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HAIKU DIALOGUE – door to door – doorknob

door to door

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: doormat

The welcome mat at the entrance to a building, where you are invited to wipe your shoes before entering – & this word can also be used to describe a submissive person…

I look forward to reading your submissions.

The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday May 15, 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Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 doorknob:

I will begin my comments with a note submitted by Jim Kacian of The Haiku Foundation:

This is just a reminder of Matsuo Allard’s classic poem (from his 1978 chapbook of monoku “Bird Day Afternoon”):

alone at 3:00 a.m. –  the door knob turning slowly

Thank you Jim!
(find the chapbook here: https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/items/show/2433)

long before
the doorknob’s movement…
dog’s tail

Mirela Brăilean
Romania

Many dogs will demonstrate their superior sense of smell, sight, or, in this case, probably, hearing – they can be an effective alert system to identify both friend & foe…

my little boy
skipping out of the kitchen
sticky doorknob

Paul Geiger
Sebastopol CA

In this delightful scene, the poet captures a form of childhood innocence – the child unaware of mess left behind – & the reader left to imagine the honey or peanut butter trail, & whatever happens next!

a long flight
the sliding doorknob
still says “occupied”

Sari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY

A reader may be nostalgic for the days of air travel, but not for this situation – even on a short flight! The extra detail conveyed through word choice – ‘long’, ‘sliding’, ‘still’ – add to this poem, as well as the uncommon location of the scene – this may have been the only airplane in the submissions this week…

coronavirus
a bag with food
on the doorknob

Slobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia

Whether giving or receiving, wherever one resides in the world, this timely pandemic poem will resonate. Let it remind us all to be kind to one another, & to be grateful for our friends, family, & neighbours…

turn of the knob a new life

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
United States

Most one-line haiku require a degree of interpretation, & can therefore often be interpreted different ways. Here, the poet makes it sound so easy – just walk through that door – but one gets the impression that there is a lot more to this story, on the path to that ‘new life’…

& here are the rest of my selections:

low winter sun
still warm after she left
the rusty doorknob
 
Agus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
 
 
turning the knob back
to his youth…
old country farmhouse
 
Alan Harvey
Tacoma, WA
 
 
doorknob
pushed and pulled
all these years
 
Alan Peat
Biddulph, United Kingdom
 
 
turning the handle
for a moment I’m back
at the old house
 
Alex Fyffe
United States
 
 
heating plant – 
on a frozen doorknob
the sun reflection
 
Aljoša Vuković
Šibenik, Croatia
 
 
doorknob…
I still hang on 
to his words
 
Ana Drobot
Romania
 
 
quarantine
the serpent-shaped doorknob 
almost hisses
 
Anitha Varma
Kerala, India
 
 
wishing life
were doorknob simple
Do Not Disturb
 
Ann K. Schwader 
Westminster, CO
 
 
recluse – 
her shaky hand lingers 
on the doorknob
 
Anna Cates
Wilmington, Ohio
 
 
sliding doors 
no doorknob required 
for memories
 
Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
The Hague
 
 
claw prints 
on the doorknob – 
guests to my old house
 
Anna Yin
Ontario Canada
 
 
porch dust…
a to do list dangling
from the doorknob
 
Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
 
 
squeaky doorknob – 
the giggly twins
pretend to sleep
 
Baisali Chatterjee Dutt
Kolkata, India
 
 
abandoned farm house
wildflowers
and tulip door knobs
 
Bill Fay
Fox Island, WA, USA
 
 
grandma’s welcome sign
on the doorknob – 
breaking isolation
 
Bona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
 
 
public restroom
the wet
doorknob
 
Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
 
 
class project – 
doorknobs
now coat hooks
 
Carol Reynolds
Australia
 
 
stuck at the doorknob – 
plucking courage
to face the music
 
Cristina Povero
Italy
 
 
just the ivy
holds the doorknob – 
old house
 
Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă
Romania
 
 
homecoming – 
a bag of walnuts 
on the doorknob
 
Daniela Misso
Italy
 
 
door handle
I give her an
elbow greeting
 
Deborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany
 
 
spare room
the doorknob falls off
in her hand
 
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
 
 
Lockdown
the sun sometimes peeks
through the clouds
 
Dejan Ivanovic
Lazarevac, Serbia
 
 
after a storm
she turns the doorknob
with shaky hands
 
Devoshruti Mandal
India
 
 
change
i reach for the
doorknob
 
Didimay D. Dimacali
Norwalk, California USA
 
 
on the doorknob
traces of their visit – 
sticky fingers
 
Dorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
 
 
Mother’s Day 
a bunch of lavender 
on the doorknob
 
Elisa Allo 
Switzerland
 
 
washing your fingerprints
from my doorknob
early summer rain
 
Eva Limbach
Deutschland
 
 
do not disturb sign
two butterflies mating
on the doorknob
 
florin c. ciobica
Romania
 
 
on the tiptoes – 
a toddler reaches for
the world
 
Franjo Ordanić
Croatia
 
 
third door needs
a knob
another budget
 
Germina Melius
Saint Lucia
 
 
after an argument
lovingly the doorknob
opens the door
 
Gordana Kurtović
Croatia
 
 
moving day
I lock our old house
for the last time
 
Greer Woodward
Waimea, HI
 
 
brass doorknob
the shine 
of many hands
 
Helen Ogden
Pacific Grove, CA
 
 
pricking up her ears
the stable door’s iron latch
stiff with rust
 
Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
 
 
doorknob…
my old password
spring kanji
 
Ivan Gaćina
Zadar, Croatia
 
 
doorknob
I’m raising my grandson
to open the door for us
 
Ivica Mlinar
Croatia
 
 
the doorknob tracks
who’s come…
who’s gone
 
Jim Niffen
South Dakota US
 
 
whodunnit dream…
i wake up with a start
hearing the doorknob turn
 
Joe Sebastian
Chennai
 
 
leaving
one turn is all
it takes
 
John S Green
Bellingham, WA
 
 
uncle’s arrival
the rusty latch
to his wallet
 
John Hawkhead
UK
 
 
knobs
turning
time
 
Kanjini Devi
The Far North, Aotearoa NZ
 
 
no need to hang 
a do not disturb sign
isolation rules
 
Karen Harvey
North Wales
 
 
doorknob – 
only the push
and pull
 
kash poet
India
 
 
my wish to live 
in the emerald city 
our amethyst doorknob
 
Kath Abela Wilson
USA
 
 
night hospital
the cold gloss
of morgue’s doorknob
 
Keiko Izawa
Japan
 
 
worn brass knob
turning and returning
a catch in her throat
 
Keith Evetts
Thames Ditton, UK
 
 
wedding toast
the clink of new rings
on new doorknobs
 
Laurie Greer
Washington, DC
 
 
closing time
the back soon sign
tangled in cobwebs
 
Louise Hopewell
Australia
 
 
locked door the doorknob somehow turning
 
M. R. Defibaugh
Virginia
 
 
lifting the child
to turn the doorknob 
her triumphant smile
 
Madhuri Pillai
Australia
 
 
Self-Quarantine 
my neighbor’s dog paws 
at the doorknob
 
Manoj Sharma
Kathmandu, Nepal
 
 
doorknob – 
a bag of chokos 
neighbour’s harvest
 
Margaret Mahony
Australia
 
 
adjoining room
the doorknob
slowly turns
 
Margaret Walker
Lincoln, NE, USA
 
 
guests at home – 
perfume of sanitizer
on the doorknob
 
Maria Teresa Piras
Serrenti, Italia
 
 
turning
with our elbows
doorknob
 
Marilyn Ashbaugh
usa
 
 
how small
this doorknob 
after all
 
Marion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
 
 
tarnished reputation…
polishing the doorknob
with white cotton fingers
 
Mark Gilbert
UK
 
 
Eastern bluebird’s song
I forget to sanitize
the door knobs
 
Maya Daneva
The Netherlands
 
 
uncle’s funeral…
the rusted doorknob 
of our ancestral home
 
Meera Rehm
UK
 
 
dummy doorknob
spins childhood memories
Jack & Jill bathroom
 
Melanie Vance
USA
 
 
newspaper 
the thump on the door
brings more worry
 
Michael S Brock
Tennessee
 
 
dangling from the door knob
my daughter’s baby tooth 
sufficiently loose
 
Michael Henry Lee
Saint Augustine Florida
 
 
long gone
curdled verdigris
on the doorknob
 
Mike Gallagher
Ireland
 
 
key is with me – 
note with a shoestring 
on her front doorknob
 
Milan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
 
 
grandma’s room
the doorknob rusted
without use
 
Minal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
 
 
rusty doorknob
at the parental home
the only sound
 
Mira Jungić
Sisak, Croatia
 
 
family house…
the doorknob 
I never changed
 
Mohammad Azim Khan
Peshawar, Pakistan
 
 
the open sign
on the salon’s doorknob
finally…
 
Mona Bedi
India, Delhi
 
 
dull night
the shiny doorknob
of the pub
 
Mona Iordan
Bucharest, Romania
 
 
antique doorknob
the skeletons 
in her closet
 
Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA
 
 
childhood home
hand on the doorknob
I unlock memories
 
Neena Singh
Chandigarh, India
 
 
a touch of class
in an old friend’s new home
glass doorknobs
 
Olivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
 
 
stretching sleeves to open doors
 
P. H. Fischer
Vancouver, Canada
 
 
a brass doorknob 
shines through the debris 
8.1 earthquake
 
Padma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
 
 
old farmhouse
a coat on every
doorknob
 
Pat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
 
 
sleigh bells 
still on the door knob
merry Cinco de Mayo
 
Peggy Hale Bilbro
Huntsville, Alabama
 
 
doorknob
turning
the world
 
Pippa Phillips
United States
 
 
trees trimmed – 
solicitors hang out
all down the street
 
Pris Campbell
USA
 
 
butterfly
on the doorknob
spring reflections
 
Ravi Kiran
Hyderabad, India
 
 
doorknob
circular flow in the human head
 
Refika Dedić
Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
 
 
white sock 
on the doorknob 
college tradition
 
Rehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
 
 
black bra
hanging from the doorknob
retired
 
Ron Scully
Manchester NH
 
 
brass beehives 
and the eighth door handle 
lignum vitae 
 
simonj
UK
 
 
coming back alone
I turn
the sticky doorknob
 
Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India
 
 
family reunion
the stick of the door lock
now and then
 
Stephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Wa. USA
 
 
doorknobs – 
we shake hands with them
on entry and exit
 
Stoianka Boianova
Bulgaria
 
 
final
hair makeup 
polished doorknob
 
Subir Ningthouja
Imphal, India
 
 
derelict building
from the doorknob’s hole
a fresh twig
 
Sudebi Singha
Kolkata, India
 
 
from knob to lever accommodation
 
Susan Farner
United States
 
 
the doorknob turns
as she slips into light…
last stop
 
Sushama Kapur
Pune, India
 
 
worn-out card key –
hesitating to turn 
the doorknob
 
Teiichi Suzuki
Japan
 
 
farm auction
the crystal door knob
brings two dollars
 
Tom Bierovic
DeLand, FL, USA
 
 
the one doorknob 
he forgot to wipe down…
a killer caught
 
Tracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
 
 
moving day
I pull the door shut
on my childhood
 
Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
 
 
doorknob ballet slippers
the daughter who will never
come home
 
Veronika Zora Novak
Toronto, Canada
 
 
this time
they tell us
the doorknob falls out
 
Wendy C. Bialek
az, usa
 
 
the door knob turns
the pain of knowing 
it’s not you
 
Wendy Gent
UK
 
 
the new neighbors
and a new gossip – 
golden door knobs
 
Wiesław Karliński
Namysłów, Poland
 
 
a doorknob
ancestors’ prints
on my fingers
 
Zdenka Mlinar
Hrvatska
 

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.

The Haiku Foundation reminds you that participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior from all parties. Please see our Code of Conduct policy.

Please note that all poems & images appearing in Haiku Dialogue may not be used elsewhere without express permission – copyright is retained by the creators. Please see our Copyright Policies.

This Post Has 38 Comments

  1. Many thanks to Kj for including my poem in this week’s column and to Lori for the administration.
    Congratulations to all the poets for another great read! There were so many poems to admire . Two that I particularly enjoyed were….

    homecoming –
    a bag of walnuts
    on the doorknob

    Daniela Misso
    Italy

    A lovely image that, for me, evokes fond memories of friends, neighbours and my friend’s abundant walnut tree!

    the new neighbors
    and a new gossip –
    golden door knobs

    Wiesław Karliński
    Namysłów, Poland

    Humorous and oh so true! Wonderful!

    I look forward to reading next week’s column.

  2. Congratulations to all poets!
    I particularly enjoyed the following as it reminds me of Harry Potter’s Portkey where an ordinary object, once bewitched, allows a wizard to be transported to a pre- determined destination when touched. This one poem/doorknob makes us travel through time (memories) which is great!
    ***
    farm auction
    the crystal door knob
    brings two dollars

    Tom Bierovic
    ***

  3. fish image
    doormat in the bedroom
    the cat continued to stare

    Nani Mariani
    Australia

  4. I enjoyed reading this week’s collection. Thanks again for putting this together each week!

  5. Thank you KJ for publishing mine! I really enjoyed reading all the selections. Some so evocative. Congrats to all!
    I particularly loved yours Zdenka

    a doorknob
    ancestors’ prints
    on my fingers

  6. I am happy to be again in Haiku Dialogue. Thank you KJ! Enjoy reading all the selections. Congrats to all.

  7. farm auction
    the crystal door knob
    brings two dollars
    /
    Tom Bierovic
    DeLand, FL, USA
    /
    In the house I grew up in, the kitchen door had crystal door knobs. I always wondered why that was the only door that did. Thank-you for the memory, Tom.

  8. Thank you, KJ Munro, for publishing my haiku. Congratulations to all those featured with their poems. Just a couple of them that stood out for me:

    doorknob…
    I still hang on
    to his words

    Ana Drobot
    Romania

    leaving
    one turn is all
    it takes

    John S Green
    Bellingham, WA

  9. Lovely collection… enjoyed reading them. Thanks a bunch for selecting mine.
    Cheers,
    Padma.

  10. What a great collection of haiku about one of the humblest taken-for-granted objects in our lives!

    I enjoyed them all, especially:

    moving day
    I pull the door shut
    on my childhood

    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
    .

    dangling from the door knob
    my daughter’s baby tooth
    sufficiently loose

    Michael Henry Lee
    .

    lifting the child
    to turn the doorknob
    her triumphant smile

    Madhuri Pillai

  11. the one doorknob
    he forgot to wipe down…
    a killer caught
    /
    Tracy Davidson
    Warwickshire, UK
    /
    This is the first haiku that I ever seen that is written about murder.

    1. this poem brought me fond memories – I had the good fortune to work with my friend, the late crime author Jessica Simon, to co-edit an anthology of killer ‘ku called Body of Evidence – published by Catkin Press in Canada in 2017 – not just murder but all kinds of crimes… details can be found on my website… thanks, kj

  12. kj – thank you for publishing my “ku” — was thrilled to see it posted among so many outstanding poems and poets.

  13. Dear kJ

    Thankyou so much for including my poem in this amazing collection. Neena Singh’s poem really resonated with me. Enjoyed reading all ‘

    1. Thanks a ton dear Arvinder. So glad my haiku resonated with you! Its a joy to read all the ku posted by such talented poets.

  14. Thank you so much Kathy for choosing my haiku for commentary! I am grateful. Congratulations to all the haiku poets here this week! I think this collection really opens a lot of doors into the way of haiku. These four haiku really stood out for me:

    porch dust…
    a to do list dangling
    from the doorknob

    Arvinder Kaur
    Chandigarh, India
    dull night
    the shiny doorknob
    of the pub

    Mona Iordan
    Bucharest, Romania

    antique doorknob
    the skeletons
    in her closet

    Nancy Brady
    Huron, Ohio, USA
    turning the handle
    for a moment I’m back
    at the old house

    Alex Fyffe
    United States

    1. Thanks Sari for noticing my haiku among all these evocative haiku on the subject. This column has helped me so much in the past several years, keeping me thinking in different ways.

    2. Thank you, Sari, for showing your appreciation for my poem! It means a lot that it connected with you.

  15. Dear kj,
    Thanks for the lovely collection of ku on “doorknob”, grateful for publishing mine. Congratulations to all featured poets. This one resonated with me deeply, as I see my dog in it:

    long before
    the doorknob’s movement…
    dog’s tail

    Mirela Brăilean
    Romania

    Thanks so much for Jim Kacian’s chapbook.

    We had covered doormat before…in case you have forgotten.
    Warmly, Neena

    1. Hello, Neena,
      I do believe
      the doorman rang the doorbell
      beside the revolving door,
      turned the doorknob,
      and slipped on the doorstep
      because there was no doormat

      1. Love this Ingrid!
        So creative … thanks for penning this ‘themed’ poem!
        Take care!

    2. Oh! I was mistaken kj we had done doorstep earlier. My bad! Thanks Ingrid for the clue!

  16. A few ku that I really enjoyed this week:

    turn of the knob a new life

    Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
    United States

    doorknob…
    my old password
    spring kanji

    Ivan Gaćina
    Zadar, Croatia

    long gone
    curdled verdigris
    on the doorknob

    Mike Gallagher
    Ireland

  17. Thank-you Kathy for publishing mine. Congrats to my fellow Ohio poets
    Tiffany Shaw Diaz, Anna Cates, and Nancy Brady. Congrats to all the other poets also.

    1. Dear Kjmunro,

      In these tough times…we take recluse in platforms like Haiku Dialogue. All we got is prayers and poems and literature. So many friends and near and dear ones were sick but never returned back except a few. Yet we linger…hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Thanks again for considering my work in Haiku Dialogue.

      Warm regards,

      Milan Rajkumar
      Imphal, India

      p.s. Stay safe

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