BONSAI
a journal of haiku & other small poems
Issue 02
TABLE OF CONTENTS Haiku & Senryu 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Slobodan Pupovac Nina KovaÄ?ić Gurpreet Dutt Blessed Ayeyame Agnieszka Filipek Colin Hassard Angiola Inglese Margherita Petriccione Bishnu Charan Parida Florin Golban Benjamin Blaesi A.J. Anwar Eve Lyons Rachel Sutcliffe Angela Giordano Lucy Whitehead M.S. Chintak Debbi Antebi
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Alex Harden Mark Gilbert Colin Myles Grove Koger Zelyko Funda Kiyomi Kiyomi Christina Chin Agus Maulana Sunjaya Gerard Sarnat MD Vibeke Laier Corinna German Adrian Bouter Maria Teresa Sisti Alisdair L R I Hodgson Vessislava Savova Goran Gatalica Benedette Palazzola Michele Mekel
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53
James G. Piatt David Subacchi Martha Magenta Shiv Raj Pradhan John Hawkhead Radostina Dragostinova Dr. Alok Kumar Ray Kanchan Chatterjee Kishor Kumar Mishra Louise Hopewell Nikolay Grankin Mihovila Ceperic-Biljan Smitha Vishwanath
Haiga & Haibun 54 55 57 59 60 61 62
Pravat Kumar Padhy Aida G. Roque Marilyn Ashbaugh Christina Chin Eva (Starry) Mihovila Ceperic-Biljan Mary Ellen Gambutti
64 Vandana Parashar 66 Geoff M. Pope 68 Antonietta Losito Other Small Poems 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82
Lilian Woo Nina Lewis Melissa Silva Ciarรกn Parkes Kirsty A. Niven Jayant Kashyap Fotoula Reynolds Lynn White Gillian Prew Shiv Raj Pradhan Camille Myrick Elizabeth Cockle James G. Piatt Iwan Dartha
5
country road the silhouettes of birds on a wooden fence ___________________ worms dance the piece of ground on the shovel
- Slobodan Pupovac (Zagreb, Croatia)
6
a mole hill outgrew a pumpkin overnight ___________________ steamy window a dinner flavors from sliding water drops
- Nina KovaÄ?ić (Zagreb, Croatia)
7
class lecture... a bit of my childhood waves from last bench ___________________________ summer morning how the buzzing bee stirs his thought
- Gurpreet Dutt (Kashmir, India)
8
night drizzle each drop quenches a firefly _________________ morning after storm a child rummages a weaverbird's fallen nest
- Blessed Ayeyame (Ughelli, Nigeria)
9
after rain grass kneeling on the old grave ___________ midwinter in the Claddagh Basin whiteness of swans
- Agnieszka Filipek (Galway, Ireland)
10
starlings rise and plunge against the grey morning sky mocking the traffic _______________________ i thanked the bread bin but it was you who made this house into a home
- Colin Hassard
(Banbridge, Northern Ireland)
11
tinnituscicada’s song beyond the summer aufeneil anto di iala oltre l'estate ________________________ herry blossoms dried clouds from the wind fiori di iliegio nuvole asiugate dal vento
- Angiola Inglese (Treviso, Italy)
12
late autumn another sunrise for the hibiscus flower ______________________ cows feet i feel inside of me this twilight
- Margherita Petriccione (Scauri (LT) Italy)
13
a falcon flies far in the sky focusing on the prey __________________ a kingfisher ready perching on a twig to pounce on a fish
- Bishnu Charan Parida (Jajpur Road,Odisha, India)
14
storm clouds thunder moves long shadow of the mountain nori de furtună tunetul mută umbra lungă a muntelui ____________________________ yellow afternoon beyond the window the old gramophone după-amiază galbenă dincolo de fereastră vechiul gramofon
- Florin Golban
(Bucuresti, Romania)
15
gleaming white snow on the steeple bells ringing ___________________ darkening buds on lilac panicles evening breeze
- Benjamin Blaesi
(Wuennewil, Switzerland)
16
early dawn bliss silence all round moslems pray _________________ obscured vanity in deceptive sweet-talks notes on tones
- A.J. Anwar
(Jakarta, Indonesia)
17
Portrait of my Son at Almost Five He just keeps growing His pants have holes in the knees Ankles are showing Splashing with savta Pretending she is a shark Diving for treasure He just wants to play Discovering new cousins Still needs to cuddle
- Eve Lyons
(Milton MA , USA)
18
winter mist the shadows of our minds __________________ leftover snow her blue eyes bathed in sunshine
- Rachel Sutcliffe
(Huddersfield, England, UK)
19
full moon in the spider's webnew origami ______________________ he becomes a son the bonsai on displaynew caresses
- Angela Giordano
(Avigliano, Potenza, Italy)
20
blue butterfly wing in a childhood notebook long forgotten dreams _______________________ indoor windchimes the music of grandchildren
- Lucy Whitehead
(Southend-on-Sea, UK)
21
sliced mangoout of nowhere a fly lands __________________ night journey my eyes follow the gibbous moon
- M.S. Chintak
(Kathmandu, Nepal)
22
autumn breeze releasing the dust from a used book ____________________ hospital garden we walk in silence under bare branches
- Debbi Antebi (London, UK)
23
water brushed from feathers flies up in precious dropletsa joyful lark _______________________ shake and rock collides into itselfthe wall tumbles
- Alex Harden
(Birmingham, UK)
24
the cries of a seal down there somewhere now I’m going to rain ___________________ hiroshima burns through a hole in the clouds
- Mark Gilbert
(Nottingham, UK)
25
river flows gently a funeral procession sightseeing tourists ________________________ motionless harbour yellow cabin trawler docked sat reminiscing
- Colin Myles
(Galway, Ireland)
26
i lay down on a hillside and rolled all the way to the edge of the world
- Grove Koger
(Boise, Idaho, USA)
27
a road splitting the wheat waves in the field _____________________ olive grove the wind takes its leaves up to the sea
- Zelyko Funda
(Varazdin, Croatia)
28
lot of smiles from white field harvest new christmas clothe _____________________ full moon visitor on a cold windy night coffee pots whistle louder
- Kiyomi Kiyomi (Lagos, Nigeria)
29
candlelight dinner station master whistles all the way home _______________________ wedding by the pond frog hops into the picture
- Christina Chin
(Kuching, Malaysia)
30
going home lamppost to lamppost an owl's hoot ____________________ after the rain the colors of rainbow on a butterfly's wings
- Agus Maulana Sunjaya (Tangerang, Indonesia)
31
substitious personstill her grief’s wormwood absinthe was filthy nasty _________________________ over the long run well-functioning inclusive groups make best decisions - Gerard Sarnat MD (Portola Valley, CA, USA)
32
scent of morning tea the beggar wraps his blanket more tightly ______________________ outside hospice window pigeons repair last year's nest
- Vibeke Laier
(Randers, Denmark)
33
rutting buck trails does in November’s foggy mist pheasants huddle close _____________________________ unblinking frog makes its own antifreeze winter is near
- Corinna German
(Laurel, Montana, United States)
34
endless railroad at the next station the stars just as far ________________________ simple street geraniums flare behind bars
- Adrian Bouter
(Gouda, Netherlands)
35
sultry evening not even my iced tea gives me relief _________________________ blood moon something changed my shadow
- Maria Teresa Sisti (Terry) (Massa Carrara, Italy)
36
in the time it takes to capture the season’s breath nature has moved on _______________________________ a touch halts the dog whose glossed coat even outdoors comes off in my hands
- Alisdair L R I Hodgson (Stirling, Scotland)
37
early morning pinker than a sunset the albizia _________________________ cloudy the days get shorter
- Vessislava Savova (Sofia, Bulgaria)
38
autumn stillness the barren acorn far from my soul ____________________ silver pond harvest moon comes out from the dusk
- Goran Gatalica (Zagreb, Croatia)
39
cage-free egg is still a waif moved only by time and wafting tendrils __________________________ last night i blasphemed it set me back ninety years it hurt the next day
- Benedette Palazzola
(Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA)
40
chill November rains pour down, streaking the windows but cleansing the soul _____________________ thunder clatters as lightening taps Morse Code across the night sky
- Michele Mekel
(Carbondale, IL, USA)
41
pine needles fallen strewn like colored ecru jewels cover all my pain
- James G. Piatt (Santa ynez, USA)
42
precious stones in gold light up her thin white fingers where no warmth lingers ________________________ tell me what’s the point? am I entertaining you? another Haiku! - David Subacchi (Wrexham, Wales, UK)
43
ghost moon the wind rocks her empty chair ______________________ fluttering sparrow the last leaf falls to the ground
- Martha Magenta
(Bristol, United Kingdom)
44
deep red horizon paints last journey of day yet, way farer alone ___________________ the dews over buds tuck to glittering exercises tone of yoga such
- Shiv Raj Pradhan
(Alipurduar, West Bengal,India)
45
summer’s end the sharpening shivers of a lost kite ___________________________ torchlight moth trap counting the varieties of mosquito bites
- John Hawkhead
(Bradford on Avon, UK)
46
another birthday in my mirror a child’s smiling ______________________ fated summer the cuckoo’s eggs in the alien nest
- Radostina Dragostinova (Sofia, Bulgaria)
47
ultimate result of a spumy dream rests on tranquility _______________________ sprouting of life with buoyance bliss to sustain causation - Dr. Alok Kumar Ray (Kendrapara, Odisha, India)
48
garbage pickup two cold sparrows play on the heap ____________________ morning breeze... the smell of today’s newspaper
- Kanchan Chatterjee
(Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India)
49
midday in summer whirlwind rushes into garden took away grey leaves ________________________________ in a jungle safari jeep riders searching for carnivores monkeys snatched lenses.
- Kishor Kumar Mishra
(Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India)
50
pine cones on the grass eating ice-cream by the lake __________________ pencil pine a woman sketches in the shade
- Louise Hopewell
(Melbourne, Australia)
51
summer end a forgotten ring on the bar counter _____________________ traffic jam a flock of birds changes its direction
- Nikolay Grankin (Krasnodar, Russia)
52
an old well filled by the odour of purple wisteria ________________________ water ring on the tendrils of green beans two ladybugs
- Mihovila Ceperic-Biljan (Rijeka, Croatia)
53
was it what you said, was it what you did, but youleft behind a mark - Smitha Vishwanath (Dubai, UAE)
54
- Pravat Kumar Padhy
(Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India)
55
- Aida G. Roque
(Valley Run, Dr.Wilmington, USA)
56
- Aida G. Roque (Valley Run, Dr.Wilmington, USA)
57
- Marilyn Ashbaugh
(Edwardsburg, Michigan, USA)
58
- Marilyn Ashbaugh
(Edwardsburg, Michigan, USA)
59
- Christina Chin
(Kuching, Malaysia)
60
- Eva (Starry) (Indonesia)
61
- Mihovila Ceperic-Biljan (Rijeka, Croatia)
62
- Mary Ellen Gambutti (Sarasota, FL, USA)
63
- Mary Ellen Gambutti (Sarasota, FL, USA)
64
- Vandana Parashar (Chandimandir, India)
65
- Vandana Parashar (Chandimandir, India)
66
first rain-free day a neighbor’s cat on the fence walks this way…that…
- Geoff M. Pope
(Renton, Washington, USA)
67
lily pad flower — in a yellow petal cup a planet
- Geoff M. Pope
(Renton, Washington, USA)
68
A Blast From The Past refreshing breeze the fragrance of a lemon tree When my cousin told me her plan to clear her iris color, it seemed to me a "burning" solution, a decision that someone who had something on the ball would not have taken. For all I knew, the lemon juice got squeezed on meat and fish, but she shut me up and set her plan in motion. For a moment, I seriously thought her mother wanted to drown her when she put her face in a bowl of cold water. "Pray for my soul�, my cousin told me when she resumed breathing control. But, I didn’t want to disturb God for what was perhaps just a matter of vanity.
- Antonietta Losito (Mottola (Ta) Italy)
69
Roses Roses are charming Intoxicating fragrance Sweet nectar attracts Butterflies and bees basking Essence fills the air sweetly. _______________________________ Raindrops Cloudy gloomy sky Feeling cool breeze caressing Raindrops are falling Loving the smell of sweet rain Carry away the heatwaves. - Lilian Woo (Penang , Malaysia)
70
Sky light reflects, Ripples on water, Shines glitter on the metal swan. Jewelled feathers ruffle, Transform to gold, Accept the new gown. ____________________________________ Nightsong The songbird warms her voice Trills whilst the skies are still dark. Sings to the night, a lullaby for her children, A hush song for the stars. A chorus of sound branches, then sudden silence. A break in beaks, interval of rainfall, the long wait for morning.
- Nina Lewis
(Worcester, UK)
71
Elephant birds eggs Fed all of Madagascar Nothing newly fledged, Extinct as dead ancestors Empty shells sold at auction _______________________________ Fresh pitch pine saplings, Ivy covered garden gates Sacred green moments
- Melissa Silva
(Arlington, MA, USA)
72
Pasta A sudden gust of wind Through the open window Steam from the boiling pasta Billows round my face Like your long hair Again for just a moment. ______________________________ Train I'm being carried backwards Into the future At high speed. All I can see is the past Stretching out behind me Like miles of empty fields - Ciarรกn Parkes (Galway, Ireland)
73
Wish Dark waves within me Lie still and empty, lifeless. I wish they would fill. _____________________ Rain The downpour bursts in A silk gush, unleashing The sweet dust scent i love. - Kirsty A. Niven (Dundee, Scotland)
74
A Phenomenon Imagine a ship, sunken by the river (where no other ship may have sunken ? this must have been a phenomenon over half a century old), but you don't see me there. I am on a bridge (one that is built over every river) overlooking you, in a public transport vehicle and someone tells me he wouldn't mind if I took the backseat, to which I say that I wouldn't mind either and none of us moves
- Jayant Kashyap (Purnea, India)
75
Strangely I see poetry in pain And Companionship in solitude A peaceable persona ____________________________________ May the gods Place a healing hand To all Athenians Amidst the fires of hell Athens will rise once more A rich history to behold - Fotoula Reynolds (Melbourne, Australia)
76
A Life Born poor. Lived well. Not dead _______________________________ Next Time It was a hard landing but I’m all in one piece and maybe, I’ll have fallen on my feet and be able to try again, to make it an opportunity to build something better when I step in from the cold. Are you coming with me?
- Lynn White
(Blaenau Ffestiniog, UK)
77
Winter Morning leaves hardening fractal making a tiny hollow of a sound the first sun-up robin waking a lost lyric I see Finnegan's Wake in the snow ___________________________ Body a quiet ruin of a mouse fur faintly blustering where the blood didn't run along the step her guts-spilling like pink ribbons from her soft belly purse
- Gillian Prew
(Dunoon, Scotland)
78
Admission You had asked me To leap in part, yea, in Spring But I forgot in melancholia of Autumn. With penitent heart, really, I wept with rainfall. And in compact loneliness of self I seriously froze in Winter.
- Shiv Raj Pradhan
(Alipurduar, West Bengal,India)
79
Sore Thumb I get the sense that yet again, I do no belong in this space. I am a sore thumb they are desperate to ignore Because I am throbbing-Red and awkward. _______________________________________ Domestic Reality The dishes remain undone Sweetly rotting in the sink. Anxiety mounts. I think of All the things I have yet to do They are scripted in list form on the desk Neatly written, none of them checked.
- Camille Myrick
(Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States)
80
Writing A river of words powers through the rapids of a creative mind between banks of grammar and spelling to an ocean of paper Pop When did dance beats and bass lines stop giving my feet wings, filling spaces between thoughts? When did silence become sanctuary?
- Elizabeth Cockle (Toronto, Canada)
81
Outside Frigid winds... brusque..Dark clouds forming, Beads of moisture Searching for earth.. Birds quiet... Silence creating serenity.
- James G. Piatt (Santa Ynez, USA)
82
Survive the ocean teaches the fishes other creatures either to swim for survival human take advantages Fast Time long drought dead fish scattered in the pond you regretted of the lake
- Iwan Dartha
(Jakarta, Indonesia)
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