/ailis-bookshop/

27 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

the old chapel

naked and alone
on a wind-thrashed moor

screams
its silent questions
at the sky

Paul Bryce

This cherita is from shadow dancer
edition thirteen of the cherita july 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

26 May 2020

I have now selected one from each of the existing editions of the cherita, and we are now bang up to date.

However we seem short of 5 cherita as we are not yet at the end of the month when the new edition of the cherita emerges.

To take us to the end of the month, I have decided to post 5 extra cherita [ 3 from the cherita and two from my own books] starting from tomorrow until the 31 May.

It has been a privilege for me to have been able to select, and to be able to experience these potent cherita all over again like new.

My grateful thanks again to all the poets showcased.

I will be also be migrating all these Lockdown Cherita into their new archival home where, for those of you who missed reading them live will be able to read all 40 cherita plus my own 6 in their entirety, starting with the very first one which aired on 10 April 2020.

Please stay safe and well, and do keep storytelling us out of this lockdown where you may be.

ai li

26 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Tuesday :

point of no return

at the deep end of the pool
with the rain falling

filling the space
and I cannot swim,
still hope floats

Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal

This cherita is from it’s a secret place
edition thirty six of the cherita may 2020

www.thecherita.com/books hop

25 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Bank Holiday Monday :

ignoring
the world’s edge
by my side

sipping
aquamarine

deep in your eyes

Isabella Kramer

This cherita is from and still
edition thirty five of the cherita may 2020

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

I’m thrilled that you chose my cherita for your Lockdown Cherita website today. Wonderful news at the end of a very busy Monday.

Thousand thanks Dear!!!

Isabella Kramer

24 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Sunday :

I tuck myself

into evening
as my shadow

peels away
and dances
upon the wall

Joanna Ashwell

This cherita is from the night
edition thirty four of the cherita april 2020

www.thecherita.com/books hop

23 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Saturday :

cruel darkness
when will you end?

the shadows

inner and outer
scratching, howling
beneath my skin

Joanna Ashwell

This cherita is from dream journal
edition thirty three of the cherita march 2020

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you, Ai Li.

The poems are lovely on the site and it is lovely to have one of my cherita picked.

Joanna Ashwell

23 May 2020

A NEW COMMENT IN :

Keep on going with the lockdown cherita – it is lovely to be uplifted by the beautiful poems.

Best wishes
Joanna Ashwell

22 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Friday :

while I was ill

blossoms
came out

fields
were
plowed

Larry Kimmel

This cherita is from a home for the wind
edition thirty two of the cherita february 2020

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

I’m more than pleased with the selections you’ve made of my work.I like all that you’ve selected for the Lockdown Cherita project.

Larry Kimmel

22 May 2020

A NEW COMMENT IN :

Thank you for sharing this uniquely exquisite form of poetic beauty with the world.

Connor Orrico

21 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

two lonely people

dining
late at night

two lit windows
in
two continents

ai li

This cherita is from rush of wings
edition thirty one of the cherita january 2020

www.thecherita.com/books hop

20 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

evening breeze

a quiver travels
the driveway’s fringe
of ferns

like a shiver of bad news
along a spine

Larry Kimmel

This cherita is from the storyteller
edition thirty of the cherita december 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks for using my cherita on your Lockdown Cherita project. You have done a super job with the lockdown cherita. I don’t know of anyone else in our short form poetry niche that has conceived of posting good, relevant poetry as opposed the the dreadful remake of media headlines. Most of which don’t actually qualify as poetry.

Larry Kimmel

19 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Tuesday :

burning sage …

the sound of rain
and Miles Davis

dampens my air …
i feel that
things will be alright

Matsukaze

This cherita is from in the night
edition twenty nine of the cherita november 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

18 May 2020

We will resume with the twenty ninth lockdown cherita from the cherita on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, here is one of mine from my cherita, tanka and haiku book december loneliness 2018, brushed by the lockdown too – for Monday

whenever i sneeze

at home
i’m reminded

of the fact
that my emptiness
echoes

ai li

This cherita is from december loneliness by ai li

http://www.thecherita.com/ailis-bookshop/

17 may 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Sunday :

a television

on
somewhere in this house

tomorrow
i will take my place
once again in the bustle of life

Matsukaze

This cherita is from wondering where
edition twenty eight of the cherita october 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Good morning to you my dear Ai Li!!!

. . . my goodness it has been too long! I have missed your poetic essence!
I’m blessed that i’ve not caught any trace of covid-19. Striving to stay safe as can
be.

i was so thrilled to find you’d chosen my cherita. i can’t thank you enough for your timeless and healing wisdom, prayers, guidance etc. .

Matsukaze

16 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Saturday :

ghost moons—

on the third night
following his death

she still
hears him coughing
in the adjacent room

Réka Nyitrai

This cherita is from coming home late
edition twenty seven of the cherita september 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Oh! ai li, what a wonderful surprise!

You made my day.

It is a cherita written about my mother who after my father’s death still heard him coughing.

Réka Nyitrai

15 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Friday :

in the slant of the clean
November sunlight

walking
with my granddad along
the forest’s fringe, he says –

“I always chose life”.

Larry Kimmel

This cherita is from a dream of sleep
edition twenty six of the cherita august 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you for the selection on the cherita site. I am pleased with that one because I tried to capture that moment before and it never worked. My maternal grandfather was often cryptic, like that.

Larry Kimmel

14 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

old bedframes

derelict hospital
did everyone

go home
after
the epidemic ?

ai li

This cherita is from you bring me
edition twenty five of the cherita july 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

13 May 2020

Our Lockdown Cherita Feature resumes today.

LOCKDOWN CHERITA is back.

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

in the light

of the coming
day

long,
long,
shadows

Robert Horrobin

This cherita is from morning light
edition twenty four of the cherita june 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you so much for selecting one of my pieces, I have very much enjoyed reading the work you have show cased before and I’m really pleased to have joined them.

Robert Horrobin

12 May 2020

A NEW COMMENT IN ABOUT OUR FEATURE :

More lovely poems on your lockdown feature, they are really nice to enjoy and reread from past issues of the cherita journal.

Stay safe and well.

Joanna Ashwell

12 May 2020

We will resume with the twenty fourth lockdown cherita from the cherita on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, here is one of mine from my third cherita book we cannot go back 2018, brushed by the lockdown too – for Tuesday.

who will be there

to welcome me home ?
the rice fields green

an egg yolk sun
time is rust
on an old key

ai li

This cherita is from we cannot go back by ai li

http://www.thecherita.com/ailis-bookshop/

11 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our Cherita for Monday :

life and lines

hang between
brownstones…

my room
with
a view

Pat Geyer

This cherita is from a warm night
edition twenty three of the cherita may 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you my friend.

I think this cherita represents a lovely yet sad view of a life in the world right now. “life and lines”. We’re all living life behind a six foot lines.

I appreciate your posting it at this Lockdown time. Take care…be safe…God bless….

Pat Geyer

10 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our Cherita for Sunday :

everyone leaves the room

I sit by the body
for over an hour

with my mind empty
I come to terms
with my own mortality

Jimmy Pappas

This cherita is from leaves blown
edition twenty two of the cherita april 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks so much for the heads up.

I miss real people rather than technology created faces.

Jimmy Pappas

9 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our Cherita for Saturday :

an owl calls

on her side of the ocean
as on mine

less alone
listening to these songs
of loneliness

Autumn Noelle Hall

This cherita is from the sound of water
edition twenty one of the cherita march 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

I don’t know how I managed to miss this! My sincere apologies for not writing to express my gratitude for including my owl poem in your Lockdown Cherita earlier.

Thank you so much for including me in your lockdown project.

Regards,
Autumn Noelle Hall

8 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our Cherita for Friday VE Day :

so many miles
between us

I find one star

imagine its light
cradling you
in my absence

Joanna Ashwell

This cherita is from whisper me free
edition twenty of the cherita february 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Your cherita lockdown feature is lovely and I am thrilled that you have selected one of my cherita. The cherita journals always lift my spirits and I am honoured to be included in them.

Stay safe and keep on writing your lovely poems.

Joanna Ashwell

7 May 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

who dies young

by illness
or risk

shuffling
the piles
of our playing cards

Peter Jastermsky

This cherita is from in my palm
edition nineteen of the cherita january 2019

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks so much for sharing another one of my cherita in the Lockdown series. Each piece you’ve posted nurtures our hearts and reminds us how our stories can be reflected in these 6 line miniatures.

In health and cherita!
Peter Jastermsky

6 May 2020

Our Lockdown Cherita Feature resumes today.

LOCKDOWN CHERITA is back

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

if waves cease lapping

or birds stop singing
or children

no longer run through the door
how loud the silence
will seem then

Maryalicia Post

This cherita is from snow ghosts
edition eighteen of the cherita december 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

My goodness. That sounds apt, alright.

Maryalicia Post

5 May 2020

Our Lockdown Cherita Feature will resume tomorrow the 6 May 2020.

Meanwhile, here is one of mine from my third cherita book we cannot go back 2018, brushed by the lockdown too – for Tuesday

dreams

hanging by a thread
these days

i let the spider live
to spin me
more lace

ai li

This cherita is from we cannot go back by ai li

http://www.thecherita.com/ailis-bookshop/

1 May 2020

it’s a secret place
edition 3:12
edited by ai li

This edition of it’s a secret place showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, New Zealand/ Australia/ Canada/ India/ Poland/ Romania and Ireland.

it’s a secret place is the twelfth and last edition for our third year. the cherita begins its fourth year next month in June 2020 with its 23rd birthday on the 22 June 2020.

There’s still no let-up on our Covid-19 lockdown in the UK. Buying food and essentials now require queueing with social distancing being de rigueur. A once ordinary routine has become time consuming but I thank my lucky stars that I am still able to perform this weekly trip unlike the huge numbers of people stricken by this unrelenting virus, and being kept away from their loved ones. The uncertainty of ever meeting up again with their family looms large over all these patients. My nights are full of whispered prayers for all the sick and dying.

I urge you to find your very own secret place during this testing time – I call mine my spiritual oasis where I find myself armchair travelling to become the wandering storyteller of my dreams. Writing short form poetry has always been a panacea for healing for me, and helped me through the tougher times in my life. These minimal words can take one to a place of wonder and light when our illusory world grows darker with the unresolved problems of a day.

Since Friday 10 April, I have been posting published cherita from the cherita daily on our Lockdown Cherita, a new feature [please see feature below].

My hope is that these special cherita will not only help inspire all aspiring Cherita poets and writers to start telling their own stories in 6 lines but also inspire and spur on our established cherita poets and writers to lift and write us all out of this lockdown period with more of their timeless cherita.

Please be aware that for the next 5 days, there will be no lockdown cherita whilst the edition announcement for #3:12 is up. Lockdown Cherita will resume with its eighteenth cherita on Wednesday 6 May.

I have edited it’s a secret place as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in it’s a secret place :-

ai li/ Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal/ Taura Scott/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Larry Kimmel/ Joanna Ashwell/ Patricia Prime/ Carol Purington/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Keitha Keyes/ Peter Jastermsky/ Jackie Chou/ Ruth Kay/ Cynthia Anderson/ Tim Gardiner/ Debbie Strange/ Vicki Moreno/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Mekhled Alzaza/ Grace Galton/ Robert Horrobin/ Gregory Longenecker/ Neelam Dadhwal/ Paweł Markiewicz/ S.Radhamani/ Réka Nyitrai/ Ron Scully/ paula song sarmonpal/ Partha Sarkar/ Elva Lauter/ Jonathan Vos Post/ James Haddad/ Isabella Kramer/ Maryalicia Post/ Tim Callahan/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from it’s a secret place :

in maple shade

hand upon
the latch I turn

to look at where
the sky and earth
meet

Larry Kimmel

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Larry Kimmel/ Peter Jastermsky/ Jackie Chou/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Joanna Ashwell/ Debbie Strange/ Vicki Moreno/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Mekhled Alzaza/ paula song sarmonpal/

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.
N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

30 April Thursday

I am sorry to have to inform you that the Lockdown Cherita will resume in six days on Wednesday 6 May.

I’m about to launch the latest edition of the cherita #3:12 later today and the edition announcement will stay posted for 5 days.

30 April Thursday

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

your glasses
still on the table

where you left them

how can I get rid of
anything
now that you’re gone

Susan Burch

This cherita is from the stories
edition seventeen of the cherita november 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

29 April Wednesday

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

a lovely day
fields alive with grasshoppers

she says why you so sad

her yellow hair
escaping her bun as she runs
through milkweed and death

Andrew Riutta

This cherita is from taste of rain
edition sixteen of the cherita october 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

28 April Tuesday

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Tuesday :

at the beach house

she paints
portrait after portrait

of the people
she sees
when nobody’s there

Paul Bryce

This cherita is from pieces of sky
edition fifteen of the cherita september 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

27 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Monday :

bus stop

in the streetlamp’s glow
an empty stage

she watches
from her
bedroom window

Maryalicia Post

This cherita is from i find one cloud
edition fourteen of the cherita august 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

26 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Sunday :

between us

the space in bed
is a variable thing:

yesterday
no distance at all
today the width of a canyon

Geoffrey Winch

This cherita is from shadow dancer
edition thirteen of the cherita july 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you for using one of my cherita, hope a wider audience enjoy it and others you have/will be posting.

Stay safe,

I send you my best wishes,

Geoffrey Winch

25 April 2020

We will resume with the fourteenth lockdown cherita from the cherita on Sunday.

Meanwhile, here is one of mine from my fourth cherita book dream merchant 2019, brushed by the lockdown too – for Saturday

lifelines

of mine
to give

if i can only
save
your life

ai li

This cherita is from dream merchant by ai li

http://www.thecherita.com/ailis-bookshop/

25 April 2020

A NEW COMMENT IN ABOUT OUR FEATURE :

Many thanks for all you do, love the lockdown series !

Be well and safe!

Erika Wilk : USA

24 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Friday :

the shut-in

still puts on makeup
every day

just in case
the postman
rings her doorbell

Johnny Baranski

This cherita is from not a memory, exactly,
edition twelve of the cherita june 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Editor’s note :

Johnny Baranski

1948
to
2018

who is
much missed

24 April 2020

ANOTHER NEW COMMENT IN ABOUT OUR FEATURE :

. . . just wanted you to know that you have yet another committed reader out here…I check the website daily and look forward to the lockdown cherita. Thank you for providing this source of inspiration.

All the best,

Cynthia Anderson : USA

23 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

errant fly

in and out
of the lampshade

round and round
the warm lit bulb
the soliloquy

Madhuri Pillai

This cherita is from on a quiet street
edition eleven of the cherita may 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks a million. I will post it on my twitter, account FB and WordPress.

Thank you again ai li,

Love,

Madhuri Pillai

23 April 2020

A NEW COMMENT IN ABOUT OUR FEATURE :

I like the way you pick a few choice cherita

hopefully this time will allow for more reflection . . .

Ronald Lim : Hong Kong

22 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

the leaves learn it

and soon
he will too

the different ways
we’re told
goodbye

Peter Jastermsky

This cherita is from now I listen
edition ten of the cherita april 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks for featuring another cherita of mine in the lockdown series! I especially resonate with this one, even more so in the present state of our world. Glad you like the cherita Kathabela selected! Out all that is happening, a lot of poetry is flowing.

Be well,
Peter Jastermsky

21 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Tuesday :

from open hands

the petals and leaves
on which I wrote your name

fall, one by one
behind me . . .
this is the way home

Debbie Strange

This cherita is from autumn deepens
edition nine of the cherita march 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

20 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Monday :

for a glimpse

of him returning
I wait

a shadow
in
the open door

Maryalicia Post

This cherita is from winter, no fixed abode
edition eight of the cherita february 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you ai li..I’m so happy to be part of this initiative..Warmest greetings to you and to the cherita community..

Maryalicia Post

19 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Sunday :

winter stars

spring stars summer stars
& autumn stars

where
are
you?

pamela a. babusci

This cherita is from a visit across decades
edition seven of the cherita january 2018

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

this is a lovely surprise on a Sunday morning!

many thx for including my cherita!

stay safe healthy & sane

pamela a babusci

18 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Saturday :

stepping into

the deep end
of our longing

I reach for you
to touch
only air

Peter Jastermsky

This cherita is from volume two of two when i can’t sleep
edition five of the cherita october 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thanks so much for including my cherita in your lockdown cherita feature! I have been enjoying the work you’ve shared so far, and look forward to that good energy each day.

Take care and be well!

Peter Jastermsky

17 April 2020

We will resume with the eighth lockdown cherita from the cherita on Saturday.

Meanwhile, here is one of mine from my first cherita book i left long ago 2017,
brushed by the lockdown too – for Friday :

at night

far off
in the distance

you call my name
and i hear it
on my windchime

ai li

This cherita is from i left long ago by ai li

http://www.thecherita.com/ailis-bookshop/

17 April 2020

TWO COMMENTS IN ABOUT OUR FEATURE :

I woke at 3 am here and went to catch up with your beautiful project. I shared this with the local poets in this email, and also on cherita poets on site on fb. I think it will draw their attention.

Your choices are very amazing! They speak to us now in our unusual present situation… your own cherita here is VERY moving!
you look away ..about the caged birds!

Thank you for lighting up my night, ALL of our nights!

I think this time is very wearing on everyone and what you are doing is an inspiration and comfort in a real and deep way.

I am sharing the news as to what you are doing on the website. It is SO beautiful! Thank you –I just saw the new cherita by Debbie Strange.

Kathabela Wilson : USA

. . . I have to say I have been enjoying the cherita lockdown poems you have been placing up on the web site.

Robert Horrobin : Scotland

16 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Thursday :

let it rain

yes, I know
you have been waiting

but here we are
inside this night,
alive with coming storms

Debbie Strange

This cherita is from volume one of two let it rain
edition five of the cherita october 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you so much for your kind wishes and for featuring my cherita. You’ve lifted my spirits!

Thinking of you, and wishing you well.

polar bear hugs,

Debbie Strange

15 April 2020

LOCKDOWNCHERITA

Here is our cherita for Wednesday :

there were roses

he couldn’t remember
anything else

only the rain
and a drowning coffin
and roses, so many white roses

Rajani Radhakrishnan

This cherita is from come cherita
edition six of the cherita november 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

14 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Tuesday :

every morning at sunrise

when the air is crisp
and the robins sing

the street prophet
preaches
the end of days

Michael H. Lester

This cherita is from be amazed
edition four of the cherita september 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you for including my cherita in your new “lockdown” feature! Wow! That was a long time ago!

I am glad to hear you are well and keeping safe and busy during these difficult times.

Best wishes and stay safe,

Michael H Lester

13 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Easter Monday :

wandering

i often
wonder…

will i be
welcome when
i return home

Pat Geyer

This cherita is from volume two of two where the river bends
edition three of the cherita august 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you ai li. Being in a Lockdown, I appreciate something (my cherita!) that gets my mind off of what’s going on.

Hope all is well with you. Take care and be safe.

Pat Geyer

12 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Sunday :

you look away

from the caged birds
singing about how

they miss the trees
and the sun
on their feathers

ai li

This cherita is from volume one of two find me
edition three of the cherita august 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

11 April 2020

LOCKDOWN CHERITA

Here is our cherita for Saturday :

carry me, please

folded and safe
with this note

in a pocket
close to your breast
that I might dream well

Michael McClintock

This cherita is from no sat-nav . . . no map no regrets
edition two of the cherita july 2017

www.thecherita.com/books hop

Poet’s response :

Thank you for letting me know about this. It is a good feature to have.

Thank you for being there, ai li, and let’s hope for the best and see our way through to the end of this.

Michael McClintock

10 April 2020

We are now in our third week of lockdown in the UK due to the Coronavirus pandemic and it appears that there are no immediate plans for this lockdown to be lifted as yet, so we are told.

This has prompted me to start posting published cherita carefully selected from the 38 editions of the cherita daily, to best reflect the mood of all of us affected by Covid-19, until the end of the lockdown, starting from today.

Hopefully, these special cherita will not only help inspire all aspiring Cherita poets and writers to start telling their own stories in 6 lines but also inspire and spur on our established cherita poets and writers to lift and write us all out of this lockdown period with more of their timeless cherita.

ai li
editor

silent nights

without you both
to fill the room

moonlit pages
of bedtime stories
left untold

Allyson Chen

This cherita is from telling a story edition one, the inaugural edition of the cherita june 2017

www.thecherita.com/bookshop

Poet’s response :

Thanks for the feature. Hope you are staying well and safe over there!

Allyson Chen

9 April 2020

GENTLE REMINDER

I am now reading submissions for our May, June and July 2020 editions

#3:12, #4:1 and #4:2 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

30 April 2020 for our May edition #3:12

31 May 2020 for our June edition #4:1

and

30 June 2020 for our July edition #4:2

1 April 2020

and still
edition 3:11
edited by ai li

This edition of and still showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, New Zealand, India, Canada, Romania, Ireland and China.

and still is the eleventh edition for our third year.

The words Covid-19 and Pandemic now appear to be words sewn into the very fabric of our everyday lives. I would therefore like to wish you all abundant good health, and please take good care and be safe if you have to be out and about.

Staying in for long periods of time or in self isolation can be challenging. Personally, I find this can bring out the storyteller within myself. I hope you will be able to use this lockdown time to channel your inner storyteller and come up with stories that will take us onto new word journeys that will not only enthral but inspire us all. I look forward to reading your lockdown cherita.

Your cherita stories keep coming in and they are getting better and better with each submission. I can’t help but feel extremely blessed to be part of not only your very own special storytelling journeys, but that of Cherita’s own growth.

I have edited and still as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in and still :-

Isabella Kramer/ Pat Geyer/ Larry Kimmel/ Taura Scott/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Patricia Prime/ Joanna Ashwell/ Peter Jastermsky/ Ruth Kay/ Tia Haynes/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Cynthia Anderson/ Jackie Chou/ Tim Gardiner/ ai li/ S.Radhamani/ Ron Scully/ Debbie Strange/ Vicky Moreno/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ paula song sarmonpal/ Mekhled Alzaza/ Grace Galton/ Hongri Yuan/Jonathan Vos Post/ Réka Nyitrai/ Pauli Dutton/ Robert Stewart/ Mary Gunn/ Maryalicia Post/ Martina Robles Gallegos/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from and still :

you never told me

why you had come
to see me

only that
a passing thought
had led you home

Tia Haynes

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Isabella Kramer/ / Larry Kimmel/ Taura Scott/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Peter Jastermsky/ Joanna Ashwell/ Patricia Prime/ Tia Haynes/ Ruth Kay/ Jackie Chou/ Ron Scully/ Tim Gardiner/ Debbie Strange/ Réka Nyitrai/ Tiffany Shaw-Diaz/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Vicky Moreno/

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.
N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

13 March 2020

For UK readers only

I have just discovered today that Amazon UK are now offering incredible and awesome prices on the cherita editions, and on some of my own personal books. Please be aware that these offers are ONLY for the Kindle versions. How long this offer is for, I have no idea, so do take advantage of these current offers if you have work that has been featured and/or published in these Kindle versions, or if you are simply curious to read the timeless Cherita in the cherita, and of those in my personal books. If you like powerful short stories on Life, Love and Loss, you won’t be disappointed by the offerings within.

The most astounding offer is for the stories [edition #2:5] of the cherita where both Paperback and Kindle versions are on offer from Amazon UK for £2.21 each – a real steal !

ai li
editor

*

1 March 2020

the night
edition 3:10
edited by ai li

This edition of the night showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, The Philippines, Romania, New Zealand, Australia and India.

the night is the tenth edition for our third year.

Just two more editions to go before we start our fourth year of being storytellers via Cherita. I have noticed with wonder at the growth in so many of you with regards to your Cherita stories, and how you are bringing out your very own authentic Cherita voices. Your commitment to writing flash fiction in 6 lines not only inspires but spurs me on to edit even stronger and timeless editions of the cherita. I thank you for all your efforts, and for your timeless Cherita Lighthouses that light up the literary sky.

I have been feeling rather restless since I returned from the Orient, with this ache and longing to be back amongst the ghosts of Chinese history, and I decided that the only panacea for me was to bring out a new book.

keepsake is my second Cherita and Haiku book and my thirtieth poetry book. My first Cherita and Haiku book, which was night rain, was well received and this has prompted me to write a follow-up to that. You’ll find more details of keepsake further down this announcement.

I have edited the night as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in the night :-

ai li/Joanna Ashwell/ Taura Scott/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Tim Callahan/ Larry Kimmel/ Carol Purington/ Pat Geyer/ Ruth Kay/ Robert Horrobin/ Geoffrey Winch/ Caroline Skanne/ Isabella Kramer/ Jackie Chou/ Maricris Cabrera/ Peter Jastermsky/ Réka Nyitrai/ Patricia Prime/ Keitha Keyes/ Tia Haynes/ paula song sarmonpal/ Allyson Chen/ James Haddad/ James Won/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Cynthia Anderson/ Tim Gardiner/ Pamela A. Shea/ Partha Sarkar/ Alicia Viguer-Espert/ Constance Griesmer/

EXAMPLE OF WORK from the night :

i walk softly

into these woods
of moss and fern

where voices bounce
without a trace
of a soul

Joanna Ashwell

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Larry Kimmel/ Carol Purington/ Caroline Skanne/ Isabella Kramer/ Peter Jastermsky/ Réka Nyitrai/ Robert Horrobin/ Patricia Prime/ paula song sarmonpal/ Allyson Chen/ Tia Haynes/ Jackie Chou/ Tim Gardiner/ Alicia Viguer-Espert/ Ruth Kay/

keepsake
ai li’s second book
of Cherita and Haiku

keepsake
is my thirtieth book and my second book of Cherita and Haiku and it belongs to my Poems for Inner Rooms series which are available in paperback and on kindle on Amazon. It is also my second book of Cherita and Haiku.

This book of 90 virgin cherita and haiku poems belongs to a collection of life journals written as contemporary cherita, tanka and haiku. These are poems for inner rooms. They take poetry into the realm of spirit and are touched by zen, loss, joy, the surreal, temps perdu, the erotic, humour, truth, the everyday, and the sublime. All the six senses are here.

The book has been edited to be experienced two ways very much like the cherita. It can be read as a storybook and as an anthology of individual poems.

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.
N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

Here is a cherita and haiku example from my new book keepsake :-

you

holding me tight
in strong wind

just
the night
playing tricks

the war dead
i touch
all their names

ai li

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

Wishing you all the best for the new season.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.
N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

GENTLE REMINDER

19 February 2020

GENTLE REMINDER

I am now reading submissions for our March, April and May 2020 editions

#3:10, #3:11 and #3:12 of the cherita

Closing dates for submissions are :

29 February 2020 for our March edition #3:10

31 March 2020 for our April edition #3:11

and

30 April 2020 for our May edition #3:12

1 February 2020

dream journal
edition 3:9
edited by ai li

This edition of dream journal showcases 90 fine cherita and cherita terbalik from writers and poets who hail from UK, USA, Singapore, Canada, India, Ireland and Germany.

dream journal is the ninth edition for our third year.

I have just returned from a long trip to the Orient taking in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Kinmen Island and mainland China.

I was entranced by Cantonese Opera and Nanyin [Cantonese narrative singing] at the Tea House Theatre in West Kowloon when I was expecting to be caught up in the midst of tear gas and strong student protests in Hong Kong [I first flew into the legendary Kai Tak airport, now a footnote, decades ago. The approach to KT was technically demanding what with Kowloon’s tall apartment complexes and 2000+ feet of mountains on the north east, and the landing approach could not be flown by aircraft instruments, but rather by eye because of the right-hand turn required. Hairy was the word for the descent], and captivated by the atmospheric incense laden 15th century Ma Ge temple built onto the west side of Mage mountain looking out to sea in Macau. Next came the misty ethereal beauty of Sun Moon Lake and the majesty of wild nature at Taroko Gorge in Taiwan, then onto Kinmen Island [once Quemoy] to see a breathtaking collection of exquisitely well preserved clusters of Ming dynasty village homes and temples, followed by a long snowy road trip to experience Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong’s underground Palaces in minus 10 degrees at the Eastern Qing tombs in Zunhua, Tangshan, outside Beijing, before rounding off my journey to visit Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China’s residence Jingyuan [Garden of Serenity] in Tianjin, formerly Tientsin, where he and his beautiful Empress Wan Rong were at their happiest.

I took away with me so many strong colourful images and experiences waiting to be written down as Cherita. I can’t wait to tell all these stories.

I have edited dream journal as I have all the other editions of the cherita, to be experienced two ways. It can be read as one storybook but also as an anthology of individual poems. Two reading experiences within one book, filled with stories of Life, Love and Loss.

cherita terbalik continues to capture the imagination of poets and there are again fine examples in this edition.

Featured Poets as they appear in this edition :-

Joanna Ashwell/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ ai li/ Larry Kimmel/ Pat Geyer/ Sharon Hawley/ Joan Stern/ Debbie Strange/ shane pruett/ Carol Purington/ Ruth Kay/ Jackie Chou/ Neelam Dadhwal/ Maryalicia Post/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Isabella Kramer/ paula song sarmonpal/ Carmela Centro/ S. Radhamani/ Robert Horrobin/ Geoffrey Winch/ Caroline Skanne/ John Grey/

EXAMPLE OF WORK in dream journal :-

cool nights
warm mornings

dewdrops
touch
the throat

of an orchid

Pat Geyer

The cherita lighthouse has been awarded to the following writers and poets in this edition for their timeless cherita :-

Joanna Ashwell/ Kath Abela Wilson/ Taura Scott/ Pat Geyer/ Neelam Dadhwal/ Maryalicia Post/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Isabella Kramer/ Carmela Centro/ S. Radhamani/ Geoffrey Winch/ Caroline Skanne/ Jackie Chou/ Ruth Kay/ Myrto E. Angeloglou/ Carol Purington/

If this new edition strikes a chord with you, please feel free to review, comment on Amazon or give a feedback directly to me. Many thanks.

ai li
editor

To purchase a print copy and/or a kindle book, please click on the cover above.
N.B. There are no images in the print and kindle versions of the cherita.

FOR USA ONLY

Please be aware that from 31 October 2019, KDP will be retiring their Kindle Matchbook program.

20 January 2020

Belated New Year greetings to all of you !

It will be the Chinese New Year of the Rat on the 25 January 2020. Kung Hee Fatt Choy to all our Chinese visitors.

I have just returned from a long trip to the Orient and would first like to thank all the contributors who sent in cherita while I was away, and for their understanding and patience for my delayed response to their submissions.

I will be responding to all submissions shortly once I get over my jet lag.

Thanks,

ai li

GENTLE REMINDER