HAIKU DIALOGUE – door to door – doorbell
With a nod to ‘Haiku Windows’, a past feature from when I first began this column, & also an idea suggested a long time ago by poet Laurie Greer, for the next several weeks we will explore some concepts relating to doors. Be inspired by these prompts – I can’t wait to read where they take you – & please note that there is no requirement to include the words of the prompt in the poems… enjoy! kj
next week’s theme: doorman
At fancy hotels, &, I understand, some apartment buildings, an attendant waits at the entrance to open the door for you…
I look forward to reading your submissions.
The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday May 01, 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Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 the commentary for doorbell:
pandemic blues
I try to recall the sound
of my doorbellEva Limbach
Deutschland
Of the many, many pandemic-related poems this week, this poem expresses what many of us may be feeling – to simply recall what life was like before all of this began. An additional level of meaning, & a connection between the two parts of the poem, is created by referring to ‘blues’, which can be a type of music, as well as the sound of the doorbell…
a strange buzz
announces their first guests
new homeLiz Ann Winkler
White Rock, BC, Canada
The poet captures the extraordinary in the ordinary in this poem, by noticing, or remembering, a detail that might have been overlooked – there are many things to get used to when one has moved to a new home – the sound of the doorbell being one of them…
sitcom doorbell –
the Yorkie stops yapping
at the windowPaul Cordeiro
Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Many poems this week were concerned with pets & other animals – in this poem, the repetition of the “Y” sound is pleasing to the ear. As well, the reader may understand that while this dog has stopped yapping at the window, it has, perhaps, started yapping at something else…
soft touch
ordering some more
Girl Scout cookiesTim Cremin
Massachusetts
Here we can find a wonderful double meaning – ‘soft touch’ could refer to the child’s tentative touch on the doorbell or door, or the fact that the speaker is too readily buying more cookies…
& here are the rest of my selections:
the faint buzz
of neighbors’ doorbell
winter moonAgus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
blood moon
the dead of night
doorbellAlan Peat
Biddulph, United Kingdom
in lieu of a doorbell
she texts
HereAlex Fyffe
United States
ding dong –
church bell
or mobile phone?Aljoša Vuković
Šibenik, Croatia
doorbell…
I open our old
love lettersAna Drobot
Romania
ghost
at the door
a dead ringerAnn Smith
UK
doorbell chimes
in the UPS man’s pocket
dog treatsAnna Cates
Wilmington, Ohio
by the doorbell
sign of “please press” fades…
ex-husband’s shadowAnna Yin
Ontario, Canada
the day
I was no one’s daughter –
silence of the doorbellArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
nursing home
the doorbell rings
at somebody else’s door…Bakhtiyar Amini
Germany
UPS driver
at her door
grasses gone to seedBob Redmond
Burien, WA
doorbell ringtone
we visit
on face-timeBona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
doorbell
awakening the puppy
in our old dogBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
laundry doorbell –
stamped on the switchplate:
PRESSCarol Judkins
Carlsbad, CA
midnight
monk greets pilgrim
with a weary bowChristopher Seep
United States
her jasmine perfume –
no need
to knockCristina Povero
Italy
doorbell –
I know that the postman
always rings twiceDaniela Lăcrămioara Capotă
Romania
doorbell
of the antiques shop…
the silence of dustDaniela Misso
Italy
bluebell
the door to fairyland
remains closedDeborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany
dog barks
the sound of mail
arrivingDeborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
dancing bees –
that leaning wisteria
on the doorbellDennys Cambarau
Sardinia, Italy
first date –
peephole
after the first bzzzzDidimay D. Dimacali
Norwalk, CA, USA
doorbell buzz –
she says hello to her
tinnitusDorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
eighty
honks
porch balloonsDottie Piet
Tulsa, OK
giggles
behind the shrubbery
May basketEdna Beers
USA
twilight
the old pine’s shadow
touches the doorbellflorin c. ciobica
Romania
lockdown…
rimbomba il silenzio del campanellolockdown…
the silence of the doorbell resoundsGiuliana Ravaglia
Bologna Italia
doorbell short-circuits my desert island dream
Helen Buckingham
United Kingdom
saved by the bell –
ending an unwelcome
phone callHelen Ogden
Pacific Grove, CA
self-isolation
the fading fingerprints
on my doorbellHifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
no need
for a doorbell
geese by the farm gateIngrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
ringing bell…
playing on my doorstep
autumn windIvan Gaćina
Zadar, Croatia
quarantine
a phone ring
instead of a doorbellIvanka Kostantino
Nova Gorica, Slovenija
doorbell rings…
she looks long in the mirror
before answeringJoe Sebastian
Chennai, India
doorbell –
two soldiers in full dress,
hats in handJohn Daleiden
Phoenix, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert
ding-dong
as I don my pants
ding-dong ding-dongJohn S Green
Bellingham, WA
single note doorbell
the sound of yet another
dollar being bornJohn Hawkhead
UK
doorbell –
a spider knitting its webJulia Guzmán
Córdoba, Argentina
ring once
and wait…
we aren’t deaf you knowKala Ramesh
India
waiting
for the doorbell
cool brewKanjini Devi
The Far North, Aotearoa NZ
condo call box
rings my cell phone
we travel the globeKath Abela Wilson
United States
bodycam
Ring-cam
recording onKathleen Vasek Trocmet
Texas, USA
a ring
the widow rehearses her answer
againKeith Evetts
Thames Ditton, UK
funeral dirge –
uninvited guests
ring the doorbellLafcadio
USA
doorbell…
a cuckoo’s voice locked
in the soundLakshmi Iyer
India
germaphobe
I text “I’m here”
from the front porchLamart Cooper
Virginia
stained glass door
the kookaburra
mocks meLaurel Castle
Coffs Harbour NSW Australia
glowing doorbell…
its twinkle as it takes
the wish from my fingerLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
a different note
when my daughter arrives –
door chimeMadhuri Pillai
Australia
flowers
to a stranger –
I put them in waterMargaret Mahony
Australia
the door chime again
another drop of tea
on the floorMaria Concetta Conti
Catania, Italy
thunder and lightning
shake the house
the postman rings twiceMariangela Canzi
Italy
too tiny to ring…
a hummingbird
at my garden doorMarilyn Ashbaugh
usa
doorbell chimes
a thumb’s up
through panes of glassMark Gilbert
UK
releasing the bzzzzz…
past the sunlit door
yellow jacketmartin gottlieb cohen
United States
birdsongs
so easy to ignore
the doorbellMaya Daneva
The Netherlands
pandemic lockdown
this ache for
the ringing bellMeera Rehm
UK
growing trees…
my son standing on his toes
to reach the doorbellMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
for sale –
just the doorbell’s
echoMirela Brăilean
Romania
midday doorbell
rushing to the bedroom
to change my pajamasNadejda Kostadinova
Bulgaria
silent doorbell
spring breeze rings
windchimesNeena Singh
Chandigarh, India
ringing
knocking
two visitsOlivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
the bell tolls . . . butterfly
P. H. Fischer
Vancouver, Canada
doorbell buzzing
the umpteenth time
work from homePadma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
doorbell to doorbell
offering the Kingdom
of HeavenPatrick Sweeney
Misawa, Japan
the Colonel…
doorbell tune still
whistlin’ DixiePaul Geiger
Sebastopol CA
after
the doorbell –
spring rainPippa Phillips
United States
broken doorbell
my roses go
au naturelPris Campbell
USA
doorbell…
the postman delivers
a self-addressed letterPriti Aisola
Hyderabad, India
hearing aid
on the table
…ringing doorbellRam Chandran
India
the second wave
outside my door
ding dongRavi Kiran
Hyderabad, India
suited man
next to the bell
no solicitingRehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
security door bell
lining up time capsules
in a cloudRobert Kingston
Chelmsford United Kingdom
empty dog crate
a deep silence surrounds
the door chimeRoberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
honey bee
at the brass door bell
buzzed inRon Scully
Manchester NH
bu-buzzzz
it’s herSanela Plisko
Croatia
my brave dog
fiercely protecting me
from the doorbell on tvSari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY
new doorbell…
the woodpecker still
prefers to knockSaumya Bansal
India
doorbell
parcels carefully
wiped downSherry Grant
New Zealand
the shiny nose
of the front door fox mask
christmassimonj
UK
buzzer…
one boy says grocery
the other, medicineSrinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India
doorbell
the trick or treat
of another dayStephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Wa. USA
midnight prayer
the doorbell rings
when the dead arriveStoianka Boianova
Bulgaria
the grass
awaits a shower…
doorbell tinkleSubir Ningthouja
Imphal, India
broken doorbell
my food delivery comes
and goesSusan Burch
Hagerstown, MD, USA
retirement –
doorbell breaks
afternoon hushTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
knocking
at each door
this pandemicTeji Sethi
India
new door chimes
my mother unamused
by the exorcistTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
Surprise! I’m home!
Whenever that bell rings
I dreamTrilla Pando
Houston, Texas USA
blueberry sky –
skipping to the jingle
of the ice cream truckValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
quarantine
the forgotten sound
of doorbellVandana Parashar
India
striking
ringing
till
stillVictor Ortiz
Bellingham, WA
high blood pressure –
an alarm bell
for my heartVincenzo Adamo
Sicily Italy
convinced by their barking
commercial’s doorbell
is oursWendy C. Bialek
az, usa
ding dong
a little bit later than
woof woofWiesław Karliński
Namysłów, Poland
afternoon breeze…
the tintinnabulation
of wind chimesWillie Bongcaron
Manila, Philippines
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 20 Comments
Comments are closed.
Thanks for selecting my haiku, KJ. I am so pleased and honoured!
I usually enjoy reading your selections.
Congratulations to all!
Thank you kj for including mine. I particularly enjoyed these two:
glowing doorbell…
its twinkle as it takes
the wish from my finger
Laurie Greer’s lovely and complex moment expressed
the second wave
outside my door
ding dong
So much in this from Ravi Kiran
Mark–thank you for your kind words–glad it resonated with you–and a thumbs up to yours!
Thank you, Kathy! I’m so happy to have my haiku been selected. SI enjoyed all your selections and your commentary. It’s a pleasure to read. Congratulations to all the poets!
Thank you, Kathy! I’m always pleased when my haiku is chosen for this column. Such a lovely collection of poems. I enjoyed all your selections and appreciate your commentary. It’s a lovely set of poems this week, too. Congratulations to all the poets! Happy Easter to those who are celebrating soon!
for sale –
just the doorbell’s
echo
Mirela Brăilean
Romania
…and how that echo, ringing in our ears as it does of emptiness, can conjure up the past – a house full of life, handing over all its ups and downs to a new owner.
Happy Easter to you too from the Balkans.
Thank you so much, dear Ingrid Baluchi, for your beautiful comm… Happy Easter to you too from România, also a Balkans place. 🙂
Thanks, as always, for publishing my work, kj and Lori. Congratulations everyone. I’m with you, kj , re the alliteration in Paul Cordeiro’s:
sitcom doorbell–
the Yorkie stops yapping
at the window
it really brings the moment to life, likewise Willie Bongcaron’s:
spring breeze…
the tintinnabulation
of wind chimes
the internally alliterative ‘t word’ alongside the other ‘i’ sounds makes for a wonderfully fluid image.
Thank you for selecting my haiku to be included in this collection. As always, an enjoyable read each week and thanks to all the poets who contributed!
When the doorbell rings, many new images will fill my head. A wonderful collection–so glad to be a part!
Congratulations to all the poets! It’s a lovely set of poems this week , full of fascinating images. I am delighted to have a poem included. Many thanks to Kj for another great challenge and commentary and to Lori for all the administration work you do.
I enjoyed everyone’s poems. Two that I will definitely remember are….
dancing bees –
that leaning wisteria
on the doorbell
Dennys Cambarau
Sardinia, Italy
Wisterias are such beautiful shrubs and the sound of bees humming is pure magic. However, there is a poignancy in the idea that the wisteria has grown to reach the doorbell without it being pruned or fastened back away from the door. It suggests the isolation of the occupant indoors. On a similar theme, I was also drawn to…
doorbell –
a spider knitting its web
Julia Guzmán
Córdoba, Argentina
It’s fascinating to watch a spider making a web. This image celebrates nature but again underlines the poignancy of isolation. Memorable!
Congratulations to all!
Thank you KJ for including mine.
Thank you for selecting my haiku to be in this week’s dialogue. Always happy to be a part of it. Here are some of my favorite selections.
.
doorbell –
two soldiers in full dress,
hats in hand
John Daleiden
Phoenix, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert
.
This is a poignant poem that implies loss and grief without having to state it directly. The all-too-familiar image of soldiers on a doorstep prepared to deliver the news of another soldier’s death is something that most of us, thankfully, only know from television and film. The poem uses this common knowledge to its advantage, saying everything it needs to about the pain of loss with only a brief sketch of those soldiers on the doorstep. Most of the poets here associate the doorbell with visitors, deliveries, salespeople–we tend to think there is something good or perhaps slightly annoying awaiting us. But this poem reminds us that the doorbell can just as easily–and suddenly–invite sorrow.
.
twilight
the old pine’s shadow
touches the doorbell
florin c. ciobica
Romania
.
There is something lonely and isolating in the image of the twilight shadow of a single tree. The poem seems to suggest that the doorbell is not often touched at this home, that there is some distance from the physical world (only shadows make it all the way to the door), which, of course, resonates with most of us during the pandemic age. At the same time, the tree is there for the speaker, visiting, even if from a distance–reaching out to remind the speaker that nature is still here, still connected to us, however remote that connection sometimes feels.
Thanks Kathy. I enjoyed all your selections and appreciate your commentary. I’ve lived with our a working doorbell for nearly 20 years and now I have one I can answer on my phone! Must be another ku there.
Such lovely collection of poems. I connected a lot with this one:
doorbell rings…
she looks long in the mirror
before answering
Joe Sebastian
Chennai, India
Thanks Kathy for including mine in this collection
What a great collection of haiku about door bells. Congrats to all the poets.
Thank you Kathy for including my haiku. Such an enjoyable time in the week to read the published poems.
high blood pressure –
an alarm bell
for my heart
/
Vincenzo Adamo
Sicily Italy
/
This haiku gently deals with a very serious topic.
Thank you Kathy for including my haiku here! I look forward to Wednesdays so much and getting to read the week’s selections. I am partial to the dog haiku here, dogs and doorbells, and also pandemic haiku – very poignant. There are so many awesome poems this week.
Kathy, I am always pleased when my haiku is chosen for this column. Thanks to you and to all the others at the Haiku Foundation for their ongoing efforts. Congrats to all the poets.