numbers

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

The theme this month is numbers.

Contributing poets are from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States

dark river
2 beavers play
in the moon spot
    Adjei Agyei-Baah

spring migration
2 herons hurry
to catch up
    Adjei Agyei-Baah

1967
a flower child
asleep in the meadow
    ai li

sisters
the 2 of us
so unlike mother
    ai li

3 trees
behind
3 trees
    Alan Bern

3 old trees
a bald man scratches
his brow
    Alan Bern

434 species of seabird
1 stole
my sandwich
    Alan Peat

his stick and her arm
2 old trees
leaning together
    Alan Peat

50 percent
of my happiness —
your smile
    Ana Drobot

the clock strikes 12
my daughter celebrates
her 24th birthday
    Angela Giordano

autumn wind
1 gray hair falls
with the leaves
    Angela Giordano

convalescence —
2 steps with butterflies
in the tall grass
    Angiola Inglese

37 years
all that changes is
our hair color
    Ann Carter

I name them once again
Kate  John  Mike  Fran Tom
I really raised all 5?
    Antonia Matthew

3 shakes of chili powder
and 2 blankets —
first frost
    Barbara Sabol

interstate 15
on my way to Vegas
wondering who I’ll be
    Barbara Tate

afternoon shadow
his only chance to be
6 feet tall
    Barbara Tate

at the shelter
love at first sight I adopt
2 kittens
    Barbara Tate

1980s attire
the weight
of shoulder pads
    Barrie Levine

childhood phone #
LI 3-3033
wired in me
    Barrie Levine

the countless times
i dream of you
my best 40 years
    Barrie Levine

that perilous switch
on the 8 and 9 . . .
hopscotch grid
    Barrie Levine

6 p.m.
this morning’s tea
cold in the cup
    Bill Waters

my 74th birthday
the crossword puzzle
easily solved
    Blue Waters

10 stoplights long
my daughter’s rambling
apology
    Bryan Rickert

all-day hike
5 miles in we find
our silence
    Bryan Rickert

20th anniversary
the way she dresses up
the leftovers
    Bryan Rickert

1/2 off
navigating
the aisles
    C.R. Harper

college professor
wraps up his quarter-hour talk
in 50 minutes
    Charles Trumbull

in the back 40
60 years
of automotive history
    Charles Trumbull

3.4 seconds
between each of her
snores
    Charles Trumbull

2 for 1 . . . 3 for 1
the melon vendor’s mask
under his chin
    Chen-ou Liu

hush of early snow
1 more white lie
added to her complaints
    Chen-ou Liu

2 folded hands
the praying mantis
quietly preys
    Christina Chin

late bloomers
in the new jade vase
7 autumn roses
    Christina Chin

9 p.m. i tap
the nooks and crannies
where crickets chirp
    Christina Chin

spider —
dewdrops on
its 500th web
    Christina Martin

crick in my neck —
a small tear
on page 125
    Christina Martin

age 7
I wonder
why I exist
    Christina Sng

I keep to
even numbers
10 ear piercings
    Christina Sng

what have I
gotten myself into
1200 piece jigsaw
    Christina Sng

bedtime after
our evening walk
the dog’s 2 circles
    Claire Camargo

inside a pocket
of an old Carnival dress . . .
1,000 lire
    Daniela Misso

our deaf Dalmatian more than 101 negative spaces
    Debbie Strange

miniature forest
in a clump of moss . . .
1 red berry
    Deborah Burke Henderson

dry run
3 big yellow buses
practice their routes
    Deborah Burke Henderson

ocean spray
4 sets of sneakers
left on the beach
    Deborah P Kolodji

cactus garden
600,000 needles reflected
in the afternoon sun
    Deborah P Kolodji

on the porch
3 peanut shells
wet with squirrel spit
    Glenn Ingersoll

sardines:
omega-3
killer key
    Helen Buckingham

evening timepass
refilling the pill box
in 2 hours
    Hifsa Ashraf

lemon water
pondering the weight
of 5 calories
    Jackie Chou

crow caw
pressing the walk button
for the 5th time
    Jackie Chou

birthday email from mom
counting the 10 extra
exclamation marks
    Jay Friedenberg

old barn
the weathered wood
of 100 seasons
    Jay Friedenberg

steady rain
2 lovers
1 umbrella
    Jay Friedenberg

today . . .
2 perfect pumpkins
pick me
    Jill Lange

a yard full of trees
and no 2 spaced
to hold a hammock
    Jill Lange

my mother has fallen again
now even 1 step
is too many
    Jim Mazza

23 missed calls —
new cell phone
user error
    Jim Mazza

in the spiral
of the antique rose
1 blue damselfly
    Jo Balistreri

all 206 bones ache —
colorful leaves
cold rain
    Joan Leotta

eyes beginning
to droop . . . it must
be 9 p.m.
    Joan McNerney

“1 more thing”
I asked as the doctor
hurried away
    Joan McNerney

he loves me
he loves me not
1 petal remaining
    Joanna Ashwell

0347
his lucky lottery number
the time of his father’s death
    John J. Dunphy

-248
I show my wife
our checking account balance
    John J. Dunphy

claff . . . claff . . . claff . . .
slowly 2 horses
cross the river
    Jorge Alberto Giallorenzi

noon
2 sparrows taking a sand bath
in a flower pot
    Julia Guzman

4 years ago
at a truck stop in Kansas . . .
5 plastic palm trees
    Julie Bloss Kelsey

in the basket
marked “lonely” . . .
67 unmatched socks
    Julie Bloss Kelsey

lucky peace doves
how mother folded
her $2 bills
    Kath Abela Wilson

2021
the planetary year of
get well soon
    Kath Abela Wilson

at the bottom of my purse
2 tubes of lipstick
unused since i retired
    Kathleen Kramer

1940s photograph
my mother
sultry smoky beautiful
    Kathleen Kramer

3 teeth remaining
grandma takes her time
with the chicken wing
    Kathleen Kramer

for her school picture
my kid holds up 5 fingers
such a big girl now
    Katya Sabaroff Taylor

3rd eye
found in the depths
of a moon flower
    kris moon

20-year-old dried flowers
the restaurant menu
hasn’t been changed either
    kris moon

71
seems like 10 years older
than 70
    kris moon

90th birthday
grandpa stretches
his yoga mat
    Lakshmi Iyer

1000 lotus petals
the sun shines equally
on each of them
    Lakshmi Iyer

2nd time i’ve dreamed of her
my neighbor
who swears at her kids
    Laurinda Lind

25 strings
the guzheng plucked
under a blue moon
    Lisbeth Ho

uprising
500 monarchs
take over a tree
    Lorraine A. Padden

1 red sock and 1 green
the smiles behind
the masks
    Madhuri Pillai

1,000000 hairs
on the floor —
my dog’s revenge
    Madhuri Pillai

my paintbox
56 shades
the watercolor blue
    Margaret Walker

shrinking violets
1 inch shorter than
I used to be
    Marianne Paul

pricking out
lettuce seedlings . . .
3 observant slugs
    Marietta McGregor

Beethoven’s 9th
a locked-down city
opens for picnics
    Marietta McGregor

crisp morning
1 dough ball
refusing to rise
    Marilyn Ashbaugh

1 tick
on a ferral kitten
autumn deepens
    Marilyn Ashbaugh

morning catch
6 rainbow trout
in the bucket
    Marilyn Humbert

the farmer’s smile
12 bags of wheat
per acre
    Marilyn Humbert

3 a.m.
the road train’s rumble
the length of our town
    Mark Miller

garden chess game
1 black pawn beats the white queen
in a rainstorm
    Marta Chocilowska

rainy autumn
10 clumsy fingers
on the keyboard
    Marta Chocilowska

10,000 leaves
my first primer
of tanka
    Marta Chocilowska

11 p.m.
I give my pen
some rest
    Maya Daneva

52 years, 8 months, 10 days, 12 hours
a long time yet not
a lifetime together
    Michael Flanagan

up at 6 a.m.
to watch a soccer match
6 hours in the future
    Michael Flanagan

2 label-less cans
left on the
food bank shelf
    Michael G. Smith

outside my kitchen
8 expectant irises
greet the new morning
    Mimi Foyle

coming up to noon
parking lot with 8 food trucks
tummy rumbles
    Mimi Foyle

5 o’clock
the sound of grandma sipping
from grandpa’s cup
    Mirela Brailean

last cranes . . .
I stop counting
after 17
    Mirela Brailean

marigold tea
in a watering can
16-month-old child
    Miriam Sagan

barefoot at 5 a.m.
lunar eclipse, nothing
in the mailbox
    Miriam Sagan

on the leafless branch
1 desolate kite
flutters in the wind
    Neena Singh

storyteller . . .
5-year-old grandson
pauses for breath
    Neena Singh

1,000,000,000 stars
the human obsession
with counting the unknown
    Pat Davis

116 facebook pals
the electricity
that binds us
    Pat Davis

blood sugar up 2.2
I shouldn’t have eaten
the cream cake
    Paul Beech

western roll . . .
I clear the bar at 5 feet
a schoolboy gymnast
    Paul Beech

75 pence —
my 1st magazine cheque
kept as a souvenir
    Paul Beech

99 years
I accidentally invert
the birthday cake candles
    Pris Campbell

1 loose baby tooth
mother ties a line
to the doorknob
    Pris Campbell

my birthday flowers
they too last only
1 day
    Rosa Clement

my arms barely curve —
800 rings farther in
the great cedar’s core
    Ruth Yarrow

3 taillights
around the mountain curve —
Orion!
    Ruth Yarrow

uneasy wind
after 1 ring I lift the phone
his death
    Ruth Yarrow

scavenger hunt
at a 2nd-hand shop
mum’s first novel
    Sherry Grant

17 fruit flies . . .  9 fruit flies . . .
now 3 . . .
but not yet 0
    Sue Norvell

2+2=5
he tries to convince me
he isn’t cheating
    Susan Burch

baggage carousel . . .
my legs still trembling
at 35,000 feet
    Theresa A. Cancro

adding up bills
my no. 2 pencil
breaks
    Theresa A. Cancro

childhood flashback —
1 nickel in the slot
3 gumballs
    Theresa A. Cancro

paris welcome —
chanel no. 5
on each cheek
    Theresa A. Cancro

37 years
how long it took
to love myself
    Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

1st kiss
how quickly the universe
expands
    Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

our 4-H club
head heart hands and health
not a bad mantra even now
    Tina Wright

$300 per night —
we gather up
the toiletries
    Tom Bierovic

winter rain
2 cocoa packets
per cup
    Tom Bierovic

farm auction
the crystal door knob
brings 3 dollars
    Tom Bierovic

in the park
a monarch lands on my watch
2:37 p.m.
    Tom Clausen

her family photos
arranged on the piano
0 of her husband
    Tom Clausen

out of all of them out there
I come home with
only 1 tick
    Tom Clausen

1 jigsaw
piece is lost —
a death
    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

5 o’clock tea
the child arranges the table
for her 10 dolls
    Vibeke Laier

1st frost
blurs your name
on the tombstone
    Wieslaw Karlinski

with grandmother and 3 aunts
laughing together
shelling peas
    Wilda Morris

today’s mail
13 not-for-profits
vie for my donation
    Wilda Morris

bee sting
I itch for 1 week
last days of summer
    Yvonne Fisher

50 people dancing
to zydeco music
outside in the autumn light
    Yvonne Fisher

4 in the morning
alone with my worries
and the broken moon
    Zee Zahava

her gift to me
a drawing of 3 houseplants
i don’t have to water
    Zee Zahava

in the dream
packing 2 suitcases for London
no clothes . . . only books
    Zee Zahava