Haiku Dialogue

HAIKU DIALOGUE – Turn of the Decade – Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

With heartfelt thanks to our guest editor for the last couple of months, Lori A Minor, for thought-provoking & interesting themes & prompts that elicited some excellent poetry! Today we present her final selections for ‘Turn of the Decade’.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank Craig Kittner, our other guest editor for many months in 2019 – thank you! And Lori Zajkowski, our volunteer who formats & schedules all the posts – thank you!

I urge anyone who might be interested in volunteering as a guest editor for a month or longer in 2020, please do let us know! This is the only way to truly sustain the feature, & the rewards for stepping up in this way are many….

With that said, we will be taking a break this week – we all deserve it! Next week we will begin again, with a special treat – a month of photographic prompts from renowned poet & photographer, guest editor Carole MacRury… please join us next week for her first column!

best wishes for the New Year, kj

Turn of the Decade – New Year’s Resolution

What a beautiful selection of goals for the new year that all show the diversity among our lives. I would like to sincerely thank Lori, kj, and everyone who submitted to this week’s prompt and to the Turn of the Decade series as a whole. What a lovely way to ring in the new year! I have thoroughly enjoyed being your guest editor and look forward to future endeavors with all of you. I wish you the best in 2020. May it be a year full of blessings, love, and poetry!

new years resolution
the warmth of it
already gone

Stephen Peters

Very rarely are New Year’s resolutions completed. We might start each year with the best intentions for personal goals, but the truth is no matter how much we want things to go our way, the universe has other plans. However, everything we experience in life ultimately lands us exactly where we should be. I just love this piece because it shows the “warmth” of these good intions, and the loss of the resolution. Whether or not it’s a good or bad loss is up for interpretation, which is the beauty of haiku.

new year’s day
my resolution covered
in chocolate

Roberta Beary
County Mayo Ireland

As someone who found a lot of chocolate in my stocking on Christmas morning, this poem is absolutely relatable and with as many chocolate lovers as I know, I’m sure I’m not the only one getting joy out of this haiku. After a long 2019, Roberta provides us with a scene that everyone is going to crave. A feel-good haiku that features a feel-good food!

same as last year
I’ll quit
after I finish this one

Charles Harmon
Los Angeles, California, USA

I feel that this haiku quite represents not only the cycle of life, but perfectly captures our love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions. The word choice here is quite delicate, providing layers I just want to keep digging through. What is “this one”? Is it cigarettes? Chocolate? Alcohol? Although we’ll never know what the author intended, or potentially struggles with, he leaves us with just enough blank space to insert our own vices, which is effortlessly brilliant.

winter’s end
proving I’m more
than my disease

Tia Haynes
Lakewood, OH

Another open-ended haiku as readers are left with just enough room to place their own mental and/or physical illness(es) within the word “disease”, which holds so much weight. However, this poem allows us to let go by providing a safe place that radiates with positive energy. This mindset is necessary to come to peace with everything that makes us “us” without being consumed by it. The resilience in this haiku is more than significant and the poet invites us into her world and sets a beautiful example of strength. We all need this gentle reminder that not only is it okay to heal, no matter how long the process takes, but that we are not alone. Finding inner peace, in my opinion, is the most graceful of New Year’s resolutions.

Here are the rest of my selections:

new year’s eve
his promise to be faithful
again

Pamela A. Babusci

 

under surveillance . . .
I usher in the New Year
with a pseudonym

Grix

 

melting snow
I learn to let go
what I cannot hold

Jackie Chou
Pico Rivera, CA USA

 

first page
on my new diary
stressless

Eva Su

 

New Years resolutions
if l only
had a nickel…

Christopher Seep

 

New Year
next to the statue of Jesus
I decided to forgive

Aljoša Vuković
Šibenik, Croatia

 

skiing in Vermont
my first fall –
the full moon in the distance

Julia Guzmán

 

A new Year
Like snowflakes
my last wishes

Dennys Cambarau
Italy

 

new year’s day
the dog doesn’t know I wish
to sleep more

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

 

new year
I stop making
resolutions

Christina Chin

 

letter from bank
loan paid in full –
spring thaw

Roberta Beach Jacobson
USA

 

New year new page
I begin to write
the word (F)ree

Robert Kingston

 

she steps
into the year
sober

nancy liddle

 

monarch butterfly
emerging from my cocoon
strong and free

Christina Sng
Singapore

 

first of the year-
snow is that
of last year

vincenzo adamo

 

New Year’s Day
my high-gloss catalogue
with the package deal

Eva Limbach
Germany

 

smoking cessation–
my its goal for ten years
little by little

Teiichi Suzuki

 

new resolution
our leaders agree
to do nothing

john hawkhead

 

new year’s resolutions
what if I am the best
version of myself

Vandana Parashar

 

crag pine
melts in the mist
capture the moment

Judith Hishikawa

 

to forget her –
keep forgetting
year after year

Vishnu Kapoor

 

mindfulness..
mindlessness
of the past

R.Suresh Babu
India

 

grief
new year
no resolution

Helen Buckingham

 

final decade
embracing
loneliness

eb

 

new year’s twist
asking my kids to write
my list

Pat Davis

 

smoke signals
my best intended words
lost to the wind

Pris Campbell

 

climate change y(our) new year’s resolution

Hifsa Ashraf
Pakistan

 

a resolution:
taking out new olive oil
from the jar

un proposito:
tiro fuori dall’orcio
l’olio nuovo

Daniela Misso

 

in the distance the gold of sunflowers:
I’ll wait for you again

in lontananza l’oro dei girasoli:
ti aspetto ancora

Giuliana Ravaglia

 

year of the rat –
the sparkle of poison
dimming

Isabel Caves
Auckland, New Zealand

 

new year
time to bring our differences
to a resolution

Laurie Greer
Washington DC

 

the manuscript is old –
I’m saving money
for its publication

Zdenka Mlinar
Zagreb, CROATIA

 

world’s problems
appear daily on television
fight my passivity

Rehn Kovacic

 

wind in leaves
my resolve to do tree pose
every day

Kath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California

 

my enthusiasm
loses all its fizz
by The Twelfth Night

Franjo Ordanic

 

a solemn oath
to take no resolutions –
New Year’s Eve

Natalia Kuznetsova

 

cultivating gratitude…
my garden
runneth over

Michele L. Harvey

 

a hundred ideas
for New Year’s resolution…
multicolored fireworks

Tsanka Shishkova

 

New Year –
the smile of my daughters
will be my smile

Maria Teresa Piras

 

2020
a clearer vision
for the new year

Sari Grandstaff

 

like ripples in a
pond spreading nonviolence
one act at a time

Joel

 

next year:
always face life
with a smile

prossimo anno:
affrontare sempre la vita
con il sorriso

Angela Giordano

 

to race
the same shark
in the shallows

simonj
UK

 

daily morning yoga
the good shape of sixty kilos

Nuky Kristijono
Indonesia

 

sunrise waves
what it leaves
what it brings

Billy Antonio
Laoac, Philippines

 

new year’s resolution day three cake

Rehn Kovacic

 

rounds of sake –
how I go soft
on my resolutions

arvinder kaur
Chandigarh, India

 

intermittent fasting
i am not
what i don’t eat

wendy c. bialek
usa

 

a new year –
rolling over last year’s
resolutions

Debbie Scheving

 

pick a box—
any box to lighten
New Year’s mantra

Janis Albright Lukstein
Rancho Palos Verdes, Ca

 

trillions of wild fish
choking on deadly plastic
I’ll bring my own bags

Susan Rogers, Los Angeles, CA, USA

 

a tomato the concept of a tomato

Mark Gilbert

 

first mirror –
I am in the right-handed world

Tanpopo Anis

 

rediscover
my roots—
mother’s wish

Madhuri Pillai

 

fire games
in the sky for New Year’s
pointing higher

giochi di fuoco
in cielo a capodanno
puntando in alto

Luisa Santoro

 

new decade
healthy includes
kind words and thoughts

Kathleen Mazurowski

 

more resolutions
than the notebook can hold
deep morning snow

Steve Tabb

 

I will be generous
and let the new year
celebrate me

Anitha Varma

 

looking back
at what could’ve been
evergreen saplings

Joshua Eric Williams

 

shifting light
the path around the sun
keeps beginning

Kat Lehmann

 

being grateful
every day
for what I have

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore

 

another year
another promise
crocus again

Peggy Hale Bilbro
Alabama

 

decade-long desire —
this year i WILL
declutter

Ingrid Baluchi (Macedonia)

 

slim until age 70
2020
year of the roll back

Greer Woodward
Waimea, HI

 

willpower
no more chocolate
on the white sofa

Margaret Walker

 

rebuilt bridge
missing a decade
graffiti

VILMA KNEŽEVIĆ

 

promises to keep
stored in the cloud
password forgotten

Ron Scully

 

new year’s day
a steady diet
of chocolate

Rich Schilling
Webster Groves, MO

 

another year
to learn the art
of living

Janice Munro

 

fridge magnets
my New Year’s resolution
attracts a spider

cezar-florin ciobîcă

 

New Year’s resolutions
what has being left
unspoiled

Nadejda Kostadinova

 

New Year
we look at each other
in silence

Marta Chocilowska

 

my cloudless days —
and green umbrella
always pre-paired

Lemuel Waite
USA

 

for just one more year …
I hereby resolve
to not dissolve

Mark Meyer

 

year of the rat
resolving to quieten
my monkey mind

Louise Hopewell

 

after five years
my biography is ready
thanks to the publisher

Carmen Sterba

 

New Year’s resolution
” hone my mental skills ”
even just a little

Tomoko Nakata

 

first morning
the weight of resolutions
and black coffee

Erin Castaldi

 

new year’s resolution
the needlepoint canvas
to be finished

Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio

 

new year
misdated checks
denying that old dog saying

Ronald K. Craig
Batavia, OH USA

 

storm warning—
she says she’ll do it for me
be my bottle

Andrew Riutta

Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. A novice haiku poet, she lives in New York City.

Guest editor Lori A Minor is a feminist, mental health advocate, and body positive activist currently living in Norfolk, Virginia. She is the editor of #FemkuMag. Most recently, Lori gave a presentation on social awareness in haiku at Haiku North America 2019.

Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019).

This Post Has 29 Comments

  1. Thank all of you leaders for making the dialogues such a great place to visit. I won’t name my favorite haiku from this week because there were so many!

  2. Happy New Year to all. I was new here in the spring and appreciated the welcome I felt during a rough patch in my life.
    *
    I will be generous
    and let the new year
    celebrate me
    .
    Anitha Varma
    .
    After adjusting to several losses the past year I found this bold and affirming. Thank you Anitha.
    *
    to race
    the same shark
    in the shallows
    .
    simonj
    UK
    .
    I was thinking about this one on my way to work this morning. Came up with some personal meanings, and it has a nice ring to it.
    *

  3. acceptance
    for that which is
    unacceptable
    *
    ~Autumn Noelle Hall
    *
    My apologies–the sleep-deprivation of puppydom had addled my poet brain. On the up side, I’ve been communing with Orion at 2 am. On the downside, I forgot to send along my poem this week! As such, I can absolutely relate to–and chuckle at–
    *
    new year’s day
    the dog doesn’t know I wish
    to sleep more
    *
    Srinivasa Rao Sambaing
    *
    I really love the way the stone statue is juxtaposed with the substance of Christ’s message in this next one by Aljoša. An apt reminder of how easy it can be to worship the man while neglecting to embody the message, it calls to mind, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” [Alexander Pope, 1711]. There is a path forward inherent in forgiveness of ourselves and others, a welcome one for 2020.
    *
    New Year
    next to the statue of Jesus
    I decided to forgive
    *
    Aljoša Vuković
    Šibenik, Croatia
    *
    From Steve comes an honest acknowledgment of “so much to do, so little time.” How overwhelming it can be to consider all the actions and improvements called for in this moment. Our growing awareness seems to multiply problems like so many snowflakes in a blizzard, until we are left in “deep mourning.” But, come “morning,” there is stillness in the snow’s drifted accumulation. If only we can allow the swirling flakes to settle, we might find ourselves beholding a clean white page. We can then engage at a “deep” level, working one poem/one page, at a time; and if the notebook fills, perhaps we can even begin a new one.
    *
    more resolutions
    than the notebook can hold
    deep morning snow
    *
    Steve Tabb
    *
    Next, John gives us a perfect snapshot of the state of our modern affairs. Sadly, very little is new about our leaders resolving to do nothing; apparently, the current situation is working for them. I really admire the choice of the word “agree,” as it implies the tacit collusion between those in positions of power. Though perhaps unintentional, I see this senryu as a covert call to action to all of us “followers”: If our leadership will not act, than we will. Excellent rallying poem for 2020, John.
    *
    new resolution
    our leaders agree
    to do nothing
    *
    john hawkhead
    *
    Kathabela wisely offers us a possible place to begin that action in her senryu. First, she allows things to pass through her like wind through leaves, centered and unperturbed in the midst of any turbulence. Then, by assuming tree pose, she puts herself in a place of empathetic oneness with nature. Trees are rooted in both earth and sky. In aligning ourselves with them, we too become part of the symbolic “world tree” and begin to enact the meaning of “As above, so below.” Lovely, Kathabela…thank you.
    *
    wind in leaves
    my resolve to do tree pose
    every day
    *
    Kath Abela Wilson
    Pasadena, California
    *
    Christina offers an alternative solution: stop making resolutions. Resolutions are tied to hope in many ways–we hope that in making them, we will take the necessary actions to achieve their stated goals. But too often, we stop at the resolutions themselves (consider the ubiquitous resolutions to lose weight, or stop smoking; consider the Paris Climate Accords) and fail to engage in the required work. Both hope and resolutions put the solution “out there” somewhere in an imagined future. Better to put boots on the ground where we stand now and actively engage in meaningful change.
    *
    new year
    I stop making
    resolutions
    *
    Christina Chin
    *
    A good poet friend of mine offers another alternative to New Year’s resolutions. Each year, she chooses a single word, the meaning of which she works to embody. As you might guess from my senryu, my word for 2020 is “acceptance.” What might yours be…?
    *
    Wishing each of you the very best and extending my gratitude to all for helping me to engage poetically here on THF.
    *
    ~Autumn

      1. So good to “see” you here, Steve. I’ve missed your Sunday haiku mailings! I hope 2020 brings you renewed health and healing…
        *
        In Good Spirit
        *
        ~Autumn

    2. Thanks Autumn, I’m so glad you like my senryu. I intend to become more active in 2020 to put pressure on leaders I can reach because it’s clear we are being led by buffoons the world over. All the best, John

  4. Thank you Lori and the team for your efforts during the year – most appreciated. I would mention these four this week:-
    .
    same as last year
    I’ll quit
    after I finish this one
    – Charles Harmon
    .
    skiing in Vermont
    my first fall –
    the full moon in the distance
    – Julia Guzmán
    .
    new resolution
    our leaders agree
    to do nothing
    – john hawkhead
    .
    to forget her –
    keep forgetting
    year after year
    – Vishnu Kapoor
    .

  5. Happy Haiku New Year! Thank you for including my haiku here. Kathy, Craig, Lori M. and Lori Z., for your awesome efforts, you have my gratitude and appreciation. I look forward to reading the haiku each week here. It is a highlight.

  6. Thanks to everyone who keeps this dialogue going! And thank you to all the poets who share your thoughtful, poignant, quirky haiku! I look forward to reading them every week. Also thank you for including mine. See you all next week!

  7. Thanks to everyone associated with this column week after week. What a monumental task you’ve taken on. Enjoy your week off. Wishing everyone a peaceful New year and many haiku moments.
    Now to read all these gems again.

  8. new year’s day
    the dog doesn’t know I wish
    to sleep more

    Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

    *
    i love this one….of course, i am partial to dogs….but this is such a fresh poem….a real haiku moment and an honest window into the first morning of the NEW YEAR. as, i sleep with two little lap dogs…i know how their patterns don’t change…as if they have small alarm clocks inside them…every four hours they let me know when it is feeding time, i don’t walk them, they use potty pads….but most dogs will need to go out and will do a great deal of activities to get the attention of their master to make it happen before it is too late. very relatable for pet owners…who maybe were up late celebrating NEW YEAR’S EVE.

  9. Thanks to the editors for publishing my haiku.
    Wishing you a happy new year!

  10. A Very Happy New Year to you too, dear Lori (thanks so much for publishing my ku!), to Kathy, Craig and Lori Z, and to all who grace these pages – some lovely poems, as always.

  11. year of the rat
    resolving to quieten
    my monkey mind
    .
    Louise Hopewell
    .
    This stood out. Substance, style, and universality.

  12. A wonderful selection of ambition from many contributors, with others pointing beyond to hopes for the greater goodness of mankind, and a few rather more sad reflections.
    Thank you for this inspiring series Lori M, and for the entirety of these months of work from kj, Craig and Lori Z.
    To all, the very best of peace, health and happy writing throughout 2020.

  13. Thank you Kathy, Lori M, Craig, Lori Z and all contributors for a wonderful year of haiku. Today’s read was moving, inspirational and at times humorous…a perfect read for day one. Best wishes to all in the coming year.

  14. Thank you to all the unseen who keep this section of THF going no matter what. Look forward to the next exciting session.
    Wishing you all a creative New Year.
    .
    A marvellous collection of verses, well done to all poets.

  16. What an interesting collection and a great example of how a single concept can mean so many different things to different people! Thank you for sharing mine. It is much appreciated! Grix

  17. Thank you Kathy for your comments and also your hard work. And also thank you Lori, Lori, & Craig. Very much appreciated.

    Wishing all a splendidly creative new year!

    1. Roberta I very much liked your haiku…
      .
      new year’s day
      my resolution covered
      in chocolate
      .
      with its dual meaning of resolution – or should I say triple meaning (see Helen Buckingham’s below):-
      .
      grief
      new year
      no resolution
      .

  18. Thank you KJ, Lori,Lori and Craig.
    Happy new year everyone.
    May your days be filled with haiku moments.

  19. Thank you, dear editors, for accepting my haiku.
    I thoroughly enjoy reading every one of your selections and excited to be a part of it.
    …
    May your days be merry and bright, 2020 be filled with love, and enjoy good health!

Comments are closed.

Back To Top