HAIKU DIALOGUE – Mountain and River – Rivers – long list

Mountain and River with Guest Editor Lakshmi Iyer

Mountain is benchmark for patience, resilience and tolerance. Whether heat or cold, fire or melting ice, whatever may be the extreme opposites, mountain bears them all silently and effectively.
If Man has to exaggerate anything to larger proportions, it is often compared with mountains. There is a proverb “Making mountains out of molehills”. Hence, mountain is always at the highest peak whether for patience, height, size.
Mountains cannot be moved easily. They are fixed, steady and unwavering. That is why it is probably said – Prayers can move even mountains. Which implies that mountains can be conquered only through prayers and not through force.
Well, some of you may argue that mountains too get destroyed, but it may be an indirect force through Man’s negligence to maintain a balance in the surrounding physical structure or its geological strength.

River is symbolic of extending help to anyone who comes in contact with it, as it has cleansing properties. River always tries to clean up everything on the way, even rocks get cleared, and it helps them glitter. Though Man pollutes river in all possible ways, river never pollutes Man. River helps ever, hurts never.
Here again, one may point out that a river in spate can destroy whatever comes in its way, but this too may be an indirect manmade issue.
River doesn’t depend on anyone for its journey towards its destination. It finds its own way to march towards the ocean or sea or whatever. If any obstacle is found on its path, it changes directions to reach the goal.
Flow of thoughts is often compared with the flow of river. If a thought arises in someone’s mind, there are two options before him. He can visualise the thought as a river flowing and decide to plunge into the river or observe the river flowing towards its destination. If he plunges into the river, action follows, as thoughts become words and deeds. On the other hand, if he doesn’t plunge into the river, but only observes it flowing towards the ocean, no consequence follows. There is stillness of the mind, he is in a state of meditation. Thus, river and its flow can help mankind to understand the process of meditating on the Supreme Consciousness.

I shall be extremely happy if you would give me a homework to dig deep inside your poems. It can be simple and sincere, setting aside all those mind-boggling thoughts. Just be you! Just live your poems!

Below is Lakshmi’s selection of poems on the topic of Rivers:

My dear Poets

Thank you all for submitting your perspectives and giving me a lift to sail in your individual boats. It was a thrilling experience and it really took me time to cross the river. My regards to all the global haiku poets to recognise the river of your life and give it a name of your choice! There were more than 200 poems and I admit passing on a few poems that could have had a haiku approach on second reading.

Once again, I would like to thank each one of you for submitting your poems with your name and place just below the poem, irrespective of one or two poems, that made my job easier to copy and paste. Kindly recheck your names and place with any punctuation and capital letters. Hope we continue this.

Here are the gems found in the depth of my river:

delta bank
so many deposits
of riverine tales

Subir Ningthouja
Imphal, India

 

Phalgu –
on the dry bed
pind-daan

Jagajit Salam
Imphal, India

 

Lost
I let the river
take me home

Caroline Ridley-Duff
UK

 

The spate and the rush-
rivers speak their secret names,
springflowfloodsea hush

Sarah Davies
Bedford, UK

 

river path
listening to the why not
in the air

Stephen A. Peters
Bellingham, WA

 

Adige river
between houses
forming an “s”

Barbara Anna Gaiardoni
Verona, Italy

 

blue current…
the speed
of blue snakes

Dorna Hainds
Michigan, USA

 

old Rhine Bridge
a flurry of horse dung
marking the border

David Cox
Torquay, UK

 

forest brook
a log manoeuvring
through a narrow bend

Govind Joshi
Dehradun, India

 

each stroke another twist in his river

John Hawkhead
UK

 

flooded river
deep in meditation
a stone Buddha

Mirela Brailean
Iasi, Romania

 

three years …
the traces of the Ahr-flood
still everywhere

Deborah Karl-Brandt
Germany

 

all of the secrets
a catfish can swallow
Rock River

Cindy Putnam Guentherman
Illinois, USA

 

babbling brook
a torrent of voices
fades away

Sanjana Zorinc
Bjelovar, Croatia

 

first sailboat ride
across the Charles River
the ocean calls

Pris Campbell
US

 

the rivers bend
such a wavering of thoughts
through dementia

Marilyn Ward
Lincolnshire, UK

 

river of no return
she turns another
year older

Jahnavi Gogoi
Ajax, Ontario, Canada

 

beneath a soho cellar
winding through forest
ancient river

rob barkan
usa

 

the river roars
is it daring me
to crossover

Deborah Beachboard
Adna, WA, USA

 

one drop of water
in the moonbeam…
the river pearl

Rita Melissano
Rock Island, IL, USA

 

mill skeleton
on the aged river
traces

Zdenka Mlinar
Hrvatska

 

by the rivers
that babble on
Zion

(This poem is inspired by the famous reggae song “Rivers of Babylon” and also the US National Park, Zion)

Eavonka Ettinger
Long Beach, CA

 

stepping from stone on stone
I am listening to
the flow of river

Goda Virginija Bendoraitienė
Lithuania

 

walking through the woods
stream of consciousness

Luciana Moretto
Italy

 

damp old church
a river runs
through it

Tony Williams
Scotland, UK

 

slow steps . . .
a boat on the river
touches the sunset

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore
Catania (Italy)

 

Ganga’s vast expanse
a nutshell ferry boat
loads oxcarts and jeep

Christa Pandey
Austin, TX, USA

 

waiting for you…
watching the osprey
watch the waves

Sharon Ferrante
Florida, USA

 

slick beauty
technicolor river
through town

Charles Harper
Yokohama

 

serpentine river
I blame his pliancy
on his water sign

Jackie Chou
United States

 

the coxswain’s call
steers the rowers’ course –
rising fog

Anne Curran
Hamilton, New Zealand

 

Chicago blues
the river looks better
dyed green

A J Johnson
Virginia, USA

 

finding the delta
in a river of stars
palm reader

Lorraine A Padden
San Diego, California USA

 

AUM chant –
the hum
of a river’s song

R. Suresh Babu
India

 

the slap slap
of paddle steamers…
Darling River dreams

Marilyn Humbert
Sydney, Australia

 

flowing Min River
the fixed boat moves
only up and down

Chen Xiaoou
Kunming, China

 

punctuated by the temple bell Kaveri’s song

Srini S
India

 

rocky shoreline
daughter’s first fish
both sparkle

Charlie Smith
United States

 

Lidder
a song
flowing through my body

Padma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India

 

after the flood —
two rivers in the garden
where there was one before

W.G. Randles
Durban, South Africa

 

shores of Danube
my mother sees
Cauvery

Leena Anandhi
India

 

fallen leaves
going where the river
takes them

Nikola Đuretić
Zagreb, Croatia

 

the drifting Saône . . .
we wander together
as dreams linger

Alfred Booth
Lyon, France

 

last ride –
the river moves around
a sunken bike

Razvan Pintea
Romania

 

silent Nambul—
all the urban burdens
into Loktak’s depths

Milan Rajkumar
Imphal, India

 

as if to delay
the inevitable
rivers meander

Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia

 

life is a river
I am but
a floating leaf

Baisali Chaterjee Dutt
India

 

riverbed
still the notice of
old memory

Satyanarayana Chittaluri
Nakrekal, Telangana, India

 

Suague River—
this restless flow
of thoughts

King Edward Eway
Janiuay, Iloilo, Philippines

 

river full
of waterfalls
the steps I take

Kathabela Wilson
California, USA

 

summer night
Big Muddy River between
your house and mine

Deborah A. Bennett
Illinois USA

 

River Dart
my kayak carries on
without me

Tracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK

 

touched by Kaveri the sway of golden fields

Daya Bhat
India

 

spring rains
the muddy creek
flows to the sea

Susan Farner
USA

 

causeway
fireflies on the windshield
go dark

Jerome Burgland
New Orleans, Louisiana

 

Ganga ghat
the loud sounds
of grief

Nitu Yumnam
India

 

swollen river
from the old house
pots float

Refika Dedić
Bosnia and Hersegovina

 

winter river –
an old lullaby
never returns

Daniela Misso
Italy

 

kumbh mela
she wears grandma’s sari
for the holy dip

Hema Ravi
Chennai

 

clenched lips
breaking news
floating on the river

Mike Fainzilber
Rehovot, Israel

 

flowing rivers …
across my forehead
these etched lines

Kala Ramesh
India

 

river’s edge
not recognizing
her wrinkles

M.R. Defibaugh
USA

 

my neighbour’s laugh
calling it a pipe dream
a clean Cooum

Sumitra Kumar
India

 

headwaters
grandpa shows me where
he learned to fish

Archie G. Carlos
Minnesota

 

Clanrye River
at what point do you taste
the salt of the lough

Marion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland

 

beyond the flux driftwood

Vidya Shankar
Chennai, India

 

riverside…
my mother’s voice
in the phone

Angiola Inglese
Italia

 

aftermath of war…
her eyes like
a dry river bed

Padma Priya
India

 

powder puff parade
pinkens on the Potomac . . .
peak cherry blossoms

Monica Kakkar
India

 

oh how
I miss your laugh
River Song

Jennifer Gurney
Colorado

 

stranded in the bend
of a mountain stream . . .
my thought bubbles

Barrie Levine
USA

 

traveling the length
of my insecurity —
river murmurings

Kelly Sargent
Williston, VT

 

rushing past
like I have no say
river rock

C.R. Harper
USA

 

son’s first cry…
a river flows
in my breast

Neena Singh
Chandigarh, India

 

mul sarees
how cool the breeze
by the riverside

Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh India

 

my stone skips
all the way to the other side
river rapids

Louise Hopewell
Australia

 

a cricket match
on the riverbed
Indian summer

Ravi Kiran
India

 

algal blooms
dead-eye fish
in a sand castle

Anthony Rabang
Phillipines

 

veiled moon
the silent Thames flows past
the Secret Service

Keith Evetts
Thames Ditton UK

 

nights on the river
the watery lullabies
of naiads

Jenny Shepherd
London, UK

 

until one of us
had to lose their name…
Lyon’s confluence

Sebastian Revon
Ireland

 

hot summer
eyes sip
a distant stream

Radhika De Silva
Sri Lanka

 

River Nile…
an accidental baptism
whilst water skiing

Katherine E Winnick
Brighton UK

 

underwater…
gasping for breath,
a forgiveness

Kavita Ratna
India

 

vernal frolic –
myriad streams rush to join
Mother Volga

Natalia Kuznetsova
Russia

 

watching
yesterday pass by
the old pine by the river

Zahra Mughis
Lahore, Pakistan

 

after the deluge
we stand on opposite banks
the bridge washed away

Malcolm Highfield
Tavira, Portugal

 

meditating
my thoughts meander
with the stream

Debbie Sterling
Oregon, USA

 

a sky-full of ocean river-rain

Anne Fox
Broomes Island, MD USA

 

returning geese–
the river
changes course

Laurie Greer
Washington, DC

 

saying goodbye
my tears flow
with the river

Melissa Dennison
UK

 

dusting off
an ancient argument
dry river

Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
Tucson, Arizona, USA

 

over the Chambal
a skein of bar-headed geese
into the sunset

Rupa Anand
New Delhi, India

 

snowing on Teleajen river…
closer to one another
swans

Steliana Christina Voicu
Ploiesti, Romania

 

ancient canyon
the river carrying
sounds of saws

Richard L. Matta
San Diego, California

 

monsoon
unnamed stream
now a river

Roberta Beach Jacobson
Indianola, Iowa, USA

 

dry river bed
refilling…
my prozac prescription

Adele Evershed
Wilton, Connecticut

 

l
e
a
f
upriver
ishere
is gone

Margaret Anderson
Vancouver, BC Canada

 

dyed emerald river
celebrates celtic heritage
spring tradition

Kathleen Mazurowski
Chicago, IL

 

blossom trees
along a rushing stream
mountain temple

Tsanka Shishkova
Bulgaria

 

cold plunge
dipping my toe
in the water

Thomas David
United Kingdom

 

spring floods
along the Scioto River
my lost childhood

Richard Straw
Cary, North Carolina

 

Ancestor’s Po mill
water splashes
on iris buds

Nazarena Rampini
Italy

 

river bank –
the smooth flow
of my poems

Ana Drobot
Romania

 

water witching a river’s catch me if you can

Susan Burch
Hagerstown, MD

 

ice jam
her emotions
are blocked

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA

 

down from the mountain
the river water dances
over ancient boulders

Debbie Scheving
Bremerton WA USA

 

novocaine
the jagged teeth
of mountains

John S Green
Bellingham, Washington USA

 

still river
the bird and its shadow
become one

Minal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India

 

the rivers of Mars
astronauts picnic beside
a long-dry channel

Greer Woodward
Kamuela Hawaii

 

melting river ice
the wet sound
of Milky Way

Cezar Ciobica
Romania

 

sunset
the river
rushing

Margaret Mahony
Australia

 

evening river –
in the glare of stars
a jumping fish

Stoianka Boianova
Bulgaria

 

time jump –
the era of stars
with a magic river

Minko Tanev
Bulgaria

 

funeral procession
the river treats
all flowers alike

Nitu Yumnam
India

 

pine sisken
the river flows
into its song

Pat David
Concord, NH USA

 

having never traveled
I put his ashes
in the river

Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois

 

river Sava …
the current brings her
a stranger’s gaze

Samo Kreutz
Ljubljana, Slovenia

 

tea-colored brook
–is it too late
to learn your song?

Laurie D Morrissey
United States

 

our farewell
a tiny forget-me-not floats
on the river

Eufemia Griffo
Italy

 

Saint Patrick’s Day
wind-bent willow leaves
greening the river

Lori Kiefer
UK

 

from the river
slowly drifting to the bay
cherry petals

Mark Meyer
Mercer Island WA USA

 

long day
the river carries
a snow mount

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India

 

bamboo wind on a river
in my dream i hear
the school bell

Nairithi Konduru, 10 years
India

 

river’s murmur
the sunlit ducks quack
into a paddling

Amoolya Kamalnath
India

 

autumn sunset
the river and I shiver
almost home

Madhavi Karri
India

 

throwing a pebble
the spaniel brings back
the river to me

Mary White
Ireland

 

river swallows the fence swallows the river

Nalini Shetty
Mumbai, India

 

riverbank –
a grey heron pecks
its shadow

Dan C. lulian
Romania

 

a taste of
the Yukon River
calling card

Pamela Jeanne
Yukon, Canada

 

river in spate
an old fear
surfaces

Annie Wilson
Shropshire, UK

 

water tributes
the misery of being
so smart

bittor duce zubillaga
Basque Country

 

flowing river
smooths the rough edges
of rocks and me

Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio

 

call me grandpa
we release a raft of twigs
towards the sea

Bruce Feingold
Berkeley, CA USA

 

tidying up my thoughts —
the river quietly
flows

Mariangela Canzi
Italy

 

solstice light
a stream reshapes
what we call broken

C.X. Turner
UK

 

on the riverbank –
suddenly I wonder
where I am going

Cristina Povero
Italy

 

edge of an estuary
a feral cat
watches the sunset

Madeline Kavanagh
California

 

sound beach…
from a shell phone
the river burble

wendy c. bialek
usa

Join us next week for Lakshmi’s commentary on additional poems…

Bios:

Guest Editor Lakshmi Iyer lives in her world bound with duties to her mother and grand twins. Her voluntary services to under-middle-class girls nurturing their needs remain in the good books of the families. Her haikai journey has seen the worst of rejections and the best of acceptances. Her poems have found their own homes, and she profusely thanks the editors. Her dream to publish a book remains in her heart, soul and mind.

Assistant Editor Lafcadio, a former teacher, now works from home writing, editing and proofreading study guides for nursing textbooks. She lives in Tennessee. She has written poetry for a long time but a couple of years ago fell in love with Japanese micropoetry and hasn’t looked back. Lafcadio has been published in a number of journals and anthologies. She writes under the nom de plume of Lafcadio because nom de plume is so fun to say. You can read her poems on Twitter (X) @lafcadiopoetry or BlueSky @lafcadiobsky.

Assistant Editor Vandana Parashar is an associate editor of haikuKATHA and one of the editors of Poetry Pea and #FemkuMag. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019 and her second chapbook Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022.

Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. She lives in New York City and enjoys reading and writing haiku.

Managing Editor Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She served as Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada for ten years, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019). Find her at: kjmunro1560.wordpress.com.

Portrait by Laurel Parry

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Photo Credits:

Banner photo credit: by Lalitha & Gnaneswar

Prompt photo credit:
prompt photo two – Rivers – by Lalitha & Gnaneswar

Haiku Dialogue offers a triweekly prompt for practicing your haiku. Posts appear each Wednesday with a prompt or a selection of poems from a previous week.