Saturday, November 1, 2014

Tea Haiku


Welcome to the November issue of brass bell: a haiku journal. This month's theme is TEA.

You will find work here by more than 90 contributors, from Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and The United States.

Before you start reading, why not brew yourself a cup of tea? Then sit back and enjoy this refreshing haiku collection. 



Alan Summers

Ganesha's moon
the cabbie's last customer
smells of mint tea

freeze-dried tea
so much curiosity over
the moons of Mars

Ana Drobot

London suburbs —
fog over
my cranberry tea

Russian lesson —
small talk
over no cup of tea

Angelee Deodhar

bus stop chai
savoring the dust
of winter

after the funeral
even through sugar cubes
the black of tea

through the rain
from a terracotta teapot
the flavor of mud

Anne Curran

Scottish banter
over a cup of tea . . .
crossing borders

morning dew
an ornate teacup
between pot plants

Annie Wexler

summer on the kibbutz
strong tea at 5 a.m.
then we pick cherries

Antonia Matthew

when we're alone
my granny reads the tea leaves 
in my cup

grown up now
more tea than milk
in my cup

Archana Kapoor Nagpal

ancestral home . . .
under the layers of dust
father's tea kettle

burgeoning dawn . . .
another tea leaf
unfurls in my cup

Arvinder Kaur

basil leaves —
a whiff of mother's love
in my tea

shared tea bag —
all those vows
now forgotten

busy haiku class —
the tinkle of her hand bell
announces tea break

Barbara Kaufmann

gray morning —
no get up and go
in my tea

ginger tea —
taking a bite 
out of my cold

five o'clock tea
i sip the last bit
of daylight

Barbara Kane Lewis

brown tea stains
my grandfather's
old cup

Barbara Tate

heirloom
a teaball hangs
from the Christmas tree

wake up call
the teakettle whistles a hint of
things to come

high tea
grandma teaches me
the finer things

Bill Waters

a galaxy
spinning on the surface
of my tea

pouring tea
remembering the strainer
I forgot to use

the cosmic tortoise shifts . . .
after the tremor
a cup of mint tea

Bozidar Skobic

a bowl of sugar
and the worried faces —
drinking bitter tea

tea at the bottom of the bag
stored for the right guest —
there is not enough

C. Robin Janning

sencha
first tea in the new house
makes it home

for many years
I drank tea alone
mid-morning

Carl Seguiban

daughter's prom night —
dad squeezing the last colour
out of the teabag

Darjeeling brew —
the things
we don't speak of

Carole Johnston

in the new moon
silver rimmed tea cup
my mother's ghost

her fine bone china
forget-me-nots and violets
can't throw them away

loving the clay
her strong potter's hands
teapots for all

Caroline Skanne

old country roses the vintage poetry of tea

weeding garden . . .
the silver lining —
a pot of nettle tea

the poem 
is written but
tea is cold

old tea pot
every crack
a story . . .

Catherine Rigutto

five o'clock tea
enjoying an earl grey
in my daughter's plastic china

tea in the garden
an unknown whistle
in the laurel

Cezar-Florin Ciobica

winter solitude
sharing a teacup
with a spider

Charles Trumbull

after the lecture
on the tea ceremony
we go for coffee

our special day
we don't reuse
the tea bags

Chen-ou Liu

over green tea
we share our childhood dreams
the scent of spring

summer moonlight
pours into my cup of tea
alone with stars

Curry Diamonds
(collectively written by 7 poet friends after lunch at an Indian Restaurant: Lydia Lesser, Mike Schaff, Rob Sullivan, Sue Crowley, Stacey Murphy, Yvonne Fisher, Zee Zahava)

not drinking Bengal Spice tea
talk drifts to turtles
and aging hippies

Daniela Lacramioara Capota

autumn wind —
painted on the tea kettle
an apple branch in bloom

Dave Read

slowly
letting go
tea bag

no amount of sugar
sweetens my mood
black tea

Debbie Strange

brewing ants
a rusted teapot
in the garden

incoming storm . . .
a swirl of tea leaves
settles in her cup

chai tea and sunlight spreading our toast with poetry

Diana Teneva

perigee moon —
a huge cup of
ginger tea

Donna Dicostanzo

sit down please and have
some brewed tea
let's talk about ancestry

Elena Malec

tropical hillside —
women in colorful saris
picking the tea

Siberian night —
using dry pinecones
for the samovar

Grand Bazaar —
the rug seller offers
hot apple tea


Ella Wagemakers

jasmine tea
the taste of the sea
in my photographs

pot of tea
I set our clocks 
for winter

tea leaves
the things I do
when I'm alone

Frank Judge

the way of tea
bringing us back to ourselves
a moment of satori

Gergana Yaninska

tea with honey
the sound of fighter jets
surrounds me

Helen Buckingham

village tea-room
spun sugar roses
wilt in the window

tea dance —
his partner's smile
drifts out to sea

tea with lemon moonrise

Hristina Pandjaridis

a cup of tea
the warmest place
in the room

morning tea
winter flowers wither
on the windowpane

Isabella Loverro

steeped in silence
quivering tea leaves
carving pumpkins

scones and biscuits
scent of honey
morning tea

Jayashree Maniyil

distant mountains . . .
I slowly sip 
my ginger tea

tea leaves —
how easily 
you give in

Joan McNerney

my shelf has room for 
five tea cups and
one square of sun

all my plates are put away
teacups hanging on hooks
the towel is still moist

John McDonald

tea with the abbot —
strawberry jam 
on his chin

japanese tea-garden —
a rose
collapsed on its thorns

the dying sunflower
stares
into the teacup

Julian O'Dea

summer
and winter . . .
tea

always 
in the house . . .
cats and tea

not now
cat! . . .
carrying tea

Julie Bloss Kelsey

rush to adulthood:
my teen sits in the bookstore
slowly sipping tea

every morning
my father brought me a cup —
cherry almond tea

Kashinath Karmakar

afternoon tea
with more than your smile —
scent of rain

Kath Abela Wilson

kept for years
the bitter tea made
of pretty flowers

rose tea
the lump of sugar
before your kiss

I pour jasmine
into a small landscape
mom's favorite cup

Kathy May

brewed in September sun
tea in thermos jugs
harvesting a hay field

Ken Sawitri

javanese gathering
how sweet the scent of
ginger tea

handcraft shop
thinking of divorce
I put back the brittle teapot

Kuheli Santra

frozen morning . . .
twice, three times
sipping my tea

Kumarendra Mallick

evening chill
warmth of her breath
in my tea cup

evening tea —
she leaves behind her outline
on the sofa

Lance Robertson

holding a warm teacup
against my forehead
my anxiety lessens

patiently waiting
for the tea leaves to steep
time not noticed

sipping hot tea
with my friend
in silence

Lavana Kray

old tea chest —
mom's garnet lipstick
on a cup

strong tea 
over ice —
parting words

Lee Wagner

memories steep fragrant tea leaves

Linda Keeler

steeped tea
waiting for ice cubes
on that hot summer day

Lydia Lesser

a white cup with pink roses
too much milk in the tea
I am six years old again

Magda Banaszkiewicz

heavy frost
the hot tea
also breathes

Margaret Chula

earth and water
fired into a tea bowl
froth of green

host and guest 
breathe together
powder becomes tea

Margaret Dennis

little one's tea party
sticky fingers in the
marmalade

Maria Kowal-Tomczak

chill wind
tea leaves compose
a new pattern

strawberry moon
looking at itself
in half full teacup

Maria Tirenescu

I sip lime tea
listening for the crickets —
moonshine

Marianne Paul

white peony tea —
snow so fine the night
has flowered

Mark E. Brager

sipping tea . . .
the madness
of spring


Marta Byer-White

leaves in a cup
past present future
told

Maureen Sudlow

tea master
his hands move carefully
above the bowl

grieving
a "nice cup of tea"
in her shaking hands

Melissa Moffat

copper long spout
nods to dragon and phoenix
delicate Chinese tea

Miriam Sagan

tiny teapot
exact size, shape, color
of a tangerine

my old friend
looks young —
drinking green tea

Natalie Detert

tea      it cannot be rushed

Olivier Schopfer

end of our love affair —
you add a squeeze of lemon
to your tea

still no news . . .
steam escapes
the tea kettle

Pamela A. Babusci

tea ceremony . . .
the elongated shadow
of a dwarf daffodil

pouring tea
into a chipped cup . . .
loneliness returns

Paresh Tiwari

darjeeling flush . . .
I stretch my toes into
a patch of sun

reunion . . .
the teacups brim
with gossip

Pat Geyer

looking into the cloudy depths I think darjeeling

from her heart 
she prepares a bowl of tea . . .
pouring her attention

camellias
atop the table . . .
high tea

tea leaves swirl . . .
in a cup the seer sees
a sore throat cure

Phoebe Lakin

wind creases the curtains —
the tea bag wrappers
shudder like dried leaves

tea time —
I notice the cat
licking himself

in my bedroom
two-day-old tea
and a sunset through green leaves

Pravat Kumar Padhy

tea garden —
the narrow lane
leading to the sky

Pravin Chandra Menon

served tea by Sensei
the mysterious leaf
opens up

delicate cups of tea
in trembling fingers
afraid to shatter

Raamesh Gowri Raghavan

bubbling water . . .
the feel of tea leaves
in my hand


Rachel Sutcliffe

still not speaking
the sound of the kettle
boiling dry

alone now
she pours more tea 
into the void

Radka Mindova

children's party —
drinking tea
from a doll set
(translation from Bulgarian: Zornitza Harizanova)

Rob Sullivan

gaze fixed on details
spoons, saucers, and cups arranged —
practice goes beyond tea

Robert Henry Poulin

after their fight
her whisk roils
tea in anger

ah! the moon
so beautiful when
sake in the tea

Samar Ghose

in the dawn light
a moth asleep
on my tea box

singing the tea picker's song
like every morning
like her mother's mother

Sandi Pray

morning tea
i fold myself
in a sunbeam

green scented dawn
i take my chai
without clouds

quiet morning
my lips find a chip
in the teacup

Sanjukta Asopa

tea for one —
stirring in the emptiness
with a spoon

sipping tea
a bee
in the hibiscus

Sara Robbins

waiting for 
the tea to cool
too hot for words

S.Eta Grubesic

the scent of herbal tea —
morning dew on the wing
of a butterfly

Shloka Shankar

tea-party . . .
we munch on imaginary
biscuits

chipped teacup . . .
the jagged edges of our
relationship

dregs of tea leaves my future

Silvestru Miclaus

mountain hike
in each backpack
a thermos of tea

the son marvels —
his father drinks beer
instead of tea

Sondra Byrnes

dark afternoon —
i sweep the shadows
from the teahouse

tea lesson —
i trip over
my ego

chabako in the garden —
day moon slips 
between us

Sue Perlgut

loose leaves
stuck on my tongue —
the cup is clean

procelain cups
saucers that match
old-fashioned tea party

Theresa A. Cancro

tea ceremony —
steam traces a crease
in her obi

dim sum —
empty teapot gathers
their gossip

Thriveni C. Mysore

green tea
drives the 
blues away

Tim Gardiner

a distant voice
the whistling kettle 
strains to be heard

we exchange a longing glance our tea cools

Vessislava Savova

silent morn
my teapot is still 
cold

Vibeke Laier

tipping into the 
jasmine tea
drops of moonlight

in the evening of
a thousand stars
i share this tea with you

Victoria Armstrong

young girl watches, sips tea
ladies busy with chatter
death is in the room

later she understands
the only way to greet death
tea and company

Victoria Boynton

she brewed it for me
poured in a Wedgwood cup
bitter medicine

Yesha Shah

arranged meet —
the jingle of her bangles
serving tea

black tea —
the bitter aftertaste
of morning news

Yiwei Luo

rain in my tea but
I don't seem to care—
is this enlightenment?

waiting for the kettle to whistle
hoping to finish my book first

Yvonne Fisher

tea with coconut milk —
quiet evening
alone I sip and hum

Zee Zahava

pouring tea
into my favorite cup
rain fills a river

our separate houses
at the same time
my friend and i drinking tea

smoke rises from my teacup
where will i be
tomorrow?

sipping tea
no thoughts
no ceremony



Previously published:

Debbie Strange — chai tea . . . — Inner Art Journal (February 2014)

Diana Teneva — perigee moon — Mainichi Haiku in English (October 6, 2014)

Helen Buckingham — village tea-room — Haiku Scotland (Summer 2009)

Helen Buckingham — tea dance — 3Lights 3 (Summer 2010)

Margaret Chula — earth and water; host and guest — from the author's collection This Moment

Miriam Sagan — tiny teapot; my old friend — from the collection Dream That is Not a Dream: a conversation in haiku by Elizabeth Searle Lamb and Miriam Sagan, Miriam's Well (2014)

Mark E. Brager — sipping tea — haijinx IV:1 (March, 2011)

Olivier Schopfer — end of our love affair — Acorn #5 (Fall 2000)

Pamela A. Babusci — tea ceremony — Frogpond 24:2 (2001)

Pamela A. Babusci — pouring tea — Evergreen English Haiku (Japan) 12:2 (February 2002)

Sanjukta Asopa — tea for one — from A Blackbird Sings: An Anthology of Small Poems, by Fiona Robins and Kaspalita