Welcome to the May 2021 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
The theme of this month’s collection is edible haiku. Enjoy the feast!
Poems arrived from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States
mango season
sharing pleasure
with flies
Adjei Agyei-Baah
bing cherries
one kissed
my lips
ai li
fruit cake
your recipe
died with you
ai li
picking up crumbs
seeing you doing the same
all those years past
Alan Bern
warm bread —
you hold me
on the back deck
Alan Bern
low slung river
thoughts of home
and lemon trout
Alan Summers
pot luck dinner
another box
of chocolates
Alexis Rotella
granddaughter’s joy
cotton candy
all over her face
Amauri Solon
pomegranate —
my first lesson about
the red planet
Ana Drobot
mom’s black cherry cupcakes
bitter-sweet taste
never forgotten
Angela Giordano
toasted almonds
my granddaughter is greedy —
tender kisses
Angela Giordano
landlocked Indiana
can’t find a decent kipper
anywhere
Antonia Matthew
spring opening
my favorite farm stand
packed with arugula
Barbara Kaufmann
slowing down
this year I plant
a little less basil
Barbara Kaufmann
driftwood
the sizzle of marshmallows
at midnight
Barbara Tate
wabi? sabi?
I scratch my head
and eat some wasabi
Bill Waters
summer woods . . .
beneath the leaf mold
mushrooms
Bill Waters
broken chocolate squares
shape-shift into sunflowers
on my yellow plate
Blue Waters
last drops . . .
the end of a row
of rainbow chard
Brad Bennett
winter dawn
spreading blackberry jam
to the crusts
Brad Bennett
beans
straight from the can
this solitude
Bryan Rickert
deli order
a little Yiddish
goes a long way
Bryan Rickert
peanut butter
after all these years
adding jelly
C. Robin Janning
rice . . .
how the earth grows
dinner
C. Robin Janning
grating carrots
even my scraped knuckles
are zen
Carole Johnston
we drive twenty miles
winding down the river for
Shaker lemon pie
Carole Johnston
ice cream
rum raisin and ginger
that day in New Hope
Carole Johnston
morning light
slipping a lychee fruit
out of its skin
Caroline Skanne
tenth year of exile
the mixed smell of dark coffee
and Chinese fried dough
Chen-ou Liu
quarantine breakfast
my kids practice sword fighting
with baguettes
Chen-ou Liu
fruit salad
in bechamel sauce
the taste of raw celery
Christina Chin
travel gifts
the caramel aroma
of strawberry mochi
Christina Chin
fragrance of mother
dill potatoes
herring
Christina Martin
splash of orange
headlight nasturtium
party salad
Christina Martin
eyes closed
on my hot cross bun
proper butter
Christina Martin
childhood cereal
reading the box
like a newspaper
Christina Sng
love or hate
there is no in-between
durians
Christina Sng
nonverbal fight
the hard chopping
of carrots
Christine L. Villa
day moon
cilantro-lime marinade
on everything
Claire Vogel Camargo
quiet evening
chestnuts grumble
in the pan
Daniela Misso
garden solitude
only the hidden eyes
of seed potatoes
Debbie Strange
our neighbor
feeds it while we’re gone . . .
sourdough starter
Debbie Strange
autumn flames
we gather rose hips
for our muesli
Debbie Strange
root cellar
the darkness lit
by jelly jars
Debbie Strange
street corn
tourists’ wrists
drip with butter
Deborah Burke Henderson
dining en plein air
yellow jackets hover . . .
syrup on my elbow
Deborah Burke Henderson
surfside tacos
the roar
of motorcycles
Deborah P Kolodji
crystal dish
on a torn lace tablecloth
pickled crab apples
Deborah P Kolodji
al fresco —
fly on the menu
be careful
Donna Fleischer
false promises —
the pizza dough
is not rising
Elisa Allo
birthday cake . . .
the chocolate scent
hangs over the roses
Elisa Allo
thanksgiving day
my father lets me carve
the turkey
Florin C. Ciobica
before the trip
finishing the berries
in expired yogurt
Glenn Ingersoll
the old granola bar
won’t be going
on this trip
Glenn Ingersoll
gallery salad bar —
he draws the line
at nasturtiums
Helen Buckingham
cod and chips
reduced to chips
a post-lockdown gull frenzy
Helen Buckingham
breaking a fast
the aroma of desi roti
from window to window
Hifsa Ashraf
morning sunlight
on a banana leaf
mango chutney
Hifsa Ashraf
kneading flour
in each fold
her fading fingerprints
Hifsa Ashraf
birds and butterflies
search fields for fruit and berries
spring rain soaks the farm
Isabelle Loverro
ice cream shop offerings
my decision processes
still frozen
Jay Friedenberg
in the hotel room
after our wedding . . .
chocolate covered strawberries!
Jay Friedenberg
this almond —
the weight of
a honey bee
Jill Lange
home alone eating less . . .
backyard birds
eating more
Jill Lange
grateful for the bakery
always taking my orders
for hamantashen
Jill Lange
flash of red among
green-black olives
lonely pimento
Jim Mazza
all that remains
are the toothpicks —
pintxo memories
Jim Mazza
salt-crusted sea bass
set aflame with raki
table-side floorshow
Jim Mazza
retired guys chewing
on politics and donuts
neighborhood diner
Jo Balistreri
first tomato slice of summer
a welcome bullseye
on my open-face sandwich
Joan Leotta
community food bank
each banana comes with
free fruit flies
John J. Dunphy
fundamentalist church potluck
pastor removes
the deviled eggs
John J. Dunphy
thunk of blackberries
in my metal pail —
the promise of pie
Julie Bloss Kelsey
yet another attempt
at baked eggplant —
I dredge up a smile
Julie Bloss Kelsey
open-air market
a faint whiff of cantaloupe
through my face mask
Julie Bloss Kelsey
shared dessert
on the rose leaf a drop
of raspberry coulis
Karen Hoy
printing each menu
on edible paper
appetizers
Kath Abela Wilson
edible haiku
I write with icing
on the cupcakes
Kath Abela Wilson
one omelet steaming
garlic and basil fragrance
lures the dinner guests
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
almost too cute to cook . . .
potato with eyelashes
& a toothy smile
kris moon
ripe plums
picked under a half moon
I saved you some
Kristen Lindquist
morning heat
more blueberries in my bowl
than cereal
Kristen Lindquist
fogged in
craving pea soup
for lunch
Kristen Lindquist
first birthday . . .
cherry blossom pink
icing on her cake
Lakshmi Iyer
not confessing
at the checkout
grapes i ate while shopping
Laurinda Lind
calico bass
the taste of the lake
i grew up on
Laurinda Lind
exhausted by flavor
by the time i reach
the pit of the peach
Laurinda Lind
steaming artichokes
the layers
of that marriage
Laurinda Lind
ripe cherries . . .
dad only eats
the bruised ones
Lucia Cardillo
the first white grape
from the garden . . .
a bee chases me
Lucia Cardillo
after gym
detour to the supermarket . . .
sweet tooth
Madhuri Pillai
more liqueur
than chocolate . . .
my secret stash
Madhuri Pillai
growing up poor
potatoes and more
potatoes
Marianne Paul
sizzling frying pan
mother’s love of burnt
burgers
Marianne Paul
rest stop sandwich
swallows picking bugs
off hot fenders
Marietta McGregor
Santa Monica Pier
hot dogs with a side
of razzle dazzle
Marietta McGregor
the flavor
of a wild lawn
dandelion greens
Marilyn Ashbaugh
tugging my sleeve
as if to remind me
wild raspberries
Marilyn Ashbaugh
bowl of kumquats
the bitter and
the sweet
Marilyn Ashbaugh
late summer
the last plump tomato
picked from the vine
Marilyn Humbert
birthday cake
candles dripping wax . . .
minutes pass into days
Marilyn Humbert
campfire coals
the smoky aroma
of caught trout
Mark Miller
fish & chips
peeking with one eye
a seagull
Marta Chocilowska
all is lost
you think and suddenly
a fudge cake
Marta Chocilowska
Nepalese dal bhat —
lentils, rice, greens —
travel banned, I miss my friends
Michael G. Smith
blending my
morning smoothie
and the news
Michael G. Smith
barefooted children
spitting watermelon seeds
midsummer picnic
Mimi Foyle
cooking
with my mother
please, can I lick the spoon?
Olivier Schopfer
fruit cake
feeling like
a kid again
Olivier Schopfer
crabapple jelly
one wild tree
one small batch
Pat Davis
making popcorn
our conversation
lightens
Pat Davis
tug-of-war
drumsticks
outnumbered by kids
Pat Davis
a taste from
my blue-collar days —
sugared almonds
Paul Beech
bonding time
fried green tomatoes
late at night
Pris Campbell
caramel soufflé
he confesses his love
before it falls
Pris Campbell
leaving tomorrow
we walk the tide line slurping
two-finger poi
Pris Campbell
a thousand noodles
stir in the steaming bowl
the same folds
Ron Scully
late innings
the smell of steamed hotdogs
and beer breath cheers
Ron Scully
colorful cakes
a butterfly and I
window shopping
Rosa Clement
cat procession
the girl goes in front
holding the sardines
Rosa Clement
poet’s dry spell —
on the withered plant
the ripest tomato
Ruth Yarrow
mountain windowsill
through the honey jar
sunset
Ruth Yarrow
bunched up
in anxiety
bananas
Sherry Grant
in thin slices
taste of the sea
— oyster omelette
Sherry Grant
served up in sweet squares
childhood memories
— pineapple cakes
Sherry Grant
summer camp lunchtime
spelling words out of
half-eaten pretzels
Stacey Murphy
behind the pickles
lonely, mad, and forgotten
sour cream turns bitter
Stacey Murphy
chili cook-off —
she spills the beans on my
secret ingredient
Susan Burch
in the pancake batter a shapeless haiku
Susan Burch
my name spelled wrong retirement cake
Susan Burch
hot dog eating contest
I get sick
of competing with you
Susan Burch
giant drops of rain
fried mushrooms
on toast
Ted Sherman
winter morning
the gentle tap tap tap
of boiling eggs
Ted Sherman
new friend
leaving the last
chocolate truffle
Theresa A. Cancro
smooth jazz . . .
a slice of cantaloupe
off the knife
Theresa A. Cancro
chilly morning
piercing the skin
of my cream of wheat
Theresa A. Cancro
wild youth
i used to pull my
food from the earth
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
bowl of soup
when i just
need a hug
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
no regrets
i eat the whole
pint of ice cream
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
harvest moon
drips of persimmon
on her chin
Tom Bierovic
all the kernels
that failed to pop
first dates
Tom Bierovic
midday
for good measure
a spoonful of honey
Tom Clausen
poached eggs
eye to eye with the waitress
“i like them runny”
Tom Clausen
between meals
it comes down to
a few triscuits
Tom Clausen
The Vampire Cookbook
recipes for blood sausage
without garlic
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
alphabet soup
“S” is for the curve
of a heron’s neck
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
dappled sunshine
zucchini blossoms
in the omelet
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
first wild strawberry
the memories i share
with my sister
Vibeke Laier
a table for one
the sparrow picking up
my bread crumbs
Vibeka Laier
mother piles sugar
on her mashed potatoes
Red Hat Society
Wilda Morris
sloppy joe meat
in the waffle batter —
successful experiment
Wilda Morris
the taste of
sweet summer raspberries
my mother singing opera
Yvonne Fisher
pandemic Passover
no seder this year
matzo and butter
Yvonne Fisher
big bowl of pasta
(in the dream)
tired of my low-carb diet
Zee Zahava
animal cracker
biting off the tiger’s head
releases my roar
Zee Zahava