HAIKU DIALOGUE – Opposites Attract – right/left
Welcome back to HAIKU DIALOGUE – Opposites Attract
Hello – kj here – welcome back to Haiku Dialogue!
Here is the post that we meant to run on 28 October, for the prompt ‘right/left’. We have one more prompt for ‘Opposites Attract’, & then we will be welcoming a pair of Guest Editors with a brand new theme for the next few weeks…
For this final 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 – hello/goodbye
The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Savings Time, Saturday November 14, 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Please submit one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme by clicking here: Contact Form.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.
Here is my commentary for the week:
graphite
fingertip to wrist
lefthandwriting lessonAnn K. Schwader
Westminster, CO
There is no doubt that in many ways it is a right-handed world, so those who are not right-handed must find a way to cope – in this poem it is possible that the writing lesson involves a gentle correction to the finger or the hand, & it is also possible that the graphite is all over the writer’s left hand because their hand smeared the fresh letters as soon as they were written…
returning from war
he learns to write
with his left handDeborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn
This poet explores one of the many challenges a veteran might face – importantly, without judgement, & without explaining or describing every detail – & the result is haunting, evocative, & emotional without a trace of sentimentality…
waze app
after three right turns
we ask a localLamart Cooper
Who hasn’t had a frustrating experience with an electronic device – especially when travelling in an unfamiliar place, trying to find a specific location – here, again, the poet does not mention how the speaker feels about the situation, nor how the reader should feel about it, although the message “Recalculating…” echoes…
Below are the rest of my selections:
countryside trip
mountains on each side of the road
maintain the paceAdjei Agyei-Baah
a new tattoo
on her left breast
sign of springAgus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Indonesia
right brain writes haiku
while left side
counts syllablesAlan Harvey
Tacoma, WA
leaning left
the glasses
I slept inAlex Fyffe
a tap dancer
in New Orleans jazz time
sudden moonwalkAlfred Booth
Colombes, France
equinox –
a local politician balances
left-rightAljoša Vuković
Šibenik, Croatia
it’s on the left
she says
pointing rightandrew shimield
autumn sea –
left and right
rocks and seagullsmare d’autunno –
a sinistra e a destra
scogli e gabbianiAngiola Inglese
the flick
of a horse’s tail –
swarm of flies( Punjabi translation )
ਮੱਖੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਭਰਮਾਰ –
ਘੋੜੇ ਦੀ ਪੂੰਛ
ਕਦੀ ਸੱਜੇ ਕਦੀ ਖੱਬੇarvinder kaur
Chandigarh, India
red can buoy
sliding to starboard…
another homecomingB. A. France
driving wife
our left and rights
differsBakhtiyar Amini
transcontinental rail
a ride through
sunrises and sunsetsBona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
kids’ stuff
left-right, left-right…
refugee campBrăilean Mirela
România
left or right wing test…
a flock of snow geese
flying forwardcezar-florin ciobîcă
left hook right cross
technical knockout
shadow boxingCharles Harmon
Los Angeles, California
flag march –
the silence deepens
around foot stepsCherry A
Assam, India
passenger seat
his glance on the left
slit of my dressChristine L. Villa
doing headstands
east and west switch places
like right and leftClaire Vogel Camargo
family secrets –
left hand hiding
from the rightCynthia Anderson
lonely at times –
the road less
travelledDan Campbell
furrows in the field –
to the right and left
scattered seedssolchi nel campo –
a destra e a sinistra
i semi sparsiDaniela Misso
the back and forth
of a tennis ball –
the candidates debateDebbie Scheving
Bremerton, WA
final debate
the pendulum
swingsDidimay D. Dimacali
Norwalk, California
by the rail track
guards choose –
life or deathDorothy Burrows
the right-hander
scores the three-pointer
with his left handDubravka Šćukanec
summer end
our eyes focus on
different directionsElisa Allo
fede nunziale –
la mano destra
stretta alla suawedding faith –
the right hand
close to hersGiuliana Ravaglia
left and right
in one line
at the pollsGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
statueTORY
demoLISTENHelen Buckingham
Somerset, UK
Coming from the right
Going to the left
Voters at the pollsHelen Ogden
double rainbow…
a refugee kid runs
left and rightHifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
rampant lion…
the flow
of Arabic script(Reading from right to left, Islamic calligraphy can be zoomorphic, usually presenting secular thought in calligram form. Al-Mutanabbi’s lion is a good example.)
Ingrid Baluchi
Ohrid, Macedonia
an oak tree
leaning to the left
election timeJackie Chou
Pico Rivera, CA USA
citrus moon
……………..facing its
western shadowJanice Munro
Northern Hemisphere
clumsy paper cuts
left hander navigates
a world made rightJenn Ryan-Jauregui
Tucson, AZ
left – right
boys file into a sunset
the red of poppiesjohn hawkhead
sunrise –
grandpa’s right hand
hangingJorge Alberto Giallorenzi
summer moon –
my late friend’s ring
in my left handJulia Guzmán
traffic lights
trusting her guide dog
through the parkKanjini Devi
autumn dusk
the empty seesaw
taken by sparrowsKeiko Izawa
to the right / his freckles / to the left
rising sunKelli Lage
war wound
commissioning a concerto
for the left handLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
back and forth
.tuning Tchaikovsky…
…distant thunderLemuel Waite
Georgetown, Kentucky
left right
traces in the snow
a drunken hunterLjiljana Dobra
driving on the
wrong side of the road
election dayLouise Hopewell
elections –
sitting on the fence
he pondersMadhuri Pillai
evening walk
a maskless man comes
closer and closerManoj Sharma
Kathmandu, Nepal
grandson
on each hand
we cross the roadMargaret Mahony
right and left
in concert
“New World Symphony”Margaret Walker
coronavirus –
left and right
the same windcoronavirus –
a destra e a manca
lo stesso ventoMaria Teresa Piras
entering stage right
I perform my small role –
exit stage leftMark Meyer
pink slippers
on …dad’s laces
………kitchen waltzMelissa Moffat
Western Australia
black ice –
my right hand slips
into his leftMichele L. Harvey
money lender’s vault…
locking up with right hand
checking with the leftMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
no moon night
my left eye begins
twitchingMinal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India
autumn whirlwind
the clock’s hands rotate
one hour to the leftMinko Tanev
Ferris wheel
the right and the left voters
on a spinMohammad Azim Khan
Peshawar Pakistan
broken wrist…
six weeks being
right-handedNancy Brady
Huron, Ohio
binned photo of the autocrat
as plump smiling
cherubnancy liddle
australia
tears –
behind the sunglasses
enough is enoughNani Mariani
Melbourne
autumn sun
the old couple
hand-in-handNeena Singh
Chandigarh, India
undecided…
he draws a smiley
on the ballot paperNick T
looking down at the curb
before crossing the street
London trafficOlivier Schopfer
Switzerland
faded words
in her old letters…
lingering scentPalle Krishna Rao
Chennai, India
cricket …bat
sandwiched …between …hands
left and rightRadhamani sarma
swaying left and right
the autumn leaf waves
a neat goodbyeRajeshwari Srinivasan
India
old leftist
McGovern t-shirt
still fitsRehn Kovacic
what’s left ?
after the second star
to the rightRobert Kingston
day-mahl
the long shadow
of my lead pencil(dæg-mǣl (Old English) = sun dial, literally day mark)
simonj
UK
a little boy
tries to put the right foot
in the left bootSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
me ham and eggs
her crepe suzette
it must be loveStephen A. Peters
left and right
the middle path
peace, peace, peaceSubir Ningthouja
Imphal, Manipur
left…
now there’s no one
on my rightSurashree Joshi
jungle trail
a primal silence
left and rightSushama Kapur
November –
narrow road
between right and leftTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
ambidextrous –
both hands
fullTeji Sethi
India
all the faces turn
right to left and back –
the tennis ballTomislav Maretić
which path to take
her hand hovers
over the ballot paperTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
stone footsteps
to the left and right
Zen gardenTsanka Shishkova
Bulgaria
four left feet –
taking dancing lessons
as a coupleValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
google map
I still can not find
the way to your heartVandana Parashar
what’s left
in her life
… the right to lifeVictor Ortiz
Bellingham, WA
first tentative steps
victory march
of the toddlerVishnu Kapoor
learns how to write
from left to right
an Arab migrantuči pisati
s lijeve na desnu stranu –
arapski migrantZdenka Mlinar
Zagreb, Croatia
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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This Post Has 21 Comments
Comments are closed.
It’s lovely to read everyone’s poems again – I have really missed the ‘Haiku Dialogue’. Many thanks to Kj and Lori – I am delighted to have a poem in this column. Congratulations to all the poets. Two poems that I particularly found memorable this week are…
*
double rainbow…
a refugee kid runs
left and right
*
Hifsa Ashraf
*
I loved both the cinematic image and the poignancy and power of the poem.
*
the flick
of a horse’s tail –
swarm of flies
( Punjabi translation )
ਮੱਖੀਆਂ ਦੀ ਭਰਮਾਰ –
ਘੋੜੇ ਦੀ ਪੂੰਛ
ਕਦੀ ਸੱਜੇ ਕਦੀ ਖੱਬੇ
*
arvinder kaur
*
Another memorable visual image that beautifully captures the way a horse’s tail moves. I also loved the reality of the last line.
*
I look forward to reading next week’s column.
Thank you KJ for including one of mine.
Nice to see you all back.
.
This one both tickled me and raised concern in equal measure.
it’s on the left
she says
pointing right
.
Andrew shimield
A lovely selection of haiku.
So nice to be back with Dialogue… smiling…. thanks kj and everyone.
Another thoughtful collection of poetry. Thank you!
Understandably, so many very interesting haiku here about the US election.
However, three on a different note immediately caught my attention.
In an earlier comment, I mentioned John Hawkhead’s poignant “left-right”.
Another was Melissa Moffat’s
pink slippers
on dad’s laces
kitchen waltz
I see a young girl dancing with her father – learning the steps of the waltz. Beautiful image that brought back memories!
And one that brought me much needed laughter right now was Valentina Ranaldi-Adams’
four left feet –
taking dancing lessons
as a couple
I remember those early attempts at ballroom dancing when we were newly married. “four left feet” is a very apt description.
As always I enjoyed reading every poem – and am so glad Haiku Dialogue is back!
I am glad you liked my haiku Margaret. It was inspired by the dancing lessons my spouse and I took when we were dating.
Welcome back Kjmunro and happy the website technical difficulties are fixed. Great haiku here and I especially enjoy the election/voting haiku.
Thank you KJ so glad you are back. Happy to be included.
So many ways to think about “left” and “right”: thank you,
HI KJ, glad to see you back with this ‘bumper’ selection. This one from Helen Buckingham resonates particularly with me:
.
statueTORY
demoLISTEN
.
Pushing the boundaries of haiku with a clever and focused political observation.
Thanks John!
so appropriate for 11/11 Veteran’s Day in U.S.:
left – right
boys file into a sunset
the red of poppies
john hawkhead
I agree! This was my first thought when I read this poignant poem.
Thanks kj – I’ve missed you! And to everyone for another great set – I especially love Deborah Karl-Brandt’s:
returning from war
he learns to right
with his left hand
…..works on a number of levels, yet appears so simple. Excellent work.
Of course, I meant to write ‘write’. (Doh!)
Thank you kJ and best wishes to all, I recommend learning to juggle to appreciate the use of both hands.
So glad to have Haiku Dialogue back! Thanks dear kj for the Editor’s Selections and the commentary…enjoyed reading all the featured poets. Thanks for including mine.
So many haiku resonated with me. The left-right theme was a great idea!
Congratulations to all haijin.
Hello here, Kj and Lory! I feel such a refreshing mood, seeing this column, open again…and yes, am left-handed from birth, too!
Here there are two haiku which particularly touched my heart:
ambidextrous –
both hands
full
Teji Sethi
India
.
and this one:
.
driving wife
our left and rights
differs
Bakhtiyar Amini
.
Thank you so much for publishing one of my haiku. Congrats to all dear poets. I’m glad we are here together, in this magical space, after a little while!
The haiku in the commentary are so fitting especially the lefthanded writing lesson. To this day, the callus on my left hand remains and smearing of ink isn’t unusual. My sisters and I were fortunate to have a grandmother who was never switched and taught us to tilt paper the other way so that we don’t write upside down like many do.
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The haiku are excellent and the wait well worth the website’s upgrade. Thank you to all (KJ, Lori, and the whole staff). Congratulations to all especially my fellow Ohioan, Valentina. Four left feet, indeed.
Thank-you Nancy and congrats to you also.
It is good to see the return of this column after the web site was down. Thank-you for publishing one of mine. Congrats to all the poets.