Welcome to the December, 2022 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
The theme this month is night.
Contributing poets are from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Wales.
campfire
the crescendo
of cricket songs
Adjei Agyei-Baah
the night is also in my mirror
ai li
passing the boarding house
where Dad spent one night
before his final days
Alan Bern
so, little spider
we sleep in the same room
another night
Alan Peat
not yet dawn
voices of neighbors
praising their dogs
Alexis Rotella
chasing memories the night passes quickly
Angela Giordano
broken thread
pearl necklace —
rainy night
Angiola Inglese
s t r o b o s c o p e
neighborhood cats parade
past the motion sensor light
Barbara Sabol
moongate
conspicuous in absence
a nightingale’s song
Barbara Sayre
the damaged plate
from an old quarrel
kintsugi moon
Barrie Levine
construction site —
even in the dark
the fragrance of lumber
Bill Waters
falling star
the weight of words
left unsaid
Billy Antonio
shades of
black blue purple gray
climb my bedroom walls all night
Blue Waters
full moon . . .
the phone rings five times
and stops
Brad Bennett
Milky Way
campfire and cocoa
the yip of coyotes
Bryan D. Cook
lonely night
turning on the porch light
for the bugs
Bryan Rickert
moving to a new home
driving at night
was a comfort
C. Robin Janning
red eye flight
in my cocktail
a cherry
Carol Judkins
I may have been
a lone dung beetle gazing
at the stars
Carole Johnston
night vigil —
worried when he snores
worried when he doesn’t
Carole MacRury
muggy night:
the same two tones
from the wind chime
Charles Trumbull
a paper dove
on the barbed wire fence
gathering dark
Chen-ou Liu
dusk
red beans simmer
on the charcoal
Christina Chin
our cat
on sentry duty
night guard
Christina Sng
guilty!
the feral hog caught
on the night vision camera
Christine Wenk-Harrison
late night movie
passing the point
of falling asleep
Claire Vogel Camargo
night train
on the steamed window
two drawn eyes
Dan Iulian
under a watchful moon the possibility of fairies
Debbie Strange
flashlight stroll —
always walking in
center beam
Deborah Burke Henderson
a street light
illuminating
snow flakes
Donna Fleischer
night book fair
so many styles
of mythmaking
Elena Malec
cold night
mom puts on dad’s
favorite coat
Florin C. Ciobica
broth for dinner . . .
measuring out ladles
of silence
Geethanjali Rajan
full moon
time for my pressure cooker
to let off steam
Helen Buckingham
night-blooming cereus
I too hold on
to the dark
Jackie Chou
Perseid showers
buzz … slap … scratch … buzz … slap …
gazing anyway
Janice Doppler
he gave up his cat
to wed her — now the stars
reproach her like cats’ eyes
Jenna Le
raccoon
at water bowl
fingers the moon
Jill Lange
past midnight
searching on my hands and knees
unfinished jigsaw puzzle
Jim Mazza
date night —
a snack of skinny popcorn
while watching The Crown
Jo Balistreri
nightfall
I scurry to light
all the lamps
Joan Leotta
raindrops
scribbling away
until dawn
Joanna Ashwell
out of the tunnel
into a stadium’s lights
night frames my city
Joel Savishinsky
front porch
the full moon enters
a cobweb
John J. Dunphy
no moon
I write about it
anyway
John Pappas
basketball at night
the first jump
no one speaks
Jorge Alberto Giallorenzi
wood stove
the oak returns
to the night
Joshua St. Claire
starry night in the Andes —
a vicuna
crosses the road
Julia Guzman
her great-grandchildren
wrapped in a crocheted afghan
a long night unfolds
Julie Bloss Kelsey
like mother like daughter
sleep walking
step count
Kath Abela Wilson
nighttime meditation
am i asleep
or awake
Kathleen Kramer
too hot to sleep
I watch the moon pull
a long scarf of stars
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
longest night
the lotus blossom pendant
cold on my throat
Kristen Lindquist
starry night
the only solace
after chemo
Lakshmi Iyer
sleeptalking
dementia cured
until she wakes again
Laurinda Lind
knitting
our night together
baby monitor
Lorraine A Padden
flickering lamps
late night devotees
on the temple doorstep
Madhuri Pillai
long night —
every noise
a reindeer hoof
Marcie Wessels
today’s to-do’s untouched tonight
Margaret Walker
white peony tea
snow so fine the night
has flowered
Marianne Paul
night saguaros in the skyline
Marilyn Ashbaugh
curlew’s cry
cracks the black glass
of night
Marilyn Humbert
sick mom
a night-night lullaby
to her
Marta Chocilowska
fallen leaves
the night wind
whistles the blues
Mary Kendall
four or five
moons in the puddle
a trout is jumping
Maya Daneva
night breeze pausing on my walk catching your perfume
Michael Flanagan
finding balance
in chaotic Kathmandu
familiar constellations
Michael G. Smith
frosty night
the loosened grip of moss
falling from the roof
Mike Gallagher
alone in the night kitchen do you think of me
Mimi Foyle
night shift
moving from one pillow
to another
Mirela Brailean
embroidering
on a cold night
such a sharp needle
Miriam Sagan
evening walk . . .
the heavy fog wraps its tentacles
around us
Nancy Brady
wild jasmine . . .
a fragrant night
till long after
Neena Singh
new telescope
the Big Dipper
overflowing
Pat Davis
a rough sleeper —
coughing she studies
Orion
Paul Beech
shingles —
it is not the fire alarm
that disturbs my sleep
Paul Callus
branches laden
with moonglow
ripening pears
Paula Sears
backyard campfire
we share wild stories
from our youth
Pris Campbell
cool night
choosing the cup
without a handle
Richard Matta
catching
& releasing
this firefly night
Robert Epstein
sky dance of unnamed stars
Roberta Beach Jacobson
nightwatchman
searches the corners
nothing moves
Ron Scully
mother-of-pearl
in the sunset’s underlayer —
pawnshop lights go on
Ruth Yarrow
did I take my meds or not pillbox moon
Susan Burch
the loud tent zipper
I step out quietly
to search the midnight sky
Teresa Bakota Yatsko
bedtime story . . .
her teddy bear
approves
Theresa A. Cancro
boundless
the stars within
a rose
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
after the movie
this fall’s first bus ride past dark
feels like space travel
Tina Wright
winter night licking the spoon clean
Tom Clausen
barbecue night
I flip
the story around
Vandana Parashar
the silence
of a winter night
butterfly dreams
Vibeke Laier
another full moon
granddaughter bakes her first
rice cakes
Wieslaw Karlinski
never burned Aunt Carol’s stay-in-the-oven-all-night cookies
Wilda Morris
nighttime
broken window
nowhere to hide
Yvonne Fisher
computer dream
i call out in my sleep . . .
“delete delete delete”
Zee Zahava