The enlightening Winter ’24/25 Edition of the "Wales Haiku Journal” is now available online. In addition to the beautiful moments in which nature catches us off guard & we are somehow altered, are also poetic acknowledgements of the strife of war tearing at our souls. The Winter ’24/25 Edition of the "Wales Haiku Journal” does an incredibly, masterful job of rekindling a winter affinity with ourselves, each other and nature against perfectly attuned backgrounds as well as allowing voices to speak to the perilous conditions in our world. Akiba & I are immensely grateful to be able to share two photohaiku or haiga on p. 116 & p. 118.Purple Phoenix

Photo Haiku of Akiba & Maryam Mermey

The Haiku Foundation honors the work of contemporary masters of the dual art of haiga: visual image wedded to haiku. This month we feature a collaboration between Akiba & Maryam Mermey. Inspired by the beauty, mystery & interconnectedness of nature, Akiba & Maryam create photo haiku as part of their spiritual practice. Akiba is a nature photographer, tai chi teacher & expressive arts program developer. He enjoys playing the native american flute as a meditation. Maryam is a haiku poet, dancer & international expressive arts therapy presenter/teacher. She received a commendation in the 2022 Martin Lucas Award Contest. In May of 2023, one of her haiku was accepted into the anthology, To Live Here, which was created as a fundraiser to support unhoused people in the UK. She also contributed a haiku to the 2024 English~Bulgarian Anthology, Shining Windsponsored by The British Haiku Society. Maryam & Akiba share their haiga in the Wales Haiku Journal, Cattails, and the Contemporary Haibun Online journals. They have also exhibited their work throughout Maine in the US.