Welcome to the July issue of brass bell: a haiku journal. This month's theme: Birds.
You will find work here by 67 contributors, from Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, England, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Switzerland, and the United States.
Time to take wing and soar, my friends . . . I hope you enjoy these bird 'ku.
Zee
Zee
swift but silent shadow
flying over low branches:
the nightjar at dusk
- Alain Rodari
the grass grows dark
a lamentation of swans
shape my world
- Alan Summers
looking back
a raven waits
vigilance with wings
- Amy Bartell
dawn at the lake
a grebe makes a grab
for the sun
- Anna Mazurkiewicz
wood thrush
its song draws me
to the mountain
- Anne Burgevin
under the feeder
writing in the snow
delicate bird tracks
- Antonia Matthew
morning raga —
another cockatoo warbles
in the backyard
- Archana Kapoor Nagpal
red light —
a hummingbird stopping
for the lobelia
- Barbara Kaufmann
bird chatter —
the phone line
sagging with starlings
- Bill Waters
odd little melody
odd little bird
flying away together
- Blue Waters
chickadee
your call drags me from
dark places
- C. Robin Janning
about love birds —
something they don't tell you —
they only love once
- Cady Fontana
overcast sky —
a cracking sound answers
the woodcock's call
- Carl Seguiban
under a copper umbrella
young oriole hides
from the storm
- Carole Russell
in a robin's song
I am reminded —
to use my voice
- Caroline Skanne
house sparrow
on the barbed wire fence
foreclosure
- Carolyn Coit Dancy
thunder —
dandelion fluff
among crows
- Cezar-Florin Ciobica
mist trailing
over the autumn fields . . .
a raven's cry
- Chen-ou Liu
a sandpiper
teeters along a log . .
my indecision
- Christine L. Villa
hermitage's dome —
a pigeon listens
to the evening prayer
- Daniela Lacramioara Capota
ice skating
on a bluebird day . . .
our winged feet
- Debbie Strange
salt breeze
over the pickleweed
marbled godwits
- Deborah P Kolodji
trumpeter swans —
their wings whip
clouds into shapes
- Devin Harrison
a windfall tree
even the birds
have escaped
- Diana Petkova
the rise
and fall of my life . . .
phoenix
- Dwarakanathan Ravi
on the station
only crumbs and pigeons
day off
- Gergana Yaninska
through tall grass
the sheen of a grackle's head
wild blueberries
- G.R. LeBlanc
birds chat
in the rain —
columbine blooms
- Hideo Suzuki
between the branches
a sparrow's nest
sprinkled with dew
- Isabella Loverro
an unnoted twig
suddenly lifts from the branch
and becomes a bird
- Jack Goldman
hawk fledgling
wings cracking
into the unknown
- Joan Corr
near water's edge
hanging their feathers to dry
inky anhingas
- Joann Grisetti
the blackbird
follows me about . . .
bean flowers
- John Kinory
in her nightgown
the old lady
sings to the swan
- John McDonald
night falls
in each tree . . .
broken song
- Julian O'Dea
making me feel
like I'm growing a feather
wild parrots
- Kath Abela Wilson
bird-watching . . .
what should i name the ones
that visit my dreams?
- kris moon
a jay calls
and then . . .
silence
and then . . .
silence
- Lance Robertson
muddy stork after rain —
the garden gnome
so clean . . .
- Lavana Kray
one crow
on the snow
— spot of ink
- Lech Szeglowski
hospital window —
outside father's room
an empty nest
- Lee Strong
April snowstorm
the cardinal's feathers
still fiery
- Luminita Suse
a way home
from every signpost
the sparrows' song
- Magdalena Banaszkiewicz
small bird
what is your name?
you seem to be following me
- Marcy Little
a flock of crows
flying over my house —
twilight
- Maria Kowal-Tomczak
hot summer breezes
carry birdsong and the sweet
scent of sun-baked pines
- Margaret Fisher Squires
fallen blossoms . . .
a black bird shatters
the white sky
- Mark Brager
albatross
caught between
sea and sky
- Maureen Sudlow
a shadow
crosses the swamp
black stork
- Maya Lyubenova
autumn wind …
sparrow riding
my car antenna
- Pamela A. Babusci
for just an instant...
barn owl hoots at the
moon's pale face
- Pat Geyer
before spring blossoms
a flock of cedar waxwings
feasts on dried cherries
- Patricia Longoria
floating clouds birds fly the other way
- Pravat Kumar Padhy
fish and chip shop
overhead clouds
of seagulls
- Rachel Sutcliffe
several layers of wallpaper –
the birds
from my childhood
- Radka Mindova
(translated by Maya Lyubenova)
understanding well
the language of wind . . .
eagle's wing
- Rita Odeh
snowy tree —
a skylark flew away
long time ago
- Robert Kania
unknown red-naped bird
stares through the window
wondering what I am
- Sharon K. Yntema
bare branches . . .
a lark's trill drowns
the silence
- Shloka Shankar
every morning
the same bird —
different
- Sondra J. Byrnes
dandelions on the lawn
flutter skyward —
a flock of goldfinches
- Susan Lesser
another day
a few birds fly
across the sunset
a few birds fly
across the sunset
- Tom Clausen
evening breeze
only the herring gull and me
on the beach
- Vessislava Savova
morning sunlight . . .
closed origami bird
on the window frame
- Vibeke Laier
chasing pigeons
a little girl releases
her father's hand
- Wendy Smith
pileated woodpecker
knocking
on our door
- Yvonne Fisher
slow walk
through birdsong
my body is healing
- Zee Zahava
Previously published:
Alan Summers — the grass grows dark — Blithe Spirit 24:1 (2014)
Carolyn Coit Dancy — house sparrow — Modern Haiku Vol. 43:1 (Winter-Spring 2012)
Deborah P Kolodji — salt breeze — Frogpond (2010)
John Kinory — the blackbird — Blithe Spirit 22:3 (2012)
Magdalena Banaszkiewicz — a way home — A Hundred Gourds 2:1 (December 2012)
Maya Lyubenova — a shadow — from her bilingual haiku collection Flecks of Blue (2010)
Pamela A. Babusci — autumn wind — Heron Quarterly 1:4 (October 1997)
Radka Mindova — several layers of wallpaper — Bulgarian Haiku Contest (2012)
Rita Odeh — understanding well —from her haiku collection Buds of Dream (2014)
Robert Kania — snowy tree —Shiki Monthly Kukai (December 2012)
