mango moon
don’t go to sleep
I’m not finished with you
I haven’t posted in a while and found this among my haiku sketchings. Just something hot and sticky while I watch the mountains turn white here in Northern California.
mango moon
don’t go to sleep
I’m not finished with you
I haven’t posted in a while and found this among my haiku sketchings. Just something hot and sticky while I watch the mountains turn white here in Northern California.
another attempt
the dashboard dog
shakes its head
.
.
.
Haven’t written much in a while. Happy to be playing with this short form again.
green crayon
this haiku
is non-toxic
.
pregnant wife
I can’t hide
my breath
.
under the bridge
how something grows in the cracks
of this heart
.
.
.
saturday jacarandas
line up for the tour bus
twenty-one tongues
groove words in old queensland
floorboards
today is wind
coffee prices
need picking up
.
a friar bird in the banksia
on her phone again
.
.
.
.
For those not familiar with the friar bird’s chatter here ’tis:
too close
stand back from the road
little grey gum
bush track
in thongs
every stick slithers
workin on the railway
carpet burn on my knees
clouds swirl
the brisbane eye turns
with the tide
I’ve been a Pied Hill Prawn. Not all business, some pleasure, and holidays. More on that later. Speedpoet’s went well. I think. I wasn’t in the audience so hard to say. I had a ball anyway. It was fun reading my poems and the haiku/senryu set with Sheish was sweet. Sheish played harmonica between each ku. A cleansing of the palate between images. Loved it. Thanks for those who came out especially to support and there were those Speedpoet’s regulars in the audience who were very encouraging. Cheers.
I’ve been participating in Ginko walks for the past few Sundays. It’s put on by the Queensland Writers Centre and lead by haiku poet Graham Nunn of Another Lost Shark. Check out this link to the group’s haiku from Kurilpa Bridge. Hop around Graham’s recent posts to see some anxious poetry about waiting for their baby to decide to head out.
Here is a poem from my recent time with the family down at the Tweed Coast.
Fishing
(with children)
The car park is a long piece of gravel
feet are light and the nylon line
must be cast for them. Patience catches
nothing half way through a tide
that encouraging nibble
would be nice. Their fish is given up
for casting stones into the river. Heavy
sinkers are found at the bottom
of the box. Another hour of biting
complaints and the car park is a long piece of gravel.
purple envy
for the neighbour’s tree
good sake though
digging up the street
yellow shovels
in the sandpit
we dance
around his grin
next to the potty
.
dancing with the mower…
damn spider
.
.
next in line
for santa…
Mummy’s spit in my hair
.
Christmas lights…
across the road
traffic light blinking
.
Christmas Eve
kids asleep – unwrapping
her
.
new Christmas boardies…
a size too small
after lunch
.
hanging on a nail…
the end of the year
.
New Year’s calendar
hung over
the kitchen sink
.
curb side bin
emptied New Year’s day –
a little bit left
.
.
.
Nearly Christmas…
unwrapping my first
lychee
.
.
I wrote so many versions of these Aussie haiku and struggled with some of the edits. Here are some earlier versions of two of them. Particularly for my Brisbane poet friend Jdub. Let me know which reads better.
.
hot and sleepless
karaoke through the night
– Willie Wagtails
.
Why do I expect
Anything from this billabong?
– silence
.
.
sultry
all night karaoke
– Willie Wagtails
.
hopping back again…
– in the billabong
dust
.
green in the centre,
– first test Gabba pitch,
outside… jacarandas
.
I recently found this essay from John Bird, editor of Haiku Dreaming relating to the use of ‘kigo’ (season words) in Australian haiku. There are so many ideas (rules) being thrown around on the issue of ‘correct’ haiku. It is an interesting read for those learning about English language haiku, especially when living in a different hemisphere. The discovery of Haiku Dreaming made me look through my ‘ku’ with a distinct Aussie theme.
.
.
.
a kick in my back
from the depths…
of her womb
.
.
.
.
the dog down the street
used to be friendly…
what happened?
.
my friend
across the water…
we wave
(for Kenia Cris)
.
watching Spring rain,
holding my baby niece…
– feeling her eyes
.
Senryu is another of the Japanese short forms of poetry. It is structurally similar to Haiku but highlights ‘human nature’ and relationships whereas haiku is exclusively about nature. Find out more here at Alan Pizzarelli.com. By the way, yes I do have permission for the second senryu. Before proceeding: STOP – BREATH – OK? – ENJOY
.
racing cars
in a crumpled pile –
his pajamas
.
my pregnant wife
on her side
– snores for two
.
small boy through trees
spotting a wallaby
spotting him first
.