Haiku Windows

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 Submit an original unpublished poem (or poems) via our Contact Form by Sunday midnight on the theme of the week, including your name as you would like it to appear, and place of residence.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

Summer is almost here – even in the Yukon! Time to open those windows to the sunshine and the mosquitoes! Happy solstice everyone! and happy writing!

I look forward to reading your submissions.

 

Haiku Windows:  stained glass window

In July we will close the windows and step outdoors as we embark on an exploration of five different locations through each of the five senses, one location and one sense per week. The feature will be called A Sense of Place. It is my hope that this exercise will help poets in their own haiku practice, wherever that may be…
As I have mentioned before, all these poems deserve a few words, and it warms my heart that so many of you have taken to sharing your favourites in the spirit of support, and building the haiku community, in the comments section on the blog… thank you!

stained glass
my mind wandering
back to my prayer

Bill Kenney

Many poets this week understandably touch on religious subjects, as well as the exquisite beauty of stained glass… here the choice of the word ‘wandering’ makes all the difference – in re-reading the mind also wanders from prayer to stained glass and back…

life of David
on a stained glass window
sheep shaped like clouds

Carmen Sterba

This poem may be an extension of the previous one – a mind wandering from sheep to clouds – and, somehow, raising the eyes skyward seems to fit…

stained glass window
the bridegroom slowly
turns green

Joanne van Helvoort

June is a popular month for weddings – two friends of mine have sons who just got married this month…

Here are the rest of my selections for this week:

stained glass window
a white dove takes the place
of crucified Christ

Adjei Agyei-Baah
Kumasi, Ghana

 

June light in the window a holier Jesus

Adrian Bouter

 

skyline of Istanbul
the light from both sides
of Blue Mosque glass

Alan Summers
England

 

chapel window –
stained glass shards added
to my Tiffany collection

Angelee Deodhar

 

Cathedral
all colors of glass
on the bride’s veil

Angiola Inglese

 

Seaside church
The stained glasses made of
The mountain crystals

Anna Goluba

 

Paris, Notre Dame…
through a rose of glass
Heaven’s light

Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo

 

stained-glass window
the priest’s face
turning a deep blue

Ardelle Hollis Ray
Las Vegas, NV

 

funeral service –
a moth’s repeated knocks
on the stained glass window

arvinder kaur
Chandigarh, India

 

stained glass window…
my favourite part
keeps changing

Astrid Egger

 

morning sunlight
through dragonfly wings…
stained glass window

Billy Antonio

 

stained glass window
the many shades
of our life

Blessed Ayeyame
Nigeria

 

the dusty dead
covered in shards of stained glass
no sanctuary

Bob Whitmire

 

stained glass window
i ignore
the crick in my neck

Bona M. Santos
Los Angeles, CA

 

stained glass window
even the pine’s shadow
following Jesus

cezar ciobika

 

kaleidoscope
a child’s
stained glass window

Charles Harmon
Los Angeles, California, USA

 

stained glass window
silhouette of a nun
arranging flowers

Christina Chin

 

the falling leaves
never reaching the ground
stained glass window

Christina Sng

 

Jesus in glass
his life
in my hands

Christine Eales
UK

 

sun dance
upon stained glass
each color comes inside

Connie Meester

 

stained glass window –
the shepherd
walks into the light

Corine Timmer

 

a stone’s throw…
the stained glass houses
of neighbors

C.R. Harper

 

spring sermon
sun through stained glass
on the snorer

David Oates

 

morning service
the patterns unfolding
on stained glass

Debbi Antebi

 

ET
in front of the stained glass
closed coffin

Deborah P Kolodji
Temple City, California

 

daybreak
giving faces to angels
stained glass windows

Devin Harrison

 

a sunbeam
through the stained glass…
so many specks of dust

Diana Teneva

 

Milan Cathedral
a sunbeam plays
with the infinite

Eufemia Griffo

 

stained glass
in the dim light a pickpocket
counts the booty

Garry Eaton

 

hospital
tranquility room
stained glass seascapes

Greer Woodward
Kamuela, HI

 

stained glass window
many pink flamingos
flying here and there

(For Lake Tuz Birdland)

Guliz Mutlu

 

steady rain
look up to the blue
of Chagall’s church windows

Helga Stania
Switzerland

 

stained glass window
the image of heaven
in pieces

Hifsa Ashraf
Pakistan

 

pine muntins cope and hold cracked rose colored glass

Ian Ruitenberg

 

church window
all the colors
of my sins

Jennifer Hambrick

 

dreaming through blue light
of a brighter world
Chagall’s Peace Window

Joan Prefontaine

 

my mother’s presence
the glow from the rose window
at daybreak

Karen Conrads Wibell

 

it’s hard to see
into stained glass windows
my childhood

Kath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California

 

church windows
celtic symbols
interpreted

Kathleen Mazurowski

 

stained glass
standing in a saint’s
solemn hue

Ken Olson

 

Black cat
winding through wildflowers,
stained glass meadow

Laurie Greer
Washington D.C.

 

lightening up
the preachers message
stained glass jesus

Lori A Minor

 

stained glass window
hearing the sermon
in color

Lori Zajkowski

 

her lipstick
with red wine
stained glass

LPConvey
Brisbane Australia

 

stained glass…
from the window an angel
guards her sleep

Lucia Cardillo

 

shining through
her brokenness
stained glass window

Lucy Whitehead
Essex, UK

 

stained glass window…
this wintry morning
the cockatoo too in blue hue

Madhuri Pillai

 

fragmented windows
cobbled together
butterflies

Margo Williams

 

in the pink light me
in the gray light you
stained glass window

Margherita Petriccione

 

a place I used to call home…
the Art Nouveau window
stoned by thugs

Marina Bellini

 

a prayer
beneath my breath
stained glass window

Mark Gilbert
UK

 

Midnight Mass
on stained-glass window
the cradle rocks

Marta Chocilowska

 

stained glass…
the pigeon eyes
his handiwork

Mary Hanrahan

 

stained glass window
nothing to speak of
at midnight

Michael Henry Lee

 

stained glass windows
optional upgrade
for self-driving car

Michael H. Lester
Los Angeles CA USA

 

interfaith service
the stained glass window’s
rainbow colors

Michele L. Harvey

 

fragmented
a story told
in lead and glass

Mike Gallagher

 

Christ
overlooking his flock –
stained glass window

Mohammad Azim Khan

 

broken heart
lead came fixes
the stained glass

Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA

 

the memory box
sunlit through stained glass windows –
a derelict church

Natalia Kuznetsova
Russia

 

gothic  church
onto the stained glass
a butterfly

Nazarena Rampini
Italy

 

light pouring through
the cathedral’s rose window…
prayer time

Olivier Schopfer
Switzerland

 

stories in glass
the child asks for a window seat
in church

Pat Davis
Pembroke NH  USA

 

a stained glass window
the colors of saintliness
shading the sinners

Peter Jastermsky

 

stained glass
each window tells
a story

Rachel Sutcliffe

 

green glass window
taking me far beyond
temple’s pinnacle

Radhamani Sarma

 

kaleidoscope
reflections in puddles
after the rain

Radostina Dragostinova
Bulgaria

 

hour of prayer
the wings of a mourning dove
through stained glass

Randy Brooks

 

illuminated saint stares
at me from the window
he knows

Rehn Kovacic

 

six winged angel
perched in a rose window –
darkness breaking

Réka Nyitrai

 

church sunset
the burning inquisition
of stained glass

Roberta Beary
County Mayo, Ireland

 

stained glass window
the world through the wings
of a dragonfly

Robin Smith
Wilmington, DE

 

white roses made red
beneath stained glass windows –
first communion

robyn brooks
usa

 

stained glass window
blue songbirds aflutter
courting silently

ron scully

 

sitting here
I become each hue
stained glass window

Ronald K. Craig

 

singing
with the angels
in the stained glass windows

Ruth Powell

 

ivy bordered
stained glass window –
studying for exams

Sari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY, USA

 

church window
Mary’s blue veil brightens
to morning light

Simon Hanson
queensland, australia

 

morning Mass
the angel’s finger
on my forehead

Slobodan Pupovac
Zagreb, Croatia

 

sunrise in a veranda
birds gathered at
stained glass pattern

Somayajulu Musunuri ‘MUSO’
Hyderabad, India

 

fences between neighbors
the dust on the church’s
stained glass window

Stephen A. Peters

 

cornflower blue
light from the Virgin’s dress
streaking the bride’s gown

Susan Rogers
Los Angeles, CA, USA

 

stained glass
memorizing every crack
in between

Tia Haynes
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA

 

stained glass light
settled into her drawn bath
a smile of contentment

Tim Heaney
Atlanta Ga.

 

Stained glass chandelier
colors Grandma’s table
windows to memory

Trilla Pando
Houston, Texas

 

earthquake…
on a broken stained glass
Virgin Mary

Tsanka Shishkova

 

cathedral windows –
black-and-white themes
taught in color

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA

 

pieces
of a jigsaw puzzle…
shattered stained glass

Vandana Parashar

 

military base church
stained glass infuses all
denominations

Yvonne Cabalona

 

 

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 76 Comments

  3. Thank you for including one of mine. I enjoyed all, but this one caught my fancy:

    church window
    all the colours
    of my sins

      1. Thank you so much, Alan. How kind of you. Somehow it seems a better poem with Ruth’s British spelling of “colors” (“colours”) …

        All best,
        Jennifer

        1. Jennifer:
          “Somehow it seems a better poem with Ruth’s British spelling of “colors” (“colours”)”
          .
          .
          It depends, maybe line length, and maybe emphasising the o’s (of the moon). 🙂
          .
          e.g.
          .
          .

          moonlighting crows in other colors
          .
          Alan Summers
          Frogpond (39:1) Winter Issue
          .
          .

    3. thanks so much for submitting, Ruth, & for your comments – & also to Alan, Jennifer & Randy…
      ps that would be a Canadian spelling… (lol)

  4. Thanks for choosing mine. Many fine pieces here. Hum. Etched in glass, set in a window.

  5. By the way, this one of mine appeared in the Broken Window theme of Haiku Windows in February:
    *
    broken pane
    in the cathedral
    Christ’s stained glass smile

  7. Thanks for having one of my haiku among these. Too many wonderful to pick favorites! All very beautiful and moving.

  8. What a pleasure to read these wonderful haiku. I wish I had participated as stained glass is so evocative. No reason not to try now! Hard to pick a favourite as it was such a strong collection.

  9. So many I really enjoyed this week, I would highlight these two thought-provoking ones:-
    *
    stained glass window
    the image of heaven
    in pieces
    *
    by Hifsa Ashraf, and Valentina Ranaldi-Adams’
    *
    cathedral windows –
    black-and-white themes
    taught in color
    *
    Thanks KJ for including mine

  11. Dear kjmunro,
    Warm greetings! Thank you once again, for publishing mine. Altogether
    a very detectable choice. Appreciate your diligence .
    with regards
    S.Radhamani

  12. A brilliant collection of haiku. Thank you, Kathy!

    my personal favourite is this one.

    skyline of Istanbul
    the light from both sides
    of Blue Mosque glass

    Alan Summers
    England

      1. I lived in Istanbul for three years as a young child… 1959-1962. Haven’t been back but all the pictures my mother took and stories keep well. I was actually born in Ankara in 1957 so 5 years in Turkey to kick off my life. Very thankful for the education of travel.
        .
        The Blue Mosque reference in your poem brings back good memories!
        .
        Thank you

        1. Hi John,
          .
          Well I am a big fan of Turkish history, and even when it was Byzantine, and of course Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atatürk
          .
          I didn’t get to Ankara, as I was focused on certain Byzantine or late Roman areas.
          .
          Not only did I have a great time in Turkey, but I am so glad our British travel agency failed in their tour, and cancelled. I walked into an Istanbul shop and accidently found out there was a travel agency upstairs.
          .
          For less money, and just for the two of us, we had a driver, and a small coach, plus not just one guide, but two or three guides at times. And because it was pre-season, we actually got to have meals with the driver and guides. Most tourists don’t like to do that, but it made it extra special, and we even observed Ramadan for the driver.
          .
          Four star hotels during the tour, almost completely empty but for us, and off-tour some pretty funky places. One I bought cleaning materials and paint, and curtains. But the Istanbul YHA (youth hostel) was brilliant, far better than the awful (sorry) Zurich one I stayed in.
          .
          Turkey rocks! Setting aside issues you and myself are too aware of, and current stuff too, but then all countries have horrible histories, and ongoing stuff.
          .
          Thanks for liking my haiku, and that it took you back!
          .
          warm regards,
          Alan

  15. Thanks for including one of mine – always surprised to see which one you choose! My favorite this time is Christina Sng’s “falling leaves”. Thanks for the commentary and all the work of putting this column together!

  18. Amazing collection of imagination and creativity from all over the world. Wonderful what can be seen through the narrow stained glass window of haiku. Thank you for being editor.

  19. Again, so many fine works on the theme of stained glass!
    .
    .
    Seaside church
    The stained glasses made of
    The mountain crystals
    .
    Anna Goluba
    .
    .
    This struck me as we might be more used to religious buildings in an urban setting now.
    .
    .
    stained glass window
    the many shades
    of our life
    .
    Blessed Ayeyame
    Nigeria
    .
    .
    Although this is Nigeria, I did think of windows literally stained by blood, if it was in a war zone or under deadly curfew. Setting aside themes of violence, including the attack on churches in some parts of the Western world etc…, it’s a thought-provoking work.
    .
    .
    stained glass window
    silhouette of a nun
    arranging flowers
    .
    Christina Chin
    .
    Ah, of course, even stained glass windows can be a little see through. Lovely phrase, peaceful too.
    .
    .
    the falling leaves
    never reaching the ground
    stained glass window
    .
    Christina Sng
    .
    Evocative first two lines, even before we get to know this is stained glass decorations. Wonderfully suspended both in time and motion.
    .
    .
    a stone’s throw…
    the stained glass houses
    of neighbors
    .
    C.R. Harper
    .
    Powerful and mysterious as well as a well crafted senryu outlook. Deeply memorable on so many levels.
    .
    .
    stained glass window
    the image of heaven
    in pieces
    .
    Hifsa Ashraf
    .
    Great double or even triple reading here!
    .
    .
    Can Jennifer Hambrick have been more sinful that most of us here? Gosh, but even the Saints had to start out as bad sinful people, otherwise they wouldn’t qualify when they turned their lives around. The mind boggles as to how much Jennifer competed with the Saints past and present. 😉
    .
    church window
    all the colors
    of my sins
    .
    Jennifer Hambrick
    .
    .
    Knowing Lori’s work reasonably well I read potential extra readings into this:
    .
    .
    lightening up
    the preachers message
    stained glass jesus
    .
    Lori A Minor
    .
    I like the ambiguous lack of a possessive inverted comma, neither preacher’s [singular] or preachers’ [plural]. If it’s a typo it works for me, as we have all heard of the extreme crimes committed by men (and women) of religion both in the last two centuries, and much earlier as well. Admittedly, I may well be reading more into this and this might be a truly good person literally glowing with the light and colours off the coloured glass. Either reading makes this a powerful poem.
    .
    .
    fragmented windows
    cobbled together
    butterflies
    .
    Margo Williams
    .
    The more I read this Margo, the more wonderful it is!
    .
    .
    green glass window
    taking me far beyond
    temple’s pinnacle
    .
    Radhamani Sarma
    .
    I can feel how beautiful the place must be!
    .
    .
    six winged angel
    perched in a rose window –
    darkness breaking
    .
    Réka Nyitrai
    .
    Highly atmospheric, great last line!
    .
    .
    church sunset
    the burning inquisition
    of stained glass
    .
    Roberta Beary
    .
    Monty Python made light of it (no pun intended) but the horrific persecutions of holy followers of Christianity by fellow Christians is unfathomable to me. I’m a student of Late Roman Empire to Byzantine (Roman) Empire history. And of course burning crosses on lawns and other crimes. How we thwart the messages of our holy/spiritual leaders.
    .
    .
    fences between neighbors
    the dust on the church’s
    stained glass window
    .
    Stephen A. Peters
    .
    Without over-telling, the barriers we put up, and neglect places that will offer refuge.
    .
    .
    stained glass
    memorizing every crack
    in between
    .
    Tia Haynes
    .
    I can imagine this innocently as a child (I occasionally did Sunday School, it gave my parents a break). Of course, as my own ‘personal reader’ I can also add other layers of meaning. Strong work on any level or layer.
    .
    .
    military base church
    stained glass infuses all
    denominations
    .
    Yvonne Cabalona
    .
    I am delighted that the British Army, as well as the US military (perhaps for longer?) embrace all religions, partly as it shouldn’t matter, partly as deserved recognition for the quality of the person serving their countries.
    .
    .
    I could comment on EVERY SINGLE POEM! Wonderfully strong work!
    .
    .

    3. Alan, you are a treasure. As for your comments about my sins – my, my, I’m flattered that you assume I’m so virtuous. Maybe I am. Either that, or that thing you said about saints. Yeah, let’s go with that.

      1. Yep, that thing about saints! And also the good priests.
        .
        It’s why I can be seen as a font of knowledge, because of all the many mistakes I’ve made, and terrible deeds. 🙂
        .
        Alan

  20. .
    .
    early dark
    the cathedral visible
    only as windows
    .
    Karen Hoy
    Another Country: Haiku Poetry from Wales
    ed. Nigel Jenkins, Ken Jones, and Lynne Rees
    (Gomer Press, 2011)
    .
    .
    This is published hence not submitted. But I couldn’t resist posting my wife’s haiku, as it says so much without telling. It was recently picked as one of the finest haiku ever written in English to be commented upon:
    .
    https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2018/05/11/revirals-139/
    .
    .

    1. Dear poets,

      “early dark
      the cathedral visible
      only as windows”

      Strikingly amazing and the notes below highlight the background for us .

      with regards
      S.Radhamani

  21. Thanks for choosing one of mine. I agree with Valentina, it is interesting to see which one of mine you picked. I have two favourites this week,

    stained glass window…
    my favourite part
    keeps changing

    Astrid Egger

    stained glass window
    the image of heaven
    in pieces

    Hifsa Ashraf
    Pakistan

  22. Dear ki,thank you for a fine collection of stained glass
    my personal favourite was:

    morning sunlight
    through dragonfly wings…
    stained glass window

    Billy Antonio
    with best wishes,
    angelee

  24. Thank-you once again for publishing one of mine. It is always interesting to see which one of mine you have picked.

  25. Can you edit my name. It is Margo Williams not Marco Williams please and thank you.

    Margo Williams

    fragmented windows
    cobbled together
    butterflies

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