Welcome to the December 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
The theme is a single date . . . all the poems were written on November 18, 2017
Poems have been received from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
noon heat
two lizards
in a battle of tails
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
long-distance call
the fog outside
thickening
- Adrian Bouter
i am lonely today
my breath
my friend
- ai li
two crows hop
one up a driveway
the other in the road
- Alan Bern
late in the year . . .
I buy bright padlocks
for a backpack
- Alan Summers
seeking shelter
the others
enjoy the rain
- Almila Dukel
family gathering
there is one missing
around the table
- Amauri Solon
watery eyes
lackluster leaves
tumble in the wind
- Amy Losak
minted tea
my neighbour describes
his trip to Morocco
- Andy McLellan
shorter day —
between bare branches
the first star
- Angela Giordano
plaid blanket on the beach —
onion cake
and tangerines
- Angiola Inglese
Saturday morning
cleaning house
I startle a mouse
- Ann Christine Tabaka
happy angry goofy scary pumpkins in a row
- Anne Elise Burgevin
meditation studio . . .
the scent of basil
surrounds me
- Archana Kapoor Nagpal
tornado warning
submitting poetry before
the electricity goes out
- Barbara Tate
an afternoon
of windy rain
— and a migraine
- Bill Waters
flu season
I kiss you good night
on your forehead
- Brad Bennett
watching for snakes
finding instead two fat toads
in the hemlocks
- C. Robin Janning
a standoff between
rain and snow
my mind as muddled
- Carol Dilworth
daughter searches
for a unicorn
on ebay
- Caroline Skanne
patches of fog
the things I remember
to forget
- Chen-ou Liu
a painting day
how many colours
in orange
- Christina Martin
grocery bags
the heaviness
of my heart
- Christina Sng
waking thought:
two weeks ago
choosing dad's casket
- Claire Vogel Camargo
dinner party
all the broken pottery
swept together
- C.R. Harper
another night
without you
the unlit wick
- Dan Schwerin
hunger moon
my shadow lingers
on the path
- David He
breakfast with the birds
we watch each other
eat our oatmeal
- David J. Kelly
ice-laden trees
a thousand brass bells
tinkle your name
- Debbie Strange
new moon —
my bitter experience
left inside that suitcase
- Doris Pascolo
way back home
the same clouds
as yesterday
- Eufemia Griffo
someone with an artist's eye
must have scattered these leaves
on the brookside walk
- Frank Robinson
reading the usual bad news
cat on my shoulder
fussing
- Glenn Ingersoll
for a moment
her birthday candles
in the dark
- Hannah Mahoney
hazy moon . . .
the fog reshapes
a street lamp
- Hifsa Ashraf
uncertain haiku
discussed with my editor
let's just forget it
- Jack Goldman
a spider crack
in the camera lens
shifting scenes
- Jan Benson
trivial pursuit —
they say our team
gets all the easy ones
- Jill Lange
lace curtains
sift moonlight . . .
mother makes pumpkin pie
- Jo Balistreri
waiting at the clinic to hear my name
- Joan McNerney
cutting his hair
in the kitchen —
how many years?
- Joanna M. Weston
London gloom
my commuter train
enters the underworld
- John Hawkhead
dusting off
the world atlas . . .
one perfect sycamore leaf
- Julie Warther
haiku workshop
I act out an apple
doing a pirouette
- Kath Abela Wilson
at the library
the boy helps his tiny sister
choose a book
- Kathy Kramer
suddenly night comes
I have to turn on the light
to do the crossword
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
minus twenty
jump-starting the old car
with the old truck
- kjmunro
middle of November
the first Christmas card
from far away
- Lucia Cardillo
little linden
increasingly bare
don't you feel cold?
-Lucia Fontana
snowflakes
cabbage butterflies
flicker past
- Madhuri Pillai
after nap time —
angel food cake
and fairy tales
- Maria Laura Valente
new moon —
deer hunters
at crack of dawn
- Marilyn Fleming
a greeting card
from the one who got away . . .
wind-blown leaves
- Marion Alice Poirier
among falling leaves la petite mort
- Mark E. Brager
father's memory . . .
looking at the
distant stars
- Marta Chocilowska
beautiful morning
the postman and the milkman
whistle the same tune
- Martha Magenta
tall recycling bags
so much of my life
toss, toss
- Marty Blue Waters
the soft light of dawn
moves from window to desk . . .
I must sit very still
- Michael Flanagan
sun soaking my skin
I sit outside the kitchen
just enjoying life
- Mimi Foyle
waiting . . .
among raindrops
his steps
- Nina Kovacic (translated by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
listening to Elvis
my body remembers
the fifties
- Pat Davis
bright sunlight . . .
the beauty
of dust motes
- Phyllis Lee
mid-afternoon
I stop surf gazing
to type this haiku
- Pris Campbell
old scarecrow
losing himself
in the wind
- Rachel Sutcliffe
silver anniversary
sky of brushed pewter
I leave for you
- Ron Scully
highrise
mirrored windows
all sky and drifting cloud
- Simon Hanson
we fall silent
to listen to it . . .
November wind
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
out for breakfast
my cousin and I
spill laughter on our pancakes
- Sue Norvell
catching up . . .
teaspoons clink
in unison
- Theresa A. Cancro
untouched placemats
a trail of crumbs
around the tv
- Tia Haynes
hallelujah!
good hair
on a rainy day
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
long lane
the jogger
short of breath
- Tim Gardiner
all day rain only a sparrow's call
- Vibeke Laier
washing yesterday's dishes
thinking about
nothing
- Zee Zahava
falling leaves
among Japanese signs
my haiku
- Zuza Truchlewska
Friday, December 1, 2017
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
family haiku
Welcome to the November 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal
This month's theme is: family haiku
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
family pictures
in each generation
a little height is added
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
grandma's dimple
her only treasure
she never passed on
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
birthday dinner
the joking uncle
has a dull knife
- Adrian Bouter
sunbeams
my mother's silence
and mine
- Agnes Eva Savich
family hike
leaves turned
leaves unturned
- Agnes Eva Savich
my aunt's garden
better than mine
soft grass
- Agnes Eva Savich
father gone but his wristwatch still ticking
- ai li
mother old on my birthday
- ai li
the chill of grandmother’s jade bangle
- ai li
water ripples
my son smiles
at his reflection
- Akor Emmanuel Oche
my father's farm
yellow maize leaves —
sign of drought
- Akor Emmanuel Oche
family meeting
delayed by phone calls
and high-pitched barking
- Alan Bern
mermaid
green strands streak my granddaughter's hair
one step from the sea
- Alan Catlin
mapping planets my nephew quotes from Star Wars
- Alan Summers
tying shoelaces my mother taught those life skills
- Alan Summers
photos in sepia my parents regain their sandcastle
- Alan Summers
i caress
my barbecue knife
gaucho uncle's gift
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
sadness
dreaming of my son
all night long
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
a kiss from my daughter the taste of raspberries
- Andy McLellan
snow falls —
my newborn son
cries out for me
- Angela Giordano
a long journey —
the loving embrace
of sisters
- Angela Giordano
faded inscriptions
in family bible
names of the dead
- Ann Christine Tabaka
movie night
my children
run for the popcorn
- Ann Christine Tabaka
Aunt Effie's
hand-sewn quilt —
first cold day
- Anna Cates
siblings scattered wide
making dinner now for my
urban family
- Barbara Mink
dementia
grandpa talks to his
invisible friend
- Barbara Tate
Christmas eve
the unexpected essence
of Aunt Dorothy's perfume
- Barbara Tate
reflection
in the mirror I have a chat
with mother
- Barbara Tate
monsoon rains
even the instant noodles
taste like mother's
- Billy Antonio
ironing clothes —
the wrinkles on
mother's forehead
- Billy Antonio
father/son talk
the sound
of shifting clouds
- Billy Antonio
mother taught me
to notice the smaller things
shadows on the wall
- C. Robin Janning
sisters
passing like overhead clouds
never stopping
- C. Robin Janning
buds and leaves alongside
twigs and branches
cousins on my family tree
- Carol Dilworth
my son tells me
about the barley
in Bashō's haiku
- Caroline Skanne
mum, mum, mum?
son just needs to know
i'm here
- Caroline Skanne
goddess pose
daughter shows me
the way
- Caroline Skanne
my daughter
draws a present
on the present
- Caroline Skanne
the departure gate
between mother and me
the Pacific
- Chen-ou Liu
a yell when granddaughter drops the spoon on my toe
- Christina Martin
my brother calls
the only thing we never say
I love you
- Christina Martin
forgotten loves
in mama's journal
pressed roses
- Christina Sng
summer camp
missing my children
on day one
- Christina Sng
my step-mom asks me
to be her facebook friend . . .
murky water
- Christine Villa
even our puppy
hides under the bed . . .
grandma's visit
- Christine Villa
granny's coiffed hair, dress,
stockings, pumps, and jewelry —
nursing home attire
- Claire Vogel Camargo
thanksgiving dinner
first holiday to mourn
my niece
- Claire Vogel Camargo
“now, when I were poor . . .”
the crisps me mum adds to her sandwich
complete the sentence
- Danny Blackwell
garden hose . . .
my son sprays
the heat
- Dave Read
snowdrifts . . .
grandpa’s hair falls
where it may
- Dave Read
late autumn —
my aunt on the creaking porch
calls to her lost cat
- David He
phone call from beyond
as I speak my uncle hears
my dead father's voice
David J. Kelly
birthday cake
my older sister's
bigger slice
- Debbi Antebi
bare branches
grandpa's hands
thinner than mine
- Debbi Antebi
dark cavern
glow-worms where
my sister was
- Debbie Strange
bedridden
my aunt only smiles
at birds
- Debbie Strange
empty apartment
we fold mother's shadow
into boxes
- Debbie Strange
green tomatoes
my son's new
silk tie
- Deborah P Kolodji
pumpkin pie
my mother whispers
it's sugarless
- Deborah P Kolodji
new mother-in-law
the thick skin
of an acorn squash
- Deborah P Kolodji
visiting sister
the past that is always
present
- Devin Harrison
my brother
knuckling pots in the kitchen
his early jazz years
- Devin Harrison
video memory
my baby's first steps
on the beach
- Elisa Allo
family dinner
under the table
ants line up for crumbs
- Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian
battlefront
in a tin box
grandfather's postcards
- Eufemia Griffo
my wife puts her hand in mine
like a butterfly
visiting a flower
- Frank Robinson
my sister-in-law says
her mother's now next to my mother
on the shelf
- Glenn Ingersoll
at the family reunion
almost nobody
I've ever met
- Glenn Ingersoll
watching tv —
daughter's doll wears
bridal veil
- Goran Gatalica
evening walk —
my stepfather steps
on my shadow
- Hifsa Ashraf
my grandfather's cane
came with him from the old world
it supported us
- Jack Goldman
when my mother died
my father made spaghetti
that tasted salty
- Jack Goldman
my talented aunt
wanted to be a singer
we kids thought she was
- Jack Goldman
the story of her life my daughter’s tattoos
- Jane Williams
my sister’s news I want to invent a ringtone for it
- Jane Williams
the doll’s clothes my mother sewed making ends meet
- Jane Willliams
monarch migration
the older sister
i never see
- Jennifer Hambrick
blood oranges
wearing my thick skin
to the family picnic
- Jennifer Hambrick
the old willow
and daddy's flowers
gone
- Jill Lange
mama's gone —
snow-laden hydrangeas
her funeral bells
- Jill Lange
our old photograph —
mother-daughter pinafores
with orange tiger lilies
- Jill Lange
lemon dream bars
falling apart
mother's cookbook
- Jo Balistreri
dad's rocker . . .
only the wind
swings now
- Jo Balistreri
warped door
in an old wall —
mother’s bent back
- Joanna M. Weston
a barn owl
flying into dusk
my mother’s last words
- John Hawkhead
bringing her teacup
back into balance
granny’s shaking hand
- John Hawkhead
red fingers
mom's mid-life passion
was pistachios
- Kath Abela Wilson
dad's departure
how he made our world
instant mashed potatoes
- Kath Abela Wilson
waiting for my son to call
I forget to call
my mother
- Kathy Kramer
my husband runs
while reciting sufi mantras . . .
comes home all sweaty
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
grandma's diary
dusty skeletons
in the attic
- kjmunro
visiting mother-in-law —
not a dirty dish
in the kitchen
- kjmunro
graduation day . . .
mother thinks I am
still in the cradle
- Kumarendra Mallick
doing laundry
my son chases the worlds
in soap bubbles
- Kwaku Feni Adow
sister-in-law
in her happy place
burning leaves
- Lance Robertson
orange peels
crackling in the fireplace —
grandpa snoozes
- Lucia Cardillo
early autumn leaf
eaten by caterpillars —
my father's denials
- Lucia Fontana
snowing gently
on father’s grave —
that kind of light
- Lysa Collins
grandma knits
a baby shawl
she will never tuck
- Lysa Collins
my clumsiness
a twitch
on mother's lips
- Madhuri Pillai
first school day —
a loving note from my father
on the breakfast table
- Maria Laura Valente
old wool shawl —
grandmother's hug
even now
- Maria Laura Valente
police raid
grandpa runs a gambling ring
out of the kitchen
- Marianne Paul
rusty trike
my uncle nicknames me
Annie Oakley
- Marianne Paul
distant thunder —
not remembering why I'm afraid
of my father
- Marianne Paul
the two of us
telling ghost stories
my mother shivers
- Marietta McGregor
back from the hairdresser
grandmother's hair
with violet hues
- Marina Bellini
another autumn —
in the mud room Dad's boots
still drying
- Mark E. Brager
cloudspotting
my son's eyes
widen
- Mark E. Brager
Dad's lawnmower
all those twilights
cut short
- Mark E. Brager
my grandfather's smile
from beneath
the scarecrow's hat
- Marta Chocilowska
teen son
adjusting a new voice —
raven's song
- Martha Magenta
white butterfly . . .
the blank pages
of mum's diary
- Martha Magenta
grandma searches
for her reading glasses
dwindling sunset
- Martha Magenta
my brave big sister
stared multiple sclerosis
in the eye and laughed
- Marty Blue Waters
my scared big brother
born-again church showing him
heaven's only path
- Marty Blue Waters
sisters baking bread —
even the butter
can't wait
- Mary Kendall
the droop
of grandpa's shoulders —
weeping beech
- Mary Kendall
covering my head
ashamed now at my silence
father left us
- Michael Flanagan
dwindling days of August
I sort the lids and rubber seals
Ma stirs the cherries
- Michael Flanagan
we all said
we enjoyed
godmother's fruit salad
- Michael G. Smith
sis a cat
me a dog
gerbil compromise
- Michael G. Smith
of my three mothers
two are remembered with love
and one with longing
- Mimi Foyle
my mother's cousin
swept me off my feet at four
to dance the charleston
- Mimi Foyle
the most precious gift
born just before my birthday
grand-daughter roselle
- Mimi Foyle
old-age stories
her music box plays three waltzes
over and over
- Nancy Shires
tall skinny stranger
i greet the coatrack
wearing mom’s hat
- Nancy Shires
in my father's book
yellowed by the years
a pressed daisy
- Nina Kovacic
remembering
every outfit . . .
mom's button box
- Pat Davis
florida beach house
the maine rocks
on auntie's table
- Pat Davis
nursing home
mother still elegant . . .
in sleep
- Pat Davis
father and daughter
wedding dance together . . .
the polka tells our story
- Pat Geyer
garden buddha smiles —
my grandchild places white stones
in an open palm
- Peter Ladley
grandson falls asleep
atop my shoulders —
dreaming of horse rides?
- Peter Ladley
water boiling
my father strips garden corn
on the run
- Pris Campbell
decluttering day
mother's best blouse clutched tight
in my lap
- Pris Campbell
empty in-box
the childhood cousin I thought
would dream on with me
- Pris Campbell
scent of tobacco on a passing stranger my uncle's pipe
- Rachel Sutcliffe
snowed in
shaking the moths
off grandmother’s shawl
- Rachel Sutcliffe
cold winds
when father first taught me
to light a fire
- Rachel Sutcliffe
prodigal son
your room's now a museum
where nothing has been moved
- Ron Scully
birthday party
nobody asks how old
my aunt is
- Rosa Clement
making jam
my mother's mind needs time
to wander
- Rosa Clement
leaping from the car
more afraid of a spider
than my father’s wrath
- Scott Wiggerman
purple glow
on the mountains
my parents hold hands
- Scott Wiggerman
in dewdrops my daughter cartwheels across the lawn
- Simon Hanson
my son bemused —
dark side of the moon
on vinyl
- Simon Hanson
family album
my father as a boy
with my son’s smile
- Simon Hanson
warm sun on my back —
the way Dad always left
his hat by the door
- Theresa A. Cancro
milking at sunrise —
I recall
mom's warm hands
- Theresa A. Cancro
at the altar
the tremble
of daddy’s hand
- Tia Haynes
honeydew
the memory
of mother’s perfume
- Tia Haynes
squiggles on paper
my niece says
it's a dinosaur
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
sisters
after all these years
friends
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
spring cleaning
the first violets in
mother's herbarium
- Vibeke Laier
spring silence
i still see mother's dress
on the washing line
- Vibeke Laier
still cold
my sister's new dolls
sitting in the window
- Vibeke Laier
listen
our laughter in this old photograph
my sister and me
- Zee Zahava
in another time zone my mother also washes her hair
- Zee Zahava
my eyes deceive me . . .
i thought i saw grandma
crossing the street today
- Zee Zahava
familiar view
forget-me-nots
on my grandmother's apron
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
This month's theme is: family haiku
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
family pictures
in each generation
a little height is added
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
grandma's dimple
her only treasure
she never passed on
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
birthday dinner
the joking uncle
has a dull knife
- Adrian Bouter
sunbeams
my mother's silence
and mine
- Agnes Eva Savich
family hike
leaves turned
leaves unturned
- Agnes Eva Savich
my aunt's garden
better than mine
soft grass
- Agnes Eva Savich
father gone but his wristwatch still ticking
- ai li
mother old on my birthday
- ai li
the chill of grandmother’s jade bangle
- ai li
water ripples
my son smiles
at his reflection
- Akor Emmanuel Oche
my father's farm
yellow maize leaves —
sign of drought
- Akor Emmanuel Oche
family meeting
delayed by phone calls
and high-pitched barking
- Alan Bern
mermaid
green strands streak my granddaughter's hair
one step from the sea
- Alan Catlin
mapping planets my nephew quotes from Star Wars
- Alan Summers
tying shoelaces my mother taught those life skills
- Alan Summers
photos in sepia my parents regain their sandcastle
- Alan Summers
i caress
my barbecue knife
gaucho uncle's gift
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
sadness
dreaming of my son
all night long
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
a kiss from my daughter the taste of raspberries
- Andy McLellan
snow falls —
my newborn son
cries out for me
- Angela Giordano
a long journey —
the loving embrace
of sisters
- Angela Giordano
faded inscriptions
in family bible
names of the dead
- Ann Christine Tabaka
movie night
my children
run for the popcorn
- Ann Christine Tabaka
Aunt Effie's
hand-sewn quilt —
first cold day
- Anna Cates
siblings scattered wide
making dinner now for my
urban family
- Barbara Mink
dementia
grandpa talks to his
invisible friend
- Barbara Tate
Christmas eve
the unexpected essence
of Aunt Dorothy's perfume
- Barbara Tate
reflection
in the mirror I have a chat
with mother
- Barbara Tate
monsoon rains
even the instant noodles
taste like mother's
- Billy Antonio
ironing clothes —
the wrinkles on
mother's forehead
- Billy Antonio
father/son talk
the sound
of shifting clouds
- Billy Antonio
mother taught me
to notice the smaller things
shadows on the wall
- C. Robin Janning
sisters
passing like overhead clouds
never stopping
- C. Robin Janning
buds and leaves alongside
twigs and branches
cousins on my family tree
- Carol Dilworth
my son tells me
about the barley
in Bashō's haiku
- Caroline Skanne
mum, mum, mum?
son just needs to know
i'm here
- Caroline Skanne
goddess pose
daughter shows me
the way
- Caroline Skanne
my daughter
draws a present
on the present
- Caroline Skanne
the departure gate
between mother and me
the Pacific
- Chen-ou Liu
a yell when granddaughter drops the spoon on my toe
- Christina Martin
my brother calls
the only thing we never say
I love you
- Christina Martin
forgotten loves
in mama's journal
pressed roses
- Christina Sng
summer camp
missing my children
on day one
- Christina Sng
my step-mom asks me
to be her facebook friend . . .
murky water
- Christine Villa
even our puppy
hides under the bed . . .
grandma's visit
- Christine Villa
granny's coiffed hair, dress,
stockings, pumps, and jewelry —
nursing home attire
- Claire Vogel Camargo
thanksgiving dinner
first holiday to mourn
my niece
- Claire Vogel Camargo
“now, when I were poor . . .”
the crisps me mum adds to her sandwich
complete the sentence
- Danny Blackwell
garden hose . . .
my son sprays
the heat
- Dave Read
snowdrifts . . .
grandpa’s hair falls
where it may
- Dave Read
late autumn —
my aunt on the creaking porch
calls to her lost cat
- David He
phone call from beyond
as I speak my uncle hears
my dead father's voice
David J. Kelly
birthday cake
my older sister's
bigger slice
- Debbi Antebi
bare branches
grandpa's hands
thinner than mine
- Debbi Antebi
dark cavern
glow-worms where
my sister was
- Debbie Strange
bedridden
my aunt only smiles
at birds
- Debbie Strange
empty apartment
we fold mother's shadow
into boxes
- Debbie Strange
green tomatoes
my son's new
silk tie
- Deborah P Kolodji
pumpkin pie
my mother whispers
it's sugarless
- Deborah P Kolodji
new mother-in-law
the thick skin
of an acorn squash
- Deborah P Kolodji
visiting sister
the past that is always
present
- Devin Harrison
my brother
knuckling pots in the kitchen
his early jazz years
- Devin Harrison
video memory
my baby's first steps
on the beach
- Elisa Allo
family dinner
under the table
ants line up for crumbs
- Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian
battlefront
in a tin box
grandfather's postcards
- Eufemia Griffo
my wife puts her hand in mine
like a butterfly
visiting a flower
- Frank Robinson
my sister-in-law says
her mother's now next to my mother
on the shelf
- Glenn Ingersoll
at the family reunion
almost nobody
I've ever met
- Glenn Ingersoll
watching tv —
daughter's doll wears
bridal veil
- Goran Gatalica
evening walk —
my stepfather steps
on my shadow
- Hifsa Ashraf
my grandfather's cane
came with him from the old world
it supported us
- Jack Goldman
when my mother died
my father made spaghetti
that tasted salty
- Jack Goldman
my talented aunt
wanted to be a singer
we kids thought she was
- Jack Goldman
the story of her life my daughter’s tattoos
- Jane Williams
my sister’s news I want to invent a ringtone for it
- Jane Williams
the doll’s clothes my mother sewed making ends meet
- Jane Willliams
monarch migration
the older sister
i never see
- Jennifer Hambrick
blood oranges
wearing my thick skin
to the family picnic
- Jennifer Hambrick
the old willow
and daddy's flowers
gone
- Jill Lange
mama's gone —
snow-laden hydrangeas
her funeral bells
- Jill Lange
our old photograph —
mother-daughter pinafores
with orange tiger lilies
- Jill Lange
lemon dream bars
falling apart
mother's cookbook
- Jo Balistreri
dad's rocker . . .
only the wind
swings now
- Jo Balistreri
warped door
in an old wall —
mother’s bent back
- Joanna M. Weston
a barn owl
flying into dusk
my mother’s last words
- John Hawkhead
bringing her teacup
back into balance
granny’s shaking hand
- John Hawkhead
red fingers
mom's mid-life passion
was pistachios
- Kath Abela Wilson
dad's departure
how he made our world
instant mashed potatoes
- Kath Abela Wilson
waiting for my son to call
I forget to call
my mother
- Kathy Kramer
my husband runs
while reciting sufi mantras . . .
comes home all sweaty
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
grandma's diary
dusty skeletons
in the attic
- kjmunro
visiting mother-in-law —
not a dirty dish
in the kitchen
- kjmunro
graduation day . . .
mother thinks I am
still in the cradle
- Kumarendra Mallick
doing laundry
my son chases the worlds
in soap bubbles
- Kwaku Feni Adow
sister-in-law
in her happy place
burning leaves
- Lance Robertson
orange peels
crackling in the fireplace —
grandpa snoozes
- Lucia Cardillo
early autumn leaf
eaten by caterpillars —
my father's denials
- Lucia Fontana
snowing gently
on father’s grave —
that kind of light
- Lysa Collins
grandma knits
a baby shawl
she will never tuck
- Lysa Collins
my clumsiness
a twitch
on mother's lips
- Madhuri Pillai
first school day —
a loving note from my father
on the breakfast table
- Maria Laura Valente
old wool shawl —
grandmother's hug
even now
- Maria Laura Valente
police raid
grandpa runs a gambling ring
out of the kitchen
- Marianne Paul
rusty trike
my uncle nicknames me
Annie Oakley
- Marianne Paul
distant thunder —
not remembering why I'm afraid
of my father
- Marianne Paul
the two of us
telling ghost stories
my mother shivers
- Marietta McGregor
back from the hairdresser
grandmother's hair
with violet hues
- Marina Bellini
another autumn —
in the mud room Dad's boots
still drying
- Mark E. Brager
cloudspotting
my son's eyes
widen
- Mark E. Brager
Dad's lawnmower
all those twilights
cut short
- Mark E. Brager
my grandfather's smile
from beneath
the scarecrow's hat
- Marta Chocilowska
teen son
adjusting a new voice —
raven's song
- Martha Magenta
white butterfly . . .
the blank pages
of mum's diary
- Martha Magenta
grandma searches
for her reading glasses
dwindling sunset
- Martha Magenta
my brave big sister
stared multiple sclerosis
in the eye and laughed
- Marty Blue Waters
my scared big brother
born-again church showing him
heaven's only path
- Marty Blue Waters
sisters baking bread —
even the butter
can't wait
- Mary Kendall
the droop
of grandpa's shoulders —
weeping beech
- Mary Kendall
covering my head
ashamed now at my silence
father left us
- Michael Flanagan
dwindling days of August
I sort the lids and rubber seals
Ma stirs the cherries
- Michael Flanagan
we all said
we enjoyed
godmother's fruit salad
- Michael G. Smith
sis a cat
me a dog
gerbil compromise
- Michael G. Smith
of my three mothers
two are remembered with love
and one with longing
- Mimi Foyle
my mother's cousin
swept me off my feet at four
to dance the charleston
- Mimi Foyle
the most precious gift
born just before my birthday
grand-daughter roselle
- Mimi Foyle
old-age stories
her music box plays three waltzes
over and over
- Nancy Shires
tall skinny stranger
i greet the coatrack
wearing mom’s hat
- Nancy Shires
in my father's book
yellowed by the years
a pressed daisy
- Nina Kovacic
remembering
every outfit . . .
mom's button box
- Pat Davis
florida beach house
the maine rocks
on auntie's table
- Pat Davis
nursing home
mother still elegant . . .
in sleep
- Pat Davis
father and daughter
wedding dance together . . .
the polka tells our story
- Pat Geyer
garden buddha smiles —
my grandchild places white stones
in an open palm
- Peter Ladley
grandson falls asleep
atop my shoulders —
dreaming of horse rides?
- Peter Ladley
water boiling
my father strips garden corn
on the run
- Pris Campbell
decluttering day
mother's best blouse clutched tight
in my lap
- Pris Campbell
empty in-box
the childhood cousin I thought
would dream on with me
- Pris Campbell
scent of tobacco on a passing stranger my uncle's pipe
- Rachel Sutcliffe
snowed in
shaking the moths
off grandmother’s shawl
- Rachel Sutcliffe
cold winds
when father first taught me
to light a fire
- Rachel Sutcliffe
prodigal son
your room's now a museum
where nothing has been moved
- Ron Scully
birthday party
nobody asks how old
my aunt is
- Rosa Clement
making jam
my mother's mind needs time
to wander
- Rosa Clement
leaping from the car
more afraid of a spider
than my father’s wrath
- Scott Wiggerman
purple glow
on the mountains
my parents hold hands
- Scott Wiggerman
in dewdrops my daughter cartwheels across the lawn
- Simon Hanson
my son bemused —
dark side of the moon
on vinyl
- Simon Hanson
family album
my father as a boy
with my son’s smile
- Simon Hanson
warm sun on my back —
the way Dad always left
his hat by the door
- Theresa A. Cancro
milking at sunrise —
I recall
mom's warm hands
- Theresa A. Cancro
at the altar
the tremble
of daddy’s hand
- Tia Haynes
honeydew
the memory
of mother’s perfume
- Tia Haynes
squiggles on paper
my niece says
it's a dinosaur
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
sisters
after all these years
friends
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
spring cleaning
the first violets in
mother's herbarium
- Vibeke Laier
spring silence
i still see mother's dress
on the washing line
- Vibeke Laier
still cold
my sister's new dolls
sitting in the window
- Vibeke Laier
listen
our laughter in this old photograph
my sister and me
- Zee Zahava
in another time zone my mother also washes her hair
- Zee Zahava
my eyes deceive me . . .
i thought i saw grandma
crossing the street today
- Zee Zahava
familiar view
forget-me-nots
on my grandmother's apron
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Body Haiku
Welcome to the October 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal
This month's theme is: body haiku
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
bare brown —
the teeth
of the kola seller
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
grazed elbow —
he knows it's nothing
'cause I told him so
- Adrian Bouter
drawn into
the starry sky
of her thumbnail
- Adrian Bouter
wiggly tooth
magnolia petals
in the wind
- Agnes Eva Savich
heartbeat filling an empty room
- ai li
by his sick bed
my hands
as cold as his
- ai li
cardboard and hand
indistinguishable
old woman in the blue recycle bin
- Alan Bern
never quite counting
but moving fingers
as if there were numbers
- Alan Bern
a drop on my face —
not raining at all
our goodbye
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
flying like a bird
my weightless body
hangs from the glider
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
morning snow
she places her footprints
in mine
- Andy McLellan
shelter from the storm
my hands make
shadow puppets
- Andy McLellan
moonlight
reflected in the mirror —
my wrinkled face
- Angela Giordano
making plum jam
my hands turn
violet pink
- Angelee Deodhar
sommelier —
a drop of red wine
colors his white glove
- Angelee Deodhar
juicy pear
the taste of autumn
runs down to my elbow
- Angiola Inglese
silk babushkas
cover graying heads of
old world stories
- Ann Christine Tabaka
old farmhouse
a pale hand draws back
the lace curtain
- Anna Cates
country road . . .
the hand that curbs the kudzu
rules the world
- Anna Cates
extracted teeth —
my smile
in the trash
- Antonio Mangiameli
without warning
the tickle of a butterfly
on my shoulder
- Barbara Tate
December wedding
a sprig of mistletoe
in her hair
- Barbara Tate
hitchhiker:
this ladybug
on my hand
- Bill Waters
pointing —
the little girl follows
her finger
- Bill Waters
breaststrokes
a hot sun
on my back
- Caroline Skanne
rubbing mugwort
between fingertips
between worlds
- Caroline Skanne
hot pebbles
licking the salt
off your lips
- Caroline Skanne
the warm nuzzle
of my week-old baby . . .
rosy cheek
- Celestine Nudanu
on my tongue
the taste of wild strawberries
the look in her eyes
- Chen-ou Liu
feeling like
an alien incubator
long pregnancy
- Christina Sng
knitting
my fingers learn
on their own
- Christina Sng
our bodies
never quite forgetting
the art of bicycling
- Christina Sng
memorizing mother's face . . .
her eyelashes
the shape of her neck
- Christine McNamara
hard landings
at gymnastics practice
my bruised coccyx
- Claire Vogel Camargo
at 90, cooking
and caring for dad
her perfect eyebrows
- Claire Vogel Camargo
so many little tomatoes
you ripen
as I blink
- Dani Bates
the girl
selfying her face
cocks her leg anyway
- Danny Blackwell
late innings
the manager chews
his nails
- Dave Read
into stardust
the astronaut
trims his beard
- Dave Read
a breeze
ruffles her hair . . .
open casket
- Dave Read
harvest moon
my mother's face
in the mirror
- David He
on horseback . . .
butterflies circle the rose
in her hair
- David He
keeping my mouth shut
straining tea leaves
through clenched teeth
-David J. Kelly
baby sleeping
the heat of her breath
on my shoulder
- David Oates
after vacation
the feel of long pants
on legs
- David Oates
first light
a baker's fingertips
pressing the dough
- Debbi Antebi
morning dew
the galaxies between
our toes
- Debbie Strange
fiddleheads
the curled ears
of newborns
- Debbie Strange
snow mounds
the growing roundness
of her belly
- Debbie Strange
yoga positions
this climbing
out of dry skin
- Devin Harrison
to absorb
the pressure of her heart
hyacinth
- Devin Harrison
morning tai chi —
on his face
serenity
- Doris Pascolo
autumn breeze —
on bare shoulders
a yellow leaf
- Doris Pascolo
bowed in silence
four young heads
lost in cyberspace
- Dottie Piet
toothache . . .
the first leaves fall
from the maple
- Elisa Allo
bare feet
the damp kiss of a snail
in the grass
- Elisa Allo
freckles
a child writes the first words
on his mother's face
- EufemiaGriffo
as if she were pregnant
with it . . .
her body wraps around the cello
- Frank Robinson
zombie chic
kids compare
missing teeth
- Helen Buckingham
first monsoon —
an earthworm wobbles
under my feet
- Hifsa Ashraf
name day feast
a thumb-press of oregano
in papa's palm
- Jan Benson
mountain fog
my hand on his
hand on my breast
- Jennifer Hambrick
celebrating
the day of the dead . . .
dad's stomach rumbles
- Jo Balistreri
the sun
in her eyes —
his funeral
- Joanna M. Weston
rain trickles
down my neck —
muddy path
- Joanna M. Weston
scratching her back
between pillars of sunlight
the slow fall of dust
- John Hawkhead
sighs after long illness
in her stiff palm
a five leaf clover
- Justice Joseph Prah
another friend's chemo —
more of my hair
comes out
- kjmunro
dust on my fingers
tracing your name
carved in stone
- kjmunro
exposed
the skin where my ring
used to be
- kjmunro
chin in hand
and elbows on the table
my listening pose
- Kath Abela Wilson
lavender and sage
she uses her head
to carry flowers
- Kath Abela Wilson
bare foot, hard pebble
a yin/yang moment
before I shout ouch
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
dream sequence . . .
I clap to the song
she didn't sing
- Kumarendra Mallick
walk-the-talk . . .
miles of silence
hand-in-hand
- Kumarendra Mallick
harmattan
the pain of laughter
in cracked lips
- Kwaku Feni Adow
fingerprint
on the hand-waxed car
maple leaves shiver
- Laughing waters
September rain —
for twelve years
I have not seen his face
- Lucia Cardillo
end of September —
my mouth holds the sweet taste
of ripe persimmons
- Lucia Cardillo
spring river
flooded by peace
my right brain
- Lucia Fontana
always a ballerina my daughter on tippy toes
- Madhuri Pillai
temple bell
a raindrop hanging
from Buddha's nose
- Malintha Perera
seagull wings—
the shape of summer
in her eyebrows
- Maria Laura Valente
shattered bone
overnight I've become
elderly
- Marianne Paul
arm in a cast
the itch that remains
un-scratched
- Marianne Paul
hand resting
on a holster —
the curve of her hip
- Marilyn Fleming
the weight
of the muddy river
jerry-can on her head
- Marilyn Fleming
summer dusk —
palms to the earth
praying for rain
- Mark E. Brager
lightning flash the next contraction
- Mark E. Brager
gibbous moon her stretch marks glistening
- Mark E. Brager
produce market
in the arms of the young lovers
orange pumpkins
- Mark Miller
gentle breeze
removing the wig
from my head
- Marta Chocilowska
city zoo trip
a mother's hair clutched
in a tiny hand
- Martha Magenta
snipping
baby's toenails . . .
cherry blossoms
- Martha Magenta
bloodroot . . .
my ankle veins
begin to surface
- Martha Magenta
pulling my wagon
such a busy four-year-old —
strong arms and legs
- Marty Blue Waters
baby raccoon
my fingers stroke his belly
he thinks I'm his mom
- Marty Blue Waters
mostly right-handed . . .
my iMac challenges me
to be left-moused
- Marty Blue Waters
new knees —
I learn to walk again
no longer afraid
- Mary Kendall
arm in arm
we dare the street traffic
snowy day
- Mary Kendall
in hospice
skin so thin
breath so slow
- Mary Kendall
woke by the noise
of old bones complaining
oh! they're mine
- Michael Flanagan
my hands
I remember their strength . . .
only pain remains
- Michael Flanagan
on all fours
nose to nose
with my dog
- Michael G. Smith
my knobbled fingers
strain to untangle the knot
i've made of my life
- Mimi Foyle
crunchy autumn trails
ankle-deep in curly leaves
i kick their colors
- Mimi Foyle
throwing out the book —
the author obsessed
with her fat
- Miriam Sagan
old as I am
I still fondly regard
my feet
- Miriam Sagan
asphalt afternoon
the traffic cop takes off his hat
wipes his bald head
- Nancy Shires
morning air
on my arms —
just being alive
- Nancy Shires
butterfly garden
a painted lady alights
on my friend's nose
- Nancy Shires
hidden stream —
the kundalini rises through
each of my chakras
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
sticky lips
her tiny fingers remove
a cherry pit
- Nina Kovacic
your new hairstyle
no one notices
but me
- Olivier Schopfer
cold morning
clouds
out of my mouth
- Olivier Schopfer
overcast day
dirt under
my fingernails
- Olivier Schopfer
a train whistle deep
into the night —
your back towards me
- pamela a. babusci
after the mammogram going braless
- pamela a. babusci
deep autumn . . .
walking barefoot
on my mother's grave
- pamela a. babusci
mom on her phone
the tug, tug, tug
on her leg
- Pat Davis
dyad moon tonight our lips touch in a full kiss
- Pat Geyer
both asleep . . .
holding hands
we dream
- Pat Geyer
an artery blocked —
opens —
blood courses again
- Peter Ladley
so serious
carving Grandpa's nose
in the pumpkin
- Phyllis Lee
kitty
against my belly . . .
midnight moon
- Pris Campbell
discarded ring
my finger has no room
for memories
- Pris Campbell
a head higher
than my ninth grade classmates —
sunflower season
- Pris Campbell
returning home
more tremors
in mother's hands
- Rachel Sutcliffe
autumn brambles
the school children's
inky fingers
- Rachel Sutcliffe
the sting
as the needle breaks skin
waiting for it
- Rachel Sutcliffe
self diagnosis
my blood runs backwards
nobody knows
- Ron Scully
muscle memory
but bones hold a grudge
my tackled right knee
- Ron Scully
windy day
the beggar combs her hair
with her fingers
- Rosa Clement
toeing circles in the sand —
what to say
what not to . . .
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
candlelit wall
my hand
a heron
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
paper cut
the taste of metal
on my tongue
- Scott Wiggerman
shadow of a bird
on my shoulder —
I worry about shit
- Scott Wiggerman
catching my breath
the valley
from the mountain top
- Simon Hanson
dozing on the lawn —
a dandelion seed
tickling my nostril
- Stephen Page
the flap of a bat wing —
a praying mantis
drops in my lap
- Stephen Page
trying to sit still
while a yellow jacket
circles my bare feet
- Stephen Page
Chinese buffet —
in my stomach
the dragon
- Theresa A. Cancro
hula hoop —
the twirl
of her braids
- Theresa A. Cancro
surprises
in old age
green eyes turned blue
- Tia Haynes
red-handed —
on the wall
her finger painting
- Tia Haynes
drawing circles
with my nose . . .
yogic indecision
- Tia Haynes
quiet storm
I close my eyes
to listen
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
giant puff ball
only slightly bigger
my head
- Tom Clausen
lying in bed . . .
reviewing the variety
of my most recent symptoms
- Tom Clausen
my involuntary eye closure . . .
the Netflix series
she loves
- Tom Clausen
in my hand
i hold this heart rock . . .
my heart is in my hand
- Yvonne Fisher
cracked sidewalk keeping me on my toes
- Zee Zahava
daisies
under our bare feet the earth
sun-warmed
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
This month's theme is: body haiku
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
bare brown —
the teeth
of the kola seller
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
grazed elbow —
he knows it's nothing
'cause I told him so
- Adrian Bouter
drawn into
the starry sky
of her thumbnail
- Adrian Bouter
wiggly tooth
magnolia petals
in the wind
- Agnes Eva Savich
heartbeat filling an empty room
- ai li
by his sick bed
my hands
as cold as his
- ai li
cardboard and hand
indistinguishable
old woman in the blue recycle bin
- Alan Bern
never quite counting
but moving fingers
as if there were numbers
- Alan Bern
a drop on my face —
not raining at all
our goodbye
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
flying like a bird
my weightless body
hangs from the glider
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
morning snow
she places her footprints
in mine
- Andy McLellan
shelter from the storm
my hands make
shadow puppets
- Andy McLellan
moonlight
reflected in the mirror —
my wrinkled face
- Angela Giordano
making plum jam
my hands turn
violet pink
- Angelee Deodhar
sommelier —
a drop of red wine
colors his white glove
- Angelee Deodhar
juicy pear
the taste of autumn
runs down to my elbow
- Angiola Inglese
silk babushkas
cover graying heads of
old world stories
- Ann Christine Tabaka
old farmhouse
a pale hand draws back
the lace curtain
- Anna Cates
country road . . .
the hand that curbs the kudzu
rules the world
- Anna Cates
extracted teeth —
my smile
in the trash
- Antonio Mangiameli
without warning
the tickle of a butterfly
on my shoulder
- Barbara Tate
December wedding
a sprig of mistletoe
in her hair
- Barbara Tate
hitchhiker:
this ladybug
on my hand
- Bill Waters
pointing —
the little girl follows
her finger
- Bill Waters
breaststrokes
a hot sun
on my back
- Caroline Skanne
rubbing mugwort
between fingertips
between worlds
- Caroline Skanne
hot pebbles
licking the salt
off your lips
- Caroline Skanne
the warm nuzzle
of my week-old baby . . .
rosy cheek
- Celestine Nudanu
on my tongue
the taste of wild strawberries
the look in her eyes
- Chen-ou Liu
feeling like
an alien incubator
long pregnancy
- Christina Sng
knitting
my fingers learn
on their own
- Christina Sng
our bodies
never quite forgetting
the art of bicycling
- Christina Sng
memorizing mother's face . . .
her eyelashes
the shape of her neck
- Christine McNamara
hard landings
at gymnastics practice
my bruised coccyx
- Claire Vogel Camargo
at 90, cooking
and caring for dad
her perfect eyebrows
- Claire Vogel Camargo
so many little tomatoes
you ripen
as I blink
- Dani Bates
the girl
selfying her face
cocks her leg anyway
- Danny Blackwell
late innings
the manager chews
his nails
- Dave Read
into stardust
the astronaut
trims his beard
- Dave Read
a breeze
ruffles her hair . . .
open casket
- Dave Read
harvest moon
my mother's face
in the mirror
- David He
on horseback . . .
butterflies circle the rose
in her hair
- David He
keeping my mouth shut
straining tea leaves
through clenched teeth
-David J. Kelly
baby sleeping
the heat of her breath
on my shoulder
- David Oates
after vacation
the feel of long pants
on legs
- David Oates
first light
a baker's fingertips
pressing the dough
- Debbi Antebi
morning dew
the galaxies between
our toes
- Debbie Strange
fiddleheads
the curled ears
of newborns
- Debbie Strange
snow mounds
the growing roundness
of her belly
- Debbie Strange
yoga positions
this climbing
out of dry skin
- Devin Harrison
to absorb
the pressure of her heart
hyacinth
- Devin Harrison
morning tai chi —
on his face
serenity
- Doris Pascolo
autumn breeze —
on bare shoulders
a yellow leaf
- Doris Pascolo
bowed in silence
four young heads
lost in cyberspace
- Dottie Piet
toothache . . .
the first leaves fall
from the maple
- Elisa Allo
bare feet
the damp kiss of a snail
in the grass
- Elisa Allo
freckles
a child writes the first words
on his mother's face
- EufemiaGriffo
as if she were pregnant
with it . . .
her body wraps around the cello
- Frank Robinson
zombie chic
kids compare
missing teeth
- Helen Buckingham
first monsoon —
an earthworm wobbles
under my feet
- Hifsa Ashraf
name day feast
a thumb-press of oregano
in papa's palm
- Jan Benson
mountain fog
my hand on his
hand on my breast
- Jennifer Hambrick
celebrating
the day of the dead . . .
dad's stomach rumbles
- Jo Balistreri
the sun
in her eyes —
his funeral
- Joanna M. Weston
rain trickles
down my neck —
muddy path
- Joanna M. Weston
scratching her back
between pillars of sunlight
the slow fall of dust
- John Hawkhead
sighs after long illness
in her stiff palm
a five leaf clover
- Justice Joseph Prah
another friend's chemo —
more of my hair
comes out
- kjmunro
dust on my fingers
tracing your name
carved in stone
- kjmunro
exposed
the skin where my ring
used to be
- kjmunro
chin in hand
and elbows on the table
my listening pose
- Kath Abela Wilson
lavender and sage
she uses her head
to carry flowers
- Kath Abela Wilson
bare foot, hard pebble
a yin/yang moment
before I shout ouch
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
dream sequence . . .
I clap to the song
she didn't sing
- Kumarendra Mallick
walk-the-talk . . .
miles of silence
hand-in-hand
- Kumarendra Mallick
harmattan
the pain of laughter
in cracked lips
- Kwaku Feni Adow
fingerprint
on the hand-waxed car
maple leaves shiver
- Laughing waters
September rain —
for twelve years
I have not seen his face
- Lucia Cardillo
end of September —
my mouth holds the sweet taste
of ripe persimmons
- Lucia Cardillo
spring river
flooded by peace
my right brain
- Lucia Fontana
always a ballerina my daughter on tippy toes
- Madhuri Pillai
temple bell
a raindrop hanging
from Buddha's nose
- Malintha Perera
seagull wings—
the shape of summer
in her eyebrows
- Maria Laura Valente
shattered bone
overnight I've become
elderly
- Marianne Paul
arm in a cast
the itch that remains
un-scratched
- Marianne Paul
hand resting
on a holster —
the curve of her hip
- Marilyn Fleming
the weight
of the muddy river
jerry-can on her head
- Marilyn Fleming
summer dusk —
palms to the earth
praying for rain
- Mark E. Brager
lightning flash the next contraction
- Mark E. Brager
gibbous moon her stretch marks glistening
- Mark E. Brager
produce market
in the arms of the young lovers
orange pumpkins
- Mark Miller
gentle breeze
removing the wig
from my head
- Marta Chocilowska
city zoo trip
a mother's hair clutched
in a tiny hand
- Martha Magenta
snipping
baby's toenails . . .
cherry blossoms
- Martha Magenta
bloodroot . . .
my ankle veins
begin to surface
- Martha Magenta
pulling my wagon
such a busy four-year-old —
strong arms and legs
- Marty Blue Waters
baby raccoon
my fingers stroke his belly
he thinks I'm his mom
- Marty Blue Waters
mostly right-handed . . .
my iMac challenges me
to be left-moused
- Marty Blue Waters
new knees —
I learn to walk again
no longer afraid
- Mary Kendall
arm in arm
we dare the street traffic
snowy day
- Mary Kendall
in hospice
skin so thin
breath so slow
- Mary Kendall
woke by the noise
of old bones complaining
oh! they're mine
- Michael Flanagan
my hands
I remember their strength . . .
only pain remains
- Michael Flanagan
on all fours
nose to nose
with my dog
- Michael G. Smith
my knobbled fingers
strain to untangle the knot
i've made of my life
- Mimi Foyle
crunchy autumn trails
ankle-deep in curly leaves
i kick their colors
- Mimi Foyle
throwing out the book —
the author obsessed
with her fat
- Miriam Sagan
old as I am
I still fondly regard
my feet
- Miriam Sagan
asphalt afternoon
the traffic cop takes off his hat
wipes his bald head
- Nancy Shires
morning air
on my arms —
just being alive
- Nancy Shires
butterfly garden
a painted lady alights
on my friend's nose
- Nancy Shires
hidden stream —
the kundalini rises through
each of my chakras
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
sticky lips
her tiny fingers remove
a cherry pit
- Nina Kovacic
your new hairstyle
no one notices
but me
- Olivier Schopfer
cold morning
clouds
out of my mouth
- Olivier Schopfer
overcast day
dirt under
my fingernails
- Olivier Schopfer
a train whistle deep
into the night —
your back towards me
- pamela a. babusci
after the mammogram going braless
- pamela a. babusci
deep autumn . . .
walking barefoot
on my mother's grave
- pamela a. babusci
mom on her phone
the tug, tug, tug
on her leg
- Pat Davis
dyad moon tonight our lips touch in a full kiss
- Pat Geyer
both asleep . . .
holding hands
we dream
- Pat Geyer
an artery blocked —
opens —
blood courses again
- Peter Ladley
so serious
carving Grandpa's nose
in the pumpkin
- Phyllis Lee
kitty
against my belly . . .
midnight moon
- Pris Campbell
discarded ring
my finger has no room
for memories
- Pris Campbell
a head higher
than my ninth grade classmates —
sunflower season
- Pris Campbell
returning home
more tremors
in mother's hands
- Rachel Sutcliffe
autumn brambles
the school children's
inky fingers
- Rachel Sutcliffe
the sting
as the needle breaks skin
waiting for it
- Rachel Sutcliffe
self diagnosis
my blood runs backwards
nobody knows
- Ron Scully
muscle memory
but bones hold a grudge
my tackled right knee
- Ron Scully
windy day
the beggar combs her hair
with her fingers
- Rosa Clement
toeing circles in the sand —
what to say
what not to . . .
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
candlelit wall
my hand
a heron
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
paper cut
the taste of metal
on my tongue
- Scott Wiggerman
shadow of a bird
on my shoulder —
I worry about shit
- Scott Wiggerman
catching my breath
the valley
from the mountain top
- Simon Hanson
dozing on the lawn —
a dandelion seed
tickling my nostril
- Stephen Page
the flap of a bat wing —
a praying mantis
drops in my lap
- Stephen Page
trying to sit still
while a yellow jacket
circles my bare feet
- Stephen Page
Chinese buffet —
in my stomach
the dragon
- Theresa A. Cancro
hula hoop —
the twirl
of her braids
- Theresa A. Cancro
surprises
in old age
green eyes turned blue
- Tia Haynes
red-handed —
on the wall
her finger painting
- Tia Haynes
drawing circles
with my nose . . .
yogic indecision
- Tia Haynes
quiet storm
I close my eyes
to listen
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
giant puff ball
only slightly bigger
my head
- Tom Clausen
lying in bed . . .
reviewing the variety
of my most recent symptoms
- Tom Clausen
my involuntary eye closure . . .
the Netflix series
she loves
- Tom Clausen
in my hand
i hold this heart rock . . .
my heart is in my hand
- Yvonne Fisher
cracked sidewalk keeping me on my toes
- Zee Zahava
daisies
under our bare feet the earth
sun-warmed
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
Friday, September 1, 2017
water haiku
Welcome to the September 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal
This month's theme is: Water
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
floating leaf
a baby toad rides
the ripples
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
white curtain
on a mountain wall —
waterfall
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
above
an indecisive bike
rain clouds
- Adrian Bouter
spring rain
a halo of frizz
on baby's head
- Agnes Eva Savich
rows of whitecaps
salty air warps
my notebook
- Agnes Eva Savich
flowing water
each rock
changes it
- Agnes Eva Savich
lena horne
singing stormy weather
my banging shutter
- ai li
the magician in an ice machine
- ai li
the kettle
screams without water
we both look down
- Alan Bern
writing in the rain
sheltered by a leafy tree —
still the words run off
- Alan Bern
night train
each window carries
its own little rain
- Alan Summers
watering tulips
I track the canals
of Mars
- Alan Summers
taking the blues
out of a goodbye
winter river
- Alan Summers
river beach —
elongated crane's shadow
inspires this haiku
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
riverside walk
my thoughts struggle
to break the surface
- Andy McLellan
thin rain —
the duck's wings
so heavy
- Angela Giordano
birdbath —
mynahs wait patiently
for the crow to leave
- Angelee Deodhar
spring rain
moving in slow motion
the snail's silence
- Anna Cates
election year
the same pothole
filled with rain
- Anna Cates
meandering
with the stream
leaf boat race
- Anne Elise Burgevin
her late start
on weekday wash
summer solstice
- Anne Elise Burgevin
a child
a spoonful of rice
hot broth
- Antonio Mangiameli
twilight
a fish asleep in its
shadow world
- Barbara Tate
blue moon
rising tide floats
the beach chairs
- Barbara Tate
summer pond
swimming in sunshine
polliwogs
- Barbara Tate
melting snowman
bows
to the sun
- Bill Waters
the parking lot
just wet enough
to smell of rain
- Bill Waters
edge of a puddle
watching its reflection
blue-tailed lizard
- C. Robin Janning
tears warmer than rain . . . missing my mother
- C. Robin Janning
heat wave
my birdbath is the centre
of social life
- Carol Dilworth
summer storm
hammering down
tent pegs
- Caroline Skanne
foggy river
the discrepancies
in your story
- Caroline Skanne
rain on my cheek her umbrella poem lingers
- Caroline Skanne
insomnia
I toss all night
to the sound of rain
- Celestine Nudanu
fighting tears
at my graduation
memories of my mother
- Celestine Nudanu
spangles
where the small fairies
throw the river light
- Christina Martin
worn stone steps
dawn knocking on the sides
old row boat
- Christina Martin
torrential rain
washing away
everything
- Christina Sng
long journey
across the bridge
humingbird
- Christina Sng
July in Vail
rafting the Colorado
snowmelt
- Claire Vogel Camargo
green fields flooded the train passing a station without stopping
- Danny Blackwell
autumn rain
a crunch of snails cling
to fallen leaves
- David He
twilight —
the lake shares its color
with a dragonfly
- David He
belly flop
no way to disguise it
new swimming trunks
- David J Kelly
bleached coral
a clownfish nobody
laughs at
- David J Kelly
dried water fountain
how long since
we have spoken
- Debbi Antebi
shredding
all his letters —
steady drizzle
- Debbi Antebi
waterfall mist
the words at the tip
of my tongue
- Debbi Antebi
glazed pond
a beaver's tail breaks
the hush
- Debbie Strange
starfish
in your arms
the sea
- Debbie Strange
a fever of migrating stingrays summer graces
- Debbie Strange
that call I wish
I didn't answer
dishwasher
- Deborah P Kolodji
blue heron —
an invitation
to dally by the estuary
- Devin Harrison
in the harbor
a squabble of gulls
brawling
- Devin Harrison
a swallowtail butterfly
sips on a rose — midnight —
the moon is drowning
- Diane Frank
summer rain
drums on our metal roof
buttered popcorn
- Dottie Piet
late night shift
men sandbag the river banks
by moonlight
- Dottie Piet
solar eclipse
a mosquito dives
into a water glass
- Elisa Allo
glowing fireflies
down by the lakeside
a pile of clothes
- Elizabeth Alford
beach party
the ebb and flow
of laughter
- Elizabeth Alford
leaning ladder
a bucket of water
collects the sky
- Elizabeth Alford
fierce drought —
a brief dream of
abundant water
- Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian
riverbank
my mother waiting for me
on the other side
- Eufemia Griffo
waves rush toward the shore
like children running
toward their parents
- Frank Robinson
the pile of whites
returned to the pile of colors
rainy day
- Glenn Ingersoll
after the swim
sound of water
stuck in my ear
- Glenn Ingersoll
sunday
rain
on rain
- Helen Buckingham
backstrokin' last day at the pool
- Jill Lange
early winter storm —
the silver ring
slips from her finger
- Jill Lange
drawing from the well . . .
a mooon jiggles
in my pail
- Jo Balistreri
whitecaps
against the pier —
his angry words
- Jo Balistreri
bumping my toe
along the wrack line —
yellow sea glass
- Jo Balistreri
behind our house
a small stream
captures the full moon
- Joan Leotta
January
dad hoses down the backyard —
my skating rink
- Joan Leotta
stopping to see the shape of a snowflake
- Joan McNerney
the two-year-old
waters faded flowers . . .
wallpaper
- Joanna M. Weston
pulling radishes
in the rain —
a fat worm
- Joanna M. Weston
November rain
a broken umbrella
holds a puddle
- John Hawkhead
rain on the roof
through deep sleep
the dog's legs canter
- John Hawkhead
after the rain —
partly cloudy
with scattered frogs
- Julie Bloss Kelsey
breakdown —
the tow truck follows
my tears
- Julie Bloss Kelsey
rain-soaked
she brews the tea
london fog
- kjmunro
fish out of water
the strong swimmer steps back
from the ledge
- kjmunro
moving inland
it was the electric waterfall
that saved me
- Kath Abela Wilson
Santa Fe River
my first ginko walk
melts the ice
- Kath Abela Wilson
forehead smudges
my girlhood question
about face washing
- Kath Abela Wilson
at the moment when
a wet breeze enters the porch
my hand smears the page
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
his ship
docking in a puddle —
paper boat
- Kwaku Feni Adow
another single raindrop
merges into the vast ocean
my father's passing
- Lance Robertson
on her water glass
the crescent
of her lip print
- Laughing waters
under a daffodil beside the stream bank a frog sits meditating
- Lisa Holmes
strolling by the pond a chorus of peepers then a hundred silent ripples
- Lisa Holmes
garden irrigation —
the red fox tail waves
among the radishes
- Lucia Cardillo
strong sirocco
a path from the sea
to the clouds
- Lucia Fontana
rain puddle
the slurp of the stray dog
quenching his thirst
- Madhuri Pillai
first time
he held me tight —
Niagra Falls
- Maria Laura Valente
incoming tide —
from afar, the pain
creeps closer
- Marianne Paul
open water —
a white moth outpaces
my kayak
- Marianne Paul
humming the same tune the waterwheel and i
- Marietta Jane McGregor
frozen waterfall
how heavy
her ashes
- Marietta Jane McGregor
so much to reveal
where shadows fall
koi pond
- Marietta Jane McGregor
autumn the many colors of rain
- Mark E. Brager
damselfly this rain puddle your universe
- Mark E. Brager
fever dreams . . .
the water glass brimming
with moonlight
- Mark E. Brager
salted wind
all the plastics the tide
gives us back
- Mark Miller
after rain
crows in the eucalypts
black rags hung out to dry
- Mark Miller
far away
the rumble of an old lion
morning storm
- Marta Chocilowska
stone by the river
the flash of rainbow trout
in my hands
- Marta Chocilowska
skinny dipping
we swim among
the stars
- Martha Magenta
a killer storm
hammers the town —
umbrella skeletons
- Martha Magenta
flooded softball field
another rainout —
team goes out for pizza
- Marty Blue Waters
my elemental name . . .
pure water provides life
in every drop
- Marty Blue Waters
her waters broken the beginning of the beginning
- Mary Kendall
what was hidden now emerges water lilies
- Mary Kendall
near the cattails —
two white egrets
lost in reflection
- Mary Kendall
through the autumn woods
laughing and chasing its tail
trout stream
- Michael Flanagan
drought again
magpies find
the leaky hose
- Michael G. Smith
noisy
the creek
isn't shy
- Michael G. Smith
overhead clouds leak
grey skies grey mountains grey road
grey wet everything
- Mimi Foyle
on this clear deep pool
i float like a water bug
released from all thought
- Mimi Foyle
I cup my hand
the water cups me —
a mountain spring
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
hiking break
my sweat drops
into a stream
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
a beaver marsh
thoughts slip away
one by one
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
deserted garden
from the water pump
seeps a cobweb
- Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
burning incense
for departed souls . . .
evening rain
- pamela a. babusci
clear waterfall —
not tossing
the coin
- pamela a. babusci
among the white
one pink water lily
fills the pond
- pamela a. babusci
high tide
my mermaid
returns to the sea
- Pat Davis
ice fishing
how long it takes
to fool a fish
- Pat Davis
back to school
the bright yellow shine
of raincoats
- Phyllis Lee
late for work
stepping in the shower
a centipede
- Phyllis Lee
old white barn
in the pond's reflection
needs paint
- Phyllis Lee
mountain lake
my cousin and I turn blue
eyeing the lifeguard
- Pris Campbell
thunderclaps
my cat curls next to my legs
and sleeps again
- Pris Campbell
cliff edge
so close I can taste
the crashing waves
- Rachel Sutcliffe
breaking waves
I bite
my tongue
- Rachel Sutcliffe
pouring rain
my spirits
drowning too
- Rachel Sutcliffe
spring rains
the willow builds
a new river
- Reagan Brubaker
click of my pen
rain taps at the window
tries to break in
- Ron Scully
summer sea
the smell of tanning lotion
everywhere
- Rosa Clement
water fountain
she pays a penny
for a wish
- Rosa Clement
over the calm lake
circle three cormorants
and their reflections
- Scott Wiggerman
that point at the lake
where you don't see birds
last night's argument
- Scott Wiggerman
up close
tiny rivers
in the veins of a leaf
- Simon Hanson
after the rain —
a woodpecker on sand
spearing ants as they rise
- Stephen Page
where the stream
meets the river
the trout deciding
- Stephen Page
backtracking
under the waterfall
the same drip
- Theresa A. Cancro
morning surf —
waves turn
into dolphins
- Theresa A. Cancro
gentle eddy —
sleeping otters
hold hands
- Theresa A. Cancro
bubble bath
we try out
new hairdos
- Tia Haynes
divorce papers
my hair
still wet
- Tia Haynes
last wishes
he waters
a dead amaryllis
- Tia Haynes
ah . . .
hot water
meets the teabag
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
cozy bath
my ally
in healing
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
daydream
to be the river
filled with light
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
runner beans and water
a child's pretend stew
red blooms in July heat
- Tricia Knoll
light snow falling on the plastic snowman
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
drum solo . . .
jellyfish pulsing
in the aquarium
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
windy rain paper boat setting sail
- Vibeke Laier
summer rain i share a blanket with the cat
- Vibeke Laier
sound of water long before i see you white butterfly
- Vibeke Laier
after a hard rain
puddle-jumping
with my child-self
- Zee Zahava
that time a wave
pulled off her bathing suit —
or so she says
- Zee Zahava
autumn drizzle
in a dirty puddle
my son's smile
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
This month's theme is: Water
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
floating leaf
a baby toad rides
the ripples
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
white curtain
on a mountain wall —
waterfall
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
above
an indecisive bike
rain clouds
- Adrian Bouter
spring rain
a halo of frizz
on baby's head
- Agnes Eva Savich
rows of whitecaps
salty air warps
my notebook
- Agnes Eva Savich
flowing water
each rock
changes it
- Agnes Eva Savich
lena horne
singing stormy weather
my banging shutter
- ai li
the magician in an ice machine
- ai li
the kettle
screams without water
we both look down
- Alan Bern
writing in the rain
sheltered by a leafy tree —
still the words run off
- Alan Bern
night train
each window carries
its own little rain
- Alan Summers
watering tulips
I track the canals
of Mars
- Alan Summers
taking the blues
out of a goodbye
winter river
- Alan Summers
river beach —
elongated crane's shadow
inspires this haiku
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
riverside walk
my thoughts struggle
to break the surface
- Andy McLellan
thin rain —
the duck's wings
so heavy
- Angela Giordano
birdbath —
mynahs wait patiently
for the crow to leave
- Angelee Deodhar
spring rain
moving in slow motion
the snail's silence
- Anna Cates
election year
the same pothole
filled with rain
- Anna Cates
meandering
with the stream
leaf boat race
- Anne Elise Burgevin
her late start
on weekday wash
summer solstice
- Anne Elise Burgevin
a child
a spoonful of rice
hot broth
- Antonio Mangiameli
twilight
a fish asleep in its
shadow world
- Barbara Tate
blue moon
rising tide floats
the beach chairs
- Barbara Tate
summer pond
swimming in sunshine
polliwogs
- Barbara Tate
melting snowman
bows
to the sun
- Bill Waters
the parking lot
just wet enough
to smell of rain
- Bill Waters
edge of a puddle
watching its reflection
blue-tailed lizard
- C. Robin Janning
tears warmer than rain . . . missing my mother
- C. Robin Janning
heat wave
my birdbath is the centre
of social life
- Carol Dilworth
summer storm
hammering down
tent pegs
- Caroline Skanne
foggy river
the discrepancies
in your story
- Caroline Skanne
rain on my cheek her umbrella poem lingers
- Caroline Skanne
insomnia
I toss all night
to the sound of rain
- Celestine Nudanu
fighting tears
at my graduation
memories of my mother
- Celestine Nudanu
spangles
where the small fairies
throw the river light
- Christina Martin
worn stone steps
dawn knocking on the sides
old row boat
- Christina Martin
torrential rain
washing away
everything
- Christina Sng
long journey
across the bridge
humingbird
- Christina Sng
July in Vail
rafting the Colorado
snowmelt
- Claire Vogel Camargo
green fields flooded the train passing a station without stopping
- Danny Blackwell
autumn rain
a crunch of snails cling
to fallen leaves
- David He
twilight —
the lake shares its color
with a dragonfly
- David He
belly flop
no way to disguise it
new swimming trunks
- David J Kelly
bleached coral
a clownfish nobody
laughs at
- David J Kelly
dried water fountain
how long since
we have spoken
- Debbi Antebi
shredding
all his letters —
steady drizzle
- Debbi Antebi
waterfall mist
the words at the tip
of my tongue
- Debbi Antebi
glazed pond
a beaver's tail breaks
the hush
- Debbie Strange
starfish
in your arms
the sea
- Debbie Strange
a fever of migrating stingrays summer graces
- Debbie Strange
that call I wish
I didn't answer
dishwasher
- Deborah P Kolodji
blue heron —
an invitation
to dally by the estuary
- Devin Harrison
in the harbor
a squabble of gulls
brawling
- Devin Harrison
a swallowtail butterfly
sips on a rose — midnight —
the moon is drowning
- Diane Frank
summer rain
drums on our metal roof
buttered popcorn
- Dottie Piet
late night shift
men sandbag the river banks
by moonlight
- Dottie Piet
solar eclipse
a mosquito dives
into a water glass
- Elisa Allo
glowing fireflies
down by the lakeside
a pile of clothes
- Elizabeth Alford
beach party
the ebb and flow
of laughter
- Elizabeth Alford
leaning ladder
a bucket of water
collects the sky
- Elizabeth Alford
fierce drought —
a brief dream of
abundant water
- Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian
riverbank
my mother waiting for me
on the other side
- Eufemia Griffo
waves rush toward the shore
like children running
toward their parents
- Frank Robinson
the pile of whites
returned to the pile of colors
rainy day
- Glenn Ingersoll
after the swim
sound of water
stuck in my ear
- Glenn Ingersoll
sunday
rain
on rain
- Helen Buckingham
backstrokin' last day at the pool
- Jill Lange
early winter storm —
the silver ring
slips from her finger
- Jill Lange
drawing from the well . . .
a mooon jiggles
in my pail
- Jo Balistreri
whitecaps
against the pier —
his angry words
- Jo Balistreri
bumping my toe
along the wrack line —
yellow sea glass
- Jo Balistreri
behind our house
a small stream
captures the full moon
- Joan Leotta
January
dad hoses down the backyard —
my skating rink
- Joan Leotta
stopping to see the shape of a snowflake
- Joan McNerney
the two-year-old
waters faded flowers . . .
wallpaper
- Joanna M. Weston
pulling radishes
in the rain —
a fat worm
- Joanna M. Weston
November rain
a broken umbrella
holds a puddle
- John Hawkhead
rain on the roof
through deep sleep
the dog's legs canter
- John Hawkhead
after the rain —
partly cloudy
with scattered frogs
- Julie Bloss Kelsey
breakdown —
the tow truck follows
my tears
- Julie Bloss Kelsey
rain-soaked
she brews the tea
london fog
- kjmunro
fish out of water
the strong swimmer steps back
from the ledge
- kjmunro
moving inland
it was the electric waterfall
that saved me
- Kath Abela Wilson
Santa Fe River
my first ginko walk
melts the ice
- Kath Abela Wilson
forehead smudges
my girlhood question
about face washing
- Kath Abela Wilson
at the moment when
a wet breeze enters the porch
my hand smears the page
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
his ship
docking in a puddle —
paper boat
- Kwaku Feni Adow
another single raindrop
merges into the vast ocean
my father's passing
- Lance Robertson
on her water glass
the crescent
of her lip print
- Laughing waters
under a daffodil beside the stream bank a frog sits meditating
- Lisa Holmes
strolling by the pond a chorus of peepers then a hundred silent ripples
- Lisa Holmes
garden irrigation —
the red fox tail waves
among the radishes
- Lucia Cardillo
strong sirocco
a path from the sea
to the clouds
- Lucia Fontana
rain puddle
the slurp of the stray dog
quenching his thirst
- Madhuri Pillai
first time
he held me tight —
Niagra Falls
- Maria Laura Valente
incoming tide —
from afar, the pain
creeps closer
- Marianne Paul
open water —
a white moth outpaces
my kayak
- Marianne Paul
humming the same tune the waterwheel and i
- Marietta Jane McGregor
frozen waterfall
how heavy
her ashes
- Marietta Jane McGregor
so much to reveal
where shadows fall
koi pond
- Marietta Jane McGregor
autumn the many colors of rain
- Mark E. Brager
damselfly this rain puddle your universe
- Mark E. Brager
fever dreams . . .
the water glass brimming
with moonlight
- Mark E. Brager
salted wind
all the plastics the tide
gives us back
- Mark Miller
after rain
crows in the eucalypts
black rags hung out to dry
- Mark Miller
far away
the rumble of an old lion
morning storm
- Marta Chocilowska
stone by the river
the flash of rainbow trout
in my hands
- Marta Chocilowska
skinny dipping
we swim among
the stars
- Martha Magenta
a killer storm
hammers the town —
umbrella skeletons
- Martha Magenta
flooded softball field
another rainout —
team goes out for pizza
- Marty Blue Waters
my elemental name . . .
pure water provides life
in every drop
- Marty Blue Waters
her waters broken the beginning of the beginning
- Mary Kendall
what was hidden now emerges water lilies
- Mary Kendall
near the cattails —
two white egrets
lost in reflection
- Mary Kendall
through the autumn woods
laughing and chasing its tail
trout stream
- Michael Flanagan
drought again
magpies find
the leaky hose
- Michael G. Smith
noisy
the creek
isn't shy
- Michael G. Smith
overhead clouds leak
grey skies grey mountains grey road
grey wet everything
- Mimi Foyle
on this clear deep pool
i float like a water bug
released from all thought
- Mimi Foyle
I cup my hand
the water cups me —
a mountain spring
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
hiking break
my sweat drops
into a stream
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
a beaver marsh
thoughts slip away
one by one
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
deserted garden
from the water pump
seeps a cobweb
- Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
burning incense
for departed souls . . .
evening rain
- pamela a. babusci
clear waterfall —
not tossing
the coin
- pamela a. babusci
among the white
one pink water lily
fills the pond
- pamela a. babusci
high tide
my mermaid
returns to the sea
- Pat Davis
ice fishing
how long it takes
to fool a fish
- Pat Davis
back to school
the bright yellow shine
of raincoats
- Phyllis Lee
late for work
stepping in the shower
a centipede
- Phyllis Lee
old white barn
in the pond's reflection
needs paint
- Phyllis Lee
mountain lake
my cousin and I turn blue
eyeing the lifeguard
- Pris Campbell
thunderclaps
my cat curls next to my legs
and sleeps again
- Pris Campbell
cliff edge
so close I can taste
the crashing waves
- Rachel Sutcliffe
breaking waves
I bite
my tongue
- Rachel Sutcliffe
pouring rain
my spirits
drowning too
- Rachel Sutcliffe
spring rains
the willow builds
a new river
- Reagan Brubaker
click of my pen
rain taps at the window
tries to break in
- Ron Scully
summer sea
the smell of tanning lotion
everywhere
- Rosa Clement
water fountain
she pays a penny
for a wish
- Rosa Clement
over the calm lake
circle three cormorants
and their reflections
- Scott Wiggerman
that point at the lake
where you don't see birds
last night's argument
- Scott Wiggerman
up close
tiny rivers
in the veins of a leaf
- Simon Hanson
after the rain —
a woodpecker on sand
spearing ants as they rise
- Stephen Page
where the stream
meets the river
the trout deciding
- Stephen Page
backtracking
under the waterfall
the same drip
- Theresa A. Cancro
morning surf —
waves turn
into dolphins
- Theresa A. Cancro
gentle eddy —
sleeping otters
hold hands
- Theresa A. Cancro
bubble bath
we try out
new hairdos
- Tia Haynes
divorce papers
my hair
still wet
- Tia Haynes
last wishes
he waters
a dead amaryllis
- Tia Haynes
ah . . .
hot water
meets the teabag
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
cozy bath
my ally
in healing
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
daydream
to be the river
filled with light
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
runner beans and water
a child's pretend stew
red blooms in July heat
- Tricia Knoll
light snow falling on the plastic snowman
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
drum solo . . .
jellyfish pulsing
in the aquarium
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
windy rain paper boat setting sail
- Vibeke Laier
summer rain i share a blanket with the cat
- Vibeke Laier
sound of water long before i see you white butterfly
- Vibeke Laier
after a hard rain
puddle-jumping
with my child-self
- Zee Zahava
that time a wave
pulled off her bathing suit —
or so she says
- Zee Zahava
autumn drizzle
in a dirty puddle
my son's smile
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Haiku about the ways we experienced May 23, 2017
Welcome to the summer 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
The theme is a single date . . . all the poems were written on/about May 23, 2017.
Enjoy! And please come back in September when brass bell returns from summer vacation.
Poems have been received from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, the U. K., and the United States
fog —
the train digs
its own tunnel
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
tight on money
the fridge's
funny sounds
- Adrian Bouter
after the rain . . .
the brightness
of pond lilies
- Agnes Eva Savich
steaming rice
for the altar
the dead are here
- ai li
never quite counting
but moving fingers
as if there were numbers
- Alan Bern
weather forecaster lied — no sun today!
- Alan Catlin
only the love songs
the wrong shade of blue
in Manchester city
- Alan Summers
cat and i
what do we have in common
besides silence?
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
on the balcony
tonight the moon
so round
- Angela Giordano
twilight
the full throated tenor
of a bull frog
- Angelee Deodhar
spring cleaning
another trash bag heads
to Goodwill
- Anna Cates
birthday —
I feel my bones
heavier
- Antonio Magniameli
all day drizzle
an earthworm languishes
in the muck
- Barbara Kaufmann
nap time
the robo calls
keep coming
- Barbara Tate
head in the clouds . . .
without warning
rhododendrons
- Bill Waters
rush hour
outside the bus window
a still kite
- Billy Antonio
a struggle
to keep things in balance
when I am tipping
- C. Robin Janning
grass nicely trimmed
garden in full bloom
sneezing
- Carol Dilworth
grey mist
where grief
slips in
- Caroline Skanne
morning rain
beneath my bedroom window
a wet school child
- Celestine Nudanu
lost in a shuffle
of second-hand music books . . .
thrush answering thrush
- Chen-ou Liu
batgirl in training
her cape
a serious matter
- Christina Martin
spring daydream
my son's stuffed tiger
stares at the sun
- Christina Sng
evening chatter
my puppy listens
to the buzz of a fly
- Christine L. Villa
no fighting conch
on my last day of shelling
high tide
- Claire Vogel Camargo
close to midnight
my muse snoozing
in the next chair
- David J. Kelly
such variety
in the flavors
blueberries
- David Oates
weather vane
a horse leads us
toward home
- Debbie Strange
following the game
from the nosebleed seats
advancing years
- Devin Harrison
wedding anniversary —
the twenty-third day
of the fifth month
- Doris Pascolo
noonday sun
an aged bluejay asleep
on the birdbath
- Dottie Piet
breakfast with kids
no reason to cry
over spilled milk
- Elisa Allo
kindergarten class . . .
flowers and butterflies
in the children's drawings
- Eufemia Griffo
walking in the woods
pointing out interesting things
to an absent friend
- Frank Robinson
crunch
my neck
awakens me
- Gabrielle Vehar
in the lamp's oblique shadows the back of my hand is strange
- Glenn Ingersoll
aprons from three generations
whisper to me
when i cook
- Grace Celeste
having its moment
the orb
of an onion flower
- Hannah Mahoney
black morel . . .
how complicated it is
to survive
- Hifsa Ashraf
when i bend over
and kneel down to plant these days
i say my prayers
- Jack Goldman
café acoustics reaching me the pain in a stranger's voice
- Jane Williams
wilted peonies
the day she doesn't
make the team
- Jennifer Hambrick
today —
the mountain laurel
chooses to open
- Jill Lange
our friendship . . .
the crest and trough
of waves
- Jo Balistreri
just before midnight
pain ebbs . . . slowly moving
toward recovery
- Joan Leotta
at the DMV
praying for our number
to be called
- Joan McNerney
dawn rises
through the kitchen window
insomnia
- Joanna M. Weston
urban demolition
under a powdering of dust
the promise of flowers
- John Hawkhead
garbage truck
my dog hides
in the bathroom
- Julie Bloss Kelsey
mooncake
on the wet ground
carving my birthday wish
- Justice Joseph Prah
Taipei to Shanghai
about the length
of a haiku
- Kath Abela Wilson
rain thunder lightning
a symphony I can hear
when the lights go out
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
we sort estate papers
the wind
picks up
- kjmunro
sorting
a lifetime collection
of beads & baubles
- Kris Moon
clatter of heels —
in my imagination
swaying hips
- Krzysztof Kokot
hiding behind a tree
I see a chipmunk crack
a nut
- Kumarendra Mallick
spotlight
the sun through
a leaking roof
- Kwaku Feni Adow
the best way to cure sleepwalking
she tells me
is to hang upside down
- Kyle Hemmings
storm clouds
getting closer
my court date
- Laughing waters
so quiet
at the kitchen table
alone this morning
- Linda Keeler
starlight —
all that i sing
starts now
- Lovette Carter
twilight
another day is ending
first star
- Lucia Cardillo
one white
cabbage butterfly
on a daisy
- Lucia Fontana
dinner time —
the bittersweet taste
of ripe apricots
- Maria Laura Valente
deadlines
writing haiku
at midnight
- Marianne Paul
out of her shell —
queen-of-the-night blooms
in the terrarium
- Marietta McGregor
twilight soccer
nudged above the goalie's net
the full moon
- Mark Miller
my first box
of watercolor paints . . .
trembling brush
- Marta Chocilowska
wind in the woods
the conversation
of tawny owls
- Martha Magenta
what a small world
all day and all night
in the same room
- Marty Blue Waters
a glow in the east
black thins to gray shadows
a cardinal calls
- Mike Flanagan
i know we are well
by the way your hair lays curled
against my pillow
- Mimi Foyle
all day I tell
everyone to admire
these roses
- Miriam Sagan
in the dark
hidden whispers of scent . . .
lilacs!
- Nancy Osborn
long summer day
i shut my eyes
and it is dark
- Neha R. Krishna
cold shadow
a sweaty shirt sticks
to my back
- Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
that wondrous feeling —
touring the insides
of the Kotzschmar Organ
- Pat Davis
world turtle day . . .
at the garden place i find
a box turtle gift
- Pat Geyer
poppies
my all-time favorite —
tissue paper art
- Paula Culver
amid wild grasses
a lone asparagus
waves
- Peter Ladley
mashed potatoes
for lunch and dinner
my throbbing jaws
- Pris Campbell
busy spider
the tangled web
of my mind
- Rachel Sutcliffe
vanilla ice cream
drools into my hand
noon melts down
- Ron Scully
reading the paper
I share my rocking chair
with a tiny spider
- Rosa Clement
news of refugees
I separate basil seedlings
ripping the roots
- Ruth Yarrow
fogged in
rubbing my toes
on the cat's back
- Sandi Pray
remember it all
write it down
let it go
- Sara Robbins
midday heat the stiffness of a cotton saree
- Shloka Shankar
wrong number
nice to exchange
a friendly word
- Simon Hanson
woman in purple shirt
pointing out tulips —
children clinging to her legs
- Stephen Page
red-headed woodpecker
young man with a camera
makes me notice
- Sue Perlgut
children's giggles
under the stairs —
cat's cradle
- Theresa A. Cancro
meal planning
deciding which night
not to care
- Tia Nicole
pizza for breakfast
my inner child
giggles
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
for my mood
the clouds spaced out
just right
- Tom Clausen
more worms
than anticipated
cracked dry soil
- Tricia Knoll
mother's white
and purple irises —
a stranger's yard
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
spring rain
a flower opens for
a butterfly
- Vibeke Laier
as you fly west
i walk
into the rising sun
- Zee Zahava
rain —
drop after drop the lake
steadily overflowing the banks
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
The theme is a single date . . . all the poems were written on/about May 23, 2017.
Enjoy! And please come back in September when brass bell returns from summer vacation.
Poems have been received from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, the U. K., and the United States
fog —
the train digs
its own tunnel
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
tight on money
the fridge's
funny sounds
- Adrian Bouter
after the rain . . .
the brightness
of pond lilies
- Agnes Eva Savich
steaming rice
for the altar
the dead are here
- ai li
never quite counting
but moving fingers
as if there were numbers
- Alan Bern
weather forecaster lied — no sun today!
- Alan Catlin
only the love songs
the wrong shade of blue
in Manchester city
- Alan Summers
cat and i
what do we have in common
besides silence?
- Amauri Solon Ribeiro
on the balcony
tonight the moon
so round
- Angela Giordano
twilight
the full throated tenor
of a bull frog
- Angelee Deodhar
spring cleaning
another trash bag heads
to Goodwill
- Anna Cates
birthday —
I feel my bones
heavier
- Antonio Magniameli
all day drizzle
an earthworm languishes
in the muck
- Barbara Kaufmann
nap time
the robo calls
keep coming
- Barbara Tate
head in the clouds . . .
without warning
rhododendrons
- Bill Waters
rush hour
outside the bus window
a still kite
- Billy Antonio
a struggle
to keep things in balance
when I am tipping
- C. Robin Janning
grass nicely trimmed
garden in full bloom
sneezing
- Carol Dilworth
grey mist
where grief
slips in
- Caroline Skanne
morning rain
beneath my bedroom window
a wet school child
- Celestine Nudanu
lost in a shuffle
of second-hand music books . . .
thrush answering thrush
- Chen-ou Liu
batgirl in training
her cape
a serious matter
- Christina Martin
spring daydream
my son's stuffed tiger
stares at the sun
- Christina Sng
evening chatter
my puppy listens
to the buzz of a fly
- Christine L. Villa
no fighting conch
on my last day of shelling
high tide
- Claire Vogel Camargo
close to midnight
my muse snoozing
in the next chair
- David J. Kelly
such variety
in the flavors
blueberries
- David Oates
weather vane
a horse leads us
toward home
- Debbie Strange
following the game
from the nosebleed seats
advancing years
- Devin Harrison
wedding anniversary —
the twenty-third day
of the fifth month
- Doris Pascolo
noonday sun
an aged bluejay asleep
on the birdbath
- Dottie Piet
breakfast with kids
no reason to cry
over spilled milk
- Elisa Allo
kindergarten class . . .
flowers and butterflies
in the children's drawings
- Eufemia Griffo
walking in the woods
pointing out interesting things
to an absent friend
- Frank Robinson
crunch
my neck
awakens me
- Gabrielle Vehar
in the lamp's oblique shadows the back of my hand is strange
- Glenn Ingersoll
aprons from three generations
whisper to me
when i cook
- Grace Celeste
having its moment
the orb
of an onion flower
- Hannah Mahoney
black morel . . .
how complicated it is
to survive
- Hifsa Ashraf
when i bend over
and kneel down to plant these days
i say my prayers
- Jack Goldman
café acoustics reaching me the pain in a stranger's voice
- Jane Williams
wilted peonies
the day she doesn't
make the team
- Jennifer Hambrick
today —
the mountain laurel
chooses to open
- Jill Lange
our friendship . . .
the crest and trough
of waves
- Jo Balistreri
just before midnight
pain ebbs . . . slowly moving
toward recovery
- Joan Leotta
at the DMV
praying for our number
to be called
- Joan McNerney
dawn rises
through the kitchen window
insomnia
- Joanna M. Weston
urban demolition
under a powdering of dust
the promise of flowers
- John Hawkhead
garbage truck
my dog hides
in the bathroom
- Julie Bloss Kelsey
mooncake
on the wet ground
carving my birthday wish
- Justice Joseph Prah
Taipei to Shanghai
about the length
of a haiku
- Kath Abela Wilson
rain thunder lightning
a symphony I can hear
when the lights go out
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
we sort estate papers
the wind
picks up
- kjmunro
sorting
a lifetime collection
of beads & baubles
- Kris Moon
clatter of heels —
in my imagination
swaying hips
- Krzysztof Kokot
hiding behind a tree
I see a chipmunk crack
a nut
- Kumarendra Mallick
spotlight
the sun through
a leaking roof
- Kwaku Feni Adow
the best way to cure sleepwalking
she tells me
is to hang upside down
- Kyle Hemmings
storm clouds
getting closer
my court date
- Laughing waters
so quiet
at the kitchen table
alone this morning
- Linda Keeler
starlight —
all that i sing
starts now
- Lovette Carter
twilight
another day is ending
first star
- Lucia Cardillo
one white
cabbage butterfly
on a daisy
- Lucia Fontana
dinner time —
the bittersweet taste
of ripe apricots
- Maria Laura Valente
deadlines
writing haiku
at midnight
- Marianne Paul
out of her shell —
queen-of-the-night blooms
in the terrarium
- Marietta McGregor
twilight soccer
nudged above the goalie's net
the full moon
- Mark Miller
my first box
of watercolor paints . . .
trembling brush
- Marta Chocilowska
wind in the woods
the conversation
of tawny owls
- Martha Magenta
what a small world
all day and all night
in the same room
- Marty Blue Waters
a glow in the east
black thins to gray shadows
a cardinal calls
- Mike Flanagan
i know we are well
by the way your hair lays curled
against my pillow
- Mimi Foyle
all day I tell
everyone to admire
these roses
- Miriam Sagan
in the dark
hidden whispers of scent . . .
lilacs!
- Nancy Osborn
long summer day
i shut my eyes
and it is dark
- Neha R. Krishna
cold shadow
a sweaty shirt sticks
to my back
- Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
that wondrous feeling —
touring the insides
of the Kotzschmar Organ
- Pat Davis
world turtle day . . .
at the garden place i find
a box turtle gift
- Pat Geyer
poppies
my all-time favorite —
tissue paper art
- Paula Culver
amid wild grasses
a lone asparagus
waves
- Peter Ladley
mashed potatoes
for lunch and dinner
my throbbing jaws
- Pris Campbell
busy spider
the tangled web
of my mind
- Rachel Sutcliffe
vanilla ice cream
drools into my hand
noon melts down
- Ron Scully
reading the paper
I share my rocking chair
with a tiny spider
- Rosa Clement
news of refugees
I separate basil seedlings
ripping the roots
- Ruth Yarrow
fogged in
rubbing my toes
on the cat's back
- Sandi Pray
remember it all
write it down
let it go
- Sara Robbins
midday heat the stiffness of a cotton saree
- Shloka Shankar
wrong number
nice to exchange
a friendly word
- Simon Hanson
woman in purple shirt
pointing out tulips —
children clinging to her legs
- Stephen Page
red-headed woodpecker
young man with a camera
makes me notice
- Sue Perlgut
children's giggles
under the stairs —
cat's cradle
- Theresa A. Cancro
meal planning
deciding which night
not to care
- Tia Nicole
pizza for breakfast
my inner child
giggles
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
for my mood
the clouds spaced out
just right
- Tom Clausen
more worms
than anticipated
cracked dry soil
- Tricia Knoll
mother's white
and purple irises —
a stranger's yard
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
spring rain
a flower opens for
a butterfly
- Vibeke Laier
as you fly west
i walk
into the rising sun
- Zee Zahava
rain —
drop after drop the lake
steadily overflowing the banks
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
Monday, May 1, 2017
Colorful Haiku
Welcome to the May 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
This month's theme is Colorful Haiku.
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, the U. K., Ukraine, and the United States
blue —
the sea saturated
with so much sky
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
pathway a red sea of tulips
- Adrian Bouter
a black book
on the wooden table
with dried flowers
- Adrian Bouter
how green the peas
of spring
and of renewal
- ai li
you call off your engagement
texting him
wearing yellow
- ai li
in this house of emptiness
every piece of furniture
brown
- ai li
photographing
a man photographing
a bright red sign
- Alan Bern
blasting through red lights
in a shiny black SUV
late for the wake
- Alan Bern
on the front windshield
eleven purple blossoms
on the back window three
- Alan Bern
fence painting
a wish to be the green
of dragons
- Alan Summers
spring skies
and a slide guitar
the purple tulips
- Alan Summers
red roofs
four cats in love
full moon
- Angela Giordano
young artist
tattooed body
purple hair
- Angela Giordano
out in the garden
orange pumpkins
crows on wires
- Angela Giordano
parrots and urchins screech over green mangoes
- Angelee Deodhar
red light
gray birds drape
the power lines
- Anna Cates
one green tomato
still clings to the vine
October drizzle
- Anna Cates
the black sky
a flight of bats —
figs fall
- Antonio Mangiameli
grey sky
his answer
neither yes nor no
- Aparna Pathak
train whistle
a blue jay
announces the cat
- Barbara Kaufmann
cup of oolong
a goldfinch appears
in the haze
- Barbara Kaufmann
blood-red moon
in the garden
a perfect pumpkin
- Barbara Tate
rain
a white cat claws at
the screen
- Barbara Tate
eulogy
a gray dove calls . . .
gets no answer
- Barbara Tate
my mug sky blue
and hers lime green
. . . this steaming berry tea
- Bill Waters
she pauses to twirl:
the little girl
in the raspberry dress
- Bill Waters
like five sisters:
a row of orange maples
tall and strong
- Bill Waters
in place of shrubs
I plant purple bell peppers
and red roses
- Brenda Roberts
sorting stones
all the purple ones
are mine!
- Brenda Roberts
rosemary
for remembrance
mom's plastic pink flamingo
- Brenda Roberts
prussian blue
falling across the canvas
like blueberries
- C. Robin Janning
heavy rainfall
my retriever
golden again
- Carol Dilworth
winter compost
a range of browns
harbinger of plenty
- Carol Dilworth
spring at last
a blue door opens
to sunlight
- Caroline Skanne
spring break
a spot of red
in the bug hotel
- Caroline Skanne
blue dusk
tracing the silhouette
of a song
- Caroline Skanne
bone-deep
where the yellow pill
won't reach
- Caroline Skanne
scarlet night
a bite of apple
in the nude
- Celestine Nudanu
lemon sky
a tinge of bitterness
in mother's soup
- Celestine Nudanu
neither here, nor there
a brown paper bag whipped
by the wind
- Chen-ou Liu
unpacking brown cardboard boxes
too many . . .
gradually fewer
- Cheryl Gallien
blushing bride
my red lipstick print
on her cheek
- Christina Sng
vibrant scarves
swirl around her body
tangerine tango
- Claire Vogel Camargo
uphill
an excuse to stop
red berries, yellow berries
- Danny Blackwell
spring sun
the reddening of
his bald spot
- Dave Read
sunset
a yellow rose
droops in the vase
- Dave Read
vermillion too many poppies to count
- David J. Kelly
forest fire the whole sky burnt sienna
- David J. Kelly
clear blue sky
a student busy
counting clouds
- Debbi Antebi
newly painted
on the park bench
a leaf turns blue
- Debbi Antebi
pink tulips
taking the long way
home
- Debbi Antebi
summer sunset
the orange glow stays
on my face
- Debbi Antebi
balanced on the elephant's trunk a tangerine moon
- Debbie Strange
lazy morning . . .
a ginger cat curls
into a sunbeam
- Debbie Strange
sepia postcards
from around the world
autumn leaves
- Debbie Strange
a row of red bindings
at the used book store
rocking chair
- Deborah P Kolodji
childhood's end
a quilt block made from
her lavender dress
- Deborah P Kolodji
her indentation
in the black leather couch
calico kitten
- Deborah P Kolodji
mindful of the
lightness of meditation
periwinkle blue
- Devin Harrison
illuminating trails
below the redwood canopy
pink sorrel
- Devin Harrison
spring reveals
her new fashion line
a million greens
- Dottie Piet
summer rumble
fists of gray clouds
lead the attack
- Dottie Piet
cherry trees
beautiful evening
in pink japan
- Ece Cehreli
after
the rainbow —
a pink moon
- Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian
black clouds
the sky whispers
its bad mood
- Eufemia Griffo
little maple tree
two inches high
even your three leaves are turning red
- Frank Robinson
in the heel of the black sock a neat circle of pink skin
- Glenn Ingersoll
graveyard —
wearing my black raincoat
once again
- Goran Gatalica
spring pops up
against the blue sky
plums in pink
- Hideo Suzuki
all at once
yellow flowers bloom . . .
summer break
- Hideo Suzuki
pearls of dew
on this purple flower . . .
september ends
- Hideo Suzuki
blue heron
the long line
at the drive-thru
- Jennifer Hambrick
black widow spider
blood droplets
tattooed on her neck
- Jennifer Hambrick
twining vines
shade mama's porch . . .
green beans
- Jill Lange
white sky
white pines —
the falling snow
- Jill Lange
a smoky-peach sunset
mother must be
painting
- Jo Balistreri
in a barrel
of fallen leaves
one pink cosmos
- Jo Balistreri
white clouds
strung across blue sky
ropes on which i hang my hopes
- Joan Leotta
wind and crickets
whistling through
my blue truck
- Joan McNerney
small red boots splatter big puddles
- Joan McNerney
pink blossom scattered
on her grave
north wind
- Joanna M. Weston
the sway of trees
in the wind
a yellow balloon
- Joanna M. Weston
cloud of pale yellow
arbutus blossom —
dragonflies
- Joanna M. Weston
honey bees
dipping into pollen
her crimson lipstick
- John Hawkhead
winter sunlight
my father's photograph
fades to black and white
- John Hawkhead
ebony jewelwing
were you once
plain?
- Julie Warther
gray moon
forgetting
our wedding date
- Justice Joseph Prah
white-lit runway
revealing snail's silver trail
thunderflashes
- Justice Joseph Prah
time into time
the blackness of the well
counting far away stars
- Justice Joseph Prah
little gray rabbits
the slippers she wore
on her last walk
- Kath Abela Wilson
lost piece of sky
my mother always
wore blue
- Kath Abela Wilson
we painted
our home with it
three shades of sunshine
- Kath Abela Wilson
full spring moon rising
red lantern in the black sky
no one is talking
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
two writers are one
when they can't stop looking at
the white gardenia
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
red geranium
green watering can
so sure of themselves
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
a different white
envelope
on the snow
- kjmunro
yellow plastic pail
left at the beach
another memory
- kjmunro
harmattan
a tree shedding
its greenness
- Kwaku Feni Adow
excessive pink rouge
dotting pale flesh
nursing home visit
- Lance Robertson
yellow duckling
close to the ground
morning dew
- Laughing waters
lilac pansies
behind the door
sudden kisses
- Lucia Fontana
red oleander
the silence pierced
by croaking
- Lucia Fontana
new housing estate
the monotony
of red tiled roofs
- Madhuri Pillai
feverish —
orange slices
and an old book
- Maria Laura Valente
jazz records —
this night my lines
are so blue
- Maria Laura Valente
a white forepaw
gingerly
on fallen leaves
- Mark E. Brager
blue monday . . .
in a pot on the window
green sprouts
- Marta Chocilowska
white sky —
the empty space
for thoughts
- Martha Magenta
bluebird song —
hiding in the grass
an iris
- Martha Magenta
open daffodils —
a little girl twirls
her yellow dress
- Martha Magenta
hint of yellow
teasing tips
forsythia
- Marty Blue Waters
children now gone
no red wagon
to break the fog
- Mary Kendall
flashes of azure wings
two bluebirds wake
the grey morning
- Mary Kendall
Mardi Gras gold mask
cat and dogs don't
know me
- Michael G. Smith
damned river flotsam
one red soccer ball stands out
among the rubbish
- Mimi Foyle
among fallen vines
a pencil-thin yellow snake
arrests my footsteps
- Mimi Foyle
wife's first gray hair I point it out a few times
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
attic —
the ladybug loses
its red
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
into a black hole
a sleepy brown bear drags
its shadow
- Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
heat wave
black dots fill
the flypaper
- Olivier Schopfer
just as the traffic light
turns from red to green
my cell phone rings
- Olivier Schopfer
first frost
I follow the white clouds
of my breath
- Olivier Schopfer
nightfall
the purple shamrock's petals
slowly closing
- Olivier Schopfer
64 colors
the time it takes to pick
the first crayon
- Pat Davis
today's lesson
the color of pasta
when it's done
- Pat Davis
in passing . . .
waxwings exchange
red berries
- Pat Geyer
overgrown path
filled with eastern red buds . . .
forest pansies
- Pat Geyer
moving stealthily
through neighborhood backyards —
a dog or red fox
- Pat Geyer
she bid me "come, see!" —
sun setting magenta gold
— eyes wider with dusk
- Peter Ladley
lichens in design
gray splotches on forest stone
stars aging in place
- Peter Ladley
my toni doll —
that same red dress
for sixty years
- Pris Campbell
heavy rain . . .
green overtaking brown
in my father's garden
- Pris Campbell
sleepless . . .
our cat stares back
at the black night
- Pris Campbell
crossroad —
I slip the gold
from my finger
- Pris Campbell
another year
again she wipes
her red eyes
- Rachel Sutcliffe
first autumn alone the yellowing pages of her diary
- Rachel Sutcliffe
white flakes
on red mittens
her first snow
- Rachel Sutcliffe
midday sun
packing oranges
for the picnic
- Rachel Sutcliffe
at day's end
the highest balloon —
yellow, blue, or red?
- Ron Scully
you cannot unscent
red filling the sunroom
so amaryllis
- Ron Scully
painter's palette
teal, cerulean, azure
no match to this sea
- Ron Scully
spring day
even my cat's eyes
are greener
- Rosa Clement
peace parade
white balloons invisible
in the clouds
- Rosa Clement
twilight
an egret stands alone
turning pink
- Sandi Pray
in the woods
the sound of
red berries
- Sandi Pray
crunch-crunch-crunch
a red-winged blackbird stops
and I do too
- Scott Wiggerman
drooping fruit
of prickly pears
maroon sunset
- Scott Wiggerman
yellow stripes
run the caterpillar's length
the road ahead
- Scott Wiggerman
first kiss . . .
my white dish
breaks
- Shedrach Ugwu
mother's emerald ring reflections in green light
- Simon Hanson
midnight silver
the desert pool
filled with stars
- Simon Hanson
garden path
highlights of the moon
on black satin
- Simon Hanson
under the bed
slouching indifferently
one lone purple sock
- Stacey Crawford Murphy
crystal clear raindrop
borrows yellow
from a daffodil
- Sue Norvell
purple bruise
remembering
the "youch!"
- Sue Norvell
turmeric moon
on every page of ma's cookbook
a smear of gold
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
crunch of red leaves . . .
the bickering continues
into the walk
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
chalked upon the sidewalk
the name "macbeth" —
a black ant marches across
- Stephen Page
high above the weeds
closer to the sun, white
yucca plant flowers
- Stephen Page
a psychic's shop
black door ajar —
tell me something I don't know
- Tara Kane
violet, lavender
and lilac dance together
on her skirt
- Theresa A. Cancro
monarchs
perched in firs
dreaming yellow
- Theresa A. Cancro
sliding into spring
a paprika sunset
stains the horizon
- Theresa A. Cancro
on the ground
her golden hair
shorn
- Tia Haynes
the rumpled
white linen
of my wedding night
-Tia Haynes
pink
the triangle
she wore
- Tia Haynes
crimson sunset
what you've said
what I've said
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
spicing things up
one side of the room
painted orange
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
one yellow sock
one blue
whatever — no one looks
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
yellow bingo lights
we count meteors
over the pier
- Tim Gardiner
a warming oven
black bananas
in the yellow bowl
- Tricia Knoll
three gold pins pulled
from the cotton doll
spring cherry blossoms
- Tricia Knoll
black ink on her thumb
the freelancer's
blotted safety net
- Tricia Knoll
gray skies
at the zoo —
blue frogs
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
buds on branches —
two blue jays
trading places
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
filling the heart day after day white butterflies
- Vibeke Laier
golden leaves rustling hedgehog dreams
- Vibeke Laier
cherry tree
a pink petal lands
on my nose
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
spring boot fair i buy a green polka dot dress
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
playing field
i pick a buttercup
for my teacher
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
my brother's smile reflected in a red balloon
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
i loved to trace them —
thick blue veins
on grandma's hands
- Zee Zahava
cardinals
visiting the tulips
red on red on red on red
- Zee Zahava
new blue sneakers
with lime-green laces . . .
more zip in my springtime walk
- Zee Zahava
first date —
over wildflower bouquet
her blue eyes
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
This month's theme is Colorful Haiku.
Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, the U. K., Ukraine, and the United States
blue —
the sea saturated
with so much sky
- Adjei Agyei-Baah
pathway a red sea of tulips
- Adrian Bouter
a black book
on the wooden table
with dried flowers
- Adrian Bouter
how green the peas
of spring
and of renewal
- ai li
you call off your engagement
texting him
wearing yellow
- ai li
in this house of emptiness
every piece of furniture
brown
- ai li
photographing
a man photographing
a bright red sign
- Alan Bern
blasting through red lights
in a shiny black SUV
late for the wake
- Alan Bern
on the front windshield
eleven purple blossoms
on the back window three
- Alan Bern
fence painting
a wish to be the green
of dragons
- Alan Summers
spring skies
and a slide guitar
the purple tulips
- Alan Summers
red roofs
four cats in love
full moon
- Angela Giordano
young artist
tattooed body
purple hair
- Angela Giordano
out in the garden
orange pumpkins
crows on wires
- Angela Giordano
parrots and urchins screech over green mangoes
- Angelee Deodhar
red light
gray birds drape
the power lines
- Anna Cates
one green tomato
still clings to the vine
October drizzle
- Anna Cates
the black sky
a flight of bats —
figs fall
- Antonio Mangiameli
grey sky
his answer
neither yes nor no
- Aparna Pathak
train whistle
a blue jay
announces the cat
- Barbara Kaufmann
cup of oolong
a goldfinch appears
in the haze
- Barbara Kaufmann
blood-red moon
in the garden
a perfect pumpkin
- Barbara Tate
rain
a white cat claws at
the screen
- Barbara Tate
eulogy
a gray dove calls . . .
gets no answer
- Barbara Tate
my mug sky blue
and hers lime green
. . . this steaming berry tea
- Bill Waters
she pauses to twirl:
the little girl
in the raspberry dress
- Bill Waters
like five sisters:
a row of orange maples
tall and strong
- Bill Waters
in place of shrubs
I plant purple bell peppers
and red roses
- Brenda Roberts
sorting stones
all the purple ones
are mine!
- Brenda Roberts
rosemary
for remembrance
mom's plastic pink flamingo
- Brenda Roberts
prussian blue
falling across the canvas
like blueberries
- C. Robin Janning
heavy rainfall
my retriever
golden again
- Carol Dilworth
winter compost
a range of browns
harbinger of plenty
- Carol Dilworth
spring at last
a blue door opens
to sunlight
- Caroline Skanne
spring break
a spot of red
in the bug hotel
- Caroline Skanne
blue dusk
tracing the silhouette
of a song
- Caroline Skanne
bone-deep
where the yellow pill
won't reach
- Caroline Skanne
scarlet night
a bite of apple
in the nude
- Celestine Nudanu
lemon sky
a tinge of bitterness
in mother's soup
- Celestine Nudanu
neither here, nor there
a brown paper bag whipped
by the wind
- Chen-ou Liu
unpacking brown cardboard boxes
too many . . .
gradually fewer
- Cheryl Gallien
blushing bride
my red lipstick print
on her cheek
- Christina Sng
vibrant scarves
swirl around her body
tangerine tango
- Claire Vogel Camargo
uphill
an excuse to stop
red berries, yellow berries
- Danny Blackwell
spring sun
the reddening of
his bald spot
- Dave Read
sunset
a yellow rose
droops in the vase
- Dave Read
vermillion too many poppies to count
- David J. Kelly
forest fire the whole sky burnt sienna
- David J. Kelly
clear blue sky
a student busy
counting clouds
- Debbi Antebi
newly painted
on the park bench
a leaf turns blue
- Debbi Antebi
pink tulips
taking the long way
home
- Debbi Antebi
summer sunset
the orange glow stays
on my face
- Debbi Antebi
balanced on the elephant's trunk a tangerine moon
- Debbie Strange
lazy morning . . .
a ginger cat curls
into a sunbeam
- Debbie Strange
sepia postcards
from around the world
autumn leaves
- Debbie Strange
a row of red bindings
at the used book store
rocking chair
- Deborah P Kolodji
childhood's end
a quilt block made from
her lavender dress
- Deborah P Kolodji
her indentation
in the black leather couch
calico kitten
- Deborah P Kolodji
mindful of the
lightness of meditation
periwinkle blue
- Devin Harrison
illuminating trails
below the redwood canopy
pink sorrel
- Devin Harrison
spring reveals
her new fashion line
a million greens
- Dottie Piet
summer rumble
fists of gray clouds
lead the attack
- Dottie Piet
cherry trees
beautiful evening
in pink japan
- Ece Cehreli
after
the rainbow —
a pink moon
- Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian
black clouds
the sky whispers
its bad mood
- Eufemia Griffo
little maple tree
two inches high
even your three leaves are turning red
- Frank Robinson
in the heel of the black sock a neat circle of pink skin
- Glenn Ingersoll
graveyard —
wearing my black raincoat
once again
- Goran Gatalica
spring pops up
against the blue sky
plums in pink
- Hideo Suzuki
all at once
yellow flowers bloom . . .
summer break
- Hideo Suzuki
pearls of dew
on this purple flower . . .
september ends
- Hideo Suzuki
blue heron
the long line
at the drive-thru
- Jennifer Hambrick
black widow spider
blood droplets
tattooed on her neck
- Jennifer Hambrick
twining vines
shade mama's porch . . .
green beans
- Jill Lange
white sky
white pines —
the falling snow
- Jill Lange
a smoky-peach sunset
mother must be
painting
- Jo Balistreri
in a barrel
of fallen leaves
one pink cosmos
- Jo Balistreri
white clouds
strung across blue sky
ropes on which i hang my hopes
- Joan Leotta
wind and crickets
whistling through
my blue truck
- Joan McNerney
small red boots splatter big puddles
- Joan McNerney
pink blossom scattered
on her grave
north wind
- Joanna M. Weston
the sway of trees
in the wind
a yellow balloon
- Joanna M. Weston
cloud of pale yellow
arbutus blossom —
dragonflies
- Joanna M. Weston
honey bees
dipping into pollen
her crimson lipstick
- John Hawkhead
winter sunlight
my father's photograph
fades to black and white
- John Hawkhead
ebony jewelwing
were you once
plain?
- Julie Warther
gray moon
forgetting
our wedding date
- Justice Joseph Prah
white-lit runway
revealing snail's silver trail
thunderflashes
- Justice Joseph Prah
time into time
the blackness of the well
counting far away stars
- Justice Joseph Prah
little gray rabbits
the slippers she wore
on her last walk
- Kath Abela Wilson
lost piece of sky
my mother always
wore blue
- Kath Abela Wilson
we painted
our home with it
three shades of sunshine
- Kath Abela Wilson
full spring moon rising
red lantern in the black sky
no one is talking
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
two writers are one
when they can't stop looking at
the white gardenia
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
red geranium
green watering can
so sure of themselves
- Katya Sabaroff Taylor
a different white
envelope
on the snow
- kjmunro
yellow plastic pail
left at the beach
another memory
- kjmunro
harmattan
a tree shedding
its greenness
- Kwaku Feni Adow
excessive pink rouge
dotting pale flesh
nursing home visit
- Lance Robertson
yellow duckling
close to the ground
morning dew
- Laughing waters
lilac pansies
behind the door
sudden kisses
- Lucia Fontana
red oleander
the silence pierced
by croaking
- Lucia Fontana
new housing estate
the monotony
of red tiled roofs
- Madhuri Pillai
feverish —
orange slices
and an old book
- Maria Laura Valente
jazz records —
this night my lines
are so blue
- Maria Laura Valente
a white forepaw
gingerly
on fallen leaves
- Mark E. Brager
blue monday . . .
in a pot on the window
green sprouts
- Marta Chocilowska
white sky —
the empty space
for thoughts
- Martha Magenta
bluebird song —
hiding in the grass
an iris
- Martha Magenta
open daffodils —
a little girl twirls
her yellow dress
- Martha Magenta
hint of yellow
teasing tips
forsythia
- Marty Blue Waters
children now gone
no red wagon
to break the fog
- Mary Kendall
flashes of azure wings
two bluebirds wake
the grey morning
- Mary Kendall
Mardi Gras gold mask
cat and dogs don't
know me
- Michael G. Smith
damned river flotsam
one red soccer ball stands out
among the rubbish
- Mimi Foyle
among fallen vines
a pencil-thin yellow snake
arrests my footsteps
- Mimi Foyle
wife's first gray hair I point it out a few times
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
attic —
the ladybug loses
its red
- Nicholas Klacsanzky
into a black hole
a sleepy brown bear drags
its shadow
- Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)
heat wave
black dots fill
the flypaper
- Olivier Schopfer
just as the traffic light
turns from red to green
my cell phone rings
- Olivier Schopfer
first frost
I follow the white clouds
of my breath
- Olivier Schopfer
nightfall
the purple shamrock's petals
slowly closing
- Olivier Schopfer
64 colors
the time it takes to pick
the first crayon
- Pat Davis
today's lesson
the color of pasta
when it's done
- Pat Davis
in passing . . .
waxwings exchange
red berries
- Pat Geyer
overgrown path
filled with eastern red buds . . .
forest pansies
- Pat Geyer
moving stealthily
through neighborhood backyards —
a dog or red fox
- Pat Geyer
she bid me "come, see!" —
sun setting magenta gold
— eyes wider with dusk
- Peter Ladley
lichens in design
gray splotches on forest stone
stars aging in place
- Peter Ladley
my toni doll —
that same red dress
for sixty years
- Pris Campbell
heavy rain . . .
green overtaking brown
in my father's garden
- Pris Campbell
sleepless . . .
our cat stares back
at the black night
- Pris Campbell
crossroad —
I slip the gold
from my finger
- Pris Campbell
another year
again she wipes
her red eyes
- Rachel Sutcliffe
first autumn alone the yellowing pages of her diary
- Rachel Sutcliffe
white flakes
on red mittens
her first snow
- Rachel Sutcliffe
midday sun
packing oranges
for the picnic
- Rachel Sutcliffe
at day's end
the highest balloon —
yellow, blue, or red?
- Ron Scully
you cannot unscent
red filling the sunroom
so amaryllis
- Ron Scully
painter's palette
teal, cerulean, azure
no match to this sea
- Ron Scully
spring day
even my cat's eyes
are greener
- Rosa Clement
peace parade
white balloons invisible
in the clouds
- Rosa Clement
twilight
an egret stands alone
turning pink
- Sandi Pray
in the woods
the sound of
red berries
- Sandi Pray
crunch-crunch-crunch
a red-winged blackbird stops
and I do too
- Scott Wiggerman
drooping fruit
of prickly pears
maroon sunset
- Scott Wiggerman
yellow stripes
run the caterpillar's length
the road ahead
- Scott Wiggerman
first kiss . . .
my white dish
breaks
- Shedrach Ugwu
mother's emerald ring reflections in green light
- Simon Hanson
midnight silver
the desert pool
filled with stars
- Simon Hanson
garden path
highlights of the moon
on black satin
- Simon Hanson
under the bed
slouching indifferently
one lone purple sock
- Stacey Crawford Murphy
crystal clear raindrop
borrows yellow
from a daffodil
- Sue Norvell
purple bruise
remembering
the "youch!"
- Sue Norvell
turmeric moon
on every page of ma's cookbook
a smear of gold
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
crunch of red leaves . . .
the bickering continues
into the walk
- Sanjuktaa Asopa
chalked upon the sidewalk
the name "macbeth" —
a black ant marches across
- Stephen Page
high above the weeds
closer to the sun, white
yucca plant flowers
- Stephen Page
a psychic's shop
black door ajar —
tell me something I don't know
- Tara Kane
violet, lavender
and lilac dance together
on her skirt
- Theresa A. Cancro
monarchs
perched in firs
dreaming yellow
- Theresa A. Cancro
sliding into spring
a paprika sunset
stains the horizon
- Theresa A. Cancro
on the ground
her golden hair
shorn
- Tia Haynes
the rumpled
white linen
of my wedding night
-Tia Haynes
pink
the triangle
she wore
- Tia Haynes
crimson sunset
what you've said
what I've said
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
spicing things up
one side of the room
painted orange
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
one yellow sock
one blue
whatever — no one looks
- Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
yellow bingo lights
we count meteors
over the pier
- Tim Gardiner
a warming oven
black bananas
in the yellow bowl
- Tricia Knoll
three gold pins pulled
from the cotton doll
spring cherry blossoms
- Tricia Knoll
black ink on her thumb
the freelancer's
blotted safety net
- Tricia Knoll
gray skies
at the zoo —
blue frogs
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
buds on branches —
two blue jays
trading places
- Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
filling the heart day after day white butterflies
- Vibeke Laier
golden leaves rustling hedgehog dreams
- Vibeke Laier
cherry tree
a pink petal lands
on my nose
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
spring boot fair i buy a green polka dot dress
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
playing field
i pick a buttercup
for my teacher
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
my brother's smile reflected in a red balloon
- Violet Akalu-Skanne
i loved to trace them —
thick blue veins
on grandma's hands
- Zee Zahava
cardinals
visiting the tulips
red on red on red on red
- Zee Zahava
new blue sneakers
with lime-green laces . . .
more zip in my springtime walk
- Zee Zahava
first date —
over wildflower bouquet
her blue eyes
- Zuzanna Truchlewska
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
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