night haiku — from sunset to sunrise

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

The theme this month is night.

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


torn net . . .
a mosquito takes half
of my night
    Adjei Agyei-Baah

asleep
on the lawn
under venus
    ai li

dream of a song
that devours itself
letter-by-letter nightly
    Alan Bern

silent night
the high street strung
with last year’s stars
    Alan Peat

35 light-years wide the Pleiades picks out my torch
    Alan Summers

stars
I wish I were
free to fall
    Alexis Rotella

foggy night
I draw the moon
on the train’s window
    Ana Drobot

night scribbling
waiting for my baby
to sleep
    Angela Giordano

rainy night
the rhythmic drip
of the faucet
    Angiola Inglese

in the dark
remembering to replace
the porch light
    Barbara Sabol

sleeper seats
brushed velvet
in the long blue night
    Barrie Levine

you come and go
as you please . . .
fickle moon
    Bill Waters

atop leafless trees
staring into the night
a parliament of owls
    Blue Waters

a mouthful
of chocolate cake
longest night
    Brad Bennett

crossword puzzles
and ice-cream wrappers
insomniac
    Bryan Cook

finals week
the all-nighter
of crickets
    Bryan Rickert

another cold night
echoing sound of wind chimes
up and down the street
    C. Robin Janning

midnight
Deimos and Phobos
encircle
    C.R. Harper

lights out
on the night train
melancholy moon
    Carol Judkins

barking at
the hooligan moon
rebel dog
    Carole Johnston

city blackout
we map our favorite
constellations
    Carole MacRury

howling wind
a child sings
herself to sleep
    Caroline Skanne

chill March night
the shrill whistle
of the teapot
    Charles Trumbull

jump shots
on a broken hoop . . .
late night drizzle
    Chen-ou Liu

footsteps
wooden clogs
night market
    Christina Chin

late night
my cat and I prowl
for intruders
    Christina Sng

clouds in a glass of beer one-night stand
    Christine L. Villa

the night hours
when fever peaks
and breaks
    Claire Vogel Camargo

moonlight
between shores a swan
ripples the silence
    Dan Iulian

moonless night
a cat’s shadow
lost in fog
    Daniela Misso

moonlight glints
on a trace of silver
a snail’s journey
    Deborah Burke Henderson

as the sun sets I rest
    Edna S. Brown

winter solitude
the comfort of tiny stars
on a dark night
    Eufemia Griffo

night train
the moon travels
without a ticket
    Florin C. Ciobica

in the earth’s shadow Buddha’s moon
    Geethanjali Rajan

night chill
counting the holes
in my socks
    Hifsa Ashraf

in college i roomed
with a young astronomer
impatient for night
    Jack Goldman

autumn moon
that first bite
of bean paste
    Jackie Chou

fingers
tracing the dipper
one large one small
    Janice Doppler

bedtime stories
deep in closet shadows
the bogeyman waits
    Jay Friedenberg

that summer night
on the lakeshore
counting shooting stars
    Jill Lange

sleepless sunday night
garbage trucks compete
with street sweepers
    Jim Mazza

the owl’s wings a midnight ostinato
    Jo Balistreri

three a.m.
summer and winter
I wake to darkness
    Joan Leotta

you and I
so much to say
the night rain
    Joanna Ashwell

moonless night
father and son converse
in monosyllables
    Joe Sebastian

our yard’s sundial
several hours off
in moonlight
    John J. Dunphy

moonless night
walking the trail
I stumble over a root
    Jorge Giallorenzi

a winged box kite:
the night his soul
flew free . . .
    Julie Bloss Kelsey

unwrapping
the night sky
Milky Way
    Karen Harvey

midnight bloom viewing
we invite the neighbors
to a pajama party
    Kath Abela Wilson

I don’t need a lamp
tonight’s moon reveals my pen
moving on the page
    Katya Sabaroff Taylor

new moon
a long night alone
in the guest room
    Kristen Lindquist

night . . .
owls waiting their turn
to hoot at enemies
    Lakshmi Iyer

sleepless grandma weaves a long story into my scarf
    Laughing waters

recurring dream
again i don’t
save anyone
    Laurinda Lind

this indigo night
I dig into
another crime novel
    Lorraine Padden

autumn night
only the moon’s smile
at the window
    Lucia Cardillo

rooftop shenanigans
keeping me awake
neighborhood possums
    Madhuri Pillai

midnight blue mascara on his shirt
    Margaret Walker

fado music
permeates the air
mournful moon
    Marilyn Fleming

midnight stroll
my feet scattering
starlight
    Marilyn Humbert

late night plaza
a red-and-white suit
on the empty throne
    Mark Miller

lonely night
warming herself up
by the kettle
    Marta Chocilowska

night flight
the toddler’s effort to touch
the stars
    Maya Daneva

in the darkness our candle reveals the soft rain
    Michael Flanagan

tipple at sundown
darkness creeping up
the tilted glass
    Michael Gallagher

last train
to the airport
red-eye flight
    Michael G. Smith

nocturnal weather
cloudy with a chance of stars
frogs sing about sex
    Mimi Foyle

campfire
a few sparks
in Ursa Major
    Mirela Brailean

midnight phantom
beside the bed —
luminescent moth
    Nancy Shires

winter chill
the drag of his slippers
into the night
    Neena Singh

twilight
a fading constellation
of hot air balloons
    Pat Davis

ball lightning
stitching the black night blue . . .
a smell of sulphur
    Paul Beech

odes to the moon
crumpled paper
fills the floor
    Pris Campbell

night walk . . .
my shifty shadow
sole companion
    Richard L. Matta

late night
I let the spider sleep
in the bathroom
    Rosa Clement

binoculars:
earth’s shadow on the moon
trembling
    Ruth Yarrow

before sunrise
your side of the bed
still cold
    Sherry Grant

night in Yosemite stars elbow each other for room in the summer sky
    Sue Norvell

chicken pox explosion
ten itchy girls
at a sleepover party
    Teresa Bakota Yatsko

gibbous moon
a new
old-age spot
    Theresa A. Cancro

my late wife knew the
constellations but now
night skies are only stars
    Tina Wright

sleeping alone my inner night light
    Tom Clausen

midnight sky
we connect the stars
to form our initials
    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

half moon
the silence of
a lost letter
    Vibeke Laier

full moon
illuminates the garden
yesterday’s laundry
    Wieslaw Karlinski

awakened in the night
by his snoring . . .
thankful he is alive
    Wilda Morris

night falls early
all dressed up
nowhere to go
    Yvonne Fisher

nearly dawn
this old house belches
and goes back to sleep
    Zee Zahava