Welcome to the November 2021 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
The theme this month is body haiku
Contributing poets are from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
lazy afternoon
grandpa lets us play
with his Adam’s apple
Adjei Agyei-Baah
eye contact
he was saying
we are kindred
ai li
thinking about seeds in my dry hand the last ones blow off
Alan Bern
half moon pose —
everyone laughs
at the wobbling leg
Alan Peat
cloud-entangled bedclothes a secret of arms and legs night shining
Alan Summers
shoulder to shoulder
strangers enter the subway
unmasked
Alexis Rotella
beating hearts our first night together
Ana Drobot
pumpkin cream
sweet loneliness
on my tongue
Angela Giordano
bee sting —
on my aching hand
fresh ginger
Angiola Inglese
the ditch after a summer rain red mud oozing between my toes
Ann Carter
ringing doorbell
mother pinches my cheeks
before a first date
Barbara Kaufmann
pile of bathing suits —
tossing her body
to the fitting room floor
Barrie Levine
flip-flops in October —
the sparkle of
her toenails
Bill Waters
euphonium
my lips on the mouthpiece
breath becomes music
Blue Waters
lamplight yellows my midnight skin
Brad Bennett
pebble beach
my toes clutching
infinity’s edge
Bryan Rickert
these feet
slow to remember the dance . . .
hesitate
C. Robin Janning
rising
bread dough —
my belly fat
Carol Judkins
death poem . . .
all my scars
come with me
Carole MacRury
dusklight
looking for the pen
behind my ear
Caroline Skanne
turning up her nose
at the dog
turning up his leg
Charles Trumbull
end of summer
the scent of ocean
still in her hair
Chen-ou Liu
children
imitate tattoo
henna on their toes
Christina Chin
49th birthday
barely enough hair
for a ponytail
Christina Sng
a little fairy
with pink glitter on her face
first doorbell ring
Claire Vogel Camargo
autumn sky
filling my eyes
with clouds
Daniela Misso
cheek to cheek Valentine’s Day tango
Deborah Burke Henderson
fanning out
our fingers
nail salon
Deborah P Kolodji
flea market
I constantly scratch
my beard
Florin C. Ciobica
doctor’s visit
grandma’s frail fingers
tighten on my wrist
Geethanjali Rajan
first baking —
on the kitchen window
her moonlit handprints
Hifsa Ashraf
first date
he notices the dirt
under my nails
Jackie Chou
river bend
the smooth curve of stone
against my palm
Jay Friedenberg
awakening to warmth
little cat is curled
against my back
Jill Lange
pulling in my belly
hurts my back —
better round than achy
Jim Mazza
my nose rejects
your perfume
forgive me as I change seats
Joan Leotta
odd how my
fingernails
curl under
Joan McNerney
if only
my shadow’s finger
could link with another
Joanna Ashwell
barefoot in the creek —
minnows scatter
under the rocks
Joe Sebastian
VA hospital
two veterans arm-wrestle
with prosthetic limbs
John J. Dunphy
her bent back —
grandmother blows out
her birthday candles
Jorge Giallorenzi
how I learned
to wiggle my nose
our pet rabbit
Kath Abela Wilson
purple-red —
the bruise on my hand
confirms my years
Kathleen Kramer
my old lap cat
now leans against my bare feet
rubbing her own ears
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
autumn deepens
i see the world
in a friend’s eyes
kris moon
saltwater farm
the wind in my hair
when I was a horse
Kristen Lindquist
systole & diastole . . .
heart beats in pace
with the clock’s tick
Lakshmi Iyer
my thefts, age three
Mounds bar in one hand
Baby Ruth in the other
Laurinda Lind
bone scan
a long smile detected
in the office light
Lovette Carter
autumn photo . . .
with my fingers I caress
his memory
Lucia Cardillo
lying again the twitch in his eye
Madhuri Pillai
eyelids droop
near the end
of the chapter
Margaret Walker
small act of kindness
a doctor stoops
to pull socks on my feet
Marianne Paul
eightieth birthday
my aunt dyes her hair
with cold black tea
Marietta McGregor
head over heels sakura
Marilyn Ashbaugh
haiku dream —
fingers tapping
the bed sheet
Marilyn Fleming
the curve
in his spine weeding
sickle moon
Marilyn Humbert
lonely vacation
a new supply of back scratchers
from the gift shop
Marta Chocilowska
long to-do list
first I stretch
my shoulders
Maya Daneva
your cold feet on a winter’s night I miss the most
Michael Flanagan
vaccine shot
sore arm
the leaves pile up
Michael G. Smith
a miracle
to walk freely on both legs
unencumbered
Mimi Foyle
the steady beat of my heart
up to the top —
mountain view
Mirela Brailean
around my neck
papa’s old muffler
winter warmth
Neena Singh
wrinkle free
her ninety-year-old
smile
Pat Davis
my apprentice days
in a tough trade —
skinned knuckles
Paul Beech
broken shoulder
the embarrassment
of bathroom visits
Pris Campbell
flowery dress
a butterfly lands
on my right arm
Rosa Clement
turning
my deaf ear to the pillow
sudden robin song
Ruth Yarrow
snoring —
the waves rise
on dad’s belly
Sherry Grant
vision loss
another traffic camera
I thought was a bird
Susan Burch
gnarled fingers tracing gold kintsugi
Theresa A. Cancro
upon my eyelashes
the remnants
of forgotten stars
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
my friend in her eighties
cursing her thumbs
adjusting her bike helmet
Tina Wright
ice cream jingle
untangling her feet
from a jump rope
Tom Bierovic
my tongue
explores the space
missing tooth
Tom Clausen
wellness exam
the doctor says
I lack a funny bone
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
mother’s herbarium
touching the first violet with
my fingertips
Vibeke Laier
gloves
hide her scarred hands —
first snow
Vladislav Hristov
hot sand
from hand to hand
summer passes
Wieslaw Karlinski
itchy nose
he sneezes
himself awake
Wilda Morris
your hands
so much like my grandmother’s hands . . .
i fell in love with you
Zee Zahava
Monday, November 1, 2021
body haiku
