HAIKU DIALOGUE – Finding peace and contemplation… in quiet spaces… far from crowds
Finding peace and contemplation… in quiet spaces 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: … in leisure time … playing board games
This exquisite chessboard in a Limoges museum of porcelain may have been destined for a collector’s cabinet rather than to be used for robust family games. Chess in the Western world dates back beyond the Middle Ages, but its precursor, chaturanga, emerged in India many centuries earlier. International chess tournaments are tense affairs – pulse rate highs are the norm for acute tactical plays. Not a blueprint for peace and contemplation you’d think! However, some games are calming, their repetitiveness a plus. Solitaire for example has been likened to light meditation. This week you’re invited to write haiku about an indoor game or games you enjoy as a leisure pursuit.
The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday April 09, 2022.
Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 & residence 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 far from crowds:
When selecting poems for Haiku Dialogue I try to look for different ways of seeing, and for haiku which address familiar moments with fresh eyes. I reread your haiku a number of times. For me the most useful technique in creating haiku which show rather than tell is the effective juxtaposition of images which combine to invite the reader to complete a poem. And I always enjoy an element of surprise! For inspiration this week you sought out quiet uncluttered spaces both of this world and beyond. Scent and sound played a part. Some haiku evoked a sense of melancholy in a world of continuing uncertainty. If your poem isn’t included this week it may be because there were several along the same lines or with similar imagery. My grateful thanks as always for your wonderful work. Please do keep submitting and commenting on your favorites. Thanks to Kathy, Lori and The Haiku Foundation.
old river trail
the sound of water always
just round the bend . . .Adele Evershed
Wilton, Connecticut
This haiku reminds me of a quote attributed to Heraclitus that we cannot step into the same river twice. The river moves on, as indeed does the person. I imagine a shallow broad river valley where the river meanders between rocky shoals. On a well-trodden trail which follows the river, the poet anticipates what lies beyond the next curve, whether rapids or still water. By being attuned to the sound of moving water, they anticipate the river’s own flow. A very calming thought.
deep night
tapping of geta
through the alleyJohn Zheng
Mississippi
Here the reader may choose to be transported into alleyways of a geisha district like Ponto-chō in Kyoto, or the dark corners around one of Japan’s oldest hot springs, Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama. In both of these places, geta, a type of wooden-soled sandal, may be the traditional footwear of choice. Sometimes geta are worn in the rain as they elevate the wearer above puddles. Their distinctive click-clack is often heard as geisha travel to and from their evening performances. The alleys may be dimly lit only by lanterns, so any echoes are even more mysterious.
that risotto
tucked between buildings—
summer rainstormMariel Herbert
California, USA
Having once been caught in a deluge in Naples, I can relate to the need to flee from streets running like rivers into the nearest welcoming dry space. Fortunately, thanks to an unexpectedly good meal, the rain becomes not an irritant that interrupts a day’s sightseeing, but the catalyst for a great memory.
abandoned canal
the current gently turning
a bicycle wheelJames Gaskin
Fukushima, Japan
This haiku resonates even more poignantly given the current world situation. The canalside, once possibly the pleasant centrepiece of a town where people gravitated to stroll, ride bikes or chat in waterside cafés, is now empty, people having left because of a disaster or for other reasons we can only guess at. While the water continues to flow as it always has, only traces of the inhabitants remain, such as a discarded bicycle upside down on the canal bed and not yet rusted into stillness.
Some dawns make
you unlock the latch
on the canary cageDan Campbell
Virginia
A light-hearted single-sentence senryu to close this week’s commentary. What is the poet getting at here? My first thought is that canaries are spectacular singers, and this cascade of sound/noise can register as either positive or negative depending on the state of one’s head when waking up. Interestingly, there’s no choice – the poet is obliged to release the bird. A literal reading could be that the sunrise is so brilliant the poet feels part of something big and wants to share this freedom with a small captive. Or is opening the canary’s cage a deeper metaphor for the poet’s own urge to escape into this bright morning? Anyway, it made me chuckle.
& here are the rest of the selections:
siesta silence . . .
I practice my Spanish
on an alley catMarion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
after two years . . .
updating the mental map
of my cityDeborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany
meandering clouds
I wander where my feet
take meAnitha Varma
Kerala, India
frog pond
all that talk among frogs
spring moonStephen A. Peters
Bellingham, WA
Kintyre
scallops and stars
skinny dippingAmanda White
Morvah, Cornwall, UK
Rainy winter day—
a street mime performs
to nobodyNikola Đuretić
Zagreb, Croatia
snowmelt joins
the Battenkill
and the trout singsMatthew Cariello
Bexley OH
group home . . .
I drift into the chug
of a distant trainJackie Chou
United States
minding the gap
this loneliness within
a packed subwayRavi Kiran
India
below the streets,
the dust of plague roads; each night
you play the ghostSarah Davies
Bedford
quiet ocean
the king tide
within meDaya Bhat
Bangalore, India
a leaf falls
on my shadow . . .
temple pondMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
prie-Dieu
slowly she unwraps
herselfRandall Herman
Victoria, Texas
only the voice
of a magnolia
i am healedTiffany Shaw-Diaz
United States
six hundred paces
to castillo del faro
salty lipsGuy Stephenson
Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland
tour group talk—
we leave our guide
to walk a different pathLorraine Schein
Queens, NYC
silent monastery . . .
leaves tick
against stoneChristopher Seep
Ballwin, MO
winter beach
wave after wave
returns me homemarilyn ashbaugh
warren dunes beach, lake michigan
Finally . . .
folding the day
the moon in my roomNisha Raviprasad
India
far from crowds
sprouting avocado pit
on my windowsillTuyet Van Do
Australia
such silence
a dusty library aisle
with no oneNeera Kashyap
India
temple ruins
i look around
for a monk’s daySubir Ningthouja
Imphal, India
wanderlust . . .
from somewhere
to somewhere elseFirdaus Parvez
India
oars set aside
reading “Travels with Charlie”
aloud to the dogRichard Matta
San Diego, California
at last the summit loneliness
Keith Evetts
Thames Ditton, UK
high firs
I tune myself
into silenceHelga Stania
Switzerland
quiet street—
she checks her phone
lost in thoughtsNicole Pottier
France
a path
to upward thoughts
a sparrowSusan Bonk Plumridge
London, Canada
a lonely street
from me to the moon—
songs of cricketsla strada solitaria
da me alla luna—
canti di grilliDennys Cambarau
Sardinia, Italy
on the other side
of my sickroom window
the afternoonJ E Jeanie Armstrong
Canterbury UK
early swim
while swans
still outnumber the boatsTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
travel diary
more and more
of me is revealedPriti Khullar
Noida, India
empty park
a dragonfly stares at me
with crimson eyesPadmasiri Jayathilaka
Sri Lanka
morning mist
wedding tourists posing
at the temple hallGisela Doi
Nara, Japan
old town map
the native names
that still existPat Davis
NH USA
down the steps
to where time stands still—
we talk in whispersPaul Callus
Malta
mid-life crisis
climbing an oak tree
to feel young againJohn Hawkhead
Bradford on Avon, UK
inner dunes—
the birds sings
more melodiouslyAnna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo
Netherlands
around the corner
visiting a small church
I’d never visited beforeRosa Maria Di Salvatore
Catania, Italy
backstreet bar
a chalkboard sign that says
“no tourist menu here”Olivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
on this hill
the universe is so beautiful
there is a swingNani Mariani
Australia
stop to view
ume . . .
then stop again(ume is the Japanese plum or apricot, and flowers in late winter)
Teiichi Suzuki
Japan
desert garden
monarch butterfly
shares my solitudeRehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
rice fields
the coolness of a mud path
to a shrineArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
night harbor
foghorns pull me
into unknown meKeiko Izawa
Japan
I visit your grave
lay flowers,
remember your voiceMargaret Mahony
Australia
dialogue . . .
night breeze soothes
the river’s dayRicha Sharma
India
the moon floats
on black ocean
night swimmingLouise Hopewell
Australia
forgotten street
I give it
a friend’s nameSrinivas S
India
calm beyond
the east cliff crowds
st. hilda’s snakessimonj
UK
crowded beach—
I return to
self-isolationJonathan Aylett
Liverpool, UK
wild cherry
finding
my runaway dreamLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
quiet corner shop
I browse for famous films
of celebritiesHla Yin Mon
Yangon, Myanmar
cobblestone alley
the juxta puzzle
of my random thoughtsHifsa Ashraf
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
terrace garden
how the stars understand
my silenceMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
wrong turn how we found the laughing buddha
Bona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
summit cairn—
leaving the stone
where it liesAlan Peat
Biddulph, United Kingdom
Alpine hut
all night long, one cow bell
echoing the otherLori Kiefer
London, UK
off-season beach town
even the hermit crabs
find a vacancySari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA
alone at last!
my cozy pied-à-terre
on EnceladusMark Meyer
Mercer Island WA USA
wildflowers
the land my neighbors
let goBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
backyard bliss
the family togetherness
of the magpie trioMadhuri Pillai
Australia
beyond
the last sidewalk
woodland fernPeggy Hale Bilbro
Alabama
skylark’s song . . .
the hillside
unfoldsAnnie Wilson
Shropshire, UK
beach holiday
with each heave of the ocean
a glint in her eyeMona Bedi
Delhi, India
abandoned creek bridge
leaning on the rail
willow branchesMarianne Sahlin
Sweden
pruned roses . . .
the country house
among the birchesAngiola Inglese
Italia
the cowboy alone
with his horse
frayed grassesChad Lee Robinson
United States
off the grid
my inner compass
finds true northHelen Ogden
Pacific Grove, CA
snow globe
of a day . . .
safe insideBarrie Levine
Massachusetts, United States
up from the sea
through cobblestone alleys
best coffee in ChileSusan Farner
USA
first time abroad
being an alien
in an alleyChristopher Calvin
Kota Mojokerto, Indonesia
rural isolation
finding peace
and myselfCarol Reynolds
Australia
away from crowds
visiting ancient Egypt
in my book置身尘嚣外
沉浸茫茫书海里
探访古埃及zhi shen chen xiao wai
chen jin mang mang shu hai li
tan fang gu ai jiXiaoou Chen
Kunming, China
within the fragrance
of a plumeria lei
my vacation beginsGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
village vibe—
butterfly pea flower bread
at the pop-up shopDorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
Jersey coastal a black storm isolates
Pris Campbell
US
neighborhood park—
a little stroll every day
and a new haikuGordana Kurtović
Croatia
summer morning
the name of a flower
i almost forgotVibeke Laier
Randers, Denmark
dupatta dyers—
billowing overhead
rainbows of chiffon(Dupattas are long scarves worn over traditional clothing throughout the Indian subcontinent made from lengths of fabric, which, after dyeing, are strung out across back alleys to dry.)
Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
early spring walk
a green gate opens
to nowhereRoberta Beary
County Mayo Ireland
quiet dreams
of faraway places
expired passportC.X. Turner
United Kingdom
diwali shopping
slipping away
to meet him in the alleyPadma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
woodland glade
where the stream emerges
the length of a thoughtMaxianne Berger
Outremont, Quebec
sparrow song
the yew tree remains
uncutBisshie
Switzerland
lockdown stroll—
up the back street alley
i find a new selfJoe Sebastian
Bangalore, India
Alaskan wildness
finally a place where
I can be myselfMargie Gustafson
Lombard, IL USA
library—
book lovers gather
in their mindsStephen J. DeGuire
Los Angeles, CA
high mountain
breathing in the scent
of the snowEufemia Griffo
Italia
crowd
the collective
lonelinessVijay Prasad
Patna, India
a spring sky
under the spring sky
bluebonnetsMelanie Vance
USA
only one walking
on the pier—
snowy afternoonNancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA
Gregorian chants
Sunday afternoon
drive-in massDidimay D. Dimacali
USA
sunset
in the eyes of silence
an old vineyardzalazak sunca
u očima tišine
stari vinogradZrinko Šimunić
Croatia
leaving the hospice
a flowering twig over
the walled gardenFlorin C. Ciobica
Romania
heavy lockdown—
day after day I find
trails of new perfumeslockdown pesante—
di giorno in giorno trovo
scie di nuovi aromiLuisa Santoro
Rome, Italy
The less travelled path
the deer and I
breathe the same airJenny Shepherd
London
outback airport . . .
the ticket lady kisses
the pilot goodbyeKathleen Trocmet
Texas, USA
post-pandemic—
I still see diamonds
on wet cobbled streetsCristina Povero
Italy
daily walk
ducks on Henner’s Pond
social distance friendsPamela Jeanne
Whitehorse, Canada
summer solstice—
a boy in a rowboat
fishing for himselfAlex Lubman
Morgantown, WV USA
doom metal playlist
the lowcountry farmsteads
now seem ancientAsh Lippert
South Carolina, USA
fan tan alley—
a sprig of rosemary
in the soapP. H. Fischer
Vancouver, Canada
sharing the turtle’s hope
its long trek ’cross campus
to plant the futureKath Abela Wilson
United States
repainting
the basement’s ceiling
open to blueAnna Yin
Ontario, Canada
wanderlust . . .
the escape path
of a rainbow’s edgePippa Phillips
Kansas City, MO
pandemic friend
this tree
just this oneJames Lindley
USA
10,000 steps
with a book
towards solitudeLorelyn De la Cruz Arevalo
Bombon, Philippines
sleeping dog
this patch of sunlight
I just noticeSushama Kapur
Pune, India
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 27 Comments
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Happy and humbled to be included. Thank you so much Marietta for accepting my haiku. Thank you too Lori and Kath. God bless everyone. 😊🧡
Thank you Marietta for including my haiku. I’m delighted and also loved reading the variety of haiku on here.
Thank you Marietta I so enjoy this each week. Congrats to all poets.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Marietta. It is amazing how certain memories can stay fresh for so long. “That risotto” comes courtesy of Siena—just four hours north of Napoli!
Thanks for selecting mine. As always had so much fun to read and write….
a lot of new thoughts and emotions.. There are many I want to read over and over… here is one:
deep night
tapping of geta
through the alley
John Zheng
Mississippi
Many thanks to Marietta, Kj and Lori and all the poets for this week’s wonderful column. I am thrilled to have my poem included. As usual, there are many thought-provoking and memorable poems; James Gaskin’s ‘abandoned canal’ seems especially powerful. Another that I shall definitely remember is…
cobblestone alley
the juxta puzzle
of my random thoughts
Hifsa Ashraf
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
I love the idea of cobblestones being like random thoughts that somehow all fit together. There seems to be a leisurely pace to each line which beautifully suggests the idea of wandering and wondering. Fab!
I come back to this beautifully crafted haiku time and again:
Some dawns make
you unlock the latch
on the canary cage
Dan Campbell
thank you Dan
Dear Bisshie, you made my day, thank you!
These challenges are a fundamental part of my week. Thanks to all involved!
—Greer
Thank you Ms. Marietta for including my little Haiku here, on the Haiku Dialogue, an inspirational source for us beginners. It is so very exciting to take part and to have a chance to read so many Haiku from poets from different regions, with your resourceful commentaries. Thank you also to Ms. Kathy and Ms. Lori for all your work and Brava to all the participating poets.
Another fine crop of fascinating haiku from dear colleagues. Thanks, Marietta!
Another stellar collection of off-the-beaten-track haiku! I loved reading them all. Thank you Marietta for the thoughtful prompt. The following two – right together – captured my imagination. Even if there had been no definition of dupatta the poem evokes such a beautiful image. And Roberta’s green gate to nowhere is so inviting. Thanks to Ingrid and Roberta and the other poets included.
dupatta dyers—
billowing overhead
rainbows of chiffon
Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
early spring walk
a green gate opens
to nowhere
Roberta Beary
County Mayo Ireland
Peggy, thanks for your comments, and yes, it happens quite often that poets’ thoughts of a similar nature read one after the other. I love Roberta’s poem because it leaves much to the imagination…walking away somewhere beautiful, lonely and peaceful, and/or walking off into your own thoughts.
Your own poem fits well with Roberta’s here, too:
beyond
the last sidewalk
woodland fern
Peggy Hale Bilbro
Lucky indeed are those who can escape for a while.
I was struck by this one — particularly the last line:
wildflowers
the land my neighbors
let go
Bryan Rickert
So often we seem to have the need to own and control, without realizing the benefits of nature taking its own course where possible, giving us pleasure as it does so.
Much to stimulate the mind, Marietta…thanks for these many opportunities.
Thank you for your kind words Ingrid. That sense of escape is what made this prompt so appealing to me.
Thanks for including my haiku Marietta. I love reading all the different takes on the prompts. They are all so good. These two stood out for me this week:
at last the summit loneliness
Keith Evetts
Thames Ditton, UK
minding the gap
this loneliness within
a packed subway
Ravi Kiran
India
Thank you, Pamela.
Happy have my poem included among these lovely poems.
I so look forward to Wednesdays, to sifting through all the wonderful, world-wild haiku perspectives on each week’s theme. Delightful! Thank you one and all.
Happy to have one included again this week. Thank you, Marietta McGregor!
Thanks to everyone for the great verses and thank you Marietta for your insightful and interesting comments!
I already commented but wanted you to know that I really appreciated your haiku.
Thank you so much Marietta McGregor for including my poem. Thanks to KjMunro and team Haiku Dialogue for the wonderful prompts and selections week after week.
Thanks to Marietta mcGregor for selecting my verses!
Happy to have one included again this week. Thank you!
Many exhales while reading these lovely poems. I feel my shoulders dropping as I read them. Here is one that I found striking:
high firs
I tune myself
into silence
Helga Stania
Switzerland
Wow! This reads like an off-the-beaten-track haiku travelogue. I am grateful to be included here. So so many wonderful haiku to appreciate and savor. I love the locals vs. tourists humor in this haiku:
backstreet bar
a chalkboard sign that says
“no tourist menu here”
Olivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
Thank you Marietta for your thoughtful commentaries and prompts keeping our Haiku Dialogue going! Thank you Kathy and Lori for all your work and grateful to all the poets here for participating.
Thank you very much for your kind words, Sari !