HAIKU DIALOGUE – door to door – doormat
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: door prize
At many events, in an attempt to encourage people to attend, there will be a raffle of some sort where names are drawn & prizes given…
I look forward to reading your submissions.
The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday May 22, 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Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 doormat:
always beneath you doormat
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
Four simple words that say so much – here, whether referring to an actual doormat that we walk on or an unfortunate person, the message is the same, loud & clear…
wiping his shoes
on the doormat
purple bruisesLynne Jambor
Vancouver, Canada
The strength of this poem, also, is the way that the doormat refers to both the mat we walk on as well as a person. The addition of the words ‘purple bruises’ takes the poem to a whole other horrifying level of violence, pain & suffering…
at the doormat
a snail’s trail
reaches an endMark Gilbert
UK
The doormat can indicate arrivals & departures, the beginning of a journey, or the end of one. Somehow it may also be that the snail reaches its end…
break-up
the key under the doormat
missingVandana Parashar
India
Many poems this week refer to a key under the doormat – in this poem, the added detail about a break-up increases the tension, & creates new possibilities…
lockdown
all year without a key
under the doormatWiesław Karliński
Namysłów, Poland
This poem sums up what many readers may be feeling. This past year has been one of unforeseen challenges & compromises – not least of which has been the isolation & lack of contact that we may have previously enjoyed…
& here are the rest of my selections:
doormat –
the fine dust of my guests
I kept in an urnAdjei Agyei-Baah
Ghana/New Zealand
late May afternoon
ten thousand shades of green
moss on the thresholdAlbert Schepers
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
welcome mat:
I step over the june bugs
wiping their feetAlex Fyffe
United States
family house –
cat on a doormat
waits and waitsAljoša Vuković
Šibenik, Croatia
dirty shoes
neatly arranged next to
temple doormatAmrutha Prabhu
Bengaluru, India
doormat…
my only
“welcome”Ana Drobot
Romania
muddy shoes –
a printed violet
on the doormatAngiola Inglese
Italia
feral cat
leaving a warm spot
on the doormatAnna Cates
USA
the second key
still under the doormat –
divorce decreeArvinder kaur
Chandigarh, India
relaxed rules –
my new doormat
reads WELCOMEBarrie Levine
Wenham MA USA
mama’s doormat –
after the memorial
the latch key remainsBill Fay
Fox Island, WA, USA
she wipes
her grudges away –
holiday doormatBona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
new door mat
auld lang syne and a wee dram
waiting for the first footBrian Oharegreen
Devon England
no soliciting
my unwelcome
matBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois
flickering
sunshine on the doormat
grandma’s welcomeCarole Harrison
Australia
my new
doormat –
unwelcomeDan Campbell
Virginia
sleepless –
the scratching of cat’s claws
on the doormatDaniela Misso
Italy
dog whisperer
the keys are
under the doormatDanijela Grbelja
Croatia, Sibenik
Everything is fine –
– employees nod
When askedDejan Ivanovic
Lazarevac, Serbia
contents’ sale –
one welcome mat
as newDorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
doormat
increasingly fading
WelcomeDubravka Šćukanec
Hrvatska
“home sweet home”…
the doormat reminds me every dayElisa Allo
Switzerland
for sale
my key still
under the doormatEva Limbach
Deutschland
temporale…
un capriolo rannicchiato sullo zerbinothunderstorm…
a roe deer curled up on the doormatGiuliana Ravaglia
Bologna (Italia)
flamingo doormat
my no-snow retirement
in less than six monthsGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
friend’s house –
a look at the doormat design
before enteringHassane Zemmouri
Algiers, Algeria
reversing the doormat
I welcome myself
to the worldHelen Ogden
Pacific Grove, CA
neighbor’s cat
her gift
on my doormatHelga Stania
Switzerland
chickadees
threadbare in corners
my coir doormatIngrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
recluse
her welcome mat
upside downJackie Chou
Pico Rivera, CA USA
doormat the way we treat them
John S Green
Bellingham, WA
crematorium –
on the pyre by the Ganges
a doormatJorge Alberto Giallorenzi
Chivilcoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina
“Welcome” –
an autumn moonlight
crossing the doormat“Bienvenido”
Un rayo de luna
cruza el felpudo de entradaJulia Guzmán
Córdoba Argentina
still welcoming
old and new friends
doormatKanjini Devi
The Far North, Aotearoa NZ
invisible pawprints…
a hundred stuffed animals
at our doorKath Abela Wilson
United States
west wind…
covered with yellow sand
the welcome matKeiko Izawa
Japan
with each step
creeping along the carpet
doormatKeith Evetts
UK
a runaway cat –
a night on the doormat
with dignityKrzysztof Kokot
Poland
welcome design
on the doormat
a cat sleeps wellLakshmi Iyer
India
warm welcome
what we go
to the mat forLaurie Greer
Washington DC
a key
under the doormat –
family secretLisbeth Ho
Indonesia
high school reunion
the doormats and wallflowers
huddlingLorraine Carey
Ireland
derelict hut
a welcome mat
of daisiesLouise Hopewell
Australia
wings’ fluttering –
a visitor announced
by his soles’ scrapingLuisa Santoro
Rome, Italy
wearing thin rainy season doormat
M. R. Defibaugh
Virginia
only wind blown leaves
on the threshold –
old homeMadhuri Pillai
Australia
looking
out the window
an abandoned doormatManoj Sharma
Kathmandu
homemade soup
on my doormat…
self isolationMargaret Mahony
Australia
knees knocking
the next step
a dareMargaret Walker
Lincoln, NE, USA
windy evening –
first plum blossoms
on the doormatMaria Teresa Sisti
Massa Carrara, Italy
tireless migrants
a swallow’s feather
on the doormatMariangela Canzi
Italia
condemned home
on the stoop
a welcome matMarilyn Ashbaugh
usa
harbor sunlight
on the doormat
guanomartin gottlieb cohen
Egg Harbor, NJ
my DREAM doormat
the guest leaves
a cherry petalMeera Rehm
UK
red poppies grace
grandma’s doormat
Memorial DayMelanie Vance
USA
first date…
written on the doormat
welcomeMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
first rain
the cat’s muddy paws
on the doormatMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
homecoming…
a pause
on the doormatMohammad Azim Khan
Peshawar, Pakistan
covid times.
welcome written on the doormat
…means nothingMona Bedi
Delhi, India
moving house
left for the next owners
the welcome matMona Iordan
Bucharest, Romania
sunset
on the doormat
my cat’s giftNazarena Rampini
Italy
lightning…
on the doormat
a collared kittenNeena Singh
Chandigarh, India
maternal home
the spelling of WELCOME
fadingNeha R. Krishna
Mumbai, India
a doormat
the smell of bad plasticNena Gvozdenović
Beograd, Srbija
her doormat’s length –
the safe distance
between usNick T
Somerset, UK
entry or exit –
the doormat still
at the same placeNicole Pottier
France
rainy day
on my welcome doormat
an unwelcome salesmanOlivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
quarantine –
the welcome mat
flipped overP. H. Fischer
Vancouver, Canada
safe house
the welcome mat
worn downPat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
blizzard conditions
I sweep snow off the
WELCOMEPaul Geiger
Sebastopol CA
checking out
the new welcome mat
an ant trailPeggy Hale Bilbro
Huntsville, Alabama
wild wind
under the doormat
librettoPere Risteski
North Macedonia
wedding day
my cat leaves a redbird
on the doormat(True)
Pris Campbell
USA
threadbare doormat…
this absence
of family membersPriti Aisola
Hyderabad, India
stepping one last time
on the doormat
refusing to be oneRehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
hello first sunray
barefoot i collect
the milk bottlesRicha Sharma
India
summer sun
welcome
sans wRoberta Beach Jacobson
Indianola, IA, USA
well-worn doormat
by the church’s side entrance
12 step meetingSari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY
May gray
on the doormat
a silent song birdSeretta Martin
United States
under the coconut coir the keypad code keiu
simonj
UK
garden work
a green trace
on the doormatSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
new bride
the stainless welcome
on doormatSrinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India
my doormat –
hidden dust from roads
stars and kissesStoianka Boianova
Bulgaria
assisted living
her old doormat
says homeSusan Farner
United States
nibbling walnuts
on the doormat
prodigal squirrelSusan Rogers
United States
lockdown days –
our welcome doormat
on a sabbaticalSushama Kapur
Pune, India
walks
all over me
doormatTanvi Nishchal
India
the whiff of stew
through the neighbours door
an invisible hiTaruni Aditya Patala
Singapore
doormat to carpet
dusty shoes become
dustlessTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
doormat
my descent
into nothingnessTiffany Shaw-Diaz
United States
anniversary
sweeping the doormat
for the in-laws’ visitTim Cremin
Massachusetts
winter sun –
our cat enjoys the doormat
in front of the houseTomislav Maretić
Zagreb, Croatia
prodigal son
the welcome mat
misnamedTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
rainy season
new ceramic umbrella stand
near to welcome matTsanka Shishkova
Bulgaria
under the mat
an intruder finds the key –
coronavirusValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
doormat the key no longer there
Victor Ortiz
Bellingham, WA
old doormat…
memories
of all our dogsVladislav Hristov
Bulgaria
still on the doormat last year’s maple leaf
Wendy C. Bialek
az, usa
a doormat
grandmother’s hand weavingZdenka 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 18 Comments
Comments are closed.
A lovely selection and much food for thought. Thanks everyone.
I was drawn to the following for different reasons…
reversing the doormat
I welcome myself
to the world
… Helen Ogden
Maybe the end of lockdown and isolation… lots of dreaming space.
derelict hut
a welcome mat
of daisies
…. Louise Hopewell
I can picture this scene, maybe on a long hike. Such a bright and somehow cosy picture. If only the doormat could talk.
So glad to read all, although I missed to submit mine… Good selections! Congrats.
Another great selection of thought-provoking poems. Congratulations to all the poets! Many thanks to Kj for including mine and to Lori for the administration of the column. There are so many wonderful interpretations of the theme. One that will stick in my mind because of its gloriously cinematic image is…
temporale…
un capriolo rannicchiato sullo zerbino
thunderstorm…
a roe deer curled up on the doormat
Giuliana Ravaglia
Bologna (Italia)
Fabulous! I look forward to reading next week’s selection.
Thanks Dorothy Burrows!
I am honored and happy for your appreciation!
Thanks so much for featuring my haiku among so many brilliant, diverse observations on the theme.
Thank you kj for including my haiku. I love this exercise each week, congratulations to all poets.
with each step
creeping along the carpet
doormat
Keith Evetts
UK
An unexpected reveal, the motion of the inanimate, but a familiar phenomenon that delights in the senryu and mildly frustrates in reality.
Thank you for including my poem in this week’s Dialogue. Some of my favorite selections:
.
still on the doormat last year’s maple leaf
Wendy C. Bialek
az, usa
.
In the context of the last year we have all had, this poem gets at the feeling of long isolation that many of the other poems express without directly stating anything about the virus or isolation. This subtlety also gives it the flexibility to be enjoyed out of context, as well, as a poem more generally about the way time can slip away without much change.
.
doormat
my descent
into nothingness
Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
United States
.
Shaw-Diaz’s haiku stands out from the pack for its sudden interiority. There is something mysterious and tense about the poem’s abrupt “descent / into nothingness.” Does the speaker feel like a doormat, stepped on by everyone until she is ground down into oblivion? Or is she standing at a doorway, about to cross over the threshold into her own personal hell? Sometimes home is a place where we are made to feel like nothing.
.
condemned home
on the stoop
a welcome mat
Marilyn Ashbaugh
usa
.
Ashbaugh says so much with the contrast here between the “condemned home” and the welcome mat, which symbolizes a safe place for a family that embraces others openly. But here, the mat is the remainder of a time when the building had life and love and hope, everything that has been lost to time and unfortunate circumstances. With these simple contrasting images, Ashbaugh has written a poem full of sorrow at the impermanence of the things we hold dear.
I am so pleased and grateful to have my haiku published here once again.
I did enjoy reading all the lovely haiku selected this week. Congratulations to to everyone!
Another fine collection of verses, congratulations to all.
This one. for me, sums up the loneliness many have talked about and felt during lockdown
doormat…
my only
‘welcome’
– Ana Drobot
How lovely to enjoy reading and writing on simple things highlighted in series of “door to door” and many other themes written in so many beautiful interpretations and images here.
Some out there maybe couldn’t believe that this short kind of writing style but holds meaningful things brings a certain happiness and good mental exercise too….Off course it includes the comments, discussions, appraisals and friendship developed around the world in it too…
Congratulations to all friends selected 🥂💐.
How lovely to enjoy reading and writing on simple things highlighted in series of “door to door” and many other themes written in so many beautiful interpretations and images here.
Some out there maybe couldn’t believe that this short kind of writing style but holds meaningful things brings a certain happiness and good mental exercise too….Off course it includes the comments, discussions, appraisals and friendship developed around the world in it too…
Congratulations to all friends selected 🥂💐.
Dear kj—Thanks for giving a place to my collared kitten on the doormat.
Love to read the haiku featured every week—they give a whole new perspective about the theme.
Your commentary on the top featured ones is interesting and all the haiku selected are powerful, especially this one:
always beneath you doormat
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
assisted living
her old doormat
says home
/
Susan Farner
United States
/
This haiku is written about a very timely topic. There are many older people who reside in assisted-living facilities. Some of these facilities provide good care and some do not. However, regardless of the quality of care, for some the facility is and never will be a substitute for home.
I am so grateful to have my haiku included here this week, Kathy, thank you. Congratulations to everyone on these wonderful haiku. Still reading through them. This Haiku Dialogue continues to be a highlight of my week.
prodigal son
the welcome mat
misnamed
/
Tracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
/
Just because the mat at the door has “welcome” written on it doesn’t mean everyone who comes to the door is welcomed. One can only wonder what was the rift between the son and the parent.
Kathy, thank-you for once again including my haiku.
Thanks to the editor for sharing my contribution. Beautiful verses by all the published authors.