HAIKU DIALOGUE – Ad Astra – distant suns
Ad Astra with Guest Editor Alex Fyffe
My name is Alex Fyffe, and I am honored to be the Guest Editor of Haiku Dialogue. I would like us to look up and take inspiration from the vastness of outer space. Each week, in a series called Ad Astra (To the Stars), I will present a new topic based on the Great Out There, ranging from satellites to constellations. However, we will be avoiding our sun and moon, as they already get enough exposure in haiku, and, frankly, I think their egos are big enough as is. So we will focus more on their siblings and hopefully write some stellar haiku in the process. I look forward to reading all of your submissions each week.
next week’s theme: At some point in their lives, I think everyone wants to fly, and one of the things about space travel that always seems to inspire awe is seeing astronauts floating in their ships, weightless, gliding down halls from one surface to the next. We have even learned to replicate this feeling through zero-G airplane flights that allow people to float around for a few minutes before gravity once again reasserts its great pull. Write a haiku inspired by escaping gravity for a while, the feeling of weightlessness.
The deadline is midnight Central Time, Saturday December 11, 2021.
Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry. (The Submit button will not be available until the Name, Email, and Place of Residence fields are filled in.) With your poem, please include any special formatting requirements & your name as you would like it to appear in the column. A few haiku will be selected for commentary each week. Please note that by submitting, you agree that your work may appear in the column – neither acknowledgment nor acceptance emails will be sent. All communication about the poems that are posted in the column will be added as blog comments.
below is Alex’s commentary for distant suns:
smell of pines
foraging mushrooms
grandma’s wayTomislav Sjekloća
Cetinje, Montenegro
Many of the poems for this prompt use scent to access memory. This haiku by Sjekloća puts us right there in the woods with the speaker, still foraging the way Grandma taught all those years ago. Through the scent and through the act, the memory is alive, and Grandma is right here with us, in our lungs, in our hands.
stargazing
grandpa knows their names
but not mineM. R. Defibaugh
Chesterfield, Virginia
Multiple poems also dealt with the way age can affect memory and one’s perception of time, especially those dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. I remember as a young man seeing my grandmother for the first time in years, and she asked my aunt, “Who’s that little girl?” It was so odd to think that her reality and mine were so far apart. There is a melancholy to being forgotten by those we’ve known our whole lives. I think part of it comes from the realization that our identities are not as solid as we usually think them to be.
broadway
lights dim
a legend goneRehn Kovacic
Mesa, Arizona
This timely poem appears to be a lovely tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim, one of the legends of musical theater. Early reviews of Stephen Spielberg’s remake of the classic West Side Story (lyrics by Sondheim) are highly encouraging, but even if they were not, it’s likely that Sondheim’s influence will continue to be felt for light years to come.
The responses to this prompt were incredible, and most of the poems that tackled the prompt directly stand out because of their technical skill and/or emotional impact. But it is always a delight to see some new twist on the theme that takes me by surprise, so lastly, I just want to highlight some poems that caught my eye, whether because of their distinctive voices, their unique topics, or their bold formatting:
dark stars
I discover the origins
of my right handRobert Kingston
Chelmsford, UK
sky-light contouring the edges of her deep blue bruises
Hifsa Ashraf
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Lochnagar Crater quieter
its Western Front light years
from nowAlan Summers
England
seasonal river
someone’s remains
on the dry bedArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
crown of Helios astigmatism
Roberta Beach Jacobson
Indianola, Iowa
shooting star –
in the dark
I waitC.X. Turner
UK
planet-bound
while you are light years away
astronaut widowDeborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
forgotten name
of a stranger
who sang me a song one winter nightMircea Moldovan
România
redshift…
the drone of her snores
two rooms awayJoshua Gage
Cleveland, Ohio
pressed gentians
slip from an old diary –
your eyes were so blueAnnie Wilson
Shropshire, UK
her laughter sparkles in the chalk dust
Margaret Walker
Lincoln, Nebraska
basketball star…
the sun sinking
in an old gymGeoff Pope
USA
gravitational lensing–
the line between space and time bends
into lightPippa Phillips
Kansas City, Missouri
& here are the rest of the selections:
old diary…
my late aunt tells me
how to be happyDeborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany
drifting stars
the smoke from my cigarette
unfilteredStephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Washington
Aldebaran
sees me aged three
make those mistakes againKeith Evetts
Thames Ditton, UK
Remembrance day
father’s light sets out to sail
across the GangesLakshmi Iyer
India
as if
he was never gone
photo of dad at age 38Christina Sng
Singapore
Old wall clock
slow hands still count
the elapsed timeDejan Ivanovic
Lazarevac, Serbia
old dreams…
a supernova’s death throes
light the skyStewart C Baker
Dallas, Oregon
love light flared
eons ago–
flickeringStephen J. DeGuire
Los Angeles, California
old school photo-
daughters captured, light years,
sun eyed, lost in timeSarah Davies
Bedford, UK
ancient starlight—
my past lives and I
co-existingSonika Jaiganesh
UK
gazing at
their shimmering lights –
dead starsDan Campbell
Virginia, USA
the sunlight
of a time before –
white liliesla luce del sole
d’un tempo prima –
gigli bianchiDennys Cambarau
Sardinia, Italy
his passing…
light from the dead star
blinks offPris Campbell
USA
until
we meet again
supernovaAgus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
starry night
admiring the artist
with one earJeff Leong
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
no difference between
existence & nonexistence
starless nightXiaoou Chen
Kunming, China
distant sun
the coldness
of her parting wordsBakhtiyar Amini
Germany
Polaris
always pointing right
my father’s voiceNeena Singh
Chandigarh, India
only the loneliness
of a star is deeper
than mine in winterNikola Đuretić
Zagreb, Croatia
red giant . . .
Lucille Ball
still in rerunsRonald Degler
Harbor City, California
observing the sky
the light of Rigel
eight hundred years agoVincenzo Adamo
Sicily, Italy
after all these years
in the night breeze
scent of her skinRavi Kiran
India
every time
i see bluebells —
dadAlan Peat
Biddulph, UK
wedding album
once
starry eyedNeera Kashyap
India
behind closed eyes
the star he named for her
still shinesTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
school reunion–
filling the gap of her image
with time lagTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
July sunbeams
slip through my fingertips
pool of honeyKelli Lage
Iowa, USA
the heavy weight
of his starlight twinkle
dad’s snow shovelRichard Matta
San Diego, California
old photos
the light in his eyes
back thenPat Davis
Pembroke, New Hampshire
grandpa’s face
in the pale moon . . .
the day afterKathleen Vasek Trocmet
Texas, USA
three years on
her light begins
to flickerMaurice Nevile
Australia
failing eyesight
through the haze
the north starJohn Hawkhead
UK
time out . . .
all those questions
I never asked themIngrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
butterfly season
only seeing
the lightMargaret Mahony
Australia
flickering candle
what would have been
your fiftieth birthdayLouise Hopewell
Australia
seeing distant stars
my body melts into
the touch of youDeborah Beachboard
Adna, Washington
wrapped in an old betel leaf –
grandma’s recipe
for stomach biteR. Suresh Babu
India
break of dawn
a drop of dew
fills with starsBarrie Levine
Massachusetts, USA
distant suns
my late father’s nose
now on my sonFirdaus Parvez
India
one star
in report card-
cluster in his eyesChittaluri Satyanarayana
Musheerabad, Hyderabad, India
star gazing waiting for the porch light to go out
John S Green
Bellingham, Washington
super nova
a love that grows
post mortemsimonj
UK
moving day
with forty years of photos . . .
my fading smileAlfred Booth
Colombes, France
attic cleaning
my childhood barbie
still youngMona Bedi
Delhi, India
hand-knitted stockings
once again I mend
my memoriesEva Limbach
Germany
riverbed
a lot of childish joys
pearls of memoryZdenka Mlinar
Croatia
Last Christmas . . .
George Best’s lingering voice
in the gift shopMeera Rehm
UK
expired passport
the same distant smile
coming and goingLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
yellowed photo…
mum’s smile
always the sameRosa Maria Di Salvatore
Catania, Italy
grandpa’s hymns
the sun far away still
lighting my wayMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
bell bottoms —
all the colours of
my mother’s youthTeji Sethi
Bangalore, India
childhood home
a fetal ultrasound
still on the fridgeVandana Parashar
India
steamer trunk
mother tight-lipped
about the lossRicha Sharma
India
distant light
in the widower’s eyes
wedding photoSeretta Martin
San Diego, California
neutrino shower —
from some exploding sun
how they zip through meMark Meyer
Mercer Island, Washington
putting lights
in the winter birch
long extinct starsHelga Stania
Switzerland
reincarnation –
she discovers her gran in
the dressing-up boxDorothy Burrows
UK
no matter
how distant your light
IcarusMaurice Nevile
Australia
under the stars
the calving
of an icebergMark Gilbert
UK
wondering
which ones are cinders
winter starsAnn K. Schwader
Westminster, Colorado
weeding with her hoe
a soft breeze
brushes my cheekSusan Farner
USA
old light
the little
that reaches usCynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California
icicles
the tension of light
from afarJohn Zheng
Itta Bena, Mississippi
where we wished
upon the stars
periwinkle walksVicki Miko
California
now then
crossing the universe
starlightTim Cremin
Massachusetts
watching
a star fade with time
yahrzeit(Yahrzeit [Yiddish: “year time”] is a custom in Judaism that marks the anniversary of the death of a parent or family member. A memorial candle burns out over the course of a day.)
Mariel Herbert
California, USA
sickle moon –
granny’s rocking chair
casting shadowsJoe Sebastian
Bangalore, India
meteor rain…
alone again
by the lakeSherry Grant
Auckland, New Zealand
stars
in and around the Milky Way
light show in my windowTsanka Shishkova
Bulgaria
long-dead stars–
I chart a course by
my ancestors’ lightLev Hart
Calgary, Canada
light years…
the distance
between usRebecca Grant
Auckland, New Zealand
star gazing
seeing the beagle
I laid to restPadma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
twentieth winter
her favorite rose
still redZahra Mughis
Lahore, Pakistan
grandma’s prayer…
whispering to myself
at the twilight hourMadhuri Pillai
Australia
dark clouds –
the lost look of the old puddleJorge Alberto Giallorenzi
Chivilcoy, Argentina
your old photo . . .
the morning star
still so brightMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
winter twilight
your warmth all but goneSurashree Joshi
Pune, India
the long journey
to get where we are
AndromedaPeggy Bilbro
Alabama, USA
gone by morning
the wish
the starBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois
winter night…
the light you left behind
still in the starsHelen Ogden
Pacific Grove, California
finding again
the old turntable …..
as if I were listening with youAngiola Inglese
Italy
what should have been
a museum
his demolished houseKath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California
Sun turns its back
So this is how we end up
Alone and coldChristopher Calvin
Indonesia, Kota Mojokerto, Jawa Timur (East Java)
distant sun
the sock drawer still full
of your socksSue Courtney
Orewa, New Zealand
a wind
brings back the smell
of her absenceVijay Prasad
Patna, India
white lace handkerchief
monogrammed with a J
I breathe in your scentSusan Rogers
Los Angeles, California
last of the light
to reach just one more thing
lilting of the lilyRon Scully
Burien, Washington
supernova
we sell his cameras
on ebayLafcadio
USA
pinpoint glow
light years
of influenceKathleen Mazurowski
Chicago, Illinois
distant stars…
Basho’s frog
still splashingFlorin C. Ciobica
Romania
custody shuffle
the daughter’s starry eyes
extinguishedRoberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
blue eyes
smiling just like
his father’sMona Iordan
Romania
even the sun
is on eight minute delay
game dayC.R. Harper
USA
falling star
a flash of recognition illumines
dad’s vacant eyesSharon Martina
USA
parent tapes…
certain lessons still come
to mindN Brady
Huron, Ohio
glimmers of past lives
in the golden eyes
of a catGreer Woodward
Waimea, Hawaii
lone star
in the winter sky
…graveyard shiftBaisali Chatterjee Dutt
Kolkata, India
distant sun
the last in the family
to shinePeter Jastermsky
Morongo Valley, California
holding back time
the morningstar
visible againShalini Pattabiraman
UK
Guest Editor Alex Fyffe teaches high school English in the Houston area. Although he has been writing haiku off and on for a decade, he only started submitting his work during the Global Event known as 2020. Since then his haiku and senryu have been published in various journals, including Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Failed Haiku, Akitsu Quarterly, and the Asahi Haikuist Network. Alex’s first glimpse of haiku was in a collection of writings by Jack Kerouac, and he found the work of Issa while studying abroad in Japan, but he didn’t fall in love with the haiku until he discovered the free-form work of Santoka Taneda. Currently, Alex uses haiku in the classroom to ease students into poetry and build their confidence as readers and writers. Alex also posts haiku on Twitter @AsurasHaiku.
Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. A novice haiku poet, she lives in New York City.
Managing Editor 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). Find her at: kjmunro1560.wordpress.com.
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This Post Has 24 Comments
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🗣Born in the HaikUSA!
Such enlightening prompts to think about, Alex! I Loved reading every poem something new to think about in each one too. I’m delighted to be included.
I especially like these:
forgotten name
of a stranger
who sang me a song one winter night
Mircea Moldovan
România
July sunbeams
slip through my fingertips
pool of honey
Kelli Lage
Iowa, USA
sickle moon –
granny’s rocking chair
casting shadows
Joe Sebastian
Bangalore, India
meteor rain…
alone again
by the lake
Sherry Grant
Auckland, New Zealand
dark clouds –
the lost look of the old puddle
Jorge Alberto Giallorenzi
Chivilcoy, Argentina
Another lovely selection and commentary! Many thanks, Alex, for the inspiration and for including one of my poems in the column. Thanks, as always, to Kj and Lori. There were so many poems to admire this week. One that I particularly enjoyed for its poignancy and because I have inherited gardening tools too was…
weeding with her hoe
a soft breeze
brushes my cheek
Susan Farner
USA
Thank you to Alex Fyffe for adding my poem to the list this week,
and thanks to the other editors, KJMunro and Lori.
Loved reading all the poems and having a great time with Alex’s themes.
A couple that stood out for me was;
break of dawn
a drop of dew
fills with stars
Barrie Levine
Massachusetts, USA
. . . and this poem which caught my eye was by one of Sherry Grant’s daughters.
Sherry is bring up some fine young poets in the her house.
light years…
the distance
between us
Rebecca Grant
Auckland, New Zealand
I assumed the Grants must be related somehow–thanks for the insight. They are both excellent!
Thank you, Mr. Fyffe, for another scintillating prompt and for featuring/highlighting my “basketball star.” I grew up in Kentucky, and in my senior year of high school, I was the sixth man (a guard) on the basketball team—so this acceptance/appearance is like a game-winning swish!
Among my favorites:
grandpa’s hymns
the sun far away still
lighting my way
Minal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
Thank you for sharing! I liked your unique take on the prompt, revisiting those glory days — does that make you the Bruce Springsteen of haiku?
🗣Born in the HaikUSA!
Lovely selection. Thank you Alex and the all the featured poets.
Thanks to Alex Fyffe for including my poem again this time. All other poems are so good. Commentary on a few selected poems splendid.
Thank you once again.
Thank you Alex for including mine in this wonderful set of haiku. Of course I tend to take haiku prompts too literally, so it was good to see quite a few which may have taken that route too, eventually. Examples include those by Keith Evetts, Dennys Cambarau, Jeff Leong, Tim Cremin, Peggy Bilbro, and possibly my favourite of these, by Seretta Martin:
distant light
in the widower’s eyes
wedding photo
Literal or not, it’s always good to see your work here — excellent as always! I had never heard the verb “calve” before your submission, and the sound of it in your poem is great.
Thanks to Alex Fyffe for keeping these space-themed prompts coming. It’s always interesting to see the varied takes on the week’s theme. This one especially stood out for me:
ancient starlight—
my past lives and I
co-existing
Sonika Jaiganesh
UK
Thank you Cynthia, I´m so glad you enjoyed it!
And thank you very much to Alex Fyffe for the exciting prompts (and for including my poem)
behind closed eyes
the star he named for her
still shines
Tracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
This one by Tracy brought back memories of my own childhood. How those magical moments when encouraged to dream remain with us for the rest of our days.
And then later on discovering Dylan Thomas’s “under milk wood” where line one features in that famous play for words. Thank you Tracy for the galactic journey.
Alex, thank you for including my poem and choosing it for commentary! There were many worthy poems! Here are just three of my favorites:
putting lights / in the winter birch / long extinct stars
Helga Stania
I like how the poem shifts from Christmas decorations to a romantic description, the dead stars adding life to the scene.
watching / a star fade with time / yahrzeit
Mariel Herbert
The provided context was wonderful, making this culturally unique and personal. The candle fades as the memory fades.
dark clouds – / the lost look of the old puddle
Jorge Alberto Giallorenzi
There is something tragic and haunting here. I imagine it as a metaphor for dementia and the grief it causes. A reflection in the puddle implies self-recognition is still present with knowledge of what lies ahead. A lot is said without saying it!
Thank you, M. R. Defibaugh.
Many to enjoy here, many to commiserate alongside. Thank you for including mine, Alex.
I particularly liked the following two, the first for its courage and strength in an act of simple devotion in memory of someone much loved:
Remembrance day
father’s light sets out to sail
across the Ganges
Lakshmi Iyer
India
and the second for the timelessness of past pleasures:
hand-knitted stockings
once again I mend
my memories
Eva Limbach
Germany
Thank you Alex! Great to be among some fine poets. Congratulations all! Thank you too to KJ and Lori for keeping great page alive.
Congrats to Ohioans Joshua Gage and Nancy Brady. Congrats to all the other poets.
Thank you Alex, so happy to be with all poets. A joy to read each one!
Thanks Valentina, and congratulations to all the poets.. Such out of this world haiku this week. Thanks Alex for including one of mine.
I spent a large chunk of my youth in Ohio, so it’s good to see such incredible poems coming out of there.
Thanks to Alex Fyffe for selecting my verses too: many of the haiku read thrilled me, I shared the pain of someone who has lost a loved one.