Daily Haiku: Nov. 30, 2021

senryu

 

 

thud-thud-thud

 

of my father’s footsteps

 

whiff of whiskey 

 

 

by Chen-ou Liu (Canada)

Daily Haiku: Nov. 29, 2021

senryu

sleeping through

New Year’s Eve

somebody dropped the ball

                by Ronald K. Craig (USA)

Frogpond, 43:1, Winter 2020

Daily Haiku: Nov. 28, 2021

 

church songs

 

filter through the woods

 

winter solstice

 

 

by Mary Stevens (USA)

Mann Library’s Daily Haiku, Dec. 21, 2020

Daily Haiku: Nov. 27, 2021

a dusting of snow

just enough

Christmas day

by Janice Doppler (USA)

tsuri-dōrō–a small journal of haiku and senryū

Issue #2, March/April 2021

Daily Haiku: Nov. 26, 2021

bobbing and bobbing

on the jazz club wall—

the bassist's shadow


                                        by Lenard D. Moore (USA)

Daily Haiku: Nov. 25, 2021

food bank closed

an old man shuts the door

on the harvest moon

by Chen-ou Liu (Canada)

Honorable Mention

2021 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest

Daily Haiku: Nov. 24, 2021

large print Bible
on the Thanksgiving table . . .
the bread of life

by Ellen Grace Olinger (USA)

Time of Singing, A Journal Of Christian Poetry

Vol. 43, “Intermezzo,”  Fall 2016

Thanksgiving Song by Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff

Thanksgiving Song 

Ever, it seems, a spoiled child,

I am nagging again

about the small things,

the trivial shards of

a life spent consuming

too much,

expecting

too much,

thinking

it’s my way or your way,

as if it’s a competition.

 

Instead, I beg myself to stop

for an instant, to still the soul

between the headlines

and the obituaries,

to cling to light

as it filters

through stained glass

and rests

on the top

of one hand,

to plod through,

walking beside

instead of in front,

listening, and if I must speak,

planting words

only where they will heal.

 

Between the hundred suggestions

for how to use cranberries

this season

I want to go to my room

without supper

and emerge at dawn

GRATEFUL.

 

by Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff

Galena Arts Center virtual exhibit flipbook, November 2021

Daily Haiku: Nov. 23, 2021

Christmas play

 

the eight-year-old wise man

 

nibbles his chocolate myrrh

 

 

by Robert Witmer (Japan)

Modern Haiku, Issue 48.1, Winter/Spring, 2017

Daily Haiku: Nov. 22, 2021

Christmas grace

the glide of a gray jay

among snow ghosts   

 

 

 

 

by Paul Hendricks (USA)

Modern Haiku, Vol. 50:2, 2019

Daily Haiku: Nov. 21, 2021

squirrel drey

the places we call home

for the holidays

by Kristen Lindquist (USA)

Failed Haiku, Issue 60, December 2020

Daily Haiku: Nov. 20, 2021

senryu

 

 

 

Christmas requires some assembly

 

 

   

by Robert Epstein (USA)

Modern Haiku, 45.2, 2014

Daily Haiku: Nov. 19, 2021

 

The first of many holiday haiku that will be featured in November and December:

after the stores
ornamental grasses
in snow

by Ellen Grace Olinger (USA)

Something Out of Nothing: Original Haiku of North American Poets, 2015

 

 

Daily Haiku: Nov. 18, 2021

senryu

street kid’s only wish

Thanksgiving dinner

with a family

by Roberta Beach Jacobson (USA)

Twitter, Oct. 18, 2020

Daily Haiku: Nov. 17, 2021

senryu

family album . . .

my father

younger than me

by Deborah Karl-Brandt (Germany)

Failed Haiku, Vol. 6, Issue 71

Daily Haiku: Nov. 16, 2021

senryu

 

the space

between them and us

suspension bridge

 

 

by Peggy Hale Bilbro (USA)

Visiting The Wind

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2021

Daily Haiku: Nov. 15, 2021

pride parade
from behind a cloud
the sun comes out

by Olivier Schopfer (Switzerland)

Honorable Mention

Harold G. Henderson Haiku Award, 2016

Daily Haiku: Nov. 14, 2021

autumn morning
the shape of a grandchild
beneath the quilt

by Terri L. French (USA)

Honorable Mention

Haiku North America Haiku Contest, 2013

Wordsmiths: Don’t Miss This Great Book!

You don’t have to be naturally creative. All you need is Selma Glasser’s classic book,

The Analogy Book of Related Words: Your Secret Shortcut to Power Writing.

You can excel at wordsmithing!

I don’t usually review books, but this one is irresistible.

It’s not only one that will educate and train you to be the skilled wordsmith you want to be, but it will also provide you with hours of entertainment and amusement.

Are you an author, freelancer, novelist, poet, storyteller, educator, speaker, minister, entertainer, public official, contester, ad copywriter, publicist, or speechwriter? These are just some of the people who need this book.

For example, with this book, contesters will enhance their ability to win prizes. I have a friend who is gifted at winning writer’s contests, and this book has greatly enhanced her skills.

And, this book is invaluable for those who generate advertising copy and constantly need a flow of ideas.

In Glasser’s superb reference book of words, terms, examples, clever slogans, jingles, verse, epigrams, puns, parody, and limericks, anyone– at any level– can develop their writing and speech.

This book will stimulate you to write your own fresh and engaging analogies to make you sparkle in print or before an audience. Glasser’s striking phrases, illustrations, humorous quips, and clichés give you a foundation for incorporating analogous words into your work or hobby interests.

Glasser makes the analogy process simple. All one has to do is find a subject area in the book with a word list that one likes, choose words that would fit into your own subject matter, and use them.

For example, you can use words associated with agriculture to write a slogan for business people.

Glasser’s example is:

To CULTIVATE customers and REAP goodwill, RAISE quality, not prices.

As another example, she uses words associated with nationality to create this:

I shop at (department store name) because their suits feature SCOTCH thriftiness, FRENCH verve, ENGLISH excellence, AMERICAN style, and UNIVERSAL appeal!

I really like this one using basketball phrases:

When you SHOOT off your mouth, you COURT disaster, put people in a FOUL mood and get everybody on the DEFENSIVE.

As for limericks, Glasser uses one involving words associated with football:

To college Dad sent his son Jack
Paying bills every year by the stack
Now what can Dad show
For spending that dough?
All he got was a lone QUARTER BACK!

If you like jingles, Glasser offers this clever one using musical terms:

If HARMONY is what you crave,
Go get a TUBA Burma-Shave!

As you can see, Glasser’s imaginative examples grow on you, and her comprehensive book is jam-packed with them.

I highly recommend this delightful book by an author who made guest appearances on many television shows, including the “Today Show.” Her work appeared in top publications including: The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, Saturday Evening Post, Playboy, Harpers, and the Los Angeles Times.

“The Analogy Book of Related Words,” published by Communication Creativity, copyright 1990. 210 pages. A timeless book.

U.S. customers may buy a new copy from me  for $12.95 plus $4  for USPS Media Mail shipping. For more details, contact me, Charlotte Digregorio, c-books@hotmail.com

Copyright 2021 by Charlotte Digregorio.

Daily Haiku: Nov. 13, 2021

snow hill at dusk
sliding
       into
            night



by Del Todey Turner (USA)

Frogpond, 32:3, 2009

Daily Haiku: Nov. 12, 2021

senryu

 

 

Thanksgiving dinner

I peel the shrink-wrap

off my blessings

 

 

 

by Kathryn Bold (USA)

 

Modern Haiku, Issue 51.1, Winter/Spring 2020

Daily Haiku: Nov. 11, 2021

Rosh Hashanah–

the memory

of honey-dipped apples

by Ruth Holzer (USA)

the Aurorean, Fall/Winter, 2019-2020



Daily Haiku: Nov. 10, 2021

first snow

our world leans in

a little closer

by Margaret Dornaus (USA)

Frogpond, 35:2, Summer 2012

Daily Haiku: Nov. 9, 2021

arms outstretched

baby gathers in

the harvest moon 

                    

by Ronald K. Craig (USA)

Autumn Moon, 4:1, Autumn/Winter 2020 

Free Verse by Sally Hewitt

Seeing You Again

by Sally Hewitt

We walked along a dock

strolling slowly, throwing sticks

for the dog to retrieve

when we moved past you.

I didn’t recognize your face at first

until you spoke and then I thought,

Of course, it’s you, working,

standing in the water adjusting a post,

just as you always worked around our farm,

digging post holes, using your level for straight,

and a warm feeling filled my heart

to think I’d summoned you to a dream

your love for water and work ethic

combined in a moment of happiness

and recognition of my beloved family.

Previously published in The Rockford Review, Summer-Fall 2019

Daily Haiku, Nov. 8, 2021

hefting a plum–

I know by heart

my father’s orchard

by Michael McClintock (USA), Author

Sketches from the San Joaquin, 2009

Register Now for the Global Poetry Open Mic!

Back by popular demand, mark your calendars to read at the global poetry open mic, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022 from 2 to 4 p.m. (Chicago-USA Time, Via Zoom). This open mic is hosted by me, Charlotte Digregorio, and sponsored by the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District in Illinois (USA). We are just up the road from Chicago.

Last July we had a great turnout. We heard the voices of poets from many countries, inspiring us to write great poetry. We heard different forms of poetry, and expressions that we could relate to.

Don’t miss out! Even if you don’t write poetry now, but you’d like to consider writing it, attend this open mic to motivate you to expand your creativity.

This is the library link and description: https://winnetkalibrary.libcal.com/event/8233113

Would you like a welcoming audience for your poetry? Back by popular demand, this event will spotlight beginning & experienced poets alike. Participants will introduce themselves, tell why they like to write poetry, and share up to five of their poems. Winnetka Author Charlotte Digregorio will kick off the event by reading some poems from her book, Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing. Non-poets are welcome to be part of the audience.

Note: If you choose to read only haiku, then you may read up to eight poems.

I hope to see many of you who participated last July, along with other poets who missed it then. If this event continues to be popular, we will repeat it.

Come meet your fellow global poets that you read the work of on this blog, along with many others out there! Register now!

Best,

Charlotte Digregorio

Daily Haiku: Nov. 7, 2021

a new day
the distance
from last night’s dreams

by Tom Clausen (USA)

Upstate Dim Sum, January 2019

 

 

Don’t Miss This Holiday Special: Be a Better, Widely -Published Writer

Be a Better, Well-Published Writer!

Just in time for the holidays, I’m making a special offer to my loyal readers and followers in the U.S. 

If you purchase one copy of “Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All” or one copy of “Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing” from me, you’ll receive free shipping via USPS Media Mail with your signed copy. 

If you order both books, or two copies of one book, you’ll not only get free shipping, but also a $5 discount off your total purchase. Each reference book retails for $19.95.

These two reference titles are available through Amazon and ebay, but you may prefer to order them from me. As a thank-you, I will provide an edit or revision of one poem of any form–haiku or otherwise– that a purchaser has written, so that it’s publishable to appear on this blog.

Don’t delay, as this special offer will expire Nov. 20, 2021. You may contact me directly at c-books@hotmail.com with questions and for ordering information. 

Below are some of the best reviews of my two books. Thanks to all of you who’ve taken the time to read my books and to comment! It’s much appreciated! 

Keep writing . . . 

Best Wishes, 

Charlotte Digregorio

Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All (232 pages)

An altogether brilliant work that must be read by anyone with so much as a passing interest in haiku. Charlotte Digregorio has penned a masterpiece! She has written the definitive guide to one of poetry’s most fascinating genres. This work belongs on the bookshelf of any poet who is serious about writing the kind of haiku that editors want to publish.

-–John J. Dunphy, Author and Poet, Touching Each Tree

This book is overall the best one out there on the subject. The amount of information is extraordinary and exceeds that found in any other book. In particular, the commentaries on selected poems are very good, intelligent, and sensitive, and really place keys into the hands of readers for unlocking the mysteries and joys of haiku literature–from its roots in Japan to its present robust evolution in English and other languages.

-–Michael McClintock, Award-Winning Author/Editor of Haiku & Tanka Books

Former President of The Tanka Society of America

If a book about haiku inspires the reader to create haiku, then Charlotte Digregorio’s Haiku and Senryu guide has done its job bountifully. Digregorio calls this “A Simple Guide for All” and she isn’t kidding. Her basic instruction simplifies the process of writing haiku without sacrificing the beauty and the pleasure that are essential. The examples of well-known haikuists shimmer with perfection! If you are interested in pursuing this lovely, subtle art form, THIS is the guide you need. Fantastic guide! I can’t believe how much I learned.

-–Robin Stratton, Editor, Boston Literary Magazine

Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All is exactly what it says it is: a way into the reading, writing and publishing of the world’s favorite genre. Premised on the idea that one doesn’t need to be a professional poet to enjoy it, Haiku and Senryu will inform you on why poets and non-poets alike love the genre; how to read them for maximum enjoyment; where they came from; how to organize them; and how to get them into print and other people’s heads. Whether a newbie or a seasoned veteran, you’re sure to come away with a deeper appreciation of the genre. And it’s also a considerable anthology of some of the best English-language haiku to be found.

–The Haiku Foundation

A strong overview of haiku. A wealth of material on how to introduce and teach haiku to children, college students, and interested adults. For busy teachers the material will make it easier to provide guidance to their students. Any teacher would be thrilled for the helpful guidance, examples, and tools for presenting the form to the next generation. The pain and work involved in creating one’s own lesson plans is gone with the author’s well-honed presentations. The bibliography also contains a wealth of material. Buy a copy for teachers, students, or interested poets and just tell them to read it. This volume will not steer them wrong, and gives any reader something with meat to hang their hat on while they discover or further explore haiku. It will remain on my shelf.

–Mike Rehling, Book Reviewer, United Haiku and Tanka Society

Marvelous book! Marvelous insight. I truly enjoyed this book, being wonderfully surprised by the new information I didn’t know. The chapter on teaching haiku was especially great, since I’ve taught it, but by a different method. And, Charlotte Digregorio’s haiku often evoke a chuckle of wry recognition or stop you dead in your tracks from awe. She seems well acquainted with the quotidian’s variety of her days, from homeless folk, to nature’s evocation and to loss and sorrow.

-–Donna Bauerly, Professor Emeritus, Loras College

An energetic and comprehensive guide by a prolific writer and educator with insightful perspectives and a generous sampling of published haiku and senryu. This practical guide is delivered in a relaxed, conversational tone so that the lessons and examples are informative and easily accessible. Extensive appendices and bibliography.

–Frogpond, Journal of the Haiku Society of America

This book will hook the beginning reader and leave them wanting more. The book demystifies the genre. It offers haiku that are accessible and doable. The “Getting Published” section offers some good tips on submitting to and building a relationship with editors. The large reference section with bibliography of educational books, anthologies, collections, journals, and websites will be of great value to beginning readers.

–Paul Miller, Editor of Modern Haiku journal

I honor the work Charlotte Digregorio has done on behalf of English-language haiku in Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. She has a gift for writing clearly, concentrating on what matters beyond passing controversy. As for her own fresh and gritty poems, Digregorio has the courage to face the truth of love, loss, aging, homelessness, birth/death and the upside down nature of life—the full catastrophe. Expect to be challenged and invigorated.

–Dr. Robert Epstein, Psychologist

Author, Checkout Time is Noon: Death Awareness Haiku

A couple of the many sterling qualities of Charlotte Digregorio’s haiku include perceptive observance of natural phenomena and penetrating insights into human nature, frequently with a delightful, wry humor in the latter category, along with deep compassion in others.

–Robert Spiess, Editor of Modern Haiku

Anyone can benefit from this book’s simple, clear advice. Digregorio offers time-tested, yet fresh and flexible pedagogy–actual lesson plans for those who wish to teach haiku. Intermediate and advanced practitioners will benefit from reminders of simple concepts long forgotten or never learned. We are given new ways to think about the poetry we read.

–Speed Bump Journal

Offers excellent advice on haiku writing It is a great book and has helped many of us in our haiku journey, and doubtless will for many years to come.

–Andy McLellan, Poet and Author, birth/stones: Selected Haiku and Haibun

***********************************************************************************************

Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing (236 pages) 

Note: Charlotte Digregorio is a retired Writing and Foreign Language Professor, winner of 61 poetry awards, and twice-nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has  more than 600 poems in print and writes 14 poetic forms. “Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing,” a reference book, will inspire you to write many forms of poetry, too. Digregorio has organized poetry conferences throughout the country, and she also speaks and gives workshops at national conferences. Her solo exhibits of healing poetry are featured at libraries, corporate buildings, hospitals, galleries, and park districts, among other venues.

 

Benjamin Franklin Awards (2021): Independent Book Publishers Association

 Comments from Judge #1:

 

Life in all its aspects flows through Charlotte Digregorio’s buoyant poetry collection. For its healing and inspirational qualities, this is a book to keep and reread frequently. It inspires enhanced living and writing.

Excellent!

 Comments from Judge #2

 

This book is a very easy and pleasurable read.  I read every poem with delight in about six days. (236 pages). There are lines in the poetry that if they were fireworks would light up the night sky. This book is that good. The introduction is a marvelous bit of writing, explaining the author’s view on poetry, and about the title’s meaning. All through the book, when each new section is about to unfold, there is a prose explanation of what one is about to encounter. These preludes to the sections are one of the best features of the book.

 

  

Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing comes in a year when healing is in even greater demand than usual. In this book, we not only get a well-written poetry collection that promotes healing, but a how-to guide for writing poetry that aids healing. As I read it, I often paused to implement Digregorio’s suggestions, jotting down poems of my own, and filled several pages. The author is particularly well known as an authority on the Japanese forms of haiku and senryu, and many of the poems in this book follow them. Others are in free verse and a dozen other forms. The collection is structured into sections containing poems about various subjects you can consider writing about. Each section is introduced by a page of prose that includes the author’s sage comments on why the subject is relevant and how the poems influence healing. The poems and writing advice are clear, accessible, and beautifully lyrical. Her point is: look, you can do this.  I highly recommend this book.

–Richard Allen Taylor, Author of Armed and Luminous

Book Reviewer, The Main Street Rag

 

I highly, highly recommend this book! I read a lot of how-to-write poetry books, but this is unique because it shows would-be poets like me the “why” of writing poems. For those who want to write the best poetry we are capable of, this collection encourages us to look for and create beauty, strength, and healing. Many times during the reading of this book, I put it down and wrote a few lines of my own. I read several of her poems out loud, luxuriating in the evocative language and the emotional effect it had on me. Her haiku is particularly inspiring and she is a master at it.  I love this book. It’s not just a collection of poems, but thoughtful essays about how poetry can heal. There are a lot of lines I would like to quote (or pretend I came up with).  I love the imagery.

–Robin Stratton, Editor, Boston Literary Magazine

 

This book is different from any poetry book I have reviewed before. We need this book! Who among us has not needed healing? Who among us has not spent time in the cave of despair? Who among us has not needed an outlet for anger or loss? This is great poetry, mature craftsmanship, written in an accessible style for all to savor. It’s easy to apply these poems to daily life. A professional observer, Digregorio sees and feels everything more deeply. She reveals her sensitivity to the human condition. The volume contains something for everyone: from compact oriental forms, to superbly-crafted sonnets, to the little known etheree, to fun forms such as acrostics and limericks, free verse and more.

 

Exhaustive Appendices: More than a collection of poetry, the author offers practical, hands-on support for beginning and experienced writers.  As poets, we also need to promote and sell our poetry, our books, and the author helps get us off the sidelines and into the promotional game. Treasures to be unearthed include multiple lists of publications that publish poetry; ideas for general print/broadcast media that feature poets; and ideas on types of associations, organizations, and businesses that promote poets through awards, interviews, readings, speaking venues, workshops engagements, and exhibitions of their work. This book has given me a real education.

 

–Michael Escoubas, Editor, Quill and Parchment

 

Digregorio’s  poetry is healing, gets you through tough times, and saves lives. This book is one answer to the Coronavirus. In spending time reading it, we find an encouraging and peaceful way to live. Nuanced by childhood memories of oceans and jagged monoliths, of black bear and elk, she shares through reflection and meditation, poems with a spaciousness that speak of acceptance and gratitude for what is. She is like the sculptor in one of her poems, “creating equilibrium and harmony.” She reaches out and invites the reader to join her in solitude, share thoughts, and observations. Ultimately, there is a sense of community, of knowing we aren’t alone. There’s an exuberance of life here that cannot help but touch you. It is a book you can go back to time and time again.

–Mary Jo Balistreri, Poet and Author, Still

 

Fascinating tome–the perfect fit for this time in history. Soothing and peaceful. The author balances different poetic forms that contribute to a melodic, musical timbre. I marked many pages as my favorite poems–far too many to list here. Gorgeous words describing the natural world and her insightful memories in the “Nostalgia” section. Her poems wend their way through the maze of life events and experiences, healing in their warm, lyrical beauty.

–The Rockford Review, Sally Hewitt, Editor

 

The bumper sticker on my car reads: “Nature: Cheaper than Therapy.” As an adjunct to nature’s treatment plan, I would prescribe Charlotte Digregorio’s  Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing. Her imagistic poems wind through diverse relational and emotional terrain, and never lose touch with the natural healing qualities of acceptance, wonder, gratitude, and harmony.  

 

–Mike Stinson, Psychotherapist, Poet & Author, extra innings

  

What a treasure. A ponderous book. I am giving it the daily reading that the inspiring poems call out for, a page or two a day with meditative thought for the author’s many layered gifts of creativity. I love the titles of the multi-themed chapters. I am delving into this clear pond of healing, the book’s healing messages.

 

–Donna Bauerly, Professor Emeritus

Loras College 

An affecting collection. Charlotte Digregorio finds lyricism in solitude, finds reason to celebrate and transform into art the trifles in our gritty lives. These are poems of great skill, poems with a generous heart by a writer who cherishes the luminous particulars of every moment. 

–Marsh Muirhead, Poet and Author of last night of the carnival

 

Award-winning poet Charlotte Digregorio offers readers an array of poems that delve deeply into the external, her Midwest surroundings, and the internal, the nature of her creativity. Digregorio’s delectable collection is one to be savored again and again.

 

–Roberta Beary, Poet and Author of The Unworn Necklace

 

The poems of Charlotte Digregorio possess a clarity of vision one seldom finds in contemporary verse. The images she creates are vibrant and alive. We Baby Boomers identify with her all too well.

 

–John J. Dunphy, Poet and Author of Touching Each Tree

 

We are blessed with this work! This is a comforting, much appreciated companion in these difficult times. The book responds to so many of the themes and issues that are central to my life experience. It sustains, and I am thankful.  I hope this book makes its way to many people in these sad times. It provides shade from the glare of events.

–David Eyre, Educator and Author, the nothing that is

 

 

Charlotte Digregorio has the all-too-uncommon ability to put the reader in the poet’s place. One does not read, so much as experience her poems. Closing my eyes, many of these poems could have been memories from my own past. These very personal poems become personal to the reader. The poet uses words as her brush, and all senses are stimulated.

 

–Ignatius Fay, Poet and Co-Author of Breccia

 

This is a self-help book that is the pathway to finding peace. The author’s healing poems speak to us and are especially timely during the Covid crisis.

–Winnetka-Kenilworth Living magazine (Illinois)

 

This elegantly designed book offers readers an eclectic mix of poetry styles to suit any and every mood. Here, you may find your senses soothed, or stimulated by the natural world. There, you might find yourself immersed in memories, or daydreams about the future. This writer has walked in our shoes, and her words entice us to take the first steps along the poetic path to healing.

 

–Debbie Strange, Poet and Author of The Language of Loss

 

 

Charlotte Digregorio is a much-published and much-honored poet. The approaches to writing she shares in this collection prove useful for those who seek inspiration and for those who give writing workshops.

 

–Maxianne Berger, Book Review Coordinator, Haiku Canada Review

                                                *************************************

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                          

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Haiku: Nov. 6, 2021

senryu

spit-polished shoes

he shuffles to the free

veteran’s lunch

by Pat Davis (USA)

Editor’s Choice, Quicky Challenge for Veteran’s Day

My Haiku Pond, Nov. 16, 2017

Daily Haiku: Nov. 5, 2021

early morning

just the wind in the trees

the stars in the sky

by Howard Lee Kilby (USA)

Visiting The Wind

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2021

Daily Haiku: Nov. 4, 2021

a turn of stars
the girl with the hula hoop 
keeps it going

by Mary Stevens (USA)

Second Place

The 2020 Annual Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards

Daily Haiku: Nov. 3, 2021

senryu

a whiff of perfume

remembering everything

but the name

 

 

by kjmunro (Canada)

Visiting The Wind

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2021

Free Verse by Bill Waters

La Muerte

Mariposa, why do you flirt with Death?
You make a good couple, I freely admit it —
he with his yellow bones and steely scythe,
you dressed in yellow and orange and lots of
funereal black. Perpetual Día de Muertos!

But one day he’ll play the death card
on you, you know. Perhaps you should
worry a bit. Reconsider. Meanwhile, enjoy
your denim-and-polka-dot daydreams,
your blushing-pink and acid-green world.

Oh, what the hell! Do the danse macabre —
click your castanets while he rattles his bones!
The shadow of Death hangs over us all anyway.
Besides, even a skeleton has dignity.
Even a dead butterfly is still beautiful.

by Bill Waters (USA)

The Ekphrastic Review, 2018

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic-journal/la-muerte-by-bill-waters

Daily Haiku: Nov. 2, 2021

raindrops

the cricket backs

under a leaf

by Al W. Gallia (USA)

Visiting The Wind

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2021

Daily Haiku: Nov. 1, 2021

hot summer night the roll of her Spanish tongue

by Chad Lee Robinson (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. XXX, No. 2, 2007

Free Verse by Mary Jo Balistreri

Finding Peace

To walk these meandering paths

of filtered sun and fallen birch logs

is to inhale peace.

To tread upon pine needles

cushioned with downy white tufts

of aspen calms even the most

anxious thoughts.

To surrender to the wind as does

the arboreal forest brings solace.

To rest a while on glacier stone,

see trilliums commingle with oaks

and bursts of bright yellow lady’s slippers

fills your heart to overflowing.

To hear a hermit thrush sing praise,

its melody scented with pine

is to know the god within.

To stay awhile and deep breathe

honors the sacredness we each carry.

by Mary Jo Balistreri (USA)

Leaves of Peace: an anthology of poetry, 2020

Daily Haiku: Oct. 31, 2021

train station

a soldier paces

summer dusk

 

by Roberta Beary (Ireland/USA)

distinguished prize winner
1st yamadera basho haiku contest, 2009

Free Verse by Ellen Grace Olinger

WINTER IN OCTOBER

Another death
a sudden death
this autumn of
winter in October.

Condolences pour in
your service strengthens
and your body is laid to rest
in beloved Wisconsin land.

Now the grief begins
and how else could it be?

Surely a few people
will remain with us
in our loving sorrow
like the golden leaves
left on the tree
outside my window
that will turn green again . . .

by Ellen Grace Olinger (USA)

Time of Singing, Fall 2008

(Written for Paul F. Brandt, the poet’s cousin, a Viet Nam vet.)

https://ellenolinger.com/

 

Daily Haiku: Oct. 30, 2021

spring begins

I give my worries

wings

 

 

 

by Beverly Acuff Momoi (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 44:2 Spring/Summer 2021

Free Verse by Maureen Weldon

 

THE PAST

 

I have left the past,

or so I thought;

yet it sits in every corner,

sits on my back.

 

Sometimes the long garden with a hammock

to swing in, to laze in,

near the sweet peas, near the roses.

 

Sometimes a white breeze

salty from the ocean.

 

It is Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales.

 

It is war-time, it is peace-time.

 

It is a wedding vow torn by the wind.

 

It is sitting around a table, laughing.

 

It is the dearest dead.

 

It is christening the baby.

 

It is like a cave,

or a pass through the mountain.

 

And always the still small voice.

 

 

by Maureen Weldon (Wales) 

The Passionate Transitory, E-zine

 

 

Daily Haiku: Oct. 29, 2021

dove song

I unlace 

muddy boots

 

 

 

by Gideon Young (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 44:2, Spring/Summer 2021

Daily Haiku: Oct. 28, 2021

leaving my deck

seed-hungry birds:

“she’s gone”

 

 

 

by Donna Bauerly (USA)

Daily Haiku: Oct. 27, 2021, Senryu/Haiku Special by Wilda Morris

senryu

 

after my granddaughter’s funeral

 

my grandson

 

plays dead

 

 

by Wilda Morris (USA)

World Haiku Review, Aug. 13, 2021

haiku

 

rainbow

 

wondering if the robin

 

sees it

 

by Wilda Morris (USA)

Autumn Moon,4:2, Spring/Summer 2021

Daily Haiku Special: Oct. 26, 2021, with Roberta Beary

Robert Beary, longtime haiku author and editor, and frequent contributor to this blog, has a new book out, One Breath, that is a unique offering among haiga collections. It is an original  project that will spur readers and poets to challenge themselves in thinking outside the box with haiku and art. The artwork in this collection was created by either a family member of or by a person with disabilities in a haiga workshop led by haiku poet Mary White.

 

For more information about this stimulating collection, click:  http://clanbeo.org/

Daily Haiku: Oct. 25, 2021

winter produce . . .

the grocer imports

fruit flies

by Dave Read (Canada)

random sampling

2021 Haiku Canada Members’ Anthology

Daily Haiku: Oct. 24, 2021

falling blossoms

the near distance

of her

by Gregory Longenecker (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 44:3, Autumn 2021

Daily Haiku: Oct. 23, 2021

last light

the slipstream of swallows

over my shoulder

by Paul Beech (Wales)

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 31, No. 2, May 2021

Daily Haiku: Oct. 22, 2021

as the crow flies the river’s bend

 

 

 

by Kelly Sauvage Angel (USA)

Modern Haiku, Winter-Spring 2021

Daily Haiku: Oct. 21, 2021

senryu

hospital hair

the ghost

of who I am

by Deborah P Kolodji

    #FemkuMag, #28, January 2021