Haiku Windows: envelope window

Haiku Windows

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 Submit an original unpublished poem (or poems) via our Contact Form by Sunday midnight on the theme of the week, including your name as you would like it to appear, and place of residence.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:  outhouse window

Although it would naturally provide both ventilation and light, not every outhouse has a window… but if it did – what would it look like? What is the view? I’m not sure why a crescent moon comes to mind…

I look forward to reading your submissions.

Haiku Windows:  envelope window

refolding the letter
still the name eludes
the window

Madhuri Pillai

Here is a calm description of an incident that many of us will have experienced, and that might escalate, with humour and frustration, to a scene worthy of any great comedic actor…

recycled bill envelope…
I play peek-a-boo
with the baby

Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA

Many poems this week are concerned with the contents of the envelope – news that is either welcomed or dreaded – and here we have a completely different scene, where the window of the envelope becomes part of a delightful game…

all the lives
I wish I could save
envelope window

Tia Haynes
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Whether about children in other parts of the world, or runaway teens in our own community, or unwanted pets, we receive appeals in the mail, hear them on the radio, and see the advertisements on TV – in this poem, the poet has given the reader much to think about…

Here are the rest of my selections for this week:

envelope window
my long name boxed
into shape

Adjei Agyei-Baah
Kumasi, Ghana

 

waiting for
the letter that never comes
envelope window

Amy Losak

 

her name
in the envelope window –
scan results

andrew shimield
uk

 

routine breeze
an unknown name
in the envelope window

Aparna Pathak
India

 

saffron imprint
in the envelope window –
Indian festival

arvinder kaur
chandigarh, India

 

the year’s last statement
edging through the glassine window
OVERDUE

Beverly Acuff Momoi
Mountain View, CA

 

sorting the mail…
my cheeks the color
of the pink window

Carmen Sterba

 

morning mail…
double window envelopes
at the bra factory

Carol Raisfeld

 

all my dreams
behind the envelope window
acceptance letter

Christina Sng

 

autumn leaves
my late husband’s name
on envelope windows

Christine L. Villa
California, USA

 

long winter…
in the envelope window
my ex’s name

Debbi Antebi

 

envelope window
imagining your hand
caress my name

Eufemia Griffo

 

window envelope
an unidentified
lock of hair

Garry Eaton

 

on the envelope window
the spring rain
deletes your name

Giovanna Restuccia
Italy

 

the lawyers name
in the envelope window…
her trembling hands

Helga Stania

 

bank statement
the envelope window shows
nothing

Hifsa Ashraf
Pakistan

 

eyes narrow –
a bill lurks behind
an envelope window

Ingrid Baluch
Uganda

 

noticing
it’s accounts receivable
that have windows

Jackie Maugh Robinson

 

rice paper window
she never opened
the envelope

Kath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, CA USA

 

starlings in snow…
my name behind the window
of the envelope

Keith Polette
El Paso, Texas USA

 

envelope window
my misspelled name –
spring rain

Lorraine Schein
Queens, NY

 

separation…
in the envelope window
still together

separazione… sulla busta con finestra ancora insieme

Lucia Cardillo

 

envelope window
the history of our home
on the doormat

Lucy Whitehead
Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK

 

upcycling
seeds sprout through the torn
envelope window

Marilyn Ashbaugh

 

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
my full name
in black and white

Mark Gilbert
Nottingham, UK

 

a letter from son
on the windowed envelope
the censorship stamp

Marta Chocilowska

 

envelope window
the former resident
in it

Michael Henry Lee

 

OCD
he triple checks the address
in the window envelope

Michael H. Lester
Los Angeles CA USA

 

I tear
the plastic windows out
paper collection day

Olivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland

 

re-used envelope…
the art under the glassine
window

Pat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA

 

the challenge
of a half seen message
envelope window

Peggy Bilbro

 

typewritten letters
in the envelope window –
mother’s maiden name

Peter Jastermsky

 

envelope window
another submission
rejected

Rachel Sutcliffe

 

overdue notice
through the envelope window
my name in red

Randy Brooks

 

first of the month
envelopes with windows
pile up

Rehn Kovacic

 

long after
the bankruptcy
window envelopes

Roberta  Beary
County Mayo, Ireland

 

deep paper cut
in an envelope window
her late aunt’s name

robyn brooks
usa

 

tangerine sky
the envelope window
dusty with pollen

Ron C. Moss
Tasmania, Australia

 

a view of the neighbor’s
personal business
envelope window

Sari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA

 

opened envelope
the address window
is empty

Serhiy Shpychenko
Kyiv, Ukraine

 

envelope window
the bills
not any smaller

Stephen A. Peters

 

in the envelope window
Santa Claws –
that’s enough

Tsanka Shishkova

 

envelope window
feeling
boxed-in

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA

 

window envelope
my daughter hopes it’s
from Hogwarts

Vandana Parashar

 

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.