Welcome to the August 2022 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
The theme of this month’s collection is “water.”
Contributing poets are from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Wales
koi —
the pond’s smile
in one bubble
Adjei Agyei-Baah
a leak
my roof
crying
ai li
hose on
discovering water’s pressure
tiny grandson
Alan Bern
raining
and raining
a swan’s folded neck
Alan Peat
live cam
four different views
of the rain
Alan Peat
the ghost lines
of offshore turbines
flickering moon
Alan Summers
dust devils running from the rain
Alexis Rotella
puddle —
the reflected moon
vibrates in the wind
Angela Giordano
cut roses
in a glass beaker
broken stems
Angiola Inglese
swimming in the great lake sturgeon moon
Barbara Sabol
summer camp
bound by no boundaries
the old fishing hole
Barbara Tate Sayre
foot fountain —
leaving the sand
at the public beach
Barrie Levine
swim team
all through school
my wet hair
Barrie Levine
pulling our blanket
out of the way . . .
afternoon tide
Barrie Levine
in the standing water
two children
standing
Bill Waters
endlessly
the fountain
shooting skyward
Bill Waters
picking up a pebble the river after
Billy Antonio
more rain
after the rain
bamboo forest
Billy Antonio
wanting to spit
like Kansas cowboys —
practicing my aim intently
Blue Waters
eighteenth hole
a puddle of snowmelt
in the plastic sled
Brad Bennett
watering the garden
except the monarchs
and painted ladies
Bryan D. Cook
sudden rain
pill bugs from out
of nowhere
Bryan Rickert
muting the trumpet flowers morning rain
Bryan Rickert
dialing down
my blood pressure . . .
hot springs
Carol Judkins
lavender rain
my purple umbrella
dripping
Carole Johnston
in and out
of the sprinkler’s spray
hummingbird
Carole MacRury
departing geese —
a bit of the lake
still on their wings
Carole MacRury
sweltering heat
the weight of wasps
on duckweed
Caroline Skanne
monks’ ferry rope
frozen
in the river ice
Charles Trumbull
prolonged drought
throwing stones in the pond
without a splash
Chen Xiaoou
moonlight lapping
against the Pacific shore
the home left behind
Chen-ou Liu
snorkeling
among the seagrass
a scallop shoots up
Christina Chin
after a run my cat licks my arm
Christina Sng
liberation
her first test
of an outdoor shower
Christine Wenk-Harrison
imagining
living where once there was
the Permian Sea
Claire Vogel Camargo
dog days
the only fountain
in the park
C.R. Harper
calving glacier
i decide when
to let go
Debbie Strange
the Buddha
contemplates life —
reflection pool
Deborah Burke Henderson
drips of sweat
on her cleavage
ice cubes swirl
Donna Fleischer
fish bowl
in the cat’s iris
a guppy
Elena Malec
wishing well
my coin
turns green
Florin C. Ciobica
waterfall icicles hang like frozen fangs
Frank Muller
glassy lake —
water skiing to the end
of summer
Geoff Pope
where two rivers meet
we renew our vows . . .
tugboat horn
Geoff Pope
next door’s lies
coiled in the grass
hosepipe ban
Helen Buckingham
monsoon rain
simmering down
the stew of dals
Hifsa Ashraf
watering my plants
I sometimes forget their names
they don’t seem to mind
Jack Goldman
seaside picnic . . .
length of an eyeblink
porpoise fin
Janice Doppler
long afternoon the slow drift of pond scum
Jay Friedenberg
sipping water
before my blood test
whirlpool in my stomach
Jenna Le
back strokin’
at the neighborhood pool
the new person i become
Jill Lange
today this t-shirt
words of a favorite teacher
“go as a river”
Jill Lange
first college exam
sweating the outcome
of the freshman swim test
Jim Mazza
dad says “swim!” —
my arms move but
toes remain on stones
Joan Leotta
kitchen sink
the pop of bubbles
all around us
Joanna Ashwell
summer showers
more gulls land on the
cricket field
Joe Sebastian
testing testing a new baby’s bath water
Joel Savishinsky
drought water-rationing
I fill my birdbath
with Evian
John J. Dunphy
floating out to sea our frisbee
John J. Dunphy
used-book store
owner empties
a bucket of rain
John J. Dunphy
rain on the wind chimes
even the snails
listening
John Pappas
another autumn
old rowboat
filling up with rain
John Pappas
birthday —
mom’s vase
with very little water
Jorge Alberto Giallorenzi
upslope fog
the Atlantic swallows
Backbone Mountain
Joshua St. Claire
beach day —
the children’s laughter
louder than the waves
Julia Guzman
mom wrote
her name on water
lily of the Nile
Kath Abela Wilson
family picnic
dad rowed the boat
at Wolf’s Pond Park
Kath Abela Wilson
another hot day
twelve guernsey cows
wade in the river
Kathleen Kramer
today, needing to be empty
i went to the lake and wept
until i was
Kathleen Kramer
sometimes all I need
is a rippling summer pond
and one white egret
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
the pond where the moon sleeps all day
kris moon kondo
all my tears
let them make
a pond
kris moon kondo
either sky or ocean the first blue puzzle piece
Kristen Lindquiet
rusted water fountain . . .
the pigeons keep pecking
inside the nozzle
Lakshmi Iyer
mosquito hatcheries
the puddles
that never dry
Laurinda Lind
occasional drizzle
ink landing
in the right place
Lorraine A Padden
park walk
the dog brings in the puddle
drip by drip
Madhuri Pillai
the damp spots
on father’s forehead and shirt
holy water
Marcie Wessels
dry forecast
stonecrop
in the withered lake
Marcie Wessels
ocean’s timelessness
sand castle’s impermanence
my footprints between
Margaret Fisher Squires
another puddle
mud pies
on the menu
Margaret Walker
the wake
of a pelican’s landing
his wide grin
Marilyn Humbert
long rain
the great grey slugs
crawl out
Marta Chocilowska
washed up
without a song
moon shell
Mary Kendall
icy rain —
somehow this ache
just won’t leave
Mary Kendall
half-dried swamp
the spatterdock still
in full bloom
Maya Daneva
again
but with stronger words
receding wave
Maya Daneva
I stop shaking this snow globe all becomes clear
Michael Flanagan
wandering the beach
driftwood
suddenly scarce
Michael Flanagan
city lake
camp kids practicing
whitewater kayak rolls
Michael G. Smith
tear-soaked
at the kitchen table
family history
Mike Gallagher
temple bell
the bowl of water ripples
for a moment
Milan Rajkumar
dew drop prisms flash
from spider’s web
sun-saturated
Mimi Foyle
raindrops dangling from a papaya stem . . . . liquid moonstones
Mimi Foyle
so much water
in the acequia
am I dreaming
Miriam Sagan
walking in the rain
this half-rainbow
between us
Neena Singh
a water lily
rises above itself . . .
meditation
Neena Singh
incoming tide
the slow roll
of a new plan
Pat Davis
wriggling
out of the mist
the heron and a fish
Pat Davis
gulls squawk
the river flows on
beneath the castle ruins
Paul Beech
the rock pool crab
meets me eye-to-eye
I back off
Paul Beech
falling rain a pluviophile pulls on his boots
Paul Callus
health gone
a different rolling sea
beneath my feet
Pris Campbell
turning five
my neighbor’s goldfish
hit of the party
Pris Campbell
lake fishing
snagging a kite
caught in a tree
Richard Matta
summer heat
two wrens bathing
in a dog’s bowl
Richard Matta
bathroom window —
a mockingbird’s song
joins me in the shower
Robert Epstein
dewdrops on the tulips my aching heart
Robert Epstein
walking the reservoir that woodpecker’s knock-knock-knock
Robert Epstein
steaming
her wallpaper off
gran’s tea kettle
Roberta Beach Jacobson
hauling water
making up verses
of shared songs
Roberta Beach Jacobson
staycation ring around the bathtub
Roberta Beach Jacobson
waterwheel
off the hotel lobby
check in / check out
Ron Scully
deserted beach
waves take back
a few ghost crabs
Rosa Clement
dreaming of a woman
trapped under water —
my leg in a cast
Seretta Martin
first love jumping through sprinklers
Susan Burch
summer improv shampoo bottle squirt guns
Susan Burch
on mother’s death bed
a sponge bath
never had such intimacy
Teresa Bakota Yatsko
drizzle . . .
so many
verbs to conjugate
Theresa A. Cancro
an endless ocean
such are
the dreams of mine
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
new day
she goes around spritzing
each plant
Tom Clausen
the way gravity
takes water over stones
creek song
Tom Clausen
morning chores a puddle within a puddle
Vandana Parashar
flotation tank
do I need to have
all the answers
Vandana Parashar
hospital window
the rain meant for me
falls on the tree
Vandana Parashar
full moon
a forest lake
with frozen stars
Vibeke Laier
a pebble from the sea
with a trace of
lipstick
Wieslaw Karlinski
summer breeze plastic bags blowing into the pond
Wilda Morris
folksongs the ‘60s here come my tears again
Zee Zahava
shallow pond
frog closes his eyes and
disappears
Zee Zahava