HAIKU DIALOGUE – Paradigm Shift – the habitation of turtles & Introduction to Finding peace & contemplation… in the great outdoors
Paradigm Shift and Introduction to Finding peace and contemplation… in the great outdoors
I would like to thank Guest Editor Craig Kittner for two wonderful months of remarkable poetry, & now welcome back accomplished poet & photographer Marietta McGregor, who returns to share her photos with us for the next few weeks…
Introduction to Finding peace and contemplation… in the great outdoors 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 the great outdoors by water
Whether the climate is chilly or balmy, being by the sea or a lake can be a source of renewal. The tang on our lips after a walk along the shore in a stiff breeze. The shock of diving in. Introducing a baby to their first waves. Learning to float, feeling the water holding you up. Iodine scents of seaweed piled on a lonely beach. Sand castles, shells, rock pools, driftwood, pebbles, boats and kayaks. Favourite foods like fish and chips, oysters or clams. Do you relate more to inland water bodies or the ocean? This photo is of a lake in British Columbia, Canada. The dog was enjoying himself immensely, bounding in and out of the water even though it was cold. I look forward to reading your haiku responding to favourite moments by water.
The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday July 31, 2021.
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 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 Craig’s commentary for the habitation of turtles:
Some personal notes:
For those in the know, this last installment of Paradigm Shift is dedicated to Great A’Tuin and the beautiful mind that conceived it.
Also to Gary Snyder, who freed my mind by providing another way to identify with this land in which I dwell.
And a special thank you to Pippa Phillips for turning me on to the fabulous haiku movie Words Bubbling Up Like Soda Pop, available on Netflix.
For more perspectives on turtle haiku, check out Charles Trumbull’s “Turtle” essay from Frogpond 40:1: https://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond/2017-issue40-1/Trumble-Turtle-Fp40-1.pdf
Sea turtle (umigame) is a kigo for midsummer, a fitting end to this sequence. Thank you to all the writers who’ve submitted over the last 8 weeks.
Comments:
going back
into my shell…
this world of humansArvinder Kaur
India
I intended the overarching focus of Paradigm Shift to be the world outside of our human concerns. However, in contemplating the world turtles inhabit now, one can’t avoid the fact that most human activities negatively impact all ecologies. And many human attitudes negatively impact an individual’s well-being. Turtle or poet, each has ample reason to withdraw.
the world hurries
but is in stillness —
the slow pathMadeleine Vinluan
Philippines
Triggering memories of “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and quite koan-like, this piece inspires deep contemplation of the world’s inherent contradictions.
broken shells
hatchlings scurry
to the oceanMeera Rehm
UK
“Broken shells” can refer equally to the hatchlings’ immediate past or potential future, if they don’t reach the ocean swiftly enough. The urgency of those new lives comes through strongly.
grandmother’s garden
no one knows
how old our turtle isDanijela Grbelja
Croatia Sibenik
Turtle longevity verges on the mythical. So much is hinted at here, my mind spins out story upon story. I wonder if the grandmother has passed while the turtle lives on, and if so, what feelings that gives rise to in the family.
a terrapin
in my sister’s hands
coming out of her shellSarah Metzler
United States
To see a withdrawn child come alive through an interaction with a wild creature is pure joy. The double meaning implied in this haiku captures that bond beautifully.
Natal beach—
a turtle’s caruncle crack
frees an odyssey mind…Claire Ninham
North Yorkshire, UK
“Odyssey mind,” what an appropriate term for the sea turtles’ existence! For their journeys surely define them. And the ancient legends that “odyssey” calls to mind simply reek of the sea.
briefly
the turtle has wings—
dragonflyP. H. Fischer
Vancouver, Canada
Reminiscent of Moritake’s “a fallen blossom” and Basho’s “crimson pepper pod,” this haiku is a delightful celebration of playful misperception. It generates a nice, strong image as well. A reminder to avoid taking things too seriously.
& here are the rest of the selections:
minefield
a hatchling’s journey
to the seaRavi Kiran
India
quagmire bog
the reeking gloop
still repeatedJohn Hawkhead
UK
sand buried
rhythm of the sea
calling “my babies”Hla Yin Mon
Yangon, Myanmar
dry season
mud cracks
on the turtle’s backBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
Darwin’s giants
trudge in the sand
a finch singsJL Huffman
Blue Ridge Mountains of NC, USA
mama turtle
returns to the sea
no goodbyesNeena Singh
Chandigarh, India
the apartment
not quite empty
box turtle loveRoberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
back to the creek bed
the turtle’s already had
enough of this daySari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY
the painted turtle
escapes underwater—
pool party hostRichard Matta
San Diego, California
the turtle
in silence it passes
moonlit nightsVincenzo Adamo
Sicily Italy
rustling of reeds
a frog on the back
of a turtleSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
mourning
amidst the pandemic
cry of a turtleMona Bedi
Delhi, India
wetland
the perfect fit
of a turtle’s shellLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
from the sea
back to the sea
track of the turtleHelga Stania
Switzerland
sheltered cove–
after the hurricane
a lone sea turtleCynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California
evolving planet –
on the back of a turtle
satellite tagMilan Rajkumar
India
seeking that one beach
gliding blue on layered blue
mothershipBlake Thomas
UK
riverbed
watching rocks
swim awayPam Joy
Dyea, Alaska
sea turtle rescue
she leaves her name
on the beachAlex Fyffe
United States
turning
to the peace within…
the turtle in meMadhuri Pillai
Melbourne
mother’s footsteps
a young turtle reaches
the beachAgus Maulana Sunjaya
Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
after the season
between old cans
young turtlesWiesław Karliński
Namysłów, Poland
troubled waters
inside little shell
some peaceZahra Mughis
Lahore, Pakistan
surfacing for air pond turtle
Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
Tucson, Arizona USA
dawn sky …
towards the ocean
a hatchlingDevoshruti Mandal
Varanasi, India
lethargy
in the refrigerator drawer
house turtleAngiola Inglese
Italia
flattened sand . . .
the weight of a sea turtleBarrie Levine
Wenham MA USA
in their own world
they live and live and live
Darwin’s tortoisesSusan Farner
United States
alive…
the reflection
of a stone turtleAnna Yin
Ontario, Canada
even the turtle totem
washed away . . .
warm rising seasMelanie Vance
USA
late summer light tortoiseshelling the pondwater
Pippa Phillips
United States
two turtles in love
as a wedding gift
new life in the bathtubZrinko Šimunić
Hrvatska
old pond
a turtle carries
the sky on its backMona Iordan
Romania
arribada
the moon watches over
a beachful of nestersSushama Kapur
Pune, India
retreating the head
all the world
in a shellCristina Povero
Italy
the world
on a turtle’s back
swimming in starsGreer Woodward
Waimea, Hawaii
turtle bowl
a tiny splash
of dreamsChristine Villa
California
sunset
the turtle’s shadow
lengthensFlorin C. Ciobica
Romania
Craig Kittner has lived a lot of places. Fourteen at last count. He was reared, for a while, in Illinois. Then North Carolina. Providence saw the start of some interesting things that DC helped solidify. Now he lives kind of near the sea and is compelled to ramble and write.
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 13 Comments
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Thank you, Craig, for the original and inciting prompts and commentaries that inspired all those fine haiku. I totally enjoyed each of them. Congratulations to all the poets featured.
Thank you, Katherine and Lori, for all your work.
Welcome back, Marietta, I am looking forward to your photos.
Thanks for your kind words, Pippa. I enjoyed your monoku as well. A beautiful image/verb!
late summer light tortoiseshelling the pondwater
Pippa Phillips
United States
Thanks for the commentary, Craig and your editing these past two months. Your prompts were inspiring, challenging, and fun.
Welcome back, Marietta!
Many thanks, Craig, for the enlightening and inspirational prompts and commentaries and to Kj and Lori for all your work. Congratulations to all the poets featured this week. As ever, the column is a joy to read.
Welcome back, Marietta! I look forward to reading next week’s selection.
I’m amost happier to see Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop hyped than I am to see my monoku among this lovely selection of poems! While I’m here I’ll also direct you to Senryu Girl, an anime whose protagonist is a mute girl who teaches an ex-delinquent to love senryu.
I really loved P. H. Fischer’s dragonfly/turtle poem. The surreal image it immediately conjured up is so striking.
I loved to see the various takes on the World Turtle:
old pond
a turtle carries
the sky on its back
Mona Iordan
Romania
*
the world
on a turtle’s back
swimming in stars
*
retreating the head
all the world
in a shell
Cristina Povero
Italy
Greer Woodward
Waimea, Hawaii
*
evolving planet –
on the back of a turtle
satellite tag
Milan Rajkumar
India
*
seeking that one beach
gliding blue on layered blue
mothership
Blake Thomas
UK
*
In celebration of this final turtle week I’d like to relate one of my favorite philosophy-adjacent stories (related by Steven Hawking):
A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the centre of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.” The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the tortoise standing on?” “You’re very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady. “But it’s turtles all the way down!”
Oops, left off the name of one of the poems I mentioned above:
the world
on a turtle’s back
swimming in stars
Greer Woodward
Waimea, Hawaii
Love that story about the philosopher and the natural philosopher Pippa!
I also really like your monoku: “…light tortoiseshelling the pondwater”, what a great image.
Thanks to Craig for watching over us these past few weeks.
Thank you, John, I enjy the muscular euphony of yours, but your poems are always striking.
Yes, Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Thanks for your kind words, Pippa. I enjoyed your monoku as well. A beautiful image/verb!
late summer light tortoiseshelling the pondwater
Pippa Phillips
United States
Thanks for the commentary, Craig and your editing these past two months. Your prompts were inspiring, challenging, and fun.
Welcome back, Marietta!
Thanks for the fine story. A perennial motif that connects all those poems you mentioned, giving them a new perspective.
Thank you Craig for including my haiku among the turtle haiku this week. Congratulations to all the poets here! Thanks to Craig for the past couple of months of guest editing this column and welcome back Marietta! Thank you also to Kathy and Lori for your continued work on this Haiku Dialogue. I look forward to reading it every week.
Thank you Craig for a month of fun prompts, commentary, haiku, and info! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks for selecting mine, all interesting verses !!