HAIKU DIALOGUE – Times of Transition – Getting older (1)

Times of Transition with Guest Editor Deborah Karl-Brandt

For the next few weeks let’s talk about Times of Transition. Arnold van Gennep and Viktor Turner explored these times of transition scientifically, because human existence is defined by them. So, together, let’s do the same – by reflecting on our lives. All of us experience periods in life when alteration takes place and we have to change too. Everything changes: the seasons, moods, the weather – there might even be times when the boundaries of right and wrong, of good and evil seem to change. We are caught in the middle of transition, becoming opaque like water in turmoil. Looking back, we hardly recognize our way up to the present; looking forward, our path seems to be foggy and uncertain. Sometimes we are challenged to let go of our former self to become someone new.

Below is Deborah’s selection of poems on the theme of Getting Older:

river willow
the thickening trunk
of my middle ages

Adele Evershed
Wilton, Connecticut

 

car’s smart stereo
the same playlist
as in that casette

Amoolya Kamalnath
India

 

déjà vu
my daughters give me
my own advice

Anjali Warhadpande
Pune, India

 

another birthday
toasting new wrinkles
in the winter sun

Anju Kishore
India

 

unknown territory
out of breath
at the top of the trail

Ann Sullivan
Arlington MA USA

 

sharp autumn wind
my bucket list
grows shorter

Annie Wilson
Shropshire, UK

 

our shadows limp home together autumn chill

Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India

 

premature greys
hoping I don’t inherit
dad’s diabetes too

Baisali Chatterjee Dutt
Kolkata, India

 

runaway train time overtakes me

Barrie Levine
Massachusetts, USA

 

Indian summer
rubbing in factor 50
where hair once was

Ben Oliver
United Kingdom

 

getting older
I count the leaves
still remaining

Bipasha Majumder (De)
India

 

losing
my hair anyway
chemo

Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois

 

in creases the sun settles silver birch bark

C.X. Turner
UK

 

endgame
running down the clock
to put things right

Carol Reynolds
Australia

 

last oak leaf
fear of letting go
let go

Caroline Giles Banks
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

 

I sing along to
Dancing Queen –
young and sweet again

Caroline Ridley-Duff
UK

 

new plan:
as gracefully
as possible

Charles Harper
Yokohama

 

dad’s approach
his old footsteps plus
new stick-steps

Chen Xiaoou
Kunming, China

 

getting older –
every day sweaty hands
in front of the screen

Cristina Povero
Italy

 

reunion
instead of dreams
blood sugar talks

Christopher Calvin
Kota Mojokerto, Indonesia

 

in line for shots
they ask if I want
a wheelchair

Cindy Putnam Guentherman
Illinois, USA

 

circling the aisles
a bounce in her step –
grocery store oldies

Colette Kern
Southold, New York

 

sensible shoes
where the colorful converse
once kicked it

Curt Linderman
Seattle

 

faded blooms
the busy bee
I used to be

Cynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California

 

asylum –
at window begins
the sky

Dan C. Iulian
Romania

 

the loneliness
of the long distance runner –
retirement

Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă
Romania

 

balcony birding
empty nesters
on either side

Daya Bhat
India

 

rainy afternoon
the oblivion cools
a Sunday lunch

Dejan Ivanovic
Lazarevac, Serbia

 

mom moves
into long term care
the ache of distance

Eavonka Ettinger
Long Beach, CA

 

birthday party:
we celebrate
with a quiet smile

Evan Spivack
Teaneck, NJ

 

senior class
with perfect attendance
a zumba lesson

Ferdinand Bajado
Meycauayan, Bulacan, Philippines

 

forgotten spectacles
the sound of rain
is grey

Geetha Ravichandran
Chennai, India

 

menopause…
my first
chin hairs

Grace De Sousa
Québec, Canada

 

on brittle bones
his grandparents softly fold
their remaining days

Guido De Pelsmaeker
België

 

almost hidden
beneath the flats – a glimmer
of silver heels

Helene Guojah
UK

 

last days of Fall
reach across a spent soul
seeking forgiveness

herb goldsmith
Texas

 

a forest path –
the old chopped down tree
still sprouting

Hla Yin Mon
Yangon, Myanmar

 

supermarket trip
yet another shopping list
goes AWOL

Ingrid Baluchi
North Macedonia

 

autumn sunset
the oldies station playing
songs of my youth

Jackie Chou
United States

 

still
jazz
on my radio

James Penha
Bali, Indonesia

 

this body´s not me
though I once thought it was
R2-D2

Jan Stretch
Victoria, BC, Canada

 

the daily pain
of every movement
betrayal of bones

Jenny Shepherd
London, UK

 

straining
for last drops —
crushed ice!

Jerome Berglund
Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

aging gracefully
we dance the fandango
in carpet slippers

John Hawkhead
United Kingdom

 

called third strike my fading bucket list

John S Green
Bethlehem, Palestine

 

worn prayer flags . . .
my need to catch
my breath

John Pappas
United States

 

class reunion—
introducing myself
to old friends

Jonathan Epstein
USA

 

growing old together
settling into our wrinkles

Karen Harvey
Pwllheli, N Wales

 

tourist path . . .
disappearing in the mist
I look for myself

Kathleen Trocmet
Texas, USA

 

luggage
cutting into the palm
urge to let go

Kavita Ratna
India

 

passing train whistle…
those things i wasn´t
aware of

Keiko Izawa
Japan

 

old apple tree
the ways we still
blossom

Kerry J Heckman
Seattle, WA

 

class reunion
my turn to book the table
for two

Keith Evetts
Thames Ditton UK

 

laughing hard
– a new vein bulging
on my forehead

Kiti Saarinen
Finland

 

the elegance
involved in going … slowly
to seed

kris moon kondo
Kiyokawa, Kanagawa, Japan

 

getting older
the many times she says
‘I’m fit as a fiddle’

Lakshmi Iyer
India

 

first day of retirement…
starting
my life list

Laurie Greer
Washington, DC

 

plucking dark hairs
from my new mustache
perimenopause

Louise Hopewell
Australia

 

growing older
I slowly learn to flow
like water

Lori Kiefer
UK

 

returning from the dead
I usually do it well…
sunset breeze

Luciana Moretto
Treviso, Italy

 

golden years
the little dog and I
do our morning stretches

madeleine kavanagh
United States

 

her greying whiskers
my gentler pace —
our raspy uphill

Madhuri Pillai
Australia

 

irrelevant
my age
in front of the stars

irrilevante
la mia età
di fronte alle stelle

Maria Cezza
Italy

 

hip replacement
one ticket to the band’s
farewell tour

Mariel Herbert
California, USA

 

clouded vision
in the river of stars
old age

marilyn ashbaugh
edwardsburg, michigan

 

I know now
‘youth is wasted
on the young’

(with a nod to George Bernard Shaw)

Margaret Mahony
Australia

 

getting old
another friend leaves…
white carnations

Marilyn Ward
Lincolnshire, UK

 

dementia care
at every visit
my novelty socks

Maurice Nevile
Canberra, Australia

 

saturday night
in bed at ten thirty

Melissa Dennison
UK

 

earplugs at the gig
my hearing
not what it used to be

Mike Fainzilber
Rehovot, Israel

 

aurora the short time we take from time

Minal Sarosh
Ahmedabad, India

 

the fragile life
after intensive care –
getting older

Minko Tanev
Bulgaria

 

the awakening
only the house spins
before I do

Mirela Brailean
Romania

 

autumn shadows
still a lot left
on my bucket list

Mona Bedi
India

 

new straw the scarecrow’s Botox

M. R. Defibaugh
United States

 

a stranger
in the bathroom mirror
morning blues

Natalia Kuznetsova
Russia

 

autumn moon
enters the bay window
plaiting my thinning hair

Neena Singh
Chandigarh, India

 

twilight –
seated beside the window
I listen to the rain

Nicole Pottier
France

 

jasmine attar—
i too become better
with time

Nitu Yumnam
India

 

no alternative
but to walk away
historic palace without ramps

Padma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India

 

end of the journey
a teenager
offers his seat

Padmini Krishnan
United Arab Emirates

 

another autumn day
the maple tree I planted and I
still alive

Peggy Hale Bilbro
Alabama

 

finding
a new path—
laugh lines

petro c. k.
Seattle, Washington

 

twenty to eighty
the new world’s record
in time travel

Pris Campbell
U.S.

 

gift for ears-
no more ‘what’s
from grandma’

Radhika De Silva
Sri Lanka

 

wrinkled hands
still
your youth in your eyes

Ram Chandran
India

 

morning walk
to the cemetery
friendship day

Ravi Kiran
India

 

another birthday
my new age
is simply old

Rehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ

 

after her
mother asks me to trust
the hometown oak

Richa Sharma
India

 

empty bucket
what isn’t poured out
evaporates

Richard Straw
Cary, North Carolina

 

aging steps…
the wandering beggar’s
homecoming dance

Rita Melissano
Illinois, USA

 

big girl no more kiddie pool

Roberta Beach Jacobson
Indianola, IA, USA

 

last time
we would plant geraniums
change our will

Ron Scully
Burien, WA

 

sunset . . .
caressing my wrinkles
with a smile

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore
Catania, Italy

 

physiotherapy
another taut tissue
ironed out

Rupa Anand
India

 

never too old
to be an orphan-
so lost

Ruth Happel
Tennessee, USA

 

drawing closer
to mother and father
wherever they are

Ruth Holzer
Herndon, VA

 

Holding hands
with walking stick-
my new travel companion

Santhoshi Valli
India

 

Each day I reset
myself into the template,
what I used to be

Sarah Davies
UK

 

waning moon the ebb and flow of the tides

Sandra Regan
Oxfordshire UK

 

pending surgery
the pressing task
of a living trust

Seretta Martin
San Diego, CA, USA

 

ripe pears
within reach 旨旨 how sweet
of the walking cane

simonj
UK

 

balding father—
the coconut palm
loses its leaves

Srini S
Rishi Valley, India

 

engagement ring –
the old orange tree
in bloom

Steliana Cristina Voicu
Ploiesti, Romania

 

box full
of memories
me too

Stephan A. Peters
Bellingham, WA

 

before and
after the dog goes—
bathroom stop

Stephen J. DeGuire
Los Angeles, CA

 

leopard moon a new liver spot

Susan Burch
Hagerstown, MD

 

generations
my grandson connects
the dots on my hand

Susan Farner
USA

 

change of clothes–
my body shape gets
smaller with age

Teiichi Suzuki
Japan

 

moss covered stairs
how dad used to skip
three at a time

Tomislav Sjekloća
Cetinje, Montenegro

 

older now…
more zips
less lace

Tony Williams
Scotland, UK

 

menopause
swapping tampons
for tena lady

Tracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK

 

an enso
on my scarf
white curl

Tsanka Shishkova
Bulgaria

 

prescription pad
a pill for side-effects
of a pill

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA

 

first day of retirement
working hard
at sleeping in

Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff
United States

 

60th autumn
a pitchfork gathering
rust

Vandana Parashar
India

 

how many grains
in my hourglass!
autumn twilight

Vipanjeet Kaur
India

 

my grandson’s
first wedding anniversary
when was mine ?

Vishnu Kapoor
Chennai, India

 

dusk
the pathway forward
narrowing

Wanda Amos
Old Bar, Australia

Join us next week for Deborah’s commentary on additional poems, & our next prompt…

Guest Editor Deborah Karl-Brandt lives in Bonn, Germany, with her husband, two rabbits and numerous books. After her PhD studies in Scandinavian languages and literatures, she now works as a freelance author and poet. One of her poems won 2nd place in the 2021 Pula Film Festival Haiku Contest. Her poems have most recently appeared in Prune Juice, Kingfisher, First Frost, Frogpond, Failed Haiku and Tsuridoro. If she is not outside for a long stroll or to do some birdwatching, she is an avid reader who is currently exploring Chinese Xianxia Webnovels.

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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