Saturday, April 1, 2017

Edible Haiku

Welcome to the April 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.

This month's theme is Edible Haiku.

Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Turkey, the U. K., Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam


my first bite
in the mango season
this greenfly who won't go away
    - Adjei Agyei-Baah

winter date:
baked potatoes meet
spicy chicken
    - Adrian Bouter

sticky rice
the toddler's endless
questions
    - Agnes Eva Savich

relaxing at lunch
a pigeon eyes my salmon —
nothing is safe anywhere
    - Alan Bern

candlemas
little fingers pulling
the wishbone
    - Alan Summers

paradox in Rio
under the scorching sun
boiling black beans: feijoada
    - Amauri Solon

chimarrao and churrasco
my gaucho uncle
still in my habits
    - Amauri Solon

star cookies —
he asks for
mooncakes
    - Angelee Deodhar
   
sodden field
beyond March muck
hot cocoa
    - Anna Cates

a taste
of black bean brownies
rainy Saturday
    - Anna Cates

family feast . . .
taste of raw mango
in every dish
    - Archana Kapoor Nagpal

pregnancy cravings . . .
next to my bed
a box of chocolates
    - Archana Kapoor Nagpal

licking water from my palm
the homeless
kitten
    - Barbara Tate

fall harvest
hiding in plain sight
the pumpkin pies
    - Barbara Tate

shoveling walkways —
the crew boss
brings hot coffee
    - Bill Waters

winter solstice
blackberries on sale
at the market
    - Brad Bennett

snowed in
another spoonful of sugar
in my tea
    - Carol Dilworth

vegan
no more honey
on buttered toast
    - Caroline Gates-Lupton

pancake by pancake accepting imperfection
    - Caroline Skanne

eating grapes
straight from the vine
the robin and i
    - Caroline Skanne

curling smoke
I burn his casserole
after the honeymoon
    - Celestine Nudanu

bread and butter pudding
hot on my tongue
his kisses
    - Celestine Nudanu

rose petals
furling and unfurling
in my tea
    - Christina Sng

mulberries
the tartness
of her criticism
    - Christina Sng

crêpes suzette
he rarely gives
flowers
    - Claire Vogel Camargo

summer camp
spitting watermelon seeds
on movie night
    - Claire Vogel Camargo

novice baker
she makes mud pies
by the driveway
    - Claire Vogel Camargo

the gravy boat
comes around . . .
no need to ask
    - Dan Schwerin

oatmeal
the help
of milk and honey
    - Dan Schwerin

dunking the biscuit too long — where we went wrong
    - Danny Blackwell

after generosity
tears of joy
wasabi
    - David J. Kelly

maple syrup
the buffet breakfast
runneth over
    - David J. Kelly

wild strawberry
the sweet reward
of finding it
    - David J. Kelly

visiting my parents
a bag of sprouting potatoes
in the guest shower
    - David Oates

new friend
watches closely as I try
habanero sauce
    - David Oates

what readers can't see
the chocolate stains
on my poems
    - Debbi Antebi

waxwings again not enough berries for jam   
    - Debbie Strange

squash blossom . . .
creases form between
her brows
    - Debbie Strange

the fragrance
of a ripened peach
perfectly split
    - Dottie Piet

eating kebab
the smell of smoke
surrounding the garden
    - Ece Cehreli

a happy day
I eat baklava
with sherbet
    - Ece Cehreli

rendez-vous:
a swallow's nest
above the dish of sushi
    - Elisa Allo

relaxing Saturday —
children order
soba noodles
    - Elisa Allo

subway car
the lingering smell
of a ham sandwich
    - Elizabeth Alford

when it comes to love
there can never be too much
ripe avocado
    - Elizabeth Alford

crumbs
ants in a row
on the windowsill
    - Eufemia Griffo

after divorce
ice cream melts
drop by drop
    - Eufemia Griffo

in my Easter bunny suit
a tiny child
offers me a carrot
    - Frank Robinson

the melon cubes
stick together
morning of the surgery
    - Glenn Ingersoll

camping
always beside our fire
glimmering fish
    - Goran Gatalica

summer evening
my daughter adds
lime juice to the stir fry
    - Hannah Mahoney

teaching my daughter
mom's recipe
the slow pour of molasses
    - Hannah Mahoney

mental health day
slathering marmalade
on warm toast
    - Hannah Mahoney

that pear i tasted
in Paris when i was young
lingers on my tongue
    - Jack Goldman

raspberries
grandbabe's
first opinion
    - Jan Benson

impromptu picnic
at japanese gardens
herbal tea and zen
    - Jan Benson

traveling without him passion fruit stains her white dress
    - Jane Williams

steaming bowl of pho the delicate aromas of a daydream
    - Jane Williams

cold moon
my mother's slow and
constant stirring
    - Jennifer Hambrick

fresh-mown bluegrass
slices of cucumber
on granny's chipped china plate
    - Jennifer Hambrick

apples, apples, apples
so many kinds —
one of each please in my pie
    - Joan Leotta

we feast on guava y queso
sipping spicy teas —
you whisper sweet nothings
    - Joan McNerney

barbeque
each mosquito
takes a bite
    - Joanna M. Weston

a cold front
moving in
hot curry
    - Joanna M. Weston

fruit softening
under the old apple tree
wasps threading shadows
    - John Hawkhead

dandelion stew
on the dinner table
everyone's wish
    - Justice Joseph Prah

whipped cream
he puts out his tongue
really far
    - Kath Abela Wilson

red chili pepper
I even sprinkle it
on toast
    - Kath Abela Wilson

midnight
the taste of parsnip chips
in bed
    - Kath Abela Wilson

new to kitchen . . .
I added salt instead of sugar
in tea
    - Kumarendra Mallick

driving home
the hot pizza box
on the passenger seat
    - Lance Robertson

the possibilities in a bag of flour
    - Lance Robertson

buttery fingers
sharing a large popcorn
at the movies   
    - Lance Robertson

tossed noodle
sticks to the wall
spider web
    - Laughing waters

3 o'clock
start thinking about dinner —
50 years
    - Linda Keeler

burnt toast
the day begins
badly
    - Linda Keeler

season's end . . .
the last peach in the bowl
politely turned down
    - Madhuri Pillai

cherries the ones I left hanging
    - Margaret Jones

handmade piadina —
the flour on your cheek
the day we met
    - Maria Laura Valente

sunday lunch —
just the three of us
and countless meatballs
    - Maria Laura Valente

jasmine in bloom —
first cookies I bake
for my daughter
    - Maria Laura Valente

birthday cake
she eats the word
happy
    - Marianne Paul

crabapple worms
she says her jelly jam
has lots of protein
    - Marianne Paul

vegan diet
my cat staring
at the freezer
    - Marta Chocilowska

stray dog
a beggar splits his sandwich
in half
    - Marta Chocilowska

supermoon
a ripe squash hangs
from the trellis
    - Martha Magenta

cinnamon buns —
the first time I saw
my neighbour
    - Martha Magenta

blackberry moon
filling jam jars
to the brim
    - Martha Magenta

another night shift
solitary focus
morning donuts
    - Marty Blue Waters

chocolate almond milk
being silly together —
my daughter's laughter
    - Mary Hohlman

sunflower seeds
my canary and I
enjoy spring morning
    - Mary Hohlman

tasting a word
as I say it aloud —
gnocchi
    - Mary Kendall

the soft velvet
of apricots
against our lips
    - Mary Kendall

pierogi day —
pinching loose ends
of dough & memories
    - Mary Kendall

red lentils soaking
I do the laundry
water the garden
    - Michael G. Smith

making apple pies
a poet taught me about
sharing a kitchen
    - Mimi Foyle

my fingers scramble
chocolate in my pocket
turns the day around
    - Mimi Foyle

the '60s
Barefoot Tom makes co-op salads
from yard weeds
    - Nancy Osborn

arriving late for dinner flowers expired in the vase
    - pamela a. babusci

cream in my coffee
swirling like
the Milky Way
    - pamela a. babusci

nana's kitchen
even the cat
eats spaghetti
    - Pat Davis

nana's herbs
she lets me pick
the sweet basil
    - Pat Davis

wine at the bottom of the cup —
swallowing
candlelight
    - Phoebe Lakin

for the teacher
a red apple
or six dandelions
    - Phyllis Lee

for a bigger tip
she adds whipped cream
and pecans
    - Phyllis Lee

in the porch box
chocolate chip cookies
for the birds
    - Phyllis Lee

seafront cafe
extra salt
on the table
    - Rachel Sutcliffe

snowmelt
two carrots left
on the lawn
    - Rachel Sutcliffe

midnight diner
he-man breakfast dish
turned into ash tray
    - Ron Scully

soft drink
a waiter says it's okay
to eat the flower
    - Rosa Clement

fortune cookie
she looks for wisdom after
cracking it
    - Rosa Clement

tangerine season
I turn my skirt
into a basket
    - Rosa Clement

autumn fog
bursting through it
cherry tomato
    - Ruth Yarrow

blackberries
in a bowl of water — sky
fractured into dots
    - Ruth Yarrow

nursing home:
loud clinking
of rice pudding spoons
    - Ruth Yarrow

please take me out
for a home cooked meal
someplace else
    - Sara Robbins

quick browning
of the apple's flesh
moon and clouds
    - Scott Wiggerman

ah! fresh basil the grasshopper and i
    - Simon Hanson

coconut blossom sugar
such sweet words
from her lips
    - Simon Hanson

on a park bench
empty black walnut shell —
my breath in front of me
    - Stephen Page

limburger cheese
on the hot radiator
dad's school prank
    - Sue Norvell

the first tomatoes
finally
summer begins
    - Sue Norvell

proud mama
my toddler knows more foods at 1
than i did at 20
    - Summer Killian

simmering soup . . .
they do not exchange
a single word
    - Sunjuktaa Asopa

breakfast table
the light from
a peeled orange
    - Sunjuktaa Asopa

steaming rice
on a banana leaf
so fragrant this noonday peace
    - Sunjuktaa Asopa

garden party —
her laughter mixes
with the guacamole
    - Theresa A. Cancro

morning moon —
folding an omelet
onto the plate
    - Theresa A. Cancro

spring sunset —
one green olive left
in the jar
    - Theresa A. Cancro

Sunday crime
I overestimate the nutmeg
for our breakfast muffins
    - Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

a little moment
of rebellion
gelato in February
    - Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

more groceries
than my trunk can hold
rainy Friday
    -Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

married dinner out —
bringing reading
material
    - Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

jasmine tea my eyes open for butterflies
    - Vibeke Laier

restaurant temper tantrum —
the cook put paprika
on my poached eggs
    - Zee Zahava

daydreaming
now the tea is cold . . .
that's okay
    - Zee Zahava

contemptuous of phonies
my father rejects
haagan-dazs ice cream
    - Zee Zahava

green tea leaf
on the bottom of a cup
a chinese dragon
    - Zuzanna Truchlewska

morning coffee
instead of sugar
your smile
    - Zuzanna Truchlewska