HAIKU DIALOGUE – Finding peace and contemplation… at a tea party
Finding peace and contemplation… with Guest Editor Marietta McGregor
At times in our lives, fast-moving events of our day-to-day existence may become overwhelming. Between work and family responsibilities, daily needs and doomscrolling, days rush by in a breakneck blur and we sometimes end the week with a sense of ‘where did that go?’ We’re surrounded by the wonders of our shared universe. Maybe it’s time to become immersed in the enjoyment of one aspect of this spectacular world which amazes, delights and refreshes us. We can marvel at the night sky or clouds by day, cheer a ladybug as it climbs a twig and opens its wings, dangle our feet in a cool river, rest in a tree’s benevolent shade, stroke velvety green moss, smell ozone freshness at the coast, crunch through frosty grass, listen to morning birdsong, taste a last autumn apple. Small pauses in quotidian life may be devoted to living slower, using every sense, and sharing our pleasure through poetry. Simple gifts.
Each week for the next few weeks there will be a photographic prompt on the theme of ‘Finding peace and contemplation. . .’ with images capturing moments when we might seek inspiration if the going gets tough. I look forward to reading your personal response to the moments you’ve discovered.
next week’s theme: … exercising in a park
Exercise can be as serious or as casual as you wish. Sometimes a walk around the block is enough. A friend has a mobility scooter she enjoys using to lap her neighborhood and look at gardens. On a recent visit to a local lakeside park near where I live, there were walkers of all ages with and without dogs, cyclists, runners, kayakers, and children riding scooters and skipping stones. Do you have a favourite place where you like to go to blow away the cobwebs? And a favourite exercise? We look forward to your haiku about finding peace and contemplation while exercising.
The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday October 16, 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Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 Marietta’s commentary for… at a tea party:
Thank you for your refreshing contributions on the many ways to enjoy a tea party. I savoured the aromas of the teas you brewed up and enjoyed your settings. Some haiku were light-hearted and others serious and reflective, depicting moments when a pause over tea steeping in a familiar cup conjured up memories of times shared with family and friends. Poets relished their first get-together after lockdowns eased, or wrote of solitary moments. From childhood play dates to ceremonial rituals, poetry get-togethers and garden parties, the tang of tea added an extra dimension. And I learned what snickerdoodles are! Please keep writing and submitting, and don’t forget to share your thoughts on your favourite haiku from this week’s selection on the Haiku Dialogue blog page. Thanks again to Kathy, Lori and THF!
his last high tea
my daughter and I
pretending . . .Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
The Hague, Netherlands
I found this a very poignant senryu. Line 1 shows us someone who has probably enjoyed high tea often, but now those times may be ending. Lines 2 and 3 set a loving scene of three people sitting together. They could be from three generations or two. The reader doesn’t know where the scene takes place. It could be at home, in a palliative care hospice, or in a favourite café. Wherever it takes place, tea and cakes are served and valiant efforts are being made to keep things everyday and light-hearted just as they have always been. Despite the shadows hinted at in the first line, all can treasure this moment and whatever time they may still have together.
autumn tea party
for the homeless
rain again . . .Ljiljana Dobra
Croatia
The first line here begins with a kigo so we know what time of the year it is. The days are drawing in and temperatures are dropping. A tea party is being held for town vagrants. Volunteers have baked cakes and are making hot drinks. Briefly, there is the comforting sense that as people come off the street into a warm hall they will find a welcome respite from the elements. But juxtaposed with the warmth and light of the charitable centre, Line 3 comes to an unavoidably dark conclusion – the poor of the city will return to the streets, to the inevitability of cold rain.
open mind the fragrance of tea
Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California
The founder of chanoyo, the Japanese Way of Tea, was a Japanese Zen monk called Sen no Rikyū, who became tea master to the samurai nobleman Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1582. Rikyū introduced a simpler, more austere form of ceremony with rustic utensils and humble settings. He’s believed to have said that the sound of tea splashing into the tea bowl is enough to wash away dust from the mind. After the matcha is poured its scent is released into silence. In the economical five words of this monoku the poet has captured a meditative moment of harmony and calm, when thoughts slow down and the mind is at peace. Everything else recedes and the poet is fully in the moment.
British high tea
the politics
of sconesChristopher Peys
Los Angeles, CA
British (and Australian) scones are round, light crumbly cakes which are split in half, often when warm from the oven, and served with lashings of clotted cream and jam. The transatlantic equivalent, US biscuits, are made with up to three times more butter and may be denser and more flaky than their fluffy British counterparts. This amusing senryu can be read in several ways. I imagine rival cooks squaring up over whose scone recipe is best and lightest, where the best cream tea in England can be had, or whether jam or cream should be added first. In another reading, with recent concerns about supply chain problems being in the news because of both the pandemic and Brexit, the poem may hint that it’s hard to avoid politics in conversation, even at an innocuous afternoon tea gathering.
& here are the rest of the selections:
tea party
the mad hatter
my child and meStephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Wa. USA
tea for one
letting the oolong
linger longerJackie Chou
Pico Rivera, CA USA
riverside tea . . .
the muddy flow
of conversationsJeff Leong
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
tea party—
lacquered on the cup
a red maple leafDennys Cambarau
Sardinia, Italy
marbled tea bowl—
under the flower pattern
the shape of his handsNicole Pottier
France
breakfast—
I sing Do Re Mi Fa
So La Tea DoAljoša Vuković
Croatia, Šibenik
every afternoon
titas gather on zoom
spilling teaLorelyn Arevalo
Bombon, Camarines Sur, Philippines
oolong tea
talk stretches
into darknessAlan Peat
Biddulph, United Kingdom
tea ceremony
moon an arm’s length
from the tree topAnitha Varma
Kerala, India
long rainy afternoon
snickerdoodles
and teaKathleen Vasek Trocmet
Texas USA
last page
last sip
lingering tasteRam Chandran
India
tea ceremony
cautiously filtering
my wordsAnthony Rabang
Philippines
pretend cup
i sip, alone
my pretend teaConnie Pittman Ramsey
Irving, Texas USA
tea party
in and out
aroma of jasmineAnna Yin
Ontario, Canada
remembering
all those parties . . .
pandemicDeborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany
her 21st
we use the tea set
we never useMaurice Nevile
Australia
licking cream
from our fingers
cumulus cloudsLouise Hopewell
Australia
two cups of tea
shared miles apart
FaceTimeRehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
tea party
my granddaughter shows how
I must crook my pinkyGary Evans
Stanwood, Washington
tea party . . .
in my cup a mint leaf
smells of springRosa Maria Di Salvatore
Catania Italy
mount kanchenjunga
in darjeeling tea steam
a golden shimmerSubir Ningthouja
Imphal, India
a hint of the flavour
in the poet’s renku
spring moonLakshmi Iyer
Kerala, India
drizzling rain—
in the tea arbor
smell of utensilsTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
leaf fall—
a few sips
of green teaHelga Stania
Switzerland
mountain view. . .
tea and one flower
in a cracked vaseRonald Degler
Harbor City, California
tiny tea party
in a tiny cottage
an old coupleXiaoou Chen
Kunming, China
lockdown over . . .
our smaller family
at first tea partyNatalia Kuznetsova
Russia
masala chai
half a cup
of dreamsRavi Kiran
India
savoring sips . . .
the time of tea
before mugsPat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
early autumn chill
I cradle my cup of tea
in the nurserySari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY
tea at the Ritz
reassuring Grandma
her scones are ritzierTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
the smell of autumn
at a garden birthday party
rose teaZdenka Mlinar
Hrvatska
green tea
drinking
in the samurai poseSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
chairs moving in sync . . .
the old man shares his tea
with his wifeAl W Gallia
Lafayette, Louisiana USA
moonlight tea
the way the body
changes to silkVibeke Laier
Randers Denmark
family reunion . . .
mother’s secret recipe
for the best sweet teaEd Bremson
USA
evening high tea—
eager haikai guests flip
dog-eared notebooksMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
toothless grandma
butter tea served in
chipped unmatched cups(Bhutan trek – the generosity of strangers)
JL Huffman
Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, USA
on vintage plates
dad’s favourite meringues—
tea-time wakeDorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
roadside cafe
a little boy balances
a pyramid of teacupsRicha Sharma
India
family reunion—
three more empty chairs
this yearDan Campbell
Virginia
fall evening
reading tea leaves
aloneMariel Herbert
California, USA
granddaughter’s
tea party
I eat the pretend cupcakeMargaret Mahony
Australia
dawn ritual . . .
brewing prayers
in lopchu(lopchu – orange pekoe tea – word derived from Lepcha, inhabitants of hilly areas of Darjeeling)
Neena Singh
Chandigarh, India
Berlin tea room
decades later
I still say adieuAlfred Booth
Colombes, France
aromatic candle
the green tea
ritually glowsMinko Tanev
Bulgaria
child’s play
make believe guests
and pretend teaCarol Reynolds
Australia
daisy petals
decorate a mud pie cake
dolls’ tea set partyIngrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
tea times . . .
the afternoons
we sipped away togetherLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
drinking tea alone
the weight
of each sipHifsa Ashraf
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
miles apart
the scent of mother’s cardamom
in my teaPadmini Krishnan
Singapore
lapsang souchong
the smoky aroma
of times long agoMark Meyer
Mercer Island WA USA
tea time
grandma adds a little
from her flaskBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
garden tea party
a jasmine blossom
falls in my cupMona Iordan
Romania
afternoon tea
I raise my cup
to the hummingbirdsBona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
a damselfly floats
through the garden gate
four o’clock teaMargaret Tau
New Bern, NC
family gathering
I hold the teapot
how his mother didMeera Rehm
UK
friends reunited—
from the butterfly teapot
the scent of gingerCynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California
the crack
in my teacup
fingernail moonSue Courtney
Orewa, New Zealand
tea-party for one—
I fill our red ceramic teapot,
choose the cups we usedPenny Harter
Mays Landing, NJ
garden guests
the wallaby
and her joeyKanjini Devi
The Far North, Aotearoa NZ
tea . . .
on the queen’s terrace
scent of jasmineRobert Kingston
Essex, UK
Boston tea party
leaves oversteeped
in salt waterCaroline Giles Banks
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Steaming cuppa
making the rounds
amidst poetryRashmi Buragohain
India
veranda breezes
we sip iced tea
and catch upClaire Vogel Camargo
USA
zoom tea party
each with our own china
and only stories to shareHelen Ogden
Pacific Grove
confessional
another cup of chamomile
in the cast iron potLorraine A Padden
San Diego, CA USA
grandpa’s tea glass
three sugar cubes
reach the bottomBarrie Levine
Wenham MA USA
late marigold—
things we talk about at tea
and see in leavesKeith Evetts
Thames Ditton UK
garden tea party
even the crow is enjoying
our companyMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
teatime
I brew the memories
of the days gone byPriti Khullar
India
gathering storm
we share potato crisps
with the windNeera Kashyap
India
cut and thrust
of the cake fork
tea time gossipHelene Guojah
UK
golden anniversary
sipping tea
in her favourite cupPadma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
missed deadline
my freshly brewed tea
bittersweetEva Limbach
Deutschland
tea with my dolls
too hot for Baby Bear
too cold for BarbieGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
children’s tea party
the tiny cups full
of lemonadeMona Bedi
Delhi, India
old neighbour’s birthday
tea for two
with dollops of laughterMadhuri Pillai
Australia
obituary
the kettle whistling
over a blue flameTim Cremin
Massachusetts
tea in the patio—
at the same time the hummingbirdJulia Guzmán
Córdoba Argentina
scent of luck
evaporates from the fine cups
tea pai ceremony(tea pai is the ritual of serving tea to older family members in Chinese weddings)
Lisbeth Ho
Salatiga, Indonesia
dieting
her gaze lingers long
at the samosaਡਾਈਟਿਂਗ
ਦੇਰ ਤੱਕ ਟਿਕੀ
ਸਮੋਸੇ ਤੇ ਨਜ਼ਰArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
Mothering Sunday
we take it in turns
to pourHelen Buckingham
Wells, Somerset, UK
outdoor buffet—
fallen crumbs a party
for birdsbuffet all’aperto—
le briciole una festa
per gli uccelliLuisa Santoro
Rome, Italy
starry sky—
the aroma of tea
still in the roomMaria Teresa Piras
Serrenti, Italia
tea cups painted
with roses in full bloom . . .
bone-thin fingersPriti Aisola
India
empty teacup—
what mornings
used to taste likePippa Phillips
United States
everyone resembles
the garden Buddha . . .
after first sipMelanie Vance
USA
finger sandwiches . . .
for a moment life
stops gallopingB.A. France
Annapolis, MD, USA
high tea
stirring scrap of the moon
anticlockwiseFlorin C. Ciobica
Romania
afternoon tea
dusk filling the cups
to the brimCristina Apetrei
Romania
son’s tea party
Grandpa and Spiderman
honored guestsCarol Judkins
Carlsbad, CA USA
baby shower
she selects the cookie
with pink icingValentina Ranaldi-Adams
USA
feeling at home—
hard feelings melt
in my cup of teaCristina Povero
Italy
family album—
the scent of jasmine increases
her absenceElena Zouain
France
too late for coffee
too early for wine
tea timeCharles Harmon
Los Angeles, California, USA
bone china—
the way her pinky points
to the skyP. H. Fischer
Vancouver, Canada
afternoon delight
autumn leaves
as we sip the flowersDidimay D. Dimacali
USA
time travel
. . . up the Faraway Tree
into the land of partiesSushama Kapur
Pune, India
amber sunset
the sound of bells
in our wedding teaKathabela Wilson
United States
serendipi(tea)
behind my mother’s kettle
one last honey stickSusan Rogers
Los Angeles
Guest editor Marietta McGregor is a fourth-generation Tasmanian who has made her home between Australia’s national capital Canberra and the scenic south coast of New South Wales for over four decades. A lover of the natural world since childhood, she went on to study botany and zoology, and has worked as palynologist, garden designer, science journalist, editor, university tutor, education manager, and grants developer for the national wildlife collection. A photography and travel enthusiast since retiring, she enjoys capturing fine detail of fleeting moments. She came late to haiku, which appealed for its close observation and poetic expression of ephemeral experience. Her haiku, haibun and haiga have been widely published, have won awards and appear in anthologies.
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 24 Comments
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Many thanks to Marietta, kj and Lori.
Thanks as always to Marietta & co. Congratulations all! I particularly love Tim Cremin’s:
obituary
the kettle whistling
over a blue flame
Thank you Marietta. I am thrilled to be selected for a tea party. It’s my first time here. I am a newbie, eager to learn from everyone. An absolute pleasure and honor.
Again, thank you. 🙂
Welcome! I really enjoyed your ku, the little taste of Tagolog to go with the tea…
Marietta, thank-you for selecting mine. So glad to have haiku party here. Congrats to all the poets.
What a satisfying collection of moods and settings in this week’s poems! I enjoyed them all. Here are a few I’d like to highlight : the whimsy of Carol R.’s “child’s play” and Ingrid B’s “daisy petals”, the curious sadness of Mariel H.’s “fall evening”, and the simple beauty of Deborah K.’s “open mind the fragrance of tea”. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Deborah’s monoku – a poem I could read again and again and get lost in its potential every time.
Thanks to Marietta, KJ, and Lori for all the work you do.
Thanks, Pat, for noticing mine.
But what about yours? It’s so easy to miss out on something that, after a second reading and some reflection, holds so much weight behind the eight words you’ve chosen.
savoring sips . . .
the time of tea
before mugs
Pat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
You’re welcome! And, thanks for appreciating my poem, Ingrid.
A lovely brew of poems this week! Congratulations to all the poets and thank you, Marietta, for including one of mine. Many thanks also to Kj and Lori for organising this wonderful dialogue. There are so many poems to admire here, my list of favourites would be far too long. One that immediately captured my attention was…
the crack
in my teacup
fingernail moon
Sue Courtney
Orewa, New Zealand
I love the way the poem zooms in on a tiny visual detail and creates a strong and ambiguous image. The ‘fingernail moon’ might refer to the crescent shape of the crack or it might refer to the tea drinker carefully placing a finger over the chip to avoid drinking from it. For me, it beautifully conjures up a scene of social embarrassment.
I look forward to reading next week’s column!
Dear Dorothy, thank you so much for your comments on my haiku. I love how you interpreted it. Sue.
Delighted to be selected for this refreshing collection, thank you, and this one made me smile as I remembered my daughter’s play times.
tea with my dolls
too hot for Baby Bear
too cold for Barbie
Greer Woodward
Waimea, HI
Maybe it was just right for Ken? I remember too how she’d set up restaurants, but somehow could never give us what we ordered, ‘sorry, there’s no chicken…’ etc. etc.
Hi Maurice,
I’m glad you liked my haiku. Thank you! The tea was just right for Ken, but a shortage of scones made it a hassle for everyone.
Thank you Marietta, so happy to be added to so many beautiful poems
time travel
. . . up the Faraway Tree
into the land of parties
/
Sushama Kapur
Pune, India
/
During the many months of the pandemic, I was still able to travel back in time, in my mind and remember pleasant moments from the past.
“tea for one” by Jackie Chou, reminding us of poetry meetings at a library or Japanese garden or art gallery cancelled
by the lockdown. Never alone with poetry, yet friends can still telephone or email and stay in contact, hoping for the future.
“amber sunset” by Kathabela Wilson, suggesting a lasting and happy marriage full of experiences and memories.
Thank you for including me in this haiku tea party this week! This was a theme near and dear to me as I am a big tea drinker. Congratulations to all the poets here! So so many favorites.
What a global tea party of haiku this week. From children’s tea parties to ritzy high tea and everywhere in between. Congratulations, poets and also to thf, Marietta, KJ, and Lori for keeping this column going every week.
Found a smile on Charles Harmon’s coffee, wine, and tea time haiku. So many to like including Stephen ‘s mad hatter haiku and Valentina ‘s baby shower. Well done to all.
I am glad you liked mine, Nancy.
Thank you Marietta for including my haiku. Every haiku unique. Such a pleasure every week.
Dear Marietta, I was very moved to your comment to my senryu. It was just as you pictured it. The person who enjoyed his last high tea was my husband. I am not very present on Haiku Dialogue, sometimes I am to late for posting. This time I was so happy to be in time for sending this senryu, because the theme remembered me a sad but precious moment in my life. My heartfelt thanks, Marietta!
Marietta, thank-you for selecting mine. Thank-you also to Kathy and Lori for their efforts. Haiku poets are fortunate to have this column week after week. Congrats to all the poets.
I enjoyed this selection Marietta, particularly this one:
British high tea
the politics
of scones
Christopher Peys
Los Angeles, CA
There are also two significant political debates on scones that have raged for years:
1. How to pronounce ‘scone’: either as for ‘stone’ or ‘gone’? The argument is deep and divisive as it is related to regional dialects and class!
2. In which order do you add jam and cream to a sliced scone (jam first or cream first)? The populations of Devon and Cornwall have debated this for years and the argument can reach boiling point…
All captured in one haiku. Nice one!
Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful remarks John – I am very glad this one struck a chord! My wife and I regularly rehash the Devon/Cornwall debate. Though I will continue to prepare my scones in the Devonshire style, she has made a strong, almost convincing case for the Cornish side over the years. Where do you fall on this very important matter?
When reading the rest of these poems, I was particularly taken by some of the more playful, light-hearted verses. Quite a few brought a smile to my face, but the following made me chuckle 🙂 …
tea time
grandma adds a little
from her flask
Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
What a farce in these times!
I know it so well. My parents owned a tea garden in Devon. Their home-made produce was so authentic in the sense of delicious-ness, no one complained.