haiku happiness

Welcome to the April 2021 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.

This month’s collection focuses on Things That Make Us Happy … small things, major things, long ago memories, and current moments.

Poems arrived from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Wishing you a sense of peace and happiness as you read the following haiku . . . .



dusk
the village lit up
in fireflies
    Adjei Agyei-Baah

sparklers
on the birthday cake
the smiles
    ai li

your proposal
the clouds
under my feet
    ai li

playing soccer
in the alley at night
nearly noiseless
    Alan Bern

pillow fight
a feather escapes
to the moon
    Alan Summers

I starch my crinolines
in the bathroom sink
spring in bloom
    Alexis Rotella

morning geese
I eavesdrop on
their conversation
    Alexis Rotella

hand in hand we go
whistling our song
wedding anniversary
    Amauri Solon

nothing more beautiful
than to hold you in my arms
little baby
    Angela Giordano

to stay at home
with books and good music —
sweet at night
    Angela Giordano

black and white goat
takes apple slices carefully
from my fingers
    Antonia Matthew

morning stroll
I hum a tune
to my old dog
    Barbara Tate

cotton candy
the taste of a rainbow
at the fair
    Barbara Tate

cloudburst!
running for shelter
laughing
    Bill Waters

out in the rain
that girl who twirls
her umbrella
    Bill Waters

big sister
sipping warm beer through a straw
the life of the party
    Blue Waters

summer days
turning the crank
on the ice cream churn
    Brad Bennett

moss between
maple tree roots
I wriggle my toes
    Brad Bennett

line cast
I settle into
the rhythm of waves
    Bryan Rickert

the same poem
I write every year
first snow
    Bryan Rickert

my brother called . . .
speaking of simple things we
felt our connection
    C. Robin Janning

hyacinth
a second stem of flowers
fills the pot
    C. Robin Janning

in the hemlocks
last year’s ceramic rabbit
stands tall
    C. Robin Janning

four days alone
silent journey . . . who knows
what may be found?
    Carole Johnston

wren song
at dawn the dog and I
stop to listen
    Carole Johnston

mud on your face leaning over the dahlias
    Caroline Skanne

as if seeing yellow for the first time primrose
    Caroline Skanne

in dim light
the silence between us
her heartbeat against mine
    Chen-ou Liu

knots of green
each day a little bigger
my apple tree buds
    Christina Martin

dad and my daughter
popping bubble wrap together
my best memory of him
    Christina Sng

curled up safe
under my duvet
small dumpling
    Christina Sng

holiday playlist
dancing in the kitchen
with a spatula
    Christine L. Villa

graduation
daring to pick
a yellow car
    Claire Vogel Camargo

blue waves
loosening my hair
in the wind
    Daniela Misso

prairie winter
a rainbow of tulips
at the market
    Debbie Strange

country school
tumbleweeds race
us to the bus
    Debbie Strange

a blue kite
meets the sky
running girl takes flight
    Deborah Burke Henderson

twin boys
discover belly buttons
and each other
    Deborah Burke Henderson

split open —
sweet potato
wakes me
    Donna Fleischer

autumn moon —
“I love you” escapes
from my lips
    Elisa Allo

plum picking
head-to-head
with a squirrel
    Helen Buckingham

as if from nowhere honeysuckle
    Helen Buckingham

first sight
of the crescent moon
baby’s smile
    Hifsa Ashraf

a child is born
family members rejoice
rain and fog have cleared
    Isabelle Loverro

inked diary
the self assured strokes
of my younger self
    Jackie Chou

violets . . .
any time
anywhere
    Jill Lange

robin
for a moment
on my Adirondack chair
    Jill Lange

alone at the window
i await
kingfisher’s return
    Jim Mazza

wind-slanted rain
with a great swoosh
my hair blooms pink
    Jo Balistreri

bluebird returned today
to the house we built him —
a welcome neighbor
    Joan Leotta

blackberries
with yogurt
for lunch
    Joan McNerney

alley behind my book shop
the feral cat accepts
its first pet
    John J. Dunphy

online discovery
the book I thought worthless
earmarked to pay my utilities
    John J. Dunphy

windy fells —
the best coffee ever
out of a plastic mug
    Karen Hoy

thumbs up
through each car window
our second dose
    Kath Abela Wilson

vaccinated visit
abracadabra
our grandson’s a foot taller
    Kath Abela Wilson

today my new knee
and I took a walk —
we visited trees!
    Kathleen Kramer

a friend, a scone
a cup of tea —
poem without words
    Kathleen Kramer

into a hot bath
I lay my winter body
and watch the steam rise
    Katya Sabaroff Taylor

three cats just sitting
on my summer screened-in porch
with no to-do list
    Katya Sabaroff Taylor

beret borrowed
from an old friend
warm with memories
    kris moon

the warmth of the cup
as i reminisce
by the fire
    kris moon

daydreaming
in father’s loud laughter
I cuddle up
    Lakshmi Iyer

tangerines . . .
I share the sun
with a fisherman
    Lucia Cardillo

soulmates
the quiet intimacy
of our long life
    Marianne Paul

double-dutch
the bigger girls cheer
me on
    Marianne Paul

big wheel —
riding my sister’s
old bike
    Marianne Paul

lifting my mood
the uplifted flips
of a wagtail
    Marietta McGregor

fresh sfogliatelle
the unfolding intimacy
of our layers
    Marietta McGregor

face timing . . .
an iris
opens up
    Marilyn Ashbaugh

hula hoops
she teaches me
again
    Marilyn Ashbaugh

childhood memory
a bag of clementines
on my birthday
    Marta Chocilowska

beach breeze
on my lips the salt
of your skin
    Maya Daneva

bonsai elm’s first prune
anxious days
new leaves!
    Michael G. Smith

mushy banana
just right
for bread
    Michael G. Smith

a day to myself
no responsibilities
taking life easy
    Mimi Foyle

a perfect morning
sunlight dances through crystal
spattering rainbows
    Mimi Foyle

from branch
to heart
blackbird’s song
    Mirela Brăilean

hot springs —
in the ancient tub
my ancient toes
    Miriam Sagan

Grateful Dead
cover concert –
my tie dye dancing
    Miriam Sagan

cajun dancing
at Tipitina’s
washboard rhythm
    Nancy Shires

redone x-ray
shows i’m okay
sweet wine
    Nancy Shires

summer lightning
the first time he placed
his hand on mine
    Nancy Shires

evening snow
the smell
of a newly printed book
    Olivier Schopfer

just a walk
in the park
children blowing bubbles
    Olivier Schopfer

spring splurge
at the supermarket . . .
daffodils
    Pat Davis

spring woods
alone with
everything
    Pat Davis

cobalt blue
my budgie chosen with Dad
I name him Billy
    Paul Beech

three thousand feet . . .
now I bank the glider
and dive
    Paul Beech

late winter . . .
just enough light
for a cuckoo to sing
    Pragya Vishnoi

sha do be do be do
band bus rumbling home
through the night
    Pris Campbell

fried green tomatoes
my father and I snack
late in the night
    Pris Campbell

his old letters
feelings come rushing back
as if yesterday
    Pris Campbell

my new glasses
the landscape is all
updated
    Rosa Clement

spring afternoon
my hammock fills
with me
    Rosa Clement

a new hummingbird
between us a small
conversation
    Rosa Clement

summertime
tiny cold waves
tickle my feet
    Sherry Grant

behind closed eyes
her carousel horse
takes to the sky
    Simon Hanson

spring shower . . .
unwrapping lavender
soaps
    Theresa A. Cancro

perseid shower . . .
the aroma of popcorn
popping
    Theresa A. Cancro

i stop my worries
join my cat at the window
to watch the new birds
    Tina Wright

peepers rise from antifreeze
loud oddly soothing
first warm night the pond
    Tina Wright

giggles back
and giggles forth
tire swing
    Tom Bierovic

scent of neatsfoot
the hand-me-down mitt
makes another catch
    Tom Bierovic

back to my book . . .
the embrace of a world
within a world
    Tom Clausen

no names
but there they are
early greens
    Tom Clausen

zoo yoga
a flamingo poised
on one leg
    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

dragons glide
through the clouds —
kites
    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

butterfly
how many ways to touch
a poppy’s heart
    Vibeke Laier

my neighbor’s baby
grabs my nose
laughs out loud
    Yvonne Fisher

three-year-old friend
calls me Yonne
leaves out the v
    Yvonne Fisher

slipping quietly
into your room
YES — you are still breathing
    Zee Zahava