Haiku Windows: dollhouse window
In the book Haiku: The Art of the Short Poem, editors Yamaguchi and Brooks quote David Lanoue: “A haiku is a window”…
In the following weeks we will look at (or through?) the many possibilities raised by this thought – and you’re invited to join in the fun! Submit an original unpublished poem (or poems) via our Contact Form by Sunday midnight on the theme of the week, including your name as you would like it to appear, and place of residence. I will select from these for the column, and add commentary.
next week’s theme: airplane window
A view of the tops of the clouds, or the runway scene after an hour stuck on the tarmac, or the toy-sized trees and traffic enlarging as the runway approaches, or the glint of a sunrise, or a friend waving hello or goodbye to someone standing outside – the airplane window…
I look forward to reading your submissions.
Haiku Windows: dollhouse window
I have been overwhelmed once again by the response and the wonderful poems! Thanks to all those who have taken the time to submit! Several poets submitted similar poems – there was a recurring theme of tea, and the idea that dollhouse life mimics real life, for example. Some poets abandoned concrete images in favour of ‘dreams’, ‘imagination’, and ‘childhood memories’. Some poems took a much darker turn than I had anticipated… also, it is Week Two and I am already breaking one of the rules I had set for myself, which is to select no more than one poem per poet per week… I hope my comments will help explain why!
Again, all of the following poems deserve a few words, but I will limit my comments to the following four:
dollhouse window
the same argument
an octave higherBetty Shropshire
Texas
This poem is an example of the best kind of haiku – it says so much in so few words. Will the doll win the argument where the child presumably did not? How easy it is to picture this scene, and the poet trusts that the reader will supply almost all of the information…
dollhouse window dollhouse window
my daughter and I my son and I
seeing eye to eye seeing eye to eyeLori Zajkowski
New York
What a difference one word can make in a haiku! I was struck by this reaction when I first read these separate entries, and it would not have happened had I not read them both. Here the poet describes a scene that can be taken literally – the parent possibly on their knees to play at the child’s level – and yet with either a son or a daughter there is perhaps something more to the phrase ‘seeing eye to eye’…
school open day
painting windows
on my shoebox dollhouseMarietta McGregor
Canberra, Australia
The poet brings what could be a memory to life in this unique take on dollhouse windows – the freedom of childhood, and painting whatever one wishes, is emphasized by the first line – ‘open day’…
attic dollhouse
the window that marked
my sister’s halfRoberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
Another unique view of the dollhouse window, again a possible memory, and again the reader will supply information to complete this poem, or to at least ponder the possibilities – here the poet ventures into the realm of sibling rivalry and the concept of sharing… or not sharing. The ripples from reading the poem may lead the reader to wonder why the dollhouse is in an attic (whose attic?), and about the state of the relationship of the adult siblings…
Here are the rest of my selections for this week:
doll’s house window
still taking tea
the dolls she lovedandrew shimield
isleworth uk
dollhouse –
in the bay window
a little moonANNA MARIA Domburg-Sancristoforo
it’s ajar
since she left –
dollhouse windowArvinder Kaur
dollhouse window
the child peeks into
empty roomsBernadette O’Reilly
back then…
a dollhouse life
of glassless windowsCarole MacRury
Point Roberts, WA
power cut –
through the dollhouse window
candles flickerCarol Jones
Wales
all day rain
lowering the blinds
in her dollhouseDebbi Antebi
a little longer
for a bit more privacy
this kerchief curtainErnesto P. Santiago
Athens, Greece
dollhouse window
the plastic lilacs
always bloomingGiovanna Restuccia
sharing secrets
through the window
the doll and IHifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
just like Alice
my eye fills the frame
of the dollhouse windowJennifer Sutherland
Viewbank, Victoria, Australia
morning at the dollhouse
drawing back the curtains
with a pinLee Nash
Cognac, France
dollhouse window…
the little hands pretend
to pour teaLucia Cardillo
junk shop –
cobwebs curtain
the dollhouse windowsLyn Reeves
Tasmania, Australia
dollhouse window
three generations
of fingerprintsMarilyn Ashbaugh
upstairs window eye of the cat giant again
Marion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
untouched
by
raindrops
Barbie’s
windowsMark Gilbert
UK
spring cleaning
my little niece hangs
new curtainsMarta Chocilowska
the family
she always wished for –
dollhouse windowMartha Magenta
England, UK
dollhouse window everything just how she left it
Matthew Markworth
Mason, OH, USA
hurricane season
the dollhouse windows
boarded tightMichael Henry Lee
her tiny nose
glued to the dollhouse window
since ChristmasMichael H. Lester
snowstorm…
granddaughter closes
the dollhouse windowMohammad Azim Khan
Peshawar Pakistan
dollhouse –
through paper curtains
a pink shineNazarena Rampini
Italia
night shadows
a noise behind
the dollhouse windowOlivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
dollhouse window
watching the girl
she never wasPeter Jastermsky
dollhouse window
glimpse of the childhood
I missedRobin Smith
Wilmington, DE
discarded toys…
a night full of stars
in the dollhouse windowRon C. Moss
Open Day –
the fly flies
through the dollhouse windowSerhiy Shpychenko
Kyiv, Ukraine
through a doll’s house window the grandfather clock of childhood
Shloka Shankar
India
late afternoon
the dollhouse furniture
casting shadows tooSimon Hanson
Tamborine, Queensland Aust.
draughty old doll’s house
the hair dryer finishes
new cling film windowssimonj
UK
dollhouse window
my child
invites me inStephen A. Peters
dollhouse
the always draped
bedroom windowSusan Mallernee
his nightly visit
curtains closed on the
dollhouse windowsTerri French
abandoned home
a face in the window
of the dollhouseValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada and an Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets. She recently co-edited an anthology of crime-themed haiku called Body of Evidence: a collection of killer ’ku.
This Post Has 44 Comments
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Down the window; Oh my, too late, too late, for a very important date:
kewpie dolls
between the stringer lights
halo moon
rusty dust batters
my window on the tarmac
grounded flight
Claire – please submit on the contact form! thanks!
rusty dust batters
my window on the tarmac
grounded flight
Thank you,
Claire
Great start to this series. Some achingly beautiful pieces here. Spent all day and most of the night flying on Wednesday, so excited for next week’s.
thanks for this, Craig!
Wonderful! Thank you KJ, and thank you poets!
thanks David!
Enjoyed all of these! Thanks, Kathy (and contributing poets)!
Thanks Jacquie! & have a fabulous launch on Saturday!
Lori’s poems showed up perfectly on my computer screen!
good to hear, Pat – thanks!
I thoroughly enjoyed your selection, Katherine. My sisters and I loved playing with our dolls and their houses and I have such happy memories of these days.
.
marion
Thanks for this, Marion
Fine selection ,dear kj,what is the next topic ?thank you,
angelee
Thanks Angelee! The next topic is at the very top of this post – airplane window – you have until midnight Sunday (Pacific time) to submit…
Just want to add my apologies to Lori Zajkowski – although the poems look right on my computer, when I looked on my phone the 2 poems were all mashed together… I’m so sorry about that! I am hoping that all readers will realize the error is mine, & I hope that everyone will be able to view the proper version on a computer!
Thanks for your understanding!
On my laptop (Apple MacBook Air 13″) Lori’s two haiku showed up perfectly, and I was mightily impressed by her work, and Kathy’s commentary showed an interesting and refreshing view.
.
Thank you Lori for your work, and Kathy for presenting the double haiku.
.
Wow, I cannot wait to see what appears next week, this is so exciting!
.
deep bow to Lori, and Kathy!
.
Alan
thanks again Alan!
If you check the □ for request desktop site on your cellphone (which is what I had to do) it displays perfectly. Lovely verses, Lori!
Betty
Whhaaattt???? thanks Betty – I am obviously a novice with both wordpress & cellphones…
Another one (post deadline):
–
dollhouse envy —
he would never have chosen
those curtains
–
thanks Mark
Wonderful selection!
Congratulations to all poets! ☺
Thanks for this, Brendon – & thanks to all who are submitting!
I thoroughly enjoyed these poems. I especially liked the twin poems of Lori Zajkowski, and agree that one word can have so much power. Her two poems belong together!
Thanks, Pat – more on this one in a moment…
Betty’s haiku is just stunning! How children work things out in their own way. I just love it.
Agreed! Thanks!
Deeply honored by your commentary, Katherine. Thank you!
Betty
☺
Thank you, Agnes!
Betty
Another marvellous collection of verse, so many different views.
I do like Marietta McGregor’s – a lovely childhood memory evoking the many inventive play things we made as children from the humble shoebox.
I know – so many different views – just what I am hoping for!
thanks Carol, Kathy
dollhouses with their windows were a theme i just couldn’t relate to. no such things in my growing-up time and anyway i never liked dolls (plush animals were a different matter altogether). however, this doesn’t prevent me from enjoying this selection of dollhouse window haiku 🙂
Thanks for this!
Dear Katherine Munro, Greetings. Going through – each haiku a new insight.
with regards
S.Radhamani
I agree! Thanks for your comments, Kathy
Enjoying these selections! Thank you!
thanks Robin!
Thanks for your choice and comments, Katherine!
Marta
thanks Marta!
Great set of haiku on an intriguing theme!
.
Alan
thanks Alan!