HAIKU DIALOGUE – Under the March Moon – Half Moon (1)
Under the March Moon with Guest Editor Carole MacRury
March (Martius) was named for Mars, the god of war, because this was the month when active military campaigns resumed after being interrupted by winter which was referred to as a ‘dead’ season. In fact, March was the first month of the year on the early Roman Calendar until around 450 BCE when January and February moved to the front putting March in third position where it remains in today’s Gregorian Calendar. Imagine how much easier it would be to make ‘resolutions’ in March with its visible signs of new beginnings and renewal, than in cold January. March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb. This reflects the transition from winter to spring and the changeable weather conditions particular to this month in the Northern Hemisphere. We’ll use three moon phases – Full Worm Moon, New Moon and Half Moon – to inspire our haiku. As we all write under our shared moon, feel free to use or not use the name of the moon phase in your haiku.
Below is Carole’s selection of poems on the theme of the Half Moon:
My thanks to everyone who submitted poems to my Half Moon prompt. Each week, I receive just over 300 poems of which I choose approximately 1/3 of them. This is a generous selection meant for the purpose of being as inclusive as possible in order that we might all learn from each other. You were asked to “let the details of the bright side of the moon and the mystery of the dark side of the moon inspire your haiku as it may relate to your life”. I tried to be as diverse as possible with my selections, but for some reason this prompt resulted in a lot of similar themes such as the half full/half empty concept, yin yang, and other similarities. When that happened, I put similar poems together and selected what I thought was the best of them. This prompt seemed to invite a lot of personal introspection and inner thoughts through identifying with the half moon as first line, but these were balanced by down-to-earth poems with new images that spoke to the season and the senses – from drinking a toast, to meditating, to palm reading and singing bowls, not to mention a few dogs, a cat and more. Please share your thoughts on a few of your favorites. Everyone enjoys feedback. Stay tuned for my commentary on 14 more selected poems next week. As always, my deep thanks to kj and Lori.
half moon this hunger to be whole
Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois
in the half-dark
the path
of the badgerAnn Rawson
UK
these long chats
in installments
half moonAmoolya Kamalnath
India
crying child…
above the refugee camp
half moonFlorin C. Ciobîcă
Romania
half moon
still here
for nowSusan Burch
Hagerstown, MD
pink cherry blossoms…
celebrating the best half
of the waxing moonmadeleine kavanagh
United States
half moon
a sliver of light
in our relationshipPadma Rajeswari
Mumbai, India
half moon
loving you
scars and allTerri French
Everywhere, USA
half moon
my tank also
half fullStephen A. Peters
Bellingham, WA
half moon on its own a full poem
Srini S
Rishi Valley, India
half moon
the continuing ring
of a distant callWai Mei Wong
Toronto, Canada
half a moon
leftovers
for the dogJosef S.
Florida, United States
waxing
or waning…
half-moon meditationTony Williams
Scotland, UK
half moon walking in and out of brain fog
Subir Ningthouja
Imphal, India
half a moon
half a face
behind a maskMarie Shimane
Chiba, Japan
urban half moon pull of the dark side
Marion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
the side of me
that is just me
half moonArvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
quarter moon
her first and last
wordSamo Kreutz
Ljubljana, Slovenia
chrysalis moon
working quietly
on her wingsDaya Bhat
India
half-moon
what I mean when I say
“I’m fine”Vandana Parashar
India
dry wine–
the old bowl
half filledHelga Stania
Switzerland
half her life
spent in the dark…
joint custodyAdele Evershed
Wilton, Connecticut
half moon
in the branches
am i in or outAnette Chaney
Harrison, Arkansas
meteor craters
the impact
of striking memoriesMarianne Sahlin
Sweden
half moon —
the truths we hide
the lies we tellMona Bedi
Delhi, India
half moon surprised at being alive
Richa Sharma
India
half moon –
halfway between
faith and unbeliefTomislav Maretić
Zagreb, Hrvatska
half moon—
the soul’s circuit into
lightJonathan English
Washington, DC
half moon
i raise a glass
to my better halfRupa Anand
New Delhi, India
another mass shooting–
even the moon is
at half-staffNancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA
waxing moon . . .
my monthly round
of growing painsLori Kiefer
London UK
summer vacation
the kids discover
The Dark Side of the MoonMark Scott
Hardwick, VT USA
half moon
the secrets we hide
from each otherNeena Singh
India
Half Moon –
what I was and
what I amAna Drobot
Romania
to the moon and back a toast of early moon water
Roberta Beach Jacobson
Indianola, Iowa, USA
seventieth birthday–
still enough light left before
entering the darkLorraine Schein
Queens, NYC
phlox
creeping over the path
pink moonC. Jean Downer
White Rock, British Columbia
half moon –
the intriguing script
of shadowsNicole Pottier
France
half moon
my inner sonata
fading outBaisali Chatterjee Dutt
Kolkata, India
half moon setting
thinking of home
half a world awayHerbert Shippey
Tifton, Georgia
the dog’s head
lifts from the sofa
half moonMariel Herbert
California, USA
the welcoming curve
of home
Half Moon BayRuth Holzer
Herndon VA
half moon rising
finding a gap
in the fate lineHerb Tate
Jersey, UK
half moon –
hiding my
people-pleasing façadeCristina Povero
Italy
nightfall . .
drawing a curtain across
half the moonSue Courtney
Orewa, New Zealand
fine print…
the other side
of the half moonVidya Shankar
India
Half moon-
the bittersweetness
of my old ageSanthoshi Valli
India
moonless night
conversation with the stars
goes on and onNitu Yumnam
India
half moon
how childhood
can beRanice Tara
India
half moon
the night regards me
with a squinted eyeRachel Smith
United States
half moon
in the foliage
persimmonSatyanarayana Chittaluri
Hyderabad, India
half moon balancing the ocean tides
Bona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA
half a moon –
not enough to build a bridge
across the riverZelyko Funda
Hrvatska
half moon,
relationship at
the tipping pointChristopher Seep
Ballwin, Missouri
half full
half not…
midlife moonCynthia Anderson
Yucca Valley, California
Half Moon night
I bathe in
the Sea of TranquilitySusan Farner
USA
spring evening—
a kintsugi of half moon
in the cracked wallMilan Rajkumar
Imphal, India
complex craters
so much of me still
unknownJohn Pappas
United States
half moon –
darker spots
on my handsSilvia Bistocchi
Italy
denti da latte-
in un pianto di bimba
la mezza lunamilk teeth-
in a child’s cry
half MoonAngiola Inglese
Italia
half moon
I patch up
the worn pocket of his jeansTracy Davidson
Warwickshire, UK
half moon
I’m still looking
for a better halfBakhtiyar Amini
Germany
hunger moon
the shape of my howl
slowly risingMyron Arnold
Newfoundland
in the labyrinth
of cowslip–
cyclothymiaLuciana Moretto
Treviso Italy
singing bowl moon
I circle your rim
with my makeshift wandKath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California
connecting
with our fingertips
half moonC.X.Turner
United Kingdom
teaching me everything is on time half moon
Eva Limbach
Deutschland
sea of serenity….
yet another cobweb swept
into the mesosphereMarilyn Ward
UK
citrus moon
the ginger kitten
rubs my legCharles Harper
Yokohama
half moon
breath of a distance
between yes and noFirdaus Parvez
India
right where
we left off
half moonmarilyn ashbaugh
edwardsburg, michigan
half moon
over deserted mining town
Arizona highwayRehn Kovacic
Mesa, AZ
learning life
out of the rear window–
the half moonTeiichi Suzuki
Japan
eighth-day moon
mother no longer
answers my questionssimonj
UK
half moon
what I leave out
in the openMirela Brailean
Romania
half moon –
next to me
your absencemezzaluna –
accanto a me
la tua assenzaMaria Cezza
Italy
half moon
this wish to come back
just as I am arrivingDaniela Misso
Italy
half moon
this ebb and flow
of joy and sorrowGovind Joshi
Dehradun, India
my better half
whispering softly
to the moonJeff Leong
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
final hearing
the pages I’ll sign
with my full nameLorraine A Padden
San Diego CA
a gust of wind
the veiled moon
half revealedChen Xiaoou
Kunming, China
half moon
midlife crisis in
slow motionRichard Straw
Cary, North Carolina
half moon –
my bright side
youDan C. Iulian
România
daybreak
in half light
a half moonHelen Ogden
Pacific Grove, CA
mud mask
the bright face
of the moonMike Gallagher
Ballyduff, County Kerry, Ireland
half full or half empty
reflecting on my journey
of many moonsLiz Ann Winkler
White Rock, BC
a lemon jelly slice
and 5 sugar sprinkles —
planetary alignmentSheila Sondik
Bellingham, WA
half moon
Monday morphs
into TuesdayAndrew Shimield
UK
Join us next week for Carole’s commentary on additional poems, & our next prompt…
Guest Editor Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work. Her poems have won awards and been published worldwide, and her photographs have been featured on the covers of numerous poetry journals and anthologies. Her practice of contemplative photography along with an appreciation of haiku aesthetics helps deepen her awareness of the world around her. Both image and written word open her to the interconnectedness of all things, to surprise, mystery and a sense of wonder. She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).
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 31 Comments
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There really is a wealth of excellent haiku. It is difficult to make a scale by value. My quick choice would be . . .
***
half moon this hunger to be whole
Bryan Rickert
half moon on its own a full poem
Srini S
half moon
i raise a glass
to my better half
Rupa Anand
half moon
the secrets we hide
from each other
Neena Singh
Half Moon –
what I was and
what I am
Ana Drobot
half moon balancing the ocean tides
Bona M. Santos
half a moon –
not enough to build a bridge
across the river
Zelyko Funda
half moon
I’m still looking
for a better half
Bakhtiyar Amini
So many excellent haiku this week, and so many I could comment upon, but this one by Adele Evershed struck me for its melancholy and poignancy. When you can only see/interact with your children half the time, the world does seem dark. Knowing you have to rise above this (and can’t speak openly about difficulties dealing with an ex), so that your children aren’t hurt any more than they already are by this separation is painful…for the parent, for the child(ren), makes for dark times.
half her life
spent in the dark…
joint custody
Adele Evershed
Wilton, Connecticut
Thanks Adele for expressing what many parents go through all too often. That is a powerful haiku.
half moon –
halfway between
faith and unbelief
Tomislav Maretić
Zagreb, Hrvatska
Tom’s haiku like others I chose are what I call philosophical haiku. These haiku invite us in to a poet’s musing and the half-moon that inspired these musings. I could relate to the conundrum of being caught between faith and unbelief while gazing at a moon that was only showing half of itself. We all ponder these mysteries, and this haiku brought it home for me. Haiku connects us to each other in many ways. I’m amazed at thrilled at the diversity of all your submissions.
Another engaging week. 300 poems is a lot to sort, Carole!
Looking for more classic detachment from I, my and we in image + poet’s thought poems, I particularly liked:
in the half-dark
the path
of the badger
Ann Rawson
(room for another image perhaps?)
—
the dog’s head
lifts from the sofa
half moon
Mariel Herbert
—
and the haunting visuals evoked by:
half moon
over deserted mining town
Arizona highway
Rehn Kovacic
—
then, Haikai humour:
summer vacation
the kids discover
The Dark Side of the Moon
Mark Scott
—
and the strangely charming:
half moon
Monday morphs
into Tuesday
Andrew Shimield
ah, the suburban poet’s calm acceptance of the everyday. Right up my street! Love it.
Thank you so much for mentioning my poem!
Keith, I’m with you on looking for detachment from the I, we, me poems, especially the odd ‘you or your’ which really distances me from a haiku as they seem addressed to someone other than the reader. As always though, there are exceptions and sometimes ‘our’, or ‘I work for me without too much distraction. I think you might appreciate my upcoming thoughts to be posted Wednesday. I do address the rising number of pronouns in haiku.
Be sure to tune in. 🙂
half moon
loving you
scars and all
Terri French
Everywhere, USA
Although I’m not fond of ‘you/your’ in haiku, I made an exception for Terri’s haiku. It can be read as loving the moon scars and all. Or, of course be addressed to someone we don’t know. But….the reason this haiku sticks with me is because I often find myself moon gazing, and feeling a bit distressed that we have left so much of our litter on the moon that it’s hard to romanticize it anymore. I look to the stars, the moon with questions about the universe and my place in it. Terri’s haiku touched me, because despite the pockmarks on the moon and the debris we’ve left behind, I still am in awe of the place the moon holds within our earthly existence.
Carole: There are always exceptions! (And I think there are no absolute rules) We’ve all written the pronoun poems, and respond to them, me included. They can be an easy way to trigger or show emotions. Maybe that’s the way the genre is going?
I’s rather see it as an exception Keith…rather than a trend. It’s too easy to turn out haiku that resemble tanka once you start writing about angst filled relationships.
Ho apprezzato molto questo haiku per il suo realismo:
mezza luna –
macchie più scure
sulle mie mani
Silvia Bistocchi
Italia
Jhon Varder
Thanks much, Carole for including my haiku on the theme of Half Moon.
A sterling selection.
I particularly liked
half moon this hunger to be whole
Bryan Rickert
Belleville, Illinois
Everyone’s goal, I guess.
Half Moon –
what I was and
what I am
Ana Drobot
Romania
how we change with age
complex craters
so much of me still
unknown
John Pappas
United States
And we expect to be understood by others.
And
half moon
this wish to come back
just as I am arriving
Daniela Misso
Italy
The tug of emotions and/or gut.
Thanks for sharing your favorites Govind and enjoyed your comments. This prompt inspired quite a few personal reflections. Understandable when we consider our relationship with the moon and the mysteries of the universe. We have a tendency to turn to self when pondering our small place in the universe.
Truly a galaxy of thoughts in these haiku. I was especially impressed with Srini S’s submission which, to me, expresses what a haiku so simply does.
half moon on its own a full poem
Yes Marie, I so agree with your thoughts about Srini’s poems. Simply stated and yet as a monoku it has added layers depending on where one chooses to pause. ‘half moon on its own’….’on its own a full poem’.
This amazing poem by Nancy Brady stopped me in my tracks:
another mass shooting–
even the moon is
at half-staff
Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA
She really gets to the heartbreaking reality of life in the USA and the intensity of grief many of us are feeling.
Thanks, Eavonka. I appreciate your words, and yes, it is heartbreaking to see all the loss of life day after day. I hate even turning on the news some mornings. ~nan
Thanks Carole for selecting this haiku for inclusion in this week’s column because there are so many fantastic haiku here, and I know how difficult it is to cull the number down.
Nancy, thank you. I know you understand the intensity of selecting haiku and usually within a fairly short time. A rest for my eyes is not far away! Such an honor though to swim among such lovely work.
The personification of the moon added to the sadness to Nancy’s poem. It sends a cry out to the universe….
Una selezione splendida, ringrazio di cuore Carole per aver incluso anche il mio.
Trovo molto interessante questo, per il tema delicato toccato:
un’altra sparatoria di massa –
anche la luna è
a metà pentagramma
/
Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA
Silvia,
Sono d’accordo. È stata un’ottima selezione di haiku. Grazie per aver menzionato il mio. È apprezzato.
I agree. It was a great selection of haiku. Thank you for mentioning mine. It’s appreciated. ~nan
another mass shooting–
even the moon is
at half-staff
/
Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA
/
This well-written haiku touches on a troubling issue that the nation is dealing with at this time.
Thanks, Valentina. I am so and tired of seeing the flag at half-staff because of mass shootings. So many have occurred this year (more than the number of days in the year so far), and yet…no change has come about.
I came too late for the submission… but still had fun to try.
half moon
waking up
I search for the other half
I want to thank Carole MacRury for her wonderful guide that share a great deal of moon information!
Always enjoyed! Thanks.
Thanks Anna. The moon, in all its phases will never fail to inspire us. Lovely haiku, and I’m sorry you missed the deadline of midnight Saturday, pacific time. Next time! 🙂
Congratulations to all featured haikuists. And to the Guest Editor Ms. Carole Mac Rury for the great work on the selection of such a wonderful batch on “half moon”. I found the haiku by Bakhtiyar Amini to resonate with me as the one I wanted to submit but missed the deadline. (I hope you won’t mind me including it here:-
wondering
how my soul mate would have been like –
half moon)
half moon
I’m still looking
for a better half
Bakhtiyar Amini
Germany
Thanks for your haiku response to Bakhtiyar’s haiku, Hai Yin! Saturday midnight pacific coast time is the deadline. Next time! 🙂
the standout authentic-driven one for me in this batch is Vandana Parashar’s
half-moon
what I mean when I say
“I’m fine’
Indeed! Loved Vandana’s haiku, too. I thought, “Yep, she gets it.”
Sheila, so true….all the things we keep to ourselves….
Loved this stunner by terri French
half moon
loving you
scars and all
And the one that blew my mind away was this one by Milan Rajkumar…
spring evening—
a kintsugi of half moon
in the cracked wall
Thanks for offering a few of your favorites Ravi. Milan’s image is incredible…that little slice of gold or silver showing through.