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HAIKU DIALOGUE – the way of you & Intro to Opposites Attract

 

the way of … and Introducing Opposites Attract

Welcome to Opposites Attract!

Hello – kj here – I want to begin by thanking Guest Editor Craig Kittner for his fabulous, thought-provoking prompts over the last two months. And thanks to all the other poets who have stepped up over the last year – this feature depends on YOU! Inquiries (via the Contact Form) always welcomed!

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 – open/shut

The deadline is midnight Pacific Daylight Savings Time, Saturday August 08, 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Please submit one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme by clicking here: Contact Form.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 Craig’s commentary for the way of you:

Now we’ve come full circle and are back to you. I hope you took the opportunity over the last nine weeks to try on some different personas, and in doing so to learn more about who you are, and who you want to be.

Inspiration, imitation, and the effort to channel your creativity into a particular form are good and necessary steps toward a fully realized and mature style. But ultimately you need an understanding of your true nature to complete the journey.

Let me invoke Bashō, one last time, to emphasize my point:

“Don’t follow in the footsteps of the old poets, seek what they sought.”

 

first flower . . .
the lawnmower makes
a u-turn

Milan Rajkumar, Imphal, India

For many people, yard work brings about their most intimate interactions with nature. Glad to see it presented in this haiku. Much is left to the reader’s interpretation, including whether “lawnmower” refers to a machine or a person. To me it has the feel of an impersonal and implacable force. Was a u-turn made to avoid mowing over the first flower? Or did the flower fall victim to the mower?

flea market postcards
sand castles and Ferris wheels
wish you were still here

Sari Grandstaff, Saugerties, NY

With their history and current standing in the community, 5-7-5 haiku come under a particular scrutiny. One tends to assume they were written either out of ignorance or boldness.

I feel if you are drawn to that form you should make use of it. Blindly avoiding it has no more authenticity than blindly embracing it.

Sari’s haiku makes good use of the form. Every word is essential to its meaning. There is no waste or bloating. The word vintage comes to mind and applies to both the haiku’s subject and its approach.

first light
the tree conjures up
a crow

Robert Kingston

How well this haiku captures that moment when you realize there’s something more to what you’re looking at than you first realized. And it oozes such personality!

silent of songs
the last blackbird’s flight
thru the batscape

simonj UK

This too is rife with personality. Naming the night sky a batscape is genius. Overall, a beautiful expression of darkness, silence, and transition.

early am
a long walk
made of small paths

Laurie Greer

There’s a line in a Traveling Wilburys song that I’ve always loved: “She wrote a long letter on a short piece of paper.” Laurie’s long walk on small paths strikes me in a similar way. Reminders of the mutability of experience. I feel as well that “am” could refer to morning or to simply being. It’s early morning and it’s early and I am.

How are you doing at being yourself as you write? Let’s hear about it in the comments section.

 

& here are the rest of Craig’s selections:

broken cloud
a white butterfly
bends the fuchsia

Marilyn Ward, Scunthorpe Lincolnshire, UK

 

On the move this spring,
my prayer beads must’ve fallen
—arriving somewhere.

Ludo Yamamoto

 

first love…
a scent of roses
in my mind

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore

 

barefoot on the stone
amid stray leaf and dew drop
a snail’s silver trail

Albert Schepers, Windsor, Ontario

 

you and I
viewing on the beach
different mirage

Teiichi Suzuki, Japan

 

waving goodbye –
the poems I never
shared with her

Dan Campbell

 

fading summer
I caress the skin
of a stranger

Eva Limbach, Germany

 

cloudy night
frog sits alone
moonless puddle

Vishnu Kapoor

 

wandering thoughts
the cricket plays only
on one string

Stoianka Boianova

 

dark my house
the moth seeks light
in the neighbor’s window

vincenzo adamo

 

folds and fissures
in a limestone rock face
edelweiss

Janice Doppler

 

windblown roses
another direction
for the traveller

Alan Summers, England

 

hush
in the garden listening
to butterflies

Rehn Kovacic

 

housebound thirty years
I watch baby ducks grow
and fly free

Pris Campbell

 

floral arrangement
this urge to mother
my poems

Deborah P Kolodji, Temple City, California

 

doing me
I get all
shy

nancy liddle

 

not counting
syllables in bed
making haiku

John Green

 

sprawling mountains
my arms stretched wide
for the camera

Christine L. Villa, USA

 

a journey
mountain of steps
hold my hand

Marie Therese

 

midday sun –
chasing the shade
from shadow to shadow

Nick T, UK

 

ice cream truck
the children think
I’m a grown-up

Bill Kenney

 

driftwood how far is far enough

Vandana Parashar

 

morning light—
tree tops
touched by flame

Helen Ogden

 

‘classic radio’
I put ink in my fountain pen

Helga Stania

 

deep dive
a midnight swim
through my mind

Peggy Hale Bilbro, Huntsville, Alabama

 

flittering
the day away . . .
this butterfly

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, Fairlawn, Ohio USA

 

humid dawn
clinging to everything
last night’s rain

Bryan Rickert

 

star story
my child doodles a bear
into the night sky

Pat Davis NH

 

afterglow
here and gone
a yellow butterfly

Agus Maulana Sunjaya, Tangerang, Indonesia

 

dog’s wet kiss—
her sigh
as deep as mine

Madhuri Pillai

 

my summer –
pages of a book
in half-light

Elisa Allo

 

sundial
my footsteps pausing
on the shaded path

Janice Munro

 

not remembering
name and day …….
autumn wind

Angiola Inglese

 

through the frame
of my airplane window
the Big Dipper

Greer Woodward, Waimea, HI

 

lockdown
folding a thousand
origami cranes

cezar-florin ciobica

 

Guest Editor Craig Kittner was born in Canton, Ohio in 1968 and took up residence in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2012. Between those two events, he lived in 14 different towns in 8 states and the District of Columbia. He has worked as a gallery director, magazine writer, restaurant owner, and blackjack dealer. Recent publications include Human/Kind Journal, Shot Glass Journal, The Heron’s Nest, and Bones. He currently serves as contest director for the North Carolina Poetry Society. Craig is fond of birds, cats, and rain… but rarely writes of cats.

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.

This Post Has 52 Comments

  1. What a wonderful collection of poems reflecting so many different styles! I loved them all, but a few really stood out for me.
    .
    broken cloud
    a white butterfly
    bends the fuchsia
    —Marilyn Ward, Scunthorpe Lincolnshire, UK
    .
    Beautiful, delicate image!
    .
    housebound thirty years
    I watch baby ducks grow
    and fly free
    —Pris Campbell
    .
    Truly a poignant poem of longing to be free.
    .
    doing me
    I get all
    shy
    —nancy liddle
    .
    Wonderfully reductive poem. The very structure echoes the way shy people pull into themselves.
    .
    midday sun –
    chasing the shade
    from shadow to shadow
    —Nick T, UK
    .
    Had to laugh at this one because it is exactly how I walk! Love the flickering sun/shade/shadow effect.perfect!
    .
    driftwood how far is far enough
    —Vandana Parashar
    .
    Perfectly concise image. It says all it needs to say in five words.
    .
    morning light—
    tree tops
    touched by flame
    —Helen Ogden
    .
    Beautiful and startling. This evokes so many possibilities from the beauty of the morning sun to the recent horrific fires in Australia. Wow! A very open poem that leaves it to the reader to finish

    .
    Thanks again Craig for making us consider the process as well as the end product. Writing is a journey of exploration, not a destination.

  2. First off–thanks, Craig, for your spot-on comments on all the featured poems, and for your fantastic work on this blog. There is truly an art to creating prompts, and yours have been unfailingly challenging and inspiring. Each was truly a learning experience (equal emphasis on both words in this term) that will stay with me for a long time.
    **
    I hope I have a chance to comment on more of the poems here, but meanwhile, the one that most affected me was:
    *
    dog’s wet kiss—
    her sigh
    as deep as mine

    Madhuri Pillai
    *
    so true. When i see the “discoveries” science is making about animals’ emotions, it just kills me: hasn’t it always been obvious that animals are as sensitive as we are–if not more?! Thanks, Madjuri, for writing this.
    *
    My best to all–stay well!

  3. Thank you Craig for choosing such interesting subjects and providing such insightful commentary. I have been truly inspired by the contributions from all the poets.

  4. THE INTRIGUINGNESS OF INNER LINES OF HAIKU
    .
    .
    Sometimes just one line before we see the other wonderful lines, and the dynamic of the whole haiku is a delight to savor, and pause before we dive into the whole magic of the poem! 🙂
    .
    .
    For example

    broken cloud

    Marilyn Ward, Scunthorpe Lincolnshire, UK

    .
    arriving somewhere

    Ludo Yamamoto

    .

    first love…

    Rosa Maria Di Salvatore

    .

    barefoot on the stone

    Albert Schepers, Windsor, Ontario

    .
    different mirage

    Teiichi Suzuki, Japan

    .

    the poems I never

    Dan Campbell

    .

    I caress the skin

    Eva Limbach, Germany

    .
    moonless puddle

    Vishnu Kapoor

    .

    on one string

    Stoianka Boianova

    .
    the moth seeks light

    vincenzo adamo

    .

    folds and fissures

    Janice Doppler

    .

    windblown roses

    Alan Summers, England

    .
    in the garden listening

    Rehn Kovacic

    .

    housebound thirty years

    Pris Campbell

    .

    this urge to mother

    Deborah P Kolodji, Temple City, California

    .

    shy

    nancy liddle

    .

    syllables in bed
    John Green

    .

    for the camera
    Christine L. Villa, USA

    .

    mountain of steps

    Marie Therese

    .

    chasing the shade

    Nick T, UK

    .

    the children think

    Bill Kenney

    .

    how far is far enough
    Vandana Parashar

    .

    touched by flame

    Helen Ogden

    .

    ‘classic radio’
    Helga Stania

    .
    through my mind

    Peggy Hale Bilbro, Huntsville, Alabama

    .

    flittering
    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, Fairlawn, Ohio USA

    .
    clinging to everything

    Bryan Rickert

    .
    my child doodles a bear
    Pat Davis NH

    .
    here and gone
    Agus Maulana Sunjaya, Tangerang, Indonesia

    .

    as deep as mine
    Madhuri Pillai

    .
    in half-light
    Elisa Allo

    .
    my footsteps pausing
    Janice Munro

    .

    not remembering
    Angiola Inglese

    .
    through the frame
    Greer Woodward, Waimea, HI

    .
    folding a thousand
    cezar-florin ciobica
    .
    the lawnmower makes
    Milan Rajkumar, Imphal, India
    .
    flea market postcards
    Sari Grandstaff, Saugerties, NY
    .
    the tree conjures up
    Robert Kingston
    .
    the last blackbird’s flight
    simonj UK
    .
    made of small paths
    Laurie Greer
    .
    .
    .
    And how those inner lines of different poems leap and link amongst themselves, amongst those other poems!
    .
    Alan

      1. Well I guess there was that famous one word renku, so it’s entirely possible. It certainly reveals the link and shift technique that is in both renga, renku, haiku itself borrowing from hokku and its companion verses, and tanka, and many other classical Japanese poetic forms. 🙂

      1. Dear Valentina,
        .
        I loved the whole haiku too! 🙂
        .
        I was just picking out a single line from every haiku and found an intriguing dynamic, almost renku like linking and shifting. 🙂
        .
        .
        flittering
        the day away . . .
        this butterfly
        .
        Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
        Fairlawn, Ohio USA
        .
        .
        It’s a beautiful haiku, and the pandemic has assured that we will see more of some kinds of butterfly. I had one whizz past so fast, it took my breath away! 🙂
        .
        Alan

        1. Alan, I am glad that you loved my haiku. I hope it brought a smile to you.

      1. Thank you!
        .
        At first it was going to be one of my popular features at just picking out a single line from each haiku. But then I saw that in many instances each single line from different haiku was making up a renku like or even free verse poem! 🙂
        .
        .
        Your whole haiku, almost tanka like, is amazing by the way!!!
        .
        .
        waving goodbye –
        the poems I never
        shared with her
        .
        Dan Campbell
        .
        .

      2. Ditto what Dan said. You have done that several times in the past, Alan, and the results are stunning, more than each itself, as if the words enhance each other. Kind of like two medications work synergistically (a better effect than expected).

        1. Thanks!
          .
          Yes, the very first time I did it, many months ago, it was simply showcasing a single line, if it was a tercet, and a phrase if it was a monoku.
          .
          The successive times it was if a spell was being cast highlighting these lines, which morphed into the most amazing larger poem! 🙂

    1. Wonderful way to read this collection! As I read your lines, I also saw it as a poem in its own right! Thank you for making us see it with new eyes.

      1. Hi Peggy! 🙂
        .
        Yes, me too, I started seeing a poem. In renku there is both the overall poem, but also verses 1 & 2 make a couplet standalone poem, as do verses 2 with 3, and then 3 and 4 and so on.
        .
        I started to see this could make one larger poem too, as well as want to highlight the power of the single poetic line in haiku. 🙂
        .
        Alan

    2. Indeed a great play on single lines Alan.
      I particularly liked this pair.

      the lawnmower makes
      Milan Rajkumar, Imphal, India
      .
      flea market postcards
      Sari Grandstaff, Saugerties, NY

      Thank you for including a line from mine.

      1. Hi Janice,
        .
        You asked:
        Can you explain what you mean by “inner lines?”
        .
        .
        Regarding:
        .
        THE INTRIGUINGNESS OF INNER LINES OF HAIKU
        And how those inner lines of different poems leap and link amongst themselves, amongst those other poems!
        .
        .
        I’ve done this approach a few times in the past for HAIKU DIALOGUE and something has always struck me about the single lines ‘WITHIN’ the haiku. And almost always there is something dynamic about any particular selected single line from different poems making up an extraordinarily powerful ‘overall poem’ that could be a larger free verse poem, or a renku poem, with its multiple variations of inner couplets.
        .
        This was shown to me by Marshall Hryciuk who “popped” over from Canada to do an Easter Renga at my local train station! 🙂 Yes, it was very exciting!!! 🙂
        .
        .
        The Bath Spa Railway Station Renku
        Hosted by With Words (Alan Summers & Karen Hoy), with Marshall Hryciuk & Karen Sohne, Canada, and friends.
        https://area17.blogspot.com/2009/04/bath-spa-train-station-renga-party.html
        .
        When we performed the finished renga at night, in the Raven public house in the City of Bath, we didn’t just read verse after verse. Each of us would read two verses, but not only that, each new person would read the last verse performed as well as one new verse.
        .
        i.e.
        .
        One of us would read these two verses together:
        .
        scribing lines
        across the fields
        Easter journey
        .
        hopping on one foot
        grandchild counts ducklings
        .
        .
        And the next person would step forward and read:
        .
        .
        hopping on one foot
        grandchild counts ducklings
        .
        the empty home
        a kettle whistles
        as a train rumbles past
        .
        .
        It meant we had multiple couplets (five line poems) within the 36 verse overall renga! 🙂
        .
        .
        Each line of a renga can be more than one verse linking and shifting to the next one, so if my maths is correct, then that particular single renga poem of 36 verses also created 35 separate five line poems! 🙂
        .
        .
        NOW IF WE LOOK AT SINGLE STANDALONE HAIKU NOW:
        .
        Often I might select the middle or ‘last’ line for this HAIKU DIALOGUE practice I do from time to time. But in some haiku the ‘last line’ is also a vehicle to loop back and read the ‘first line’ through to the middle and ‘last line’ again, and sometimes again! 🙂
        .
        That’s one instance where even a last line is also acting as part of a constant cycle of reading the poem.
        .
        For instance
        .
        windblown roses
        another direction
        for the traveller
        .
        Alan Summers
        .
        .
        This could be read, naturally, from lines one through to three, of course, and then also:
        .
        .
        windblown roses
        another direction
        .
        for the traveller
        .
        another direction
        windblown roses
        .
        for the traveller
        .
        .
        And “ad infinitum”, so that even an opening line or ‘closing’ line might not be in the fixed outer line positions as we see ‘on the page’
        .
        .

        Another example:
        .
        .
        porch side mountains
        the wind-pushed snow
        all around us
        .
        Alan Summers
        Asahi Shimbun (December 2019, Japan)
        .
        .
        I could loop back or loop around and make a second reading variation of:
        .
        .
        all around us
        porch side mountains
        the wind-pushed snow
        .
        or
        .
        all around us
        the wind-pushed snow
        porch side mountains
        .
        .
        As well as:
        .
        .
        porch side mountains
        the wind-pushed snow
        .
        all around us
        .
        the wind-pushed snow
        porch side mountains
        .
        .
        and other variations.
        .
        .
        And of course there is the “innerness” or “inneringiness” [sic] of any of the ‘three lines’ that resonate and vibrate just on their own. If each line is forensically placed, it can sing on its own, and also sing with its other two lines of that particular haiku. And it can also sing with other haiku, as they do at HAIKU DIALOGUE.
        .
        The same can happen if an anthology is well put together. The same can happen if we are careful how we put our own collection of haiku together.
        .
        This has been intriguing because I started this week’s commentary with no idea where it would take me! Thank you for adding to this. I am sure there are more questions, and I’ll do my best to discover the answers! 🙂
        .
        warm regards,
        Alan

        1. thanks, as always, Alan, for your help, & thoughtful comments!
          *
          I had an experience recently with a ‘cento’ – a poem made up from lines of others’ poems… in this case, a poet created a cento from the chat from a zoom meeting with more than a dozen poets reading & discussing their longer poems… truly amazing!
          *
          thanks for the great discussion, kj

          1. Very cool!
            .
            I also discovered when I did my two 1000 renga verse projects (senku renga) that using my different types of jobs made people feel secure enough and safe, and relaxed, that they’d start speaking in poetry. Not rhyming, but the rhythm. Whenever I asked them to write it down it got all stilted.
            .
            So I always had pen and paper immediately to hand and wrote the verses down exactly as they were said, no editing. I could do this with Eastern Bloc gangsters, and people off the street, but poets were hard to pin down for some reason. Go figure!
            🙂
            .
            .
            Our Hull (North England) verse had 3,300 verses all lined along library book shelves, and people changed holiday plans to spend it in Hull, and the central library instead! 🙂
            .
            .
            You said:
            .
            “in this case, a poet created a cento from the chat from a zoom meeting with more than a dozen poets reading & discussing their longer poems”
            .
            .
            So they became relaxed, and it’s like those fly on the wall documentaries, where the camera is forgotten, as well as the audience, and the person taking notes.
            .
            .
            I hope we can see this new poem when it’s published. Will you let us know?
            .
            What kind of effect, and facial expressions, happened? I bet they were awed into silence at first and then everyone wanted to speak and applaud!

  5. .
    .
    Not sure, but I might have had the privilege of hearing this on a private zoom event?
    .
    .
    first light
    the tree conjures up
    a crow
    .
    Robert Kingston
    .
    .
    It’s so accurate! 🙂 You have definitely caught the “crow”ness of the creature, and that special part of the day!
    .
    Alan

    1. Thank you Alan
      Indeed we have spoken on this one previously.
      Actually written a while ago now, but I thought it fitting for the prompt.

      Hope you are both keeping well.
      Best wishes
      Rob

      1. Glad it found a home.
        .
        We are still self-isolating, and quite happy ordering things online, which garners better savings etc…
        .
        We have family members suffering hardships, re health issues, which makes us feel absolutely helpless though.
        .
        Alan

  6. Craig – thank you for all the time you put into this treat-for-all during the past several weeks.
    .
    I this week’s verses
    .
    not counting
    syllables
    making a haiku
    John Green
    .
    Made me laugh since I am often caught doing the same thing as, I suspect, many of us have.
    .
    morning light —
    tree tops
    touched by flame
    Helen Ogden
    .
    The image ‘tree tops touched by fire’ grabs me in a way I cannot put into words. I keep reading the haiku over and over.
    .
    So many wonderful haiku each week.

  7. Thank you Craig for this process-oriented series of prompts. For me it was exceptional. I found many of them inspiring and enjoyed the unique responses that came from contributors. And of course, I appreciated having my haiku included 🙂 All the best.

  8. Thank you Craig for your commentary on my haiku and the others. And congratulations to all these wonderful poets! Such a treat. I especially loved
    my summer –
    pages of a book
    in half-light

    Elisa Allo
    It seems to speak to this pandemic summer especially but also as a signature style haiku speaks volumes about the poet. Also this very thoughtful haiku:
    driftwood how far is far enough

    Vandana Parashar
    This style is very interesting to me. Kind of stream of consciousness yet also very connected to a real and thoughtful association. Vandana expresses that true sense of wonder which haiku captures. I really love it and I could see it on a postcard actually.
    Also this one that you commented on:
    early am
    a long walk
    made of small paths

    Laurie Greer
    When I walk on my local rail trail there are markers every half mile and it does have that feeling of cobbling together a walk in segments deciding how far to go any particular morning.
    Thank you Craig for your guest editing these past couple of months. You have expanded and challenged my haiku horizons. I look forward to KJMunro’s Opposites Attract haiku in these next weeks.

  9. Thank you Craig, Kathy and Lori for including mine.
    As always it is always great to appear alongside such nice poems.
    Congratulations all!

  10. Beautiful sprawling mountains of Christine Villa and mothering by Deborah P Kolodji these are both so… as I know you …You!

    Very special thoughtful inspiring prompts Craig..challenging and compelling. You have engaged us in your intent.

  11. Thankyou Craig.
    It helps when you’ve experienced birds and bats many times in evening twilight.
    .
    My most dominant style is vignette with comparison(s) (jux). And although in a traditional Japanese aesthetic, I am always trying to “make it new”.

  12. Thank you Craig and to all of the participants, I sure did enjoy reading this week’s selections.

  13. Thank you so much ! I am elated ! Thank you Craig , kjmunro and Lori . God bless !

    1. Thanks Pris!
      .
      We are not sure which kind of rose as they were planted by the previous roses.
      .
      .
      windblown roses
      another direction
      for the traveller
      .
      Alan Summers, England
      .
      .
      We plant new roses with a literary connection, but it was so dramatic I knew that I had to write about these roses! 🙂
      .
      .
      housebound thirty years
      I watch baby ducks grow
      and fly free
      .
      Pris Campbell
      .
      .
      Wonderful! Great opening line! Fine haiku.
      .
      .
      I’m reminded of looking after murray maggies aka mudpie larks, that were orphaned. They would sit on my shoulders as I writing poems, on a Queenslander verandah. I also had a Willy Wagtail as a bodyguard to keep the Kookaburras at arms length! 🙂
      .
      .
      almost lost
      in the shimmer of water
      several ducklings
      .
      Alan Summers
      Article: “English/Japanese Haiku” by Nobuyuki Yuasa, Baiko Women’s College, October 1996, Japan
      .
      .
      Romanised (romaji) version by Nobuyuki Yuasa:
      .
      mizu haete hikari ni kasumu kogamo kana
      .
      .
      For any Queenslanders (people not houses) it was composed at Warrill View in Queensland. 🙂
      .
      .
      I love how you have used ducklings to track your life path, and existence, there can be no more beautiful thing than see fledglings grow up and fly free.
      .
      warm regards,
      Alan

  14. Dear Cezar-florin ciobica,
    Greetings, in times of lockdown impacting globally, a beautiful image in the following .
    S.Radhamani

    lockdown
    folding a thousand
    origami cranes

    cezar-florin ciobica

  15. I’m very happy to be in this week’s selections – thanks to Craig, Lori, and kj.

    The following poems struck me on a personal level – bringing back memories:
    “classic radio” by Helga Stania reminded me of the many hours I spent listening to the radio in the days of fountain pens. Yes, I had a fountain pen, and an ink blotter.

    “hush” by Rehn Kovacic made me wish I had the kind of hearing ability to listen to a butterfly. I’ve watched butterflies many, many times, but never thought of hearing one. So, thanks for that thought.

    “sprawling mountains” by Christine L. Villa reminded me of a time when I had my picture taken in a similar pose while visiting the Shenandoah Mountains on one of my many trips with my husband.

    On “being true to myself” when writing – I try to look at haiku moments with the eyes of a child. Their sense of wonder and unfiltered comments have always captivated me. So, for this week’s theme, I wanted to show that in the poem I submitted.

  16. Dear esteemed poet,
    Greetings. Here, end of summer, wind blowing from afar, with the aroma of roses, for my corner of creative table, a new direction,inspiring my mood.

    S.Radhamani

    windblown roses
    another direction
    for the traveller

    Alan Summers, England

    1. Dear Radhamani sarma,
      .
      .
      I am delighted that my poem connected with you! 🙂
      .
      .
      windblown roses
      another direction
      for the traveller
      .
      Alan Summers, England

    1. Ah, Lincolnshire!!!!!!!!!
      .
      .

      broken cloud
      a white butterfly
      bends the fuchsia
      .
      Marilyn Ward
      Scunthorpe Lincolnshire, UK
      .
      .
      What a terrific haiku!!! Great opening line!
      .
      Alan

  17. lockdown
    folding a thousand
    origami cranes
    .
    cezar-florin ciobica
    .
    The legend is that anyone who folds a thousand cranes will be granted one wish. The universal wish in these difficult times is for the virus to end. Thank-you for putting into words what is on everyone’s mind.

  18. Thank-you Craig for selecting mine. Thank-you also to all the others who have a part in publishing this column every week. Congrats to all the poets.

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