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 Submit an original unpublished poem (or poems) via our Contact Form by Sunday midnight on the theme of the week, including your name as you would like it to appear, and place of residence.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 windowMadhuri 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 babyNancy 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 windowTia 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 shapeAdjei Agyei-Baah
Kumasi, Ghana
waiting for
the letter that never comes
envelope windowAmy Losak
her name
in the envelope window –
scan resultsandrew shimield
uk
routine breeze
an unknown name
in the envelope windowAparna Pathak
India
saffron imprint
in the envelope window –
Indian festivalarvinder kaur
chandigarh, India
the year’s last statement
edging through the glassine window
OVERDUEBeverly Acuff Momoi
Mountain View, CA
sorting the mail…
my cheeks the color
of the pink windowCarmen Sterba
morning mail…
double window envelopes
at the bra factoryCarol Raisfeld
all my dreams
behind the envelope window
acceptance letterChristina Sng
autumn leaves
my late husband’s name
on envelope windowsChristine L. Villa
California, USA
long winter…
in the envelope window
my ex’s nameDebbi Antebi
envelope window
imagining your hand
caress my nameEufemia Griffo
window envelope
an unidentified
lock of hairGarry Eaton
on the envelope window
the spring rain
deletes your nameGiovanna Restuccia
Italy
the lawyers name
in the envelope window…
her trembling handsHelga Stania
bank statement
the envelope window shows
nothingHifsa Ashraf
Pakistan
eyes narrow –
a bill lurks behind
an envelope windowIngrid Baluch
Uganda
noticing
it’s accounts receivable
that have windowsJackie Maugh Robinson
rice paper window
she never opened
the envelopeKath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, CA USA
starlings in snow…
my name behind the window
of the envelopeKeith Polette
El Paso, Texas USA
envelope window
my misspelled name –
spring rainLorraine Schein
Queens, NY
separation…
in the envelope window
still togetherseparazione… sulla busta con finestra ancora insieme
Lucia Cardillo
envelope window
the history of our home
on the doormatLucy Whitehead
Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK
upcycling
seeds sprout through the torn
envelope windowMarilyn Ashbaugh
PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
my full name
in black and whiteMark Gilbert
Nottingham, UK
a letter from son
on the windowed envelope
the censorship stampMarta Chocilowska
envelope window
the former resident
in itMichael Henry Lee
OCD
he triple checks the address
in the window envelopeMichael H. Lester
Los Angeles CA USA
I tear
the plastic windows out
paper collection dayOlivier Schopfer
Geneva, Switzerland
re-used envelope…
the art under the glassine
windowPat Davis
Pembroke, NH USA
the challenge
of a half seen message
envelope windowPeggy Bilbro
typewritten letters
in the envelope window –
mother’s maiden namePeter Jastermsky
envelope window
another submission
rejectedRachel Sutcliffe
overdue notice
through the envelope window
my name in redRandy Brooks
first of the month
envelopes with windows
pile upRehn Kovacic
long after
the bankruptcy
window envelopesRoberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland
deep paper cut
in an envelope window
her late aunt’s namerobyn brooks
usa
tangerine sky
the envelope window
dusty with pollenRon C. Moss
Tasmania, Australia
a view of the neighbor’s
personal business
envelope windowSari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA
opened envelope
the address window
is emptySerhiy Shpychenko
Kyiv, Ukraine
envelope window
the bills
not any smallerStephen A. Peters
in the envelope window
Santa Claws –
that’s enoughTsanka Shishkova
envelope window
feeling
boxed-inValentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA
window envelope
my daughter hopes it’s
from HogwartsVandana 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.
This Post Has 25 Comments
Comments are closed.
Thank you for including my haiku, Kathy. I enjoyed reading all the poems here. 🙂
Thank you Kathy for publishing one of mine. Enjoyed the variety of envelope offerings from all, and look forward to, umm…outhouse windows? This one could let loose a few gems of literary merit.
thanks for sharing, Ingrid!
outhouse window
the robin sings
skyward
NAME – SUDEBI SINGHA
COUNTRY – INDIA
please submit using the Contact Form!
thanks, kj
quarter-webbed window
only the spider
to greet us now
Thank-you for publishing one of mine. I would never have thought of using “envelope window” as a topic.
thanks for sharing, Valentina!
A tremendous amount of delight, anxiety and humour within this wonderful selection.
thanks for this, Carol!
Thank you, Kathy, for selecting my work. This is a fun series to write for and I enjoy reading each week’s collection. Looking forward to the next challenge!
warmly,
Tia
thanks for this Tia!
These are all really interesting to read and enjoy, KJ. It’s amazing how many different takes poets have on such a simple item as an envelope window…it’s a great prompt. Congrats to all the poets featured here.
thanks for this Mary!
Thanks for including mine. I particularly liked Eufemia Griffo’s, Lucia Cardillo’s and Michael Henry Lee’s.
thanks for sharing, Mark!
Kathy,
Thank you for another wonderfully diverse selection and special thanks for my inclusion.
From the mailbox to the outhouse…love the challenge!
thanks Marilyn!
Thank you Kathy for including one of my envelope window haiku. I thought I was one of the last people on earth to still receive and pay bills by postal mail in this age of online banking but I see that I am not. I particularly am struck by Lorraine Schein’s, Lucia Cardillo’s and Christine Villa’s haiku. Your weekly windows feature reminds me of the poet Jane Hirshfield’s 2015 book titled Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World. I certainly feel transformed after reading these haiku. Happy National Poetry Month!
thanks so much for sharing this Sari!
Thank you for liking my haiku, Sari!
Wonderful variety of responses on a subject matter that could have been dull but the power of haikai verse proves otherwise.
.
warm regards,
Alan
I agree, Alan – these poets are amazing! thanks, kj
Thank you, KJ, for selecting my haiku. There are so many wonderful haiku here, so diverse and so much to think about.
thanks for this Nancy!