HAIKU DIALOGUE – Music Around the World – From apprentice to master or how to walk the path of music

Thanks to Guest Editor Marietta McGregor for inviting us to explore islands in new ways! Now please welcome back returning Guest Editor Deborah Karl-Brandt with a musical adventure… happy writing, kj

Music Around the World with Guest Editor Deborah Karl-Brandt

Hi guys, it’s me again. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be immersing ourselves in music together. There is a variety of instruments, rhythms and melodies to explore around the globe. Ancient Chinese music is based on a five-tone system and the guqin had an almost religious significance. Waka and later the tanka are basically songs. The mother’s steady heartbeat calms the baby in the womb and can be compared to the rhythm of a drum. Music is the language that everyone can connect with, even without understanding the meaning of the words being sung. It speaks directly to our hearts. I would like to invite everyone to explore the world of music with me in these prompts.

prompt: From apprentice to master or how to walk the path of music

Music: River And Clouds Flowing in My Heart (云水禅心) – Tank Drum

I have loved music since my early childhood days. I still remember the glockenspiel I used to play as a child like nobody else could. Cheerful, deep in the flow, forgetting time, experimenting with soft melodies and hard sounds. When I started school, I was disappointed to find that glockenspiel were not considered a “real” instrument played by adults. Music became something that was only for rich kids with parents who could afford to buy valuable instruments like a piano or violin.

Tell me about your relationship with music. What instruments do you like to play? Were you forced to learn or practice an instrument? Back when you were a teenager, did you just want to become a famous singer, dancer or the next Lang Lang? Did you diligently follow your path into music and become a master of your craft? Or did you just follow your heart and finally, finally take guitar lessons at the age of fifty-five? So let’s start sharing your experiences and poems!

The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday, October 4, 2025.

Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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.) In the Poem box, with your poem(s), please include any special formatting requirements & your name & residence as you would like it to appear in the column. 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.

Join us next week for Deborah’s selection of poems on the topic From apprentice to master or how to walk the path of music…

Bios:

Guest Editor Deborah Karl-Brandt lives in Sinzig, Germany, with her husband, two rabbits and numerous books. After her PhD studies in Scandinavian languages and literatures, she works as a freelance author and poet. Her poems have appeared in magazines like Prune Juice, Kingfisher, First Frost, Frogpond, Failed Haiku and Tsuridoro. If she is not outside for a long stroll or to do some birdwatching, she explores Chinese and Japanese novels.

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

THF strives to maintain a safe and friendly environment for our readers and site participants. Participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior of all parties. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.

If you see something you feel may violate our Code of Conduct, please report it to the appropriate moderator or the President here.

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.

Photo Credit:

Banner photo credit: by the artist @liushan on the platform freepik

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.