Hi folks,

Well, it is now confirmed that my reverse shoulder replacement surgery will happen on Monday morning. This surgery is very common now and my surgeon and his team have performed it successfully many many times. I will be in the hospital a day or two and then home for the next two weeks doing almost nothing but my in-home rehab exercises. After that, I head into full rehab for six weeks. In six months I should have an almost full range of motion back and get back to normal activities fully for summer. It has been a painful few months, and COVID issues at the hospital (not me) have set back the surgery several times now. My heart is stable and my Doctors have stopped the crazy episodes I was experiencing, so that is great also. 

Although I will be in a sling for a couple of months, I will have use of my fingers and hands, but at a much slower pace on social media for some time as I recover. I will post some images when I get back home as ‘proof of life’, and no one should worry. I may be old and grey but I still have my piss and vinegar intact. 🙂

Abbey and Dae-Min (our cat) will be ordering me around and keeping an eye on me. All will be well.

Peace

Mike

PS You have two great co-editors who will take great care of you all, and I can’t wait to read your work as I heal. Thanks to Bryan and Kelly, and the guest editors who will be taking over!!!

Thank you all for being a part of making this the best holiday season OF MY LIFE!!!! I couldn’t be more grateful. It was an honor to read of your winter joys, sorrows, and, yes, shenanigans over more than a few Dirty Kerouacs at a quaint little coffee shop outside of Detroit while visiting my new family over the holidays.

Editor Kelly Sauvage

Looking ahead, please hold your submissions until January 10th. We have a special issue in store for you, so be sure to check out the submission guidelines in a few days.

https://haikuhut.com/FailedHaikuIssue73.pdf

Most importantly, we wish you a very Happy New Year!!!!

Bryan and Kelly… and the old man with the beard

“poets yeggs and thirsties”, as E.E. CUMMINGS once announced in a poem of his, we at Failed Haiku wish you all a wonderful holiday season however and wherever you celebrate it!!!

Kelly Sauvage is still accepting submissions until midnight on Christmas Day, so if you have not yet bombarded her with your best senryu based work PLEASE DO!

Bryan Rickert is tending to his family and drinking lots of fresh roasted and brewed coffee, and getting ready to get back into the saddle next year!

Mike Rehling is watching the snowfall in the forest that is his backyard and recording in short poems the antics of squirrels. More videos SOON!

Looking for something to read and enjoy while we muster through the holidays and the New Year? Here are some suggestions:

1. Don’t forget the lastest issue guest edited by Roberta Beary, and full of great haibun. CLICK HERE
2. How about a good dose of SciKu??? Jay Friedenberg has a free eBook out “Sci-Ku: Explorations into the Poetry of Science” CLICK HERE
3. How about reading the ‘back issues’ of Failed Haiku??? CLICK HERE
4. How about visiting the Failed Haiku YouTube Channel??? CLICK HERE

Have a wonderful season, and please know that we all love and care for our poets and our readers at Failed Haiku!

Kelly, Bryan, and Mike

I had the pleasure of again discussing haibun with Roberta Beary who edited the ‘haibun only’ issue of Failed Haiku. We discussed best practices in submissions and the things she looked for in this making her selections for this issue. Check it out on Youtube! CLICK HERE!

We discuss with her the ways poets can improve their odds of acceptance, and hone their craft. Roberta is the Haibun Editor for Modern Haiku and has judged contests, and of course, contributed her own work to many publications both print and online. She has also been the Ambassador of The Haiku Foundation and spoke and traveled to haiku groups in the USA and Europe. In this issue, she has collected single examples from some of the best poets in the Haibun world. Enjoy Issue 72.

OTHER PLACES TO READ AND ENJOY HAIBUN ONLINE!
Haibun Today (archive of past issues) https://haibuntoday.com/ Contemporary Haibun https://contemporaryhaibunonline.com/ Drifting Sands Haibun https://drifting-sands-haibun.org/

Mike Rehling
Founder Failed Haiku

You did what with Aunt Myrtle’s fruitcake?!?!

This month, we invite you to submit your finest senryu pertaining to winter. Give us your wildest antics, your deepest insights, your snow angels and devils, your Wolf Moon howling. As always, experimentation and authenticity are encouraged and exalted.

Submissions accepted December 10th through the 25th.

Issue 72 is full of haibun, and just haibun. Our guest editor Roberta Beary has put together a collection that is worth you spending some time to go from the beginning to the end in one reading.

And, look for a new Video soon!!! You will not want to miss it.

Mike

When I asked for work that excites and inspires, I never imagined you all would throw me into a state of rapture! This issue is not only a collection of phenomenal poetic expressions, it is a celebration of all that you are.

https:\\www.haikuhut.com\FailedHaikuIssue71.pdf

The moment you’ve all been waiting for! Bryan and I had a blast reviewing all of your entries. We had some hard decisions to make; but, in the end, a few pieces rose to the top. We couldn’t be more excited to share them with you today.

CLICK HERE FOR CONTEST RESULTS!

Kelly Sauvage

Today I stumbled upon a new YouTube Channel run by our friend and well published haiku and senryu poet Ben Gaa! In his first post he featured a poem by our own Co-Editor Bryan Rickert!!!! Check it out here.

Haiku Talk by Ben Gaa

While I am on the subject please consider the following YouTube channels that support our community and SUBSCRIBE to them! Comment on the videos, and pass the word to your friends.

Ron Moss

The Haiku Foundation

The Haiku Society of America

Poetry Pea

And, not to be forgotten: FAILED HAIKU

When you subscribe to these and other channels that support haiku and you make them more relevant in search engines, and promote their appearance when people come to YouTube. Your Likes and positive comments also make a huge difference is how many will see the work portrayed. So PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!

Mike Rehling

This is the time to ready your entries for the Sixth Reichhold Haiga Contest! The complete rules, including TIMES, EMAIL ADDRESS FOR SUBMISSIONS, and DATES are contained in this document.

Please read the rules in their entirety and PLEASE adhere to the rules of the contest. GOOD LUCK!!!

Kelly Sauvage and Bryan Rickert