HAIKU DIALOGUE – Under the March Moon – New Moon (1)

This Post Has 45 Comments

1. This Haiku Dialogue poem captures the essence of the new moon in March, with its delicate and evocative imagery. The interplay between the two voices creates a sense of connection and harmony, as they reflect on the beauty and mystery of the new moon. The use of the traditional Haiku form adds to the sense of elegance and restraint in the poem. Overall, a beautiful and contemplative piece that captures the magic of the natural world.

2. Incredible collection of new-moon haiku! Well done, everyone!

3. Thanks so much for including my haiku, Carole.

   Two of the poems in this collection stood out to me for their subtlety:

   new moon I forget how old the world is

   Srini S
   Rishi Valley, India

   New Moon –
   I book an appointment
   with my therapist

   Ana Drobot
   Romania

4. Thank you so much for selected my haiku!

5. new moon
   the balmy night hums
   with mosquitoes

   — Firdaus Parvez
   The truth about a “balmy ” summer night. No moon in sight yet but the darkness is filled with the hum of mosquitoes. Nicely done!
   —

   new moon
   filling the estuary
   with stars

   Keith Evetts
   Thames Ditton UK

   ah, that a new moon can be ‘no visible moon’ or just the sharpest outline of a crescent moon. The dark estuary filled with bobbing stars is a fascinating scene I’m familiar with from way back. Wish I was back there. (Tamboon Inlet)
   —
   new moon
   a rabbit jumps out
   of her picture book

   Keiko Izawa
   Japan
   A reminder that we have the rabbit in the moon in Japan as well as in Australia. Australians can identify it by It’s ears, which stick up at a slant. Our Grandmothers used to point these things out to us. 🙂 But here it’s ‘new moon’ so we can see no sign of the rabbit yet . . . until this picture book surprise. 🙂
   —
   counting stars
   beneath a missing moon
   we sail on diamonds

   Pris Campbell
   US

   Pris I wish I was there where you are. out on the ocean :
   —-
   new moon –
   a twinkle of stars
   in the puddle

   Maria Teresa Piras
   Serrenti – Italy

   A less enviable venue than Pris’s , but a reminder that the stars twinkle as beautifully in a puddle as they do in any sea or estuary.
   —
   (just a few of my favourites from a lovely collection)
   —
   new moon
   the March Hare pours tea
   down a rabbit-hole

   1. Thank you, Lorin. Unseen or not, the moon’s pull fills an estuary… I expected to find a few others pointing to tide among this week’s crop.

      I too liked Pris’ lyrical ‘we sail on diamonds’ although as a now-landlocked amateur yachtsperson I recall getting a periodic faceful of diamonds close-hauled!

   2. Thanks for popping in with commentary Lorin! I appreciated your comments on Keiko’s rabbit especially, as I loved that one but wasn’t sure why except that it reminded me of reading books to my own children and acting them out. 🙂 It felt fresh and original, but your comments added another layer to my reading. Your March hare a perfect response! 🙂

   3. Thanks Lorino. A small or huge puddle of twinkling stars in the mud… In the new moon, more wonder for starlight…

6. Wow! Such wonderful responses from our HD community inspired by Carole. Thanks for choosing my train-ku. In addition to the many fine comments already mentioned, here are a few that stood out for me.
   .
   moonless sky
   those bright stars
   in mum’s lullaby

   Samo Kreutz
   Ljubljana, Slovenia

   The idea of a mother making up lyrics to lull a child to sleep reminds me of the many inspired words I have come up with . . .
   .
   new moon
   with my child
   some of my childhood too

   Stephen A. Peters
   Bellingham, WA

   Yep, can relate to this. Beautifully stated.
   .
   starlight
   on the river waters
   a boatman’s song

   Ravi Kiran
   India

   I like this romantic poem and the way the middle line acts as a pivot.
   .
   new moon–
   the night like pages missing
   from a poetry book

   Teiichi Suzuki
   Japan

   A fresh take on the moonless sky. I would prefer ‘the night’ to also be missing from the second line, however, still wonderful.
   .
   attic window
   the light through dust motes maps
   new constellations

   Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
   Tucson, Arizona USA

   I can’t stop thinking of this image.
   .
   a brook murmuring
   my mother tongue…
   spring equinox

   Florin C. Ciobica
   Romania

   Great poem. Reminds me of Annette Makino’s Touchstone winner,
   “long before language the S of the river”
   .
   Thanks everyone!

   1. Lovely comments John. Thanks for pointing out a few favorites. 🙂

7. Thank you dear Carole for this delightful collection and commentary. I particularly enjoyed this one for its insight and keenness

   star-struck
   the evening star

   in the morning

   Jagajit Salam
   Imphal, India.

   This one and last Wednesday’ poem too, reveal a sensitive soul.
   They are heart-warming

8. Thank you Carole for also including my haiku in this nice selection. it’s really hard to choose just a few… they all give emotions.
   One particularly struck me by the juxtaposition: the moonless sky and the mysterious side of life…

   new moon
   the dark side
   of life
   Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
   Fairlawn, Ohio USA

   this one moved me, maybe because it happened to me that I started to understand a person after a long time… maybe I hadn’t tried before…

   coming to understand
   the dark side of my father –
   New Moon

   Hla Yin Mon
   Yangon, Myanmar

   Delightful mental image in this haiku:

   mimosa in bloom…
   a thousand little moons
   on the marsh

   Silvia Bistocchi
   Foligno, Italy

   1. Maria, thank-you for commenting on my haiku. I am glad you liked it.

9. spring moon –
   grandma cleans
   the silverware

   Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă
   Romania

   I have memories of horse brasses being polished, though when in the year or how often are lost to me.

   1. Simon, I had similar memories too, even though I’ve left my own silver all tarnished as I never use it anymore! Plus the odd copper tea pot! 🙂 Another thing I enjoyed was the vision of ‘silver’ as it related to the object being cleaned and a silver moon. Enjoyed you sharing about horse brasses! Daniela’s haiku reminds me I should be doing a little spring cleaning too.

10. So many lovely poems. Here are a couple of images that are especially striking to me.

    first crescent
    the buck’s
    velvet antlers

    Charles Harper
    Yokohama

    ~ I can see the beauty of the velvet antlers beginning to glow in the moonlight. The antlers are in a phase of their own.

    new moon
    she curls around
    an empty womb

    John Hawkhead
    UK

    ~ the woman’s body forms a crescent along with the moon and I hope her apparent wish is fulfilled.

    1. Thanks for picking this out April. I hope there are many readings/meanings you can get from this…

       1. These are both lovely aren’t they? I’m still waiting to catch a glimpse of our male deer with their velvety antlers. Won’t be long now! A lovely interpretation of John’s haiku too, April! I also saw the thin light curving around the unseen roundness of the moon. Lovely layers in this one. To me, it was full of anticipation and hope.

11. Trovo molto originale l’haiku di Silvia bistocchi:

    mimosa in bloom…
    a thousand little moons
    on the marsh.

    Stupendo.

    1. Thank you Sara. Such an incredible image! So well crafted, without one wasted word and full of sound, bloom/moons/, and the alliteration of ‘m’ wrapping this up like a small gift.

12. I enjoyed reading all of the wonderful haiku. Thank you, Katherine Munro, Lori Zajkowski, and guest editor Carole MacRury.

    The following poems especially resonated with me today. I’ll comment on some.
    *
    moonless sky
    those bright stars
    in mum’s lullaby

    Samo Kreutz
    Ljubljana, Slovenia

    This is a beautiful and touching tribute to mothers/your mother.
    *
    new moon I forget how old the world is

    Srini S
    Rishi Valley, India
    *
    new moon
    all the stories
    mom never told

    Neena Singh
    India

    My last grandparent died last year, and my parents are in their 70s. This really makes me think about all of the things I don’t know and all of the stories that have been forgotten. Well done.
    *
    new moon –
    in the fisherman’s net
    song of the sea

    Nicole Pottier
    France

    Lovely! This made me hear sea shanties, but it also made think of selkies, mermaids, and water spirits. Have you seen Song of the Sea (2014 animated film about Irish folklore)?
    *
    attic window
    the light through dust motes maps
    new constellations

    Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
    Tucson, Arizona USA

    Gorgeous! And I love this creative take on dust motes.
    *
    cutting away
    at the dark
    sickle moon

    C.X.Turner
    United Kingdom
    *
    This one is poignant. The movement in this one creates a striking and emotional visual.

    new moon
    she curls around
    an empty womb

    John Hawkhead
    UK

    1. Loved your thought Kimberley, and so sorry about the loss of your last grandparent. It’s so true that the questions we have usually come up after they have gone. Same in my family…probably in many families! Love your comments on ‘song of the sea’. :-)!!

13. So many wonderful haiku here on new moon theme. Thank you for including my haiku here Carole and thank you to Lori and Kathy for all the work on this haiku community dialogue. This one stood out for me as a unique take on the theme and hit me on that sort of unexplainable level which haiku sometimes reach:

    new moon
    I agree to stop
    moonlighting

    Padma Rajeswari
    Mumbai, India

    1. Thanks Sari. It is a unique haiku! Moonlighting (working 2 jobs) is such an interesting word! I can imagine how exhausting it would be and it felt especially poignant that this promise was being made on a dark night when perhaps we reflect more upon our lives.

14. Thank you so much to Carole MacRury for including my haiku in this wonderful collection for ‘new moon’. And to Kathy and Lori for all you do. I picked some of the haiku to re-embrace from all of the fine poems in this issue. A difficult thing to do. Some draw one back because of being able to identify with, the imagery, the phrasing and word choices, and other. To try to highlight a few is to understand the challenges you meet each submission period, Carole. Thank you!

    counting stars
    beneath a missing moon
    we sail on diamonds
    Pris Campbell
    US
    ———–
    new moon letting her have you
    Susan Burch
    Hagerstown, MD
    ————-
    new moon
    I take a longer look
    at the stars
    Sharon Ferrante
    Daytona Beach FL USA
    ————-
    still somewhere
    mother’s aura
    moonless night
    Arvinder Kaur
    Chandigarh, India
    —————
    spring equinox
    fresh mortar holding
    old bricks
    Andrew Shimield
    UK
    —————-
    a wrinkled finger
    next to a small one
    pointing to the stars
    Kimberly Kuchar
    Austin, Texas
    ——————
    new moon –
    the doe nuzzles
    her first fawn
    Patricia Nelson
    Bethlehem, PA
    —————-
    attic window
    the light through dust motes maps
    new constellations
    Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
    Tucson, Arizona USA
    ————-
    new moon
    10,000 steps to
    catch up with my youth
    Priti Khullar
    India
    ————–

    1. Thanks Claire, I am truly blown away each prompt by the quality of the haiku. Any one of these deserve to be selected for commentary. And I’m so happy that all of you are shedding light on your own favorites.

15. new moon
    the balmy night hums
    with mosquitoes

    Firdaus Parvez
    India

    spring equinox
    moon hides under a blanket
    just like me

    Damon Huss
    Santa Monica, CA

    –

    I liked these two haiku especially for the images they conceived in my mind, but this is a strong issue in general. Thank you for the careful curation!

    1. Thanks Goran. I am so grateful for the amazing response to this prompt.

16. quiet night to come
    new moon silent in the sky-
    cycle of rebirth

    Marius Alexandru, USA

17. Hi Carole:

    Thank-you for selecting these wonderful poems. Thanks to Kathy and
    Lori for their fine editing. And thank-you for including my haiku.
    It is quite difficult to choose a poem as I find them all so beautiful:)

    new moon
    a rabbit jumps out
    of her picture book

    Keiko Izawa
    Japan

    I find Keiko’s poem quite delightful. It reminds me of lovely evenings spent reading to my children.

18. So many great haiku in this week’s collection. One that really resonated with me with a first read was
    new moon
    I take a longer look
    at the stars

    Sharon Ferrante
    Daytona Beach FL USA
    but then last Friday the night sky was clear of clouds and the constellations just popped. I just looked up and marveled at all the stars.

    Thanks, Carole, for including one of my haiku with all these marvelous haiku. I am proud to be among all these poets. Thanks Lori and KJ for all the work you do to keep this column going each week.

19. Ringrazio di cuore Carole MacRury per aver inserito anche il mio haiku in questa lucente selezione.

20. Thanks for pointing our favorites Tom. I’m sure the poets appreciate it very much. In actual fact there is very little time to choose the long list and the short list, a day and a night, so when I see this lovely list, I know that on any given day and time, I could have easily chosen to comment on them. Which is why it’s so lovely when everyone takes the time to share favorites and offer comments. I enjoy reading these excellent haiku all over again!! Thank you!

21. So many excellent poems and so many poets I deeply admire.

    But I was particularly pleased to see the return of this one:

    a wrinkled finger
    next to a small one
    pointing to the stars

    Kimberly Kuchar
    Austin, Texas

    What a wonderful generational moment captured.

    1. Thanks for pointing out Kimberly’s poem Eavonka. Such a tender image in this haiku.

       1. Thank you, Carole! And thank you for selecting my haiku.

    2. Thank you, Eavonka! I appreciate your encouragement, and I’m glad this one resonated with you.

22. A fine selection. Thank you, Carole and team.

    I particularly liked:

    the train’s rumble fades
    into the evening sky
    new moon
    —John S Green

    a candle flutters
    on the veranda table –
    young moon
    —Tomislav Maretić

    an owl
    swoops over the snow
    moonless night
    —Ruth Holzer

    …all of which allied observation, silence, change, omen and expectancy with classic haiku detachment from ego. And in delightful contrast, again the expectancy in darkness but this time with just a taste of haikai humour — we can’t take the lyrical for granted!

    new moon
    the balmy night hums
    with mosquitoes
    — Firdaus Parvez

    And I also liked:

    a brook murmuring
    my mother tongue…
    spring equinox
    — Florin C. Ciobica

    Subtle, seductive, ancient stirrings of spring; the “my” inviting the reader in to something shared by all who have heard a brook. (Although Tennyson did go on a bit)

    1. Thank you Keith for these lovely comments. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them as I’m sure the poets did as well.

23. Each poem inspires a meditation…endless variations of inspiration!

    New beginnings in this fluttering’

    a candle flutters
    on the veranda table –
    young moon

    Tomislav Maretić
    Zagreb, Croatia

    A way to use the lack of light to see
    The little lights in the dark!

    new moon
    I take a longer look
    at the stars

    Sharon Ferrante
    Daytona Beach FL USA

    Endless possibilities a brilliant association.. the blank tile!!

    tonight’s scrabble play
    a blank tile—
    new moon’s arrival

    Suzanne Leaf-Brock
    Ames, Iowa

    1. Thanks Kathabela. I’m always amazed at the range of haiku moments that are submitted each time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this lovely list of poems. I loved Tom’s ‘young’ moon with its connotations. And Suzanne’s blank tile….such an original and fresh haiku!

24. Carole, thank-you for publishing my haiku. Also, many thanks to the Haiku Foundation, Kathy, and Lori for their continued efforts on this column. Thank-you to all the poets who submitted regardless of whether they were selected or not.

    1. Thanks for your contribution Valentina. There is certainly a dark side to life as your haiku indicates, and perhaps felt more deeply in the absence of moonlight.

25. the train’s rumble fades
    into the evening sky
    new moon

    John S Green
    Bellingham, Washington

    starlight
    on the river waters
    a boatman’s song

    Ravi Kiran
    India

    new moon
    God’s presence in
    absence

    Richard Straw
    Cary, North Carolina

    moonless sky
    those bright stars
    in mum’s lullaby
    Samo Kreutz

    Ljubljana, Slovenia

    moving to the next phase of my life new moon

    Rupa Anand
    New Delhi, India

    coming to understand
    the dark side of my father –
    New Moon

    Hla Yin Mon
    Yangon, Myanmar

    new moon
    an extra lamp
    in the temple

    Baisali Chatterjee Dutt
    Kolkata, India
    *
    It is evident that there are many excellent haiku here and it is difficult for me to make a selection. It’s really hard to be a judge. The topic is inspiring, which is probably why there are so many good haiku.

    1. Thanks Tom! I’m always thankful when I receive such wonderful poems even if it does make the selection process difficult. I try to show a broad range of responses….more about diversity than judging. Some fine poems that were too similar to others didn’t make the list but may find a home elsewhere for sure! I’m just grateful for everyone that takes the time to send in a poem or two, whether they make the lists or not. Inspiration is always good.

Comments are closed.