A Sense of Place: THE SHORE – touch

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1. Going through the five senses has been an incredible journey. It has been a great learning experience, which we are all going to do again! So thank you Kathy.
   Thanks to Alan as well.

   1. Thanks Christine!
      .
      It’s Kathy brainchild, and it’s delightfully addictive! 🙂
      .
      warm regards,
      Alan

      1. thanks to you both!

2. Thank you Kathy for including my verse in this collection and for the additional commentary! I enjoyed reading all the sense of shore haiku and have read many several times to improve my own writing. Thanks to Alan for all the additional commentary throughout this experience and I look forward to the mountains…

   1. Thanks Lamart, and it’s been great to see you back! Still a few days left to submit some work to Cattails: http://www.cattailsjournal.com/submissions.html
      .
      Putting on my Presidential hat on. 😉
      .
      warm regards,
      Alan

   2. thanks for this, Lamart!

3. Dear KJ, thank you for this incredible series of challenges!

   1. thanks for this, Tsanka!

4. I haven’t been around for some time but enjoyed every week’s selections and commentaries.
   good work, Kathy and everyone 🙂

   1. thank you Polona!

5. Thank you, Kathy and Alan. What a wonderful variety of poems this week! There are many poems to love. It’s been a pleasure reading each one and the comments.

   1. Thanks Corine! 🙂
      .
      Kathy has created such a wonderful feature I am compelled to acknowledge as many people’s wonderful contributions as I can, including your’s! 🙂
      .
      warm regards,
      Alan

      1. thanks to you both!

6. I liked best Kath Abela Wilson’s
   *
   beach party
   the feel of my shoes
   in my hand
   *
   – an excellent and insightful twist
   Thanks KJ

   1. thanks for this Mark!

7. My three favorites were:
   .
   skinny dipping
   the graze of her nipples
   under water

   Adjei Agyei-Baah
   Kumasi, Ghana
   .
   .

   leaving the shore
   the first teardrop
   on my face

   Guliz Mutlu
   .
   .

   lapping waves…
   the baby
   curls his toes

   Michele L. Harvey
   .

   1. thanks for sharing, John!

8. Good morning kj,
   As a life long beach goer, it was a pleasure to” wade down” memory lane.Thankyou for including one of my poems . Living in the foot hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I look forward to the next several weeks.
   Thanks again,
   A newly enthused rookie poet,
   Tim Heaney

   1. thanks for submitting, Tim!

9. As usual a really interesting selection of poems that flower from the seed on one word: ‘touch’. All the different viewpoints, recollections and sensations caught in a very welcome series of prompts. Thanks kj for sparking the muse.

   1. thanks for this, John!

10. Thank you Kathy for such a wonderful collection. Special thanks to Alan Summers for his indepth analysis.

    1. thanks arvinder!

11. Thank you for including one of mine. I have enjoyed reliving experiences through my writing and have also enjoys all the submissions.

    1. thanks for this Margo!

12. Wow, the Sense of Place theme of THE SHORE and “touch” has really triggered the floodgates, in a positive way:
    .
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    What fascinated me is that we don’t often, or at least I don’t think so, talk about “being touched” both in general, and in haiku specifically.
    .
    We expect a poem to take us to a place where we ‘are touched’ but perhaps just lightly in an emotional manner. It’s a difficult area, where we might be okay with a basic sensation, but can we go further and acknowledge we are human, without being seen as ‘too effete”? It’s a difficult one to attempt. But kudos to everyone, we have not been frightened off.
    .
    This one, by Adjei Agyei-Baah, is deeply sensual, perhaps indicating the transition or the in betweeness of innocence and that ‘removal of the fig leaf’?
    .
    skinny dipping
    the graze of her nipples
    under water
    .
    Adjei Agyei-Baah
    Kumasi, Ghana
     
    .
    .
    Amy brings in our ‘augmentation’ which continues to develop and expand, and in this case, the ‘simple’ replacement of a knee:
    .
    .
     
    knee replacement
    the silky feel of sand
    between my toes
    .
    Amy Losak
    .
    .
    It reminds me of how a brilliant NHS operation (not possible under a privately paid method) gave my mother the freedom of a wider life experience). How far do we go in being augumented to obtain quality of life? A thought-provoking approach by Amy.
    .
    .

     
    that moment
    of hesitation
    knee deep in a cold sea
    .
    andrew shimield
    .
    .
    Ah, the world in a grain of salt, or more, and from my former experiences, a single moment of hesitation can mean living or dying. An intriuging pairing with a knee joint plunged into the cold sea.
    .
    .
     
    lost love
    my hand slips over
    a piece of seaweed
    .
    Andy McLellan
    .
    .
    Andy McLellan equates a love lost with a hand slipping over a piece of seaweed. If you have experienced both, you’ll recognise this is a briliant pairing of imagery.
    .
    .
    The glass half empty or half full is a common question for a person who is optimistic or otherwise. What of the astringent smell and taste of vinegar and that of a jellyfish? An incredibly intriguing pairing of images, bringing the sensation of touch to a new level.
    .
    .

     
    jellyfish
    a vinegar bottle
    half empty
    .
    Anthony Rabang
     .
    .

    after she left –
    touches of moonlight
    on the footprints
    .
    arvinder kaur
    Chandigarh, India
    .
    .
    A simple but powerful opening line making me wonder where the author will take us. We become part of the sensation of moonlight, perhaps our own footprints, or those we might seek to follow.
    .
    .
     

     
    swimming with dolphins
    I touch another
    world
    .
    Barbara Tate
    .
    .
    Some of us strain to go beyond ourselves, and dolphins can be a welcome trigger. In my case it was Humpback Whales, both helping a spotter plane seek out their footprints, and also being an inch away from one part by and part under a small boat. I so wanted to touch the creature that gladly made me feel small instead of a domineering Apex Predator.
    .
    .
     
    shore wind
    I shiver at
    the thought of water
    .
    Blessed Ayeyame
    Ughelli, Nigeria
    .
    .
    The power of the wind, and being on a shore that shows an almost unearthly powerful volume of water, awesome!
    .
    .

     
    receding wave
    the world slips
    from under my feet
    .
    Bob Whitmire
    Round Pond, Maine
    .
    .
    When the earth slips or slides beneath our feet, perhaps we are then mindful we are resting upon a huge body of earth, rock, and water, hurtling around a body of space and stars. What can we reach out and touch in reality?

    .
    .
     
    rough waters
    the smoothest stone
    in the surf
    .
    C.R. Harper
    .
    .
    Rough waters, but there’s a smoothness that combines with it, and here we are, in between.
    .
    .
     
    stretching my arm
    outside the rowboat
    soft waterlily petals
    .
    Carmen Sterba
    .
    .
    Extending beyond the ‘world’ of our boat, and in between wood and water, waterlilies.

    .
    .

     
    sand between my toes oyster pearl
    .

    carol jones
    Wales
    .
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    The sand between our toes is perhaps one of our strongest sensations as a child, discovering an aspect of the world where our landbase is actually very close indeed with a vast body of water (the oceans). Sensations are combined with shells and stones, and perhaps some bladderwrack too!
    .
    .

     
    low tide
    crabs touching
    the moon
    .

    cezar ciobika
     .
    .
    The combination, how simple it seems, of low tide, and little creatures touching the moon, is incredibly deeply moving.
    .
    .

     
    seashore
    touching your smile
    with my lips
    .
    Christine Eales
    UK
    .
    .
    Deeply sensual, incredibly tactile, and at the seashore, with all the extra sensations of the seaside. Lots of intermingling sensations without (over)stating, as any haiku should avoid.
    .
    .
     

     
    don’t touch written all over her face sunburn
    .
    Corine Timmer
    .
    .
    Even without ‘sunburn’ we should respect what are real and obvious signs moving across our faces. I’ve experienced some incredible sunburn, as a teenager, a time where we often don’t know how to switch on commonsense.
    .
    .
    end of beach day
    the gritty sand
    in my sandals
    .
    Debbi Antebi
    London, UK
    .
    .
    Ah, yes, we can never ever completely wash out those grains of salt, even if there is a beach based shower faucet! Great sensory feel here!
    .
    .

     
    your beach towel
    the scratch of sand
    against my cheek
    .
    Deborah P Kolodji
    Temple City, California
    .
    .
    There is something deeply personal about our beach towels, with all its aspects of body scent, suntan oils, or sun protection oils, etc…. I can’t tell what the family connection or friend dynamic is here, but something subtly powerful is approached in that wonderful last two lines, made further powerful by ‘your’ beach towel.
    .
    .
     

    lost dolphin
    the laying-on
    of hands
    .
    dl mattila
    USA
    .
    .
    The laying on of hands can be a powerfully religious statement, and experience, which I’ve felt in various context situations, see my comment of the Humpback whale, but also in a spiritual manner. What is a lost dolphin though? They exist in pods, family groups, what is like to have no family? We have too many children ‘in care’ or in prison, and I could think of those denied by the State, of allowing family comfort.
    .
    .

     
    fisherman in boat
    feels giant tentacle
    tapping his shoulder
    .
    Erick Harmon (age 10)
    Los Angeles, California
    .
    .
    Wow! Octopus or Squid? Highly intelligent and wonderful, yet we hunt them down and eat them. Thank goodness most of our co-animals don’t do that to us! Perhaps this creature is simply asking ‘Why?”
    .
    .

     
    riverbank
    the pebbles I put
    in my pocket
    .

    Eva Limbach
    .
    .
    Simple but wonderful! Or it it? Virginia Woolf did this to kill herself as society we distance ourselves from those suffering from mental health issues. What is it like to prepare to lose our life by design?

    .
    virginia woolf loading stones to kill herself
    http://virginiawoolfblog.com/when-virginia-went-missing/
    .
    .
    I feel tearful as we have lost at least two beloved haiku poets to water.
    .
    .

     
    sea lichen
    on my arm
    a new tattoo
    .
    Hifsa Ashraf
    Pakistan
    .
    .
    Ah, the creatures that adorn us, if only for a moment. Love the tactile moment!

    .
    .

     
    fading light
    the neap tide
    slips between our toes
    .

    John Hawkhead
    .
    .
    Ah, the neap tide between our toes, such a powerful moment, as it’s the circling moon that does that.
    .
    .

     
    beach party
    the feel of my shoes
    in my hand
    .
    Kath Abela Wilson
    Pasadena and Santa Barbara, California
    .
    .
    An interesting and highly effective switch of footwear held by our hands, as we connect further with our planet, and with a beer or two, I hope!
    .
    .

    Indian Ocean
    I touch my childhood
    on its shore
    .
    Madhuri Pillai
    .
    .
    I love the last two lines, and especially up against an ocean, reminding us of our origins perhaps.
    .
    .

     
    rough seas
    she wears his old jacket
    still holding her
    .
    Margaret Bissell Walker
    .
    .
    Rough seas, both literally, and metaphorically, where our old jacket (which could be our body in later years) still holds us as we travel our life year by year.
    .
    .
     

     
    the slither
    of a fresh oyster
    seaside lunch
    .
    Marietta McGregor
    .
    .
    I still remember my first oysters, and forever addicted. Perhaps because I was deserted at Christmas time, and all alone in a foreign country. Primordial? Who are you calling a primative! 🙂 A great sensation, for some of us, or deeply disturbing.
    .
    .

     
    beach towel
    shells with ripples
    shells without
    .
    Marilyn Appl Walker
    .
    .
    Neat touch of repetition and observation!
    .
    .

     
    smooth pebbles
    skim the surface…
    beachcomber
    .
    Marilyn Ashbaugh
    Edwardsburg, MI
    .
    .
    To be Robinson Crusoe, with just one close companion perhaps?
    .
    .

     
    fading scar
    running my fingers
    along the shell’s fracture
    .
    Mark Gilbert
    .
    .
    The switch between one raised carapace (poetic license) and another. Great comparision of sensations. And do we not bleed?
    That’s an allusion to the great play about prejudice called ‘The Merchant of Venice’.
    .
    .
     
    sunbathing
    a child places mud pie
    on father’s back
    .
    Marta Chocilowska
    .
    .
    Another great sensation, that of the mudpie on our back, expected or otherwise!
    .
    .

     
    pull of the tide –
    the slither of seaweed
    around my ankles
    .
    Martha Magenta
    England, UK
    .
    .
    The two sensations, that of the tide’s pull (the pull of our orbiting moon also) and the shifting, turning, and pulling back of seaweed. Wonderful, or disturbing, take your pick!
    .
    .

     
    fragments caught in bladderwrack –
    wood and shell
    line and hook
    .
    Mary Ellen Gambutti
    .
    .
    Wonderful, I mentioned bladderwrack earlier! Great word choice!
    .
    .

    moultrie creek
    feeling the loss
    of an eagle
    .
    Michael Henry Lee
    Saint Augustine  FL
    .
    .
    Fascinating contrasting images. Was this the awesome Sea eagle? But no, this is the time of a treaty between new European peoples and Native Americans. Was it honored? When we touch other cultures, do we not bleed or make others bleed. Deeply though provoking.
    .
    .

     
    tag and release –
    memories of the seashore
    slip through my fingers
    .
    Michael H. Lester
    Los Angeles CA USA
    .
    .
    The use of the verb ‘slips’ is deeply moving and emotive.
    .
    . 
    pelting rain…
    the young sailor
    clutches a steel rail
    .
    Michael Smeer
    Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands
    .
    .
    The sensation of steel, especially in cold wet weather, is very distinctive, as I recall in a Force 8 Gale on a tiny ship.
    .
    .

     
    reaching sea and sky starfish
    .
    Peggy Bilbro
    Huntsville, Alabama
    .
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    Wonderful monoku (one line haiku)!
    .
    .

    summer fling
    the seaweed’s
    slippery kiss
    .
    Rachel Sutcliffe
    .
    .
    Wonderful play on ‘kiss’!
    .
    .

     
    starfish
    in the palm of her hand
    no grip left
    .
    Randy Brooks
    .
    .
    Starfishes are so iconic as the water reflects the stars, and we call our craft that go into deep space as ‘ships’, and we hope our grip on all things stay firm.
    .
    .

     
    straining sand
    between his fingers
    talking to a girl
    .
    Rehn Kovacic
    .
    .
    An intriguing verse, using the device of ‘two “ings”’ and whether the opportunity to talk intelligently to another gender is lost or won.
    .
    .

     
    first autumn day…
    a sea duck faintly touches
    the waves
    .
    Réka Nyitrai
    .
    .
    Delightful light play which recalls Basho’s famous hokku (not a haiku, he never wrote one in his lifetime) of:
    .
    .
    海暮れて鴨の声ほのかに白し
    .
    umi kurete kamo no koe honoka ni shiroshi
    .
    darkening sea-
    the cries of wild ducks
    faintly white
    .
    Trans. Sonia Coman
    .
    .

    How we can all connect with something greater than ourselves and in the smallest way?
    .
    .

    starfish shore
    the baby touches
    her reflection
    .
    Roberta Beary
    County Mayo Ireland
    .
    .
    Wonderful first line! Isn’t it amazing when creatures are fascinated by reflections, not yet knowing, at first, they are seeing themselves for the first time?

    .
    .

     
    the brief caress of a moon jelly lingering burn
    .
    Robin Smith
    .
    .
    I’ve never been stung by a jelly fish despite living in Queensland, Australia. How we are burnt by passing interactions, human or otherwise, I flinch from my memories as a young and insensitive male.
    .
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    stranded jellyfish
    running my fingers
    round baldness
    .

    simonj
    UK
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    Great coupling of images!
    .
    .

     

     
    patterns in the sand
    some of my childhood
    between my toes
    .
    Stephen A. Peters
    .
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    Wonderful phrasing!
    .
    .

     
    a butterfly
    on her belly on the beach –
    she still didn’t notice
    .
    Tomislav Maretic
    .
    Beautifully observed.
    .
    .

    .
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    high tide
    my fingers find the gap
    between his
    .
    Vandana Parashar
    .
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    Deeply romantic!
    .
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     Wow, what a journey through the arena of ‘touch’!
    .
    .
    warm regards,
    Alan

    1. It’s very generous of you, Alan, to share your comments and impressions. Thank you very much!
       Love,
       Marta

       1. Thank you Marta, I wish I could spend more time on every single poem too! 🙂

    2. Thank you so much for sharing your comments on my poem. Greatly appreciated!!

       Rehn

       1. My pleasure and honour. You used to great effect those two ‘ing’ words adding resonance and openness to the reader.

    3. Hi Alan
       Thank you for the comment on my verse, much appreciated 🙂
       I know its been said before, your write-up’s are of immense value, I can liken the reading to being in a class room, many thanks.
       *
       carol

       1. Thank you Carol! It’s wonderful to see so many haiku on a single theme, great credit to everyone involved, and to Kathy! 🙂

    4. thanks as always, Alan, for your insight & generosity, & to all the others for the comments here – just quickly want to mention re: Anthony Rabang – jellyfish paired with vinegar – I googled this to learn that vinegar is effective with stings… in case anyone has that misfortune!

       1. Kathy, you are so right, I forgot that one. I’ve been lucky to have never been stung by jellyfish, despite the fact they’ve been prevalent in Queensland waters. Vinegar is a wonder liquid for household chores, which I use almost every day, including the occasionally burnt pan! 🙂

13. Kathy, this column has inspired me to write new haiku every week. Thank-you for being my muse and for including one of mine this week.

    1. wonderful to hear, Valentina – thanks for this!

14. Another delightful arrangement of poems, congratulations everyone 🙂
    Many thanks Kathy for including one of mine. This session has been a wonderful experience.
    I’m looking forward to reading your choices and commentaries next week.

    1. thanks for these kind words, carol!

15. Thanks, Kathy. My favourites this week:

    digging in my heels
    the give and take
    of the tide

    Holli Rainwater
    Fresno, OH USA

    spring lake
    its icy grip
    on our ankles

    Ruth Powell

    heading home
    flip flops shed
    the last grains of sand

    Karen Conrads Wibell

    It’s been fun to experience the shore through all five senses 😊

    1. thanks for sharing this Lisa!

16. thanks for including my haiku among your choices, beautiful selection

    1. thanks for this Angela!

17. Another great selection to read – the one that stays with me this time is Greer Woodward’s “learning to float” Thanks for including mine.

    1. thanks for sharing & for submitting, Pat!

    2. Thanks, Pat. I’m glad you liked my haiku. Kathy’s assignment brought back this sweet memory which was fun to revisit. Thanks, Kathy

       1. thank you Greer!

18. Oh, Katy, I’m really excited about this new choice with your comment. I’m born at the sea and I always live by the sea in winter, it’s so beautiful. I have read many beautiful haiku in this selection, congratulations to all the participants
    angiola

    1. thanks for your kind words, Angiola!

19. I am thrilled to have one of my haiku included here, Kathy, thank you. I too love Greer Woodward’s that you commented on. That feeling of your dad’s hand on your back as you are learning to swim – will he take it away or won’t he? I also particularly enjoyed the haiku by Will Nixon, Terri French, Randy Brooks, Pat Davis and Deb Kolodji. Many, many here to savor. Looking forward to mountains now, as I live in the mountains.

    1. thanks so much for sharing, Sari!

    2. Thanks, Sari!

       Greer

20. Thanks so much Kathy and thanks for the comment. Wonderful selection this week! Congratulations everyone. I don’t have much experience of mountains but am looking forward to the challenge and the change of scenery.

    1. thanks for this Lucy!

21. Thank you Kathy. Loved everyone’s takes on the shore theme. Looking forward (or upward) to mountains!
    Best,
    Robin

    1. thanks Robin!

22. Dear Kathy,
    Greetings! Going through the wonderful collections. Glad to know mountains are
    coming up.
    with regards
    S.Radhamani

    1. thanks for your kind words, S.Radhamani!

23. Thank you so much, Kathy. This has been a delightful experience. I’ve printed it out and intend to spend the afternoon with some wonderful poets. Thanks everyone for sharing and caring.

    1. wonderful Barbara!

24. Thanks Kathy for including mine.
    I especially liked what Bob Whitmire wrote:
    .
    receding wave
    the world slips
    from under my feet
    .

    1. thanks for this, Joanne!

25. Squishy mud and gritty toes . . . what a variety this round, some amusing, and this one, which I found sad, even after researching the verb used by dl mattila:
    .
    lost dolphin
    the laying-on
    of hands
    .
    So pleased that mountains are coming up next, and thank you, kj, for choosing one of my shoreline feelies.

    1. thanks for sharing this, Ingrid!

26. Thanks so much Kathy, your empathy for the quake casualties and those affected is very much appreciated.
    Congratulations everyone for this week’s wonderful selection!
    Thank you so much for commentary! 💕
    Have a great week ahead,

    1. still thinking of you & your part of the world with news of yet another quake – stay safe!

27. Thanks Kathy for including mine in this collection of “touching” haiku. Loved Martha Magenta’s slithery kelp. Reminded me of being in Lake Michigan oh so long ago. Excellent haiku all. Now to pack for the mountains.

    1. thanks for sharing, Nancy!

28. Thank you very much, Kathy, for including mine, I am glad it was this one 🙂
    Best wishes
    marta

    1. thanks Marta!

29. Thanks kjmunro for adding one of my to this tasty collections. I have really enjoyed being at the shore and look forward to the new challenge!

    1. thanks for this!

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