Welcome to the April 2022 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.
This month’s collection focuses on Things That Make Us Happy … small things, major things, long ago memories, and current moments.
Contributing poets are from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
Wishing you a sense of peace and happiness as you read the following haiku . . . .
lakeside
breaking bread
with fishes
Adjei Agyei-Baah
i have breath this morning
ai li
at the cafe table
a woman and a small girl
mouth I LOVE YOU
Alan Bern
a mayfly
i breathe in the sky
for my moment
Alan Peat
adjusting the reading lamp buried in the snow forests of Narnia
Alan Summers
aunt’s lipstick print
on my cheek
I wear it to school
Alexis Rotella
under a tree
with birdsong
and a good book
Angela Giordano
clear sky beyond the roses the moon
Angiola Inglese
warm sun . . . i circle the old pear tree
Ann Carter
simple life
the vase is content
without flowers
Barbara Sabol
sabbath candles
my mother’s hands
gathering gold
Barrie Levine
as soon as the pond ice melts . . . peepers
Blue Waters
beach day
visiting the four corners
of my towel
Brad Bennett
beachcombing
the sudden glint
of ruby sea glass
Bryan D. Cook
birthday cake
the slice I eat
when everyone’s gone
Bryan Rickert
after breakfast
pairing this rock and that plant
time passes quickly
C. Robin Janning
party game —
popping
bubble wrap
Carol Judkins
crayons
waxy smell of a new
box of colors
Carole Johnston
alone time —
music replaces
the day’s noise
Carole MacRury
pounding heart
I land at the airport
of her city
Chen Xiaoou
summer breeze
my daughter dances to the rhythm
of rainbow bubbles
Chen-ou Liu
spring hammock
baby and I play
peekaboo
Christina Chin
great sky dreams on birds’ wings
Christina Martin
duvet
feeling safe
again
Christina Sng
the space
between you and me . . .
warmth of a dog
Christine L. Villa
whistling winds
our howls of laughter
telling jokes
Claire Vogel Camargo
outdoor cinema —
for a moment the flash
of a shooting star
Dan Iulian
sand furrows
new guitar strings imprint
my fingertips
Debbie Strange
slicing the apple
at its equator . . .
stargazing
Deborah Burke Henderson
campfire
after the hayride
marshmallows
Deborah P Kolodji
sharing a straw
in a bottle of Boom Boom Lemon
dream of Kyoto
Donna Fleischer
ocean cliff —
fastened to the fence
lovers’ locks
Elena Calvo
night fishing
listening to the music
of the Milky Way
Florin C. Ciobica
deep in the forest
surrounded by stillness
only a heartbeat
Frank Muller
catching the sun
the brilliant green
of a jewel bug
Geethanjali Rajan
89th birthday
my mom’s smile
when I walk in
Geoff Pope
twilight stroll . . .
exchanging smiles
the Ramadan moon and I
Hifsa Ashraf
morning cocoa
the sweet taste of
melting marshmallows
Jackie Chou
distant thunder —
bee balm trembling
in the breeze
Janice Doppler
final ascent
a sunrise reward
from the mountain’s top
Jay Friedenberg
time in a hammock watching the garden grow
Jill Lange
unknown phone number
probably a scam call —
no, a long-lost friend
Jim Mazza
my husband walks by
pausing to give
my shoulder a light caress
Joan Leotta
easing myself
inside a groove
of snow-drift stars
Joanna Ashwell
high desert fossils
asleep in ancient sea beds
I walk with oysters
Joel Savishinsky
sticky coins
I get change at
a child’s lemonade stand
John J. Dunphy
lunch on the patio
a cicada sings
the entire time
Jorge Alberto Giallorenzi
the slow movement
of clouds . . .
poppy fields
Julia Guzman
almost to South Dakota —
the excitement
of a blue barn
Julie Bloss Kelsey
one night
on the Gulf of Aqaba
the softest kiss
Karla Linn Merrifield
how jacarandas know
it’s jolly well time
to paint the world purple
Kath Abela Wilson
dune’s grassy hillocks
a few sea oats and my hands
scribbling at sunset
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
short day long nap
this old woman and
her old cat
kris moon
meteor shower
the night air thick
with wishes
Kristen Lindquist
high summer
all the raw mangoes
under our beds
Lakshmi Iyer
deep boom the ice lets go of the lake
Laurinda Lind
watermelon seeds
my son’s invention
of orbital patterns
Lorraine A Padden
the path to the country house . . . roses
Lucia Cardillo
after the heat
the relief . . .
petrichor
Madhuri Pillai
temporary lodging
sleeping with a pillow
from home
Marcie Wessels
half asleep my feet buried in the sand
Margaret Walker
sunshower
the kitchen window
open to freesias
Marietta McGregor
spring snow
baking bread
for the smell of it
Marilyn Ashbaugh
at midnight
the grandkids tell me
each star’s name
Marilyn Humbert
back home
all the roadside puddles
explored
Marta Chocilowska
a bit unkempt
this cottage garden
my inner life
Mary Kendall
lemon blossom
in my tea cup . . .
our first breakfast outdoors
Maya Daneva
the instructor asks
why are you here . . . I answer
tai chi makes me happy
Michael Flanagan
blazing sun
my father’s shadow
for shelter
Michael Gallagher
a walk in the woods
we toast her
first published poem
Michael G. Smith
homecoming —
gulmohar flowers greet me
at the village gate
Milan Rajkumar
laughing together
catching up on adventures
best friend on the phone
Mimi Foyle
my open notebook
the gentle breeze
brings a few petals
Mirela Brailean
I’d steal it
if I could — this view
of plum blossoms
Miriam Sagan
sharing breakfast
with a squirrel
rock doves coo
Neena Singh
shell collection
re-arranging
summers
Pat Davis
the estuary below
glints in the sun —
I read Basho
Paul Beech
running commentary —
sitting on my broad shoulders
my granddaughter
Paul Callus
sunrise
the second sunflower
in bloom next door
Pris Campbell
monarchs
chasing monarchs chasing
kids playing tag
Richard Matta
morning hike
becoming part of
the desert
Roberta Beach Jacobson
sunny day
a wasp tastes
everyone’s beer
Rosa Clement
sunrise through mist
my nose pulls lemon sweetness
from the yellow iris
Ruth Yarrow
lemon sorbet
summer at the tip
of my tongue
Sherry Grant
sharing
my good news
trumpet daffodil
Susan Burch
dad plants flowers
i pat down the earth
tucking them in
Teresa Bakota Yatsko
bedroom oasis . . .
playing finger cymbals
by candlelight
Theresa A. Cancro
watching a swamp muskrat
sharpen her teeth on a stick
before eating
Tina Wright
fedoras cool again taking selfies
Tom Bierovic
my playlist . . .
every one of the thousand
songs on shuffle
Tom Clausen
rough seas
you anchor
me
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
between
heaven and earth
the smell of sunflowers
Vibeke Laier
cousin reunion
I unearth
new old family secrets
Wilda Morris
safely home
a cup of tea . . .
this is my life now
Yvonne Fisher
jumping waves
laughing so hard
i swallow the ocean
Zee Zahava