HAIKU DIALOGUE – Opposites Attract – hot/cold
Opposites Attract
Hello – kj here – I will be taking the reins again for the next few weeks, with the theme ‘opposites attract’. The prompt each week will be a pair of opposites – feel free to be inspired by one or the other, or both! I hope this draws you towards excellent haiku – the way the compass, even in these uncertain times, will always settle on ‘North’…
quarantine
compass needle
spinning
kjmunro
next week’s theme: OPPOSITES ATTRACT – big/small
The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Savings Time, Saturday August 22, 2020.
Please submit one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme by clicking here: Contact Form. Please put Haiku Dialogue in the Subject box, & include your name as you would like it to appear, & your place of residence, with your poem. I look forward to reading your submissions.
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 the commentary for hot/cold:
farewell tears
our handclasp
turns colderChristine L. Villa
election over
warm handshakes
getting colderMohammad Azim Khan
Peshawar Pakistan
The poems submitted to this column can resonate with each other in various unpredictable & amazing ways – here the handshake & the handclasp can both be turning from hot to cold, but the details of an election & a farewell lend so much more to the story…
on the beach
your voice is full of
winterBakhtiyar Amini
The actual season may not be clear, but does it matter? Whether this poem is set in winter or summer, or some other time, it is the season of ‘your’ voice that matters…
the pup approaches
slowly, then backs away
adoption dayClaire Vogel Camargo
USA
Hot & cold at the same time, or rotating in succession – a unique submission that fully captures these opposites (& attraction!) in movement…
saying goodbye
the bittersweet taste
of cold coffeeJackie Chou
Pico Rivera, CA USA
There were many beverages mentioned this week, & coffee was prominent among them… in this poem, the poet combines not just the temperature but also the flavour, & evokes emotion without stating it…
adjusting
the air conditioning again
hot flashesRehn Kovacic
A scenario many can relate to, & an original take on the prompt…
& here are the rest of my selections:
(I usually will make no changes, but this week I added an ‘h’ in ‘wiskey’, & an ‘s’ in ‘a bird’ song’ because this made sense to me…)
heatwave the sweat on beer cans
Adrian Bouter
the quietness
of summer heat
pine forestAgus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Indonesia
heatwave ripples
Large Earth Bumblebees
fanning the home(It was actually a small low hanging bird-box they took over!)
Alan Summers
Chippenham
Texas heat
cicadas rattle
the treesAlex Fyffe, Texas
bitter cold –
a mint leaf
in the herbal teaAngiola Inglese
wildfire sunrise
the morning cool
up in smokeAnn K. Schwader
Westminster, CO
scorching noon –
a faint whiff of petrichor
from the windowarvinder kaur
Chandigarh, India
dry brush trees
before misty mountains…
a deep inhaleAstrid Egger
warm oolong
beside the open pages…
arctic adventureB.A. France
Maryland
scorched summer
the chilling effect
of covid-19Bona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
drops of cold sweat over my positive test
Brăilean Mirela
fire and brimstone
the sweaty preacher
dabs his browBryan Rickert
rising dough –
the second wave
of winterCarole Harrison
Jamberoo, Australia
endless summer
of our discontent
early winterCharles Harmon
Los Angeles, California
the summer
of cold rain
global warmingCharlotte Hrenchuk
after our argument
taste of
cold coffeeCherry A
Assam, India
icebreaker
we share
a jointClifford Rames
Freehold, NJ
bonfires on the beach –
the whiteness of the moon
so far awayfalò in spiaggia –
il bianco della luna
così lontanoDaniela Misso
summer heat
even the bees too lazy
to flyDeborah Karl-Brandt
summer brush fire
the movements
of smokeDeborah P Kolodji
heatwave –
a broken ring
in the iced glassDennys Cambarau
glacier melt –
that fire within
her eyesDorothy Burrows
page turner
readers ignore
the whiteness of the pageEdward Dallas
playing
hot and cold –
torch lilyErnesto P. Santiago
reconciliation drink
the sound
of a cracking ice cubeEva Limbach
coffee mug
from hot to cold
haiku morningGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
burning cold
I dig my heels
in snowGuliz Mutlu
brisk northeasterly –
the clothes linedanceGuy Stephenson
snowflakes…
the warm notes
of a bird’s songHassane Zemmouri
warp of snow
weft of petals
lovers weaveHelen Buckingham
at the beach
sitting on the sand
huddled in blanketsHelen Herr
warm sunlight…
I let go the memory
of his cold wordsHifsa Ashraf
bedroom eaves dropping icicle fringes
Ingrid Baluchi
Macedonia
cooling
in the moonlight
frog songIsabel Caves
Auckland, New Zealand
snow shovel
in my hands
mug of cocoaJanice Doppler
Massachusetts, USA
relentless heat
slipping into hibernation
my garden and IJanice Munro
Canada
harmattan…
unfolding the
blanket warmthJibril Dauda Muhammad
Bwari Abuja, Nigeria
for my black tea
a cream splash and one ice cube
morning pod castJohn S Green
Bellingham, WA
morning cold –
in the silence
the steam of the teaJorge Alberto Giallorenzi
cooling off
in a waterfall curtain
her angry wordsKanjini Devi
heated argument
she gives him
the cold shoulderKaren Harvey
radiology
his gift shop blanket
shivers while I waitKath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California, USA
garden hose
taste of heaven
on dog daysKelli Lage
baked alaska
another piece crumbles
off the arctic ice shelfKimberly Esser
Los Angeles, CA
melting permafrost
the temp work
of sinking wellsLaurie Greer
sweating
his glass of iced tea
blind dateLorraine A. Padden
winter sunshine
the up-side-down shadow
of a palm treeLouise Hopewell
Australia
unmasked
the warmth
of a smilem shane pruett
Salem, OR, USA
war zone
cry of a newborn
from a makeshift tentMadhuri Pillai
chill
melting
hopeMargaret Walker
ghost peppers
next to the cucumbers
summer harvestMarilyn Ashbaugh
USA
c o o l
in the slipstream
of myselfMark Gilbert
UK
38 below
with the windchill
my father’s birthdayMaxianne Berger
Outremont QC Canada
hot mid-day
the smell of the tar
hit by the hailstormMaya Daneva
The Netherlands
party punch…
his apples meet
her orangesMichele L. Harvey
hushed dusk…
the glowing PPE
she wearsMilan Rajkumar
Imphal India
heatwave
in the courtroom…
cold facesNeena Singh
Chandigarh, India
summer pasture –
only the cows’ tails
are movingNick T
UK
hot water spring –
a mountain breeze
ruffles my hairNicole Pottier
France
one cup of latte
circles the fire
in a homeless campPat Davis
NH
Arizona summer
air-conditioner off
in the puebloPaul Geiger
winter sun –
a broken bough
rots on the leavesPeter Adair
Northern Ireland
hot then cold my body fights
Pris Campbell
melting ice
two leaves sprout
beneath the rockRajeshwari Srinivasan
India
reheating
cold leftovers
day moonRashmi VeSa
windy night
the candles’ bow shape flame
firing arrowsRobert Kingston
softballs in July
to
snowballs in DecemberRoberta Beach Jacobson
burnt toast
in the dog bowl
my temper coolsRoberta Beary
County Mayo Ireland
fevers rising the cold walls between us
Robin Anna Smith
hot hot hot
cold cold cold
school reopeningsRonald K. Craig
Batavia, OH USA
graffiti echoes
through the hot tunnel released
into sunflowersSari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY
cannes effing hot in the c tap
simonj
UK
flamenco dance
an ice cube
in a glass of whiskeySlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
global warming
without Mother Earth
all that’s left is the moonStephen A. Peters
summer day
the crackle of ice
in the teaSteve Tabb
broiling hot night –
a fax on my desk
vomiting wordsTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
chilly day…
the velvety touch
of mom’s scarfTsanka Shishkova
Sofia, Bulgaria
cigarette burns
on her bare skin
his cold gazeVandana Parashar
triple-digit day
Mama’s frozen peaches
in the worm binVicki Miko
all her smiles
in the past tense…
winter nightVijay Prasad
winter night
her thoughts
keep me warmVishnu Kapoor
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.
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