Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Rain


Welcome to brass bell: a haiku journal.

The theme for this premier issue is rain.

You will find work here by 43 contributors. Some have been writing haiku for decades, others have just discovered (and embraced) this form. Contributors live in Bulgaria, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

An invitation will be sent via e-mail and Facebook, around the fourth week of each month, announcing the theme for the next issue. If you want to receive these notices send me a FB friend request or an e-mail note <zee@twcny.rr.com>

I hope you will enjoy what you find here.
zee




soft desert rain
the droppings of leaf-hopper insects
from the tamarisk tree
    - Alan Summers

break in the storm
my love
without a raincoat
   - Amos White

the composure of rain
to hold its shape 
when falling
   - Amy E. Bartell

a window facing the park
from morning to dusk
in the same rain
   - Anna Mazurkiewicz

after the thaw
first rain
snowdrops
   - Antonia Matthew

warm spring rain
melting a crust of ice —
earth arches her back
    - Blue Waters

transfixed by silver
chilled morning rain whispers
don’t forget the mud
   - C. Robin Janning

our brand new glass front porch —
we can't wait to watch
a big thunderstorm
   - Cady Fontana

wading through puddles
mother and son 
giggle under umbrella
    - Caroline Skanne

cumulus clouds —
rain is falling
somewhere else
   - Carolyn Coit Dancy

winter drizzle
I walk around the lake
where our star appeared
    - Chen-ou Liu

rain-swollen river
my footsteps quicken
to match its pace
   - deanna tiefenthal

listening deeply
to the poetry of clouds
i become the rain
   - Debbie Strange

persistent mist
hangs in the air —
no puddles for me
   - Erica Hostetler

snowflakes dance ballet —
raindrops are more down to earth
though they make a splash
    - Jack Goldman

all day rain
we argue over music
for the funeral
    - John McManus

after the rain
the frog's world
expanding
   - Julie Bloss Kelsey

April fools
in Paris
our soaked sandals
   - Kath Abela Wilson

broken jazz record —
the pulse of rain 
between the sirens
   - Kathy Uyen Nguyen

watching as the buds
swell on the great tree . . .
rainy day's end
   - kris moon

silver raindrops
clinging to pine needles
before the fall
    - Lance Robertson

water above
water below
swimming I Ching
    - Laura LaRosa

sunrise on the beach —
in your raincoat pockets
rain from yesterday
   - Lavana Kray

while he brushes
the strokes for "spring rain"
the monk's eyebrows rise
   - Margaret Chula

my driveway dotted
with neighbor's cherry petals:
generous spring storm
   - Margaret Fisher Squires

wintered over
worn orchid arcs against the glass
mewling for spring rain
   - Mary Carter Ginn

rained in . . .
taking the next picture
of a faded rose
   - Maya Lyubenova

two-day rain
the small dryness in the tent
shrinking
   - Michael Ketchek

twilight nostalgia
rain, perfume of history
lonely orphan frog
   - Nicola Morris
walking in night rain
a heart dreams like a river
flowing in footfalls
   - Peter Ladley

too far to reach
the stars reflected 
in the rain barrel
    - Phoebe Lakin

pigeons cluster on
wrought iron bridges, and in
Detroit: April rain
   - Phoebe Shalloway

falling on the just
and the unjust —
rain does not judge 
   - Reba Dolch  

the moment
I saw you, butterfly . . .
morning drizzle
   - Rita Odeh

rain hesitates —
a sunbeam shrinks
from its own weight
   - Ross Haarstad

rain today
our snow islands
slipping away
   - Sally Kamerling

relentless rain
spring could drown
before it arrives
   - Sharon K. Yntema

spattering rain on metal roof
precipitation
syncopation
   - Sue Norvell

downpour —
a duck waddles away
from the pond
   
- Tom Clausen

the expectation of rain
strangers in their hats
are of one mind
    - Weiwei Luo

 the rain
brings the lilac fragrance
over the hill
   - Wendy Smith

the rain
my tears
all in place
    - Yvonne Fisher

pouring tea
into my favorite cup —
rain fills a river
   - Zee Zahava




These haiku have previously appeared elsewhere: 

Deanna Tiefenthal - "rain-swollen river" - Haiku Society of America's 2011 Member Anthology

John McManus - "all day rain" - Presence 45

Margaret Chula - "while he brushes" - The Smell of Rust, Katsura Press, 2003

Michael Ketchek - "two-day rain" - Modern Haiku Vol. XXXI  No. 3  2000