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