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HAIKU DIALOGUE – door to door – doorway & Introduction to Paradigm Shift

door to door & Introduction to Paradigm Shift with Guest Editor Craig Kittner

Thanks again everyone for the kind comments over the last two months – & I take full responsibility for all the poems I overlooked – poems that were deserving of inclusion here, but for whatever reason were not included…
I now slip behind the scenes once again as we all welcome guest editor Craig Kittner back to this space with the launch of ‘Paradigm Shift’ – happy writing! kj

“Learn about pines from the pine,” Bashō advised.

Why do you think he said that?

Animism is a birthright of haiku.

However, western culture, despite all its scientific knowledge, tends to put human experience on some rarefied plane, separate and above all the other beings and forces of the universe. An ego-laden, anthropocentric attitude that would write off learning from the pine as anthropomorphism and personification.

How does this impact your writing?

Can you shift your perspective away from the human and dress yourself in the consciousness of another form?

next week’s theme: the travels of rain 

When a raindrop hits the ocean, does it cease to exist as rain? From evaporation, to clouds, to puddles, lakes, and rivers; what is this thing called rain, and where is it headed?

The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday June 05, 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Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 kj’s commentary for doorway:

averting eyes
at the doorway –
therapist’s office

Barrie Levine
Wenham MA USA

What a believable scenario of professional conduct & discretion – two people cross paths, but neither wants to acknowledge the other, or maybe even admit that they are there themselves – the poet notices & captures a haiku moment…

empty nest the silence from our doorway

Bona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA

This poem can be interpreted at least two ways – once the baby birds have flown, the nest is quiet, as is the house without children…

bricked up old doorway
echoes of horse hooves
on cobbles

Mark Gilbert
UK

Here the historical references paint a picture, & with the alliteration of ‘bricked’, ‘echoes’, & ‘cobbles’, & the lovely ‘horse hooves’, not to mention the rhythm & the actual sounds described in the poem – all combine for a well-crafted scene…

canvassing coolness in the doorway

P. H. Fischer
Vancouver

The poet manages in very few words to convey more than one possibility in this poem – is it the actual temperature (an air-conditioned home on a hot day? or cold air entering the house?) or is the political climate being described here?

office doorway
pasting on
my interview smile

Sari Grandstaff
Saugerties, New York

In this poem the reader finds an example of the doorway representing that liminal, in-between space – a wonderful place to find haiku. The selection of the words ‘pasting’ & ‘interview’ to describe this particular smile changes the tone of the poem – again, word choice can make such a difference!

& here are the rest of the selections:

a crack on the wall – 
the ins and outs
of my nature friends

Adjei Agyei-Baah
Ghana/New Zealand

 

winter gust
up to the doorway
father’s shadow

Agus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia

 

pausing
in the doorway
the Milky Way

Alan Peat
Biddulph, United Kingdom

 

in the doorway
a homeless man argues
with himself

Albert Schepers
Windsor, ON

 

poor house –
freshly painted
doorway

Aljoša Vuković
Šibenik, Croatia

 

hugs and few stories
a doorway to
her soft silent sleep

Amrutha Prabhu
Bengaluru, India

 

doorway…
your first words
for me

Ana Drobot
Romania

 

petals in the wind –
enter once again
in your thoughts

Angiola Inglese
Italia

 

through the rabbit hole
I become a young lady
overnight

Anitha Varma
Kerala, India

 

empty doorway
still stepping over
my dog’s shadow

Ann K. Schwader
Westminster, CO

 

greeting
at the doorway
our shadows parting

Anna Yin
Ontario, Canada

 

her hennaed feet
across the threshold…
the music of anklets

Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India

 

sliver of light
under the doorway…
bookworms never sleep

Baisali Chatterjee Dutt
Kolkata, India

 

Buddha’s eyes
closed to open
the mind’s eye

Bidyut prabha
Bhubaneswar, India

 

at the seashore
my grandchildren’s sand-prints
cross my threshold

Bill Fay
Fox Island, WA, USA

 

classroom door
I put on
my teacher face

Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA

 

haiku
my doorway
to the world

Carol Reynolds
Australia

 

Like teenagers
Blushing as we meet
In the doorway

Catherine Brennan
Ireland

 

standing between
future and past
Janus Geminus

Charles Harmon
Los Angeles, California USA

 

discovering
my imagination
ekphrasis

Claire Vogel Camargo
United States

 

ex daughter-in-law –
grandma blocks
the doorway

Cynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California

 

dust gathering
on the chin-up bar
in the doorway

dan campbell
Virginia

 

my old school –
I’m too tall
for the doorway

Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă
Romania

 

a jasmine
on my threshold…
night scent

Daniela Misso
Italia

 

bookshelf –
a doorway which leads
to my world

Danijela Grbelja
Sibenik, Croatia

 

hidden world
the troll in her garden
sticks out his tongue

Deborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany

 

Visiting day
a whiff of spring wind
at the entrance

Dejan Ivanovic
Lazarevac, Serbia

 

wobbled steps
the doorway
to the lion’s den

Didimay D. Dimacali
USA

 

creativity –
unlocking that door
within me

Dorothy Burrows
United Kingdom

 

door ajar
he decides
to knock

Edna Beers
USA

 

end of party –
the only birthday present
a song of crickets

Elena Zouain
France

 

gatehouse…
a new decoration
for each season

Elisa Allo
Switzerland

 

moving day
so many memories
in the doorway

Florin C. Ciobica
Romania

 

first French kiss –
forty years later the doorway
still there

Geoff Pope
Kent, Washington

 

stanza accanto…
così lontano
il profumo di mamma

next room…
so far away
the scent of mom

Giuliana Ravaglia
Bologna, Italia

 

all the magic
doorways
of my childhood

Greer Woodward
Waimea, HI

 

starry sky –
the girl’s first sleepover

Hassane Zemmouri
Algiers, Algeria

 

in the mirror
endless doorways
leading nowhere

Helen Ogden
Pacific Grove, CA

 

back home late
only the doorway light
welcomes me

Hifsa Ashraf
Rawalpindi, Pakistan

 

summer breeze
in the hippie’s bead curtain
tinkling bells

Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia

 

doorway…
rays of light trap
a monarch

Jagajit Salam
Imphal, India

 

Ten thousand
Fushimi torii
– out of breath

Jeff Leong
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

Covid recovered
doorway to a new life
awaits

Joe Sebastian
Chennai

 

universe
through doors of perception
brave new worlds

John S Green
Bellingham, WA

 

the closing of dusk
ravens over the high fell
creak hinges of air

John Hawkhead
UK

 

first kindergarten day –
the child’s big opened eyes…

Julia Guzmán
Córdoba. Argentina

 

doorway
to the cellar steps
hidden depths

Karen Harvey
North Wales

 

childhood drawing
every face has a door
that is a mouth

Kath Abela Wilson
United States

 

first visit…
hugging me in the doorway
scent of jasmine

Keiko Izawa
Japan

 

a rectangle
of sunlight
and a cat

Keith Evetts
Thames Ditton UK

 

doorway…
paper lanterns invite
the forefathers

Lakshmi Iyer
India

 

head bump on boarding –
direct flight
to the stars

Laurie Greer
Washington DC

 

palliative care
doorway
to the other side

Lorraine Carey
Ireland

 

oak tree fairy door secret heartwood

Lorraine Padden
San Diego, CA

 

to and fro
on a cold beach
abandoned shells

Luisa Santoro
Rome, Italy

 

long distance call
from the doorway
a magpie’s two cents

Madhuri Pillai
Australia

 

distancing…
a conversation of ladies
at the doorway

Manoj Sharma
Kathmandu

 

neighborhood scavenger hunt for white elephants

Margaret Walker
Lincoln, NE, USA

 

chapel threshold
the perfume
of prayers

Marilyn Ashbaugh
usa

 

midnight knock
the full moon slips in
the doorway

Maya Daneva
The Netherlands

 

half open door
his mother and I
measuring each other

Meera Rehm
UK

 

shoji screen
filters the evening sun
shrine’s doorway

Melanie Vance
USA

 

he tells me
I’m still light as a feather…
second home

Michele L. Harvey
Hamilton, NY USA

 

tippy-toes
in the doorway
first kiss

Mike Gallagher
Ireland

 

the hill woods…
doorway to ancestors’
origin

Milan Rajkumar
Imphal, India

 

restaurant menu
what is that aroma in
the kitchen doorway?

Minal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India

 

sacred doorways
runic symbols
foretell storms

Minko Tanev
Bulgaria

 

dilapidated house
the doorway alive
with memories

Mona Bedi
Delhi, India

 

orphanage
the doorway holds
tears and smiles

Neena Singh
Chandigarh, India

 

summer holiday –
across the doorway
children’s laughter

Nicole Pottier
France

 

ladybug on my pillow
one’s window is another’s door

Orense Nicod
Paris, France

 

mother’s lucky penny
at my throat
I board the ship

Padma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India

 

an open doorway
lit by afternoon sun
a sleeping cat

Pam Joy
Dyea, Alaska

 

house tour
open doorways
except for one

Pat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA

 

bougainvilleas
tumble over the wall
hidden garden gate

Peggy Hale Bilbro
Huntsville Alabama

 

but in front of the doorway Adam’s Needle

Pere Risteski
North Macedonia

 

clanging buoys
we ease through the fog
to safe harbor

Pris Campbell
USA

 

Covid positive…
that barred
doorway

Priti Aisola
Hyderabad, India

 

mother’s loud good byes
still reverberate in the
dark musty door way

Priti Khullar
Noida, India

 

doorway
kid’s drawings
in the white margins around the verses

Radostina Dragostinova
Bulgaria

 

opening porch door
the moon
shares her secrets

Ram Chandran
India

 

Doorway
Leading to
The mistletoe

Rashmi Buragohain
India

 

sharing smiles
across distant lands
handheld doorway

Ravi Kiran
Hyderabad, India

 

last doorway
mother enters
hospice

Rehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ

 

Gaza moon –
facing the ruined doorway,
a blind man

Rita Odeh
Haifa, Israel

 

dollhouse
the open doorway
of pretend

Roberta Beary
County Mayo Ireland

 

eighteen years…
a doorway
to a new life

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore
Catania, Italy

 

empty apartment –
opening the door
I enter the moon

Sanjuktaa Asopa
Karnataka, India

 

kids room
at the doorway
a pull-up bar

Slobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia

 

nursing home
through the doorway
autumn leaves

Stephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Wa. USA

 

house by the sea
in front of the doorway
lunar path

Stoianka Boianova
Bulgaria

 

autumn twilight…
my feet stumble
in the doorway

Surashree Joshi
Pune, India

 

beaded curtain
in the doorway
freshman year

Susan Farner
United States

 

deepening twilight
a lone owl soars through
the great redwood

Susan Rogers
Los Angeles, CA

 

waiting for rainbows –
sheltering in the doorway
at the used bookstore

Teiichi Suzuki
Japan

 

dark alleys…
depression creeps in
silently

Teji Sethi
India

 

through these doors
the wind
remains

Tiffany Shaw-Diaz
United States

 

silent seance
the medium tries
another doorway

Tom Bierovic
DeLand, FL, USA

 

hidden doorway
the secrets
an old house keeps

Tracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK

 

hay moon
in the doorway
scent of lilies

Tsanka Shishkova
Bulgaria

 

teenager’s room
standing in the doorway, I think
“where is my baby?”

Vandana Parashar
India

 

lilac wine
the way I enter
and exit worlds

Veronika Zora Novak
Canada

 

a gap gasps
as dawn stalks
wayward cracks

Victor Ortiz
Bellingham, WA

 

yellow leaves
scurry from door-to-door
Halloween

vijay Joshi
monroe, NJ, USA

 

usual morning
in a front of bakery
I pass a neighbor

Wiesław Karliński
Namysłów, Poland

 

flight of the phoenix
the stages of life
that come to pass

Willie Bongcaron
Manila, Philippines

 

church, she walks
through the doorway
to happiness

Xiaoou Chen
Kunming, China

 

a doorway
my grandson asks
where the doors are

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 14 Comments

  1. I really enjoyed each and every haiku prompted by your such inspiring themes! Thank you, KJ and Lori, for all those wonderful selections and comments. I am glad that my ku were included too.
    Congratulations to all the poets featured!
    Welcome, Craig!

  2. Thank-you for the commentary on my poem, KJ. Congratulations to all the wonderful poets. Looking forward to the weeks ahead, Craig!

  3. Kj, many thanks for the inspirational prompts and informative commentaries and to Lori for all the administration. I really enjoy these weekly challenges that regularly take me out of my comfort zone! Even more enjoyable is the opportunity to read such a wonderfully varied selection of responses. Congratulations to all the poets in this week’s lovely selection. There are so many to admire here. One that made me smile was…

    classroom door
    I put on
    my teacher face

    Bryan Rickert
    Belleville, Illinois USA

    This so beautifully captures the performance aspect of teaching.

    Welcome, Craig! I look forward to your series of prompts.

  4. Another wonderful selection of poems that range from poignant to light-hearted. Thank you KJ and Lori for your work and the doorway prompts.

  5. Who would have known how many different aspects of ‘Doors’ could have been thought up and expressed so well by poets these past 8 weeks? Thank you to them, and especially to Kathy for inspiring us, for including mine, and to Lori for the continued organization.
    Welcome to Craig, setting us another series of challenges to look forward to.

  6. Thanks to kj and Lori’s work during these 8 weeks, and thanks to kj for including and commenting on mine. So many wonderful haiku this week, but I’ll mention Stephen A. Peter’s poignant

    nursing home
    through the doorway
    autumn leaves

    Mike Gallagher’s

    tippy-toes
    in the doorway
    first kiss

    which has a light, perfect touch, and Bidyut Prabha’s

    Buddha’s eyes
    closed to open
    the mind’s eye

    which gives me more reasons to like it every time I read it.

  7. Congratulations to all the haiku poets who have crossed this doorway this week! Thank you Kathy so much for your comments on my haiku.

    1. Thanks so much Kathy & Lori for your tireless efforts in keeping HD a success.
      Thanks too for your comments on my ku, Kathy! Much appreciated.
      Looking forward to another installment of inspiring poems.
      Welcome, Craig & kudos to all poets!

  8. Thank you so much, Kj, for your dedication and for another fantastic selection. Welcome, Craig.and many congratulations to all the poets 😍

  9. Thanks dear kj & Lori for the wonderful prompts—so unique week on week! Stay well!

    Grateful for featuring such interesting ku with the commentary for the best ones.
    Enjoyed all the Editor’s choice haiku and happy to have mine there too.

    Welcome Craig!

  10. Thank-you Kathy and Lori for all your efforts on the door-to-door columns. Congrats to all the poets who were published. Welcome Craig !

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