HAIKU DIALOGUE – Paradigm Shift – the silence of satellites
Paradigm Shift with Guest Editor Craig Kittner
“Learn about pines from the pine,” Bashō advised.
Why do you think he said that?
Animism is a birthright of haiku.
However, western culture, despite all its scientific knowledge, tends to put human experience on some rarefied plane, separate and above all the other beings and forces of the universe. An ego-laden, anthropocentric attitude that would write off learning from the pine as anthropomorphism and personification.
How does this impact your writing?
Can you shift your perspective away from the human and dress yourself in the consciousness of another form?
next week’s theme: the habitation of turtles
Land and water are equally crucial to the turtle. Is it more at home in one? Or does it dwell in some in-between?
The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday July 24, 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Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry.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 silence of satellites:
Haiku and the moon go hand in hand all the way back to the beginning.
And why not? The moon is an effective analogy for all the forces that have a strong influence on existence despite their silence.
And silence itself has so many implications beyond the absence of sound.
Now, with decades of our casting artificial satellites into orbit and our expanded knowledge of what’s out there, vast new fields of expression are open to us.
Our writing community has delivered plenty of paradigm shifting examples for your exploration.
watching over us
but no longer talking
TelstarMark Meyer
Mercer Island WA USA
Telstar 1 launched in 1962 and was the first satellite to broadcast telephone calls, among other things. This haiku wraps this history in a veil of mythology. Telstar as an estranged deity, a fitting symbol for our age.
satellite
transmitting voices
without a soundXiaoou Chen
Kunming, China
The paradox here underlines the irony of all these artifacts we’ve launched into orbit. Traveling the void they are inherently silent, yet they constantly flood the world with our babble.
new moon
on the pond
sound of silenceTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
This homage to Basho is deceiving in its simplicity. The new moon is a dark moon, difficult to perceive in the sky, much less in reflection on water. It sparks contemplation of the emergence of something out of an apparent nothingness.
satellite
the light of a firefly
in the bushSlobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia
There’s an intriguing little mystery here. For me, it generates memories of the silence in which I discovered the joy of watching both fireflies and the night sky. And thoughts of how the female firefly is earthbound, while the male flies around her sharing signals of light.
observing in silence a satellite
Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia
A fine example of stark simplicity opening vistas of contemplation. Is the poet observing a satellite or is a satellite observing the poet? Or perhaps an act of solemnization is implied. A moment of silence under the ubiquitous presence of satellites.
isolation
channeling others’ voices
in the jealous voidBruce Bynum
Baton Rouge, LA
How is a person like a satellite? A fine riddle for our times. Reading this haiku, my mind went immediately to lockdowns, and people in social media endlessly parroting the words of others. Ideas going viral.
& here are the rest of the selections:
the silence in which he grows full moon
Deborah Karl-Brandt
Bonn, Germany
we are mute and rust:
unreal television moonsSarah Davies
Bedford, UK
graveyard orbit —
a satellite peacefully
put to restTeji Sethi
India
satellites
in muted terror
sky debrisJeff Leong
Malaysia
beyond
the Milky Way
our heartbeatMona Bedi
Delhi, India
a warm sea
roaring at the sky
… amavasya*amavasya is no moon day
ಆಕಾಶದ ಮೇಲೆ
ಬೆಚ್ಚಗಿನ ಸಮುದ್ರದ ಗರ್ಜನೆ
… ಅಮಾವಾಸ್ಯೆAmrutha Prabhu
Bengaluru, India
train journey . . .
not leaving me alone
the cold moonMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
glass and silver spies
listening for intelligence
blue whalesong, faintlyBlake Thomas
UK
only the moon –
the sudden shadow
of a batDennys Cambarau
Sardinia, Italy
satellites –
pretending
to be starsDan Campbell
Virginia
Google Earth
from his house to mine
the moon at each turnRicha Sharma
India
all around
a grassy stillness …
shooting starstutto intorno
una quiete erbosa …
stelle cadentiDaniela Misso
Italia
the moon passes-
a dream that drags on
without noiseVincenzo Adamo
Sicily, Italy
silence: satellites colliding
Alan Peat
Biddulph, United Kingdom
a star caught
in the barbed wire-
silent earthNicole Pottier
France
chirps
from the plasma field
earth’s dawnSarah Metzler
United States
a silence so deep
it deafens
the man in the moonTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
starless night erasing messages from the past
Hemapriya Chellappan
India
river waters—
the moon’s silent ride
to the oceanदरिया का पानी
चन्द्रमा की शांत सवारी
सागर की ओरArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
reflection pond
the moon’s silence
broken by koiRichard Matta
San Diego, California
night sky
satellites are up there
as if notZelyko Funda
Hrvatska
hidden
light years away
the sound of star birthPat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
observing our planet
a satellite goes silentMarion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
the floating
sheer bulk in silence
picks all soundHla Yin Mon
Yangon, Myanmar
satellite launch
flying in the face
of a cosmic silenceLaurie Greer
Washington, DC
star to star
their unheard whirling
jazz on TVAlfred Booth
Colombes, France
man in the moon
the strong
silent typeSusan Farner
United States
human remains–
the unblinking eyes
of satellitesCynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California
news flash—
a distant satellite
mutely blinksClaire Ninham
North Yorkshire, UK
Snap of
umbilical chord
moon lights up my lapPriti Khullar
Noida, India
solar winds
the silent shuffle
of space debrisBryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois USA
outer space
all of our secrets
finally silencedPeggy Hale Bilbro
Huntsville, Alabama
no fanfare
death moonHelen Buckingham
United Kingdom
all night
without a word
the glimmer of starsKeith Evetts
Thames Ditton UK
space-
the silence of
separationDorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
the moon wafts
in and out of clouds …
parting a veilPriti Aisola
Hyderabad, India
day moon…
my silent companion
from the funeralEd Bremson
Raleigh, NC
solitary amid a noisy fest sister moon
Luisa Santoro
Rome, Italy
satellites
circling the sun
how long is a year?Lafcadio Orlovsky
USA
atmospheric silence
a last moment
before re-entrySari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY
whispering nautilus
the astronaut dreams
of the seaGreer Woodward
Waimea, HI
graveyard orbit . . .
a trail of silence
rings the planetBarrie Levine
Wenham MA USA
looking back
from our moon
the din of silenceSusan Rogers
Los Angeles, CA
space debris
photons spangling the void
we fall intoJohn Hawkhead
UK
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.
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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 21 Comments
Comments are closed.
A note of appreciation.
I enjoy reading this weekly exercise very much. Sometimes I send in a poem or two, sometimes I’m selected. But either way, I gobble up the top haiku with comments, and all the rest—followed by all comments and exchanges. A most rewarding read. Thanks to all!
But, where is Alan Summers this week? Ha!
.
beyond
the Milky Way
our heartbeat
Mona Bedi
Delhi, India
Thanks John!
I rarely get time to write that much at the moment as I mentor a lot of people behind the scenes, and working on new exciting courses too!
Ah, the river of heaven!
beyond
the Milky Way
our heartbeat
Mona Bedi
Delhi, India
When I worked on landcare in Queensland, looking after the tree nursery for a 2000 acre plot, and helping in many other ways dawn to dusk, I was always amazed by the Milky Way, as there was no light pollution. We had just starlight to guide us staggering back to our tents or cars!
Alan
Thanks!
Thanks to Craig for the insightful comments and to all at THF for including my poem. it’s an honor to have it appear with so many fine poems. So many interesting approaches to the subject!
A lovely collection of poems. Congratulations, everyone and many thanks to Craig, Kj and Lori! I am thrilled to have a haiku included. I loved all the different takes on this inspirational theme. Just to mention one of the many that I will re-read and remember…
all around
a grassy stillness …
shooting stars
tutto intorno
una quiete erbosa …
stelle cadenti
Daniela Misso
Italia
I like this poem for its cinematic quality and its ambiguity. Memorable!
Many thanks Dorothy for appreciating my haiku!
Great collection! So many beautiful poems.
I loved all of these eye in the sky haiku, but my favorite was the very last one by John Hawkhead:
space debris
photons spangling the void
we fall into
‘photons spangling the void’…what a beautiful scientific-poetic image! Space and cosmos related poetry holds a special intrigue for me.
Thanks once again, Craig, for including mine, and thanks to Lori and Kathy for your faithful work.
Yes, John’s haiku is a nice one to close the week. The sequence is solely determined by the order in which I receive the entries, and it’s always a nice coincidence when the last one serves as a good sum up for all the others.
Thanks Peggy! Me too; I love the overlaps between science and art. Much appreciated!!
What an interesting set of haiku and senryu this week – for an interesting theme. Well done to everyone!
Thanks to Craig Kittner, Lori and Kjmunro for including my ku…awesome collection!
Thanks so much Craig at al and congratulations all – my favourite this week has to be:
solitary amid a noisy fest sister moon
by Luisa Santoro
I love the contrast between the ‘solitary’ moon and the ‘noisy’ness of the festivities, cleverly brought to life by the use of sibilance and ‘t’ sounds. Great work.
Thank you so much, Helen, and congratulations to all the poets for such a fascinating selection!
Thank you Craig for including my haiku this week and congrats to all the haiku poets here. This was an interesting prompt in light of the recent launch of some non-astronaut people into space. I love the different directions people went with this prompt and here are three that really stood out for me:
satellites –
pretending
to be stars
Dan Campbell
Virginia
Satellites having imposter syndrome – love it!
space-
the silence of
separation
Dorothy Burrows
United Kingdom
Can never look up at the heavens without feeling this.
satellite launch
flying in the face
of a cosmic silence
Laurie Greer
Washington
I like the play on language here. This haiku also draws my attention to the contrast of the immense noise made by rocket launchers and such with the presumed quiet of the space they are launching into.
Thoughtful commentary, thanks, Sari.
I am glad you enjoyed my haiku Sari, many thanks!
Dan
Many thanks, Sari, for appreciating my haiku. I liked yours too! It reminded me of standing in my garden on a summer’s evening, staring at stars and being totally engrossed in a magical moment. Thank you!
Thank you, Sari! Delighted you liked mine. And I have enjoyed so many of yours over the past months–and your comments, as well.
Thank you, Craig, for commenting on my poem…completely unexpected!
I found it a daunting challenge. Then, looking up one dark night, there it was! A satellite slowly making its way over our busy nightlife town. Surrounded by the kerfuffle of discotheques and tourist crowds, booze cruise and wedding fireworks, it made me wonder what satellites make of this crazy old world we inhabit where so many of us may never have experienced the magical peace – not necessarily silence – away from artificial noise.
Looking forward to reading how others tackled this prompt. Many thanks, as usual, to all involved.
Nice to know the origin of your haiku. And “kerfuffle” is a wonderful word.
Thanks to Craig Kittner, Lori and Kjmunro. So many beautiful poems.