BONSAI 'a journal of haiku & other small poems'
Edited by: Shanaya Chowdhury & Shaan
Published by: The 13 Alphabet - Magazine
Journal Cover & Layout: Gaelle Marcel & Shaan Š 2018 Bonsai Journal. All rights revert to the respective author & artist accroding to terms in the publication agreement. No work featured in this issue may be copied, sold or distributed else where without permission. For all kinds of inquiry, feel free to mail at: Hellottamagazine@gmail.com
www.the13alphabet.wordpress.com
Editor's Note Hello everyone, Greetings from ''The 13 Alphabet- Magazine'' and first let us thanks to all of you for your thundering response on our spring issue. It was our first attempt and your response encouraged us to take some extra efforts for 1st issue of "Bonsai". As you all know what is Bonsai and our work is also same like bonsai. We also trying to bring huge and beautiful world of haiku poetry under our sky with your precious help, it's an honor to publish your poems through our journal. Because of your contribution we've managed to come long way and with the help of yours we'll walk miles. The beautiful journey has just begun and we're sailing, trying to get as many as pearls we can get from your sea of poetry. Thank you again. It isn't just a word but our all feelings are quenched in this word for your love & support. Our door is always open for your comment or any kind of suggestion. Feel free to be in touch with us. So, See you next time... - Shanaya Chowdhury, Veer Kulkarni & Shaan (Barishal, Bangladesh)
(i)
TABLE OF CONTENTS Haiku & Senryu 01 Christina Chin
02 Ayaskanta Mohapatra 03 Winston Plowes 04 Pat Geyer 05 Steve McG 06 Sally Clark 07 Mallory Rowe 08 Angiola Inglese 09 Eve Lyons 10 Kate Alsbury 11 Lucy Whitehead 12 Slobodan Pupovac 13 Joan McNerney 14 Jane Blanchard 15 Lisa Stice 16 J. Farina 17 D.V.Rozic 18 Ben Grafstrรถm 19 Eileen Sateriale 20 Shayla Hawkins 21 Ranjana kashyap 22 Blessed Ayeyame
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
Greg Sellers Julie Gomez Arik Benedek-Chaviv Katy Huth Jones Rehn Kovacic David J Kelly Peter Adair Somayajulu Musunuri Julie de Belle Goran Gatalica Lucia Cardillo Ambre Burt Florin Golban Helen May Williams Linda M. Crate Michael Walker Christopher Stolle Sravani Singampalli Jake Cosmos Aller Joe Woodhouse Zvonimir Penovic Margherita Petriccione
(ii)
Haiga, Haibun & Other small poems 45 Molly Murray 46 Amanda R. Woomer 47 JB Mulligan 48 Bishnu Charan Parida 49 Sujata Paul 50 Ashutosh Meher 51 Małgorzata Formanowska 52 Terry Sisti Maria Teresa 53 David Subacchi 54 Mniko Chacha 55 Marc J Cid 56 Nina Kovačić 57 Scott Hughes 58 Brianne Bowman 59 Elizabeth Cockle 60 Alyssa Trivett 61 Antonietta Losito 62 Ram Krishna Singh 63 Zee Mink-Fuller 64 Viv Brady 65 Terry Wheeler 66 Marilyn Ashbaugh 67 Juliet Tamara Simpson 68 Karen Downs-Barton
69 Smitha Vishwanath 70 Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan 72 Smudge 73 Winston Plowes 75 Marilyn Ashbaugh 76 Christina Chin 77 Alexander Radison 78 Antonietta Losito 79 Tia Haynes 80 David J Kelly 81 David Jibson 82 Zee Mink-Fuller 83 Juliet Tamara Simpson 84 Madhu Jaiswal 85 Terry Wheeler 86 Blessed Ayeyame 87 Basant Kumar Das 88 Tia Haynes 89 Muhammad Khalid Khan 90 Elizabeth Cockle 91 Larisa Rzhepishevska 92 Jagari Mukherjee 94 Andy Lewis 96 Publication Calendar
1
sleeping buddha magpie song penetrates solemn chants ______________________ toddler’s first pool dive mother holds her breath - Christina Chin (Kuching, Malaysia)
2
spring's last letter eyes get teary summer sets in _____________________ may's magic gives mohua dream eternal kiss _____________________ scarlet hue preaches salvation lost in desire
- Ayaskanta Mohapatra (Sundargarh, India)
3
going to bed now your smile under my pillow arms getting wider - Winston Plowes (Hebden Bridge, UK)
4
hieroglyph sounds on an Egyptian cave wallsacred ink texts ______________________ hearing his stammer mom eats all s's and z'shis alphabet soup - Pat Geyer (East Brunswick, NJ, USA)
5
catch the falling vase hold it for a moment, then watch it slip away - Steve McG (Blackpool, Great Britain)
6
white-winged doves startled into flight surprising rising _____________________ in barren tree branches two mourning doves build their nest - Sally Clark (Texas, USA)
7
dark clouds overhead morphing into winged omens diving for my breast ___________________________ last year decaying in the arms of the present while stars hold their gaze ____________________________ the moon moved downward and crashed into the bluest part of the ocean - Mallory Rowe (Tallahassee, Florida, USA)
8
roundnessin the apple basket full moon ____________________ shades of bluefor how long again the color of the sea - Angiola Inglese (Pederobba, Tv, Italy)
9
cut corn stalks turn brown all things must come to an endour sunflowers wilt __________________________ hot day in the park broken fountain disappoints slide, swings, and snacks don't __________________________ foggy sun setting family eats together fawns come out to graze - Eve Lyons (Milton, Massachusetts, USA)
10
steadied for attack an eagle's outstretched wings signal victory ________________________ sensuous evening— young rain tree leaves always first to bed - Kate Alsbury (NYC, USA)
11
suddenly my breath breathes itself, the world pauses there is no one there - Lucy Whitehead (Southend on Sea, UK)
12
gentle touches shadows of tremulous leaves down the old road ________________________ old chimney nest the first jump in the blue sky
- Slobodan Pupovac (Zagreb, Croatia)
13
shy autumnal bird did you brush against the moon to get that pale down? _____________________________ it is the white hour between deep night and soft dawneven the wren stares ____________________________ what does this cat think strumming his tail with such ease to these fugues of bach?
- Joan McNerney (New York, USA)
14
bee-loved jasmine tiny off-white pinwheels of not-so-subtle scent - Jane Blanchard (Georgia, USA)
15
all is gray this day— leafless maple, sky before snow, tea in my cup ________________________ this dappled night sky broth simmered for millenniaI drink it tonight _________________________ small girl with small dog she says, he makes me braver milkweed seed with breeze
- Lisa Stice (Hampstead, NC, USA)
16
a book of poems the soul of a dreamer possesses me ______________________ eagle's talons field mice cower under fallen blossoms - J. Farina (Sarnia, Ontario, Canada)
17
the notice perioda flock of crows pushing down a centennial oak ________________________ still waiting for him rarely a raindrop falls onto a grass blade __________________________ the end of tunnelunder a street lamp I soar among the snowflakes - D.V.Rozic (Ivanic-Grad, Croatia)
18
sad contemplation— staring at the rain through the coffee shop window ____________________________ chirping sparrows playing in young green foliage cups filled with sake - Ben GrafstrÜm (Akita, Japan)
19
young buds bursting bloom new born bird alights on branch birth of spring season ____________________________ setting sun shadow crabs and fish relax on waves seagulls soar shore side ____________________________ warm weather marshes attract pesky greenhead flies harass sun seekers
- Eileen Sateriale
(Methuen, MA, United States)
20
watercolor sky a mind as clear and hopeful as spring morning air ________________________ such a mystery the small poem of myself in the vast cosmos
- Shayla Hawkins (Detroit, USA)
21
lost in painting breaking the silence windows chimes __________________ taking rest on misty mountains huge clouds __________________ fluttering around new pink blossoms two blue butterflies - Ranjana kashyap (Himachal Pradesh, India)
22
monday morning a barefooted child striding to school
- Blessed Ayeyame (Ughelli, Nigeria)
23
silence cracks, shifts, slides ice moves river, river, ice— spring urges lovers _________________________ asphodels whisper as a wind rouses the field sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep _________________________ summer night in love sigh of honeysuckle scent moonlight unbuttoned - Greg Sellers (Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA)
24
abandoned field bees buzz yellow flowers making honey mustard ______________________ in the museum above the staircase quilted memories
- Julie Gomez
(Brightwood, USA)
25
can die or can dye faded memoirs of a geisha _______________________ saliva drops glowing on a hanging lipvicious rage _______________________ soaring glider huge shadow over land rabbit's dashing
- Arik Benedek-Chaviv (Gyvataym, Israel)
26
red-orange cloud swirls flavor the sun as it melts darkening the sky - Katy Huth Jones (Fort Worth, Texas, USA)
27
stillness the wind chimes sing silently ________________ open window meditating with a fly ________________ between us only moonlight last autumn leaf
- Rehn Kovacic (Mesa, AZ, USA)
28
at the corner shop picking up local gossip without newspapers
- David J Kelly (Dublin, Ireland)
29
a gull soars over the surgery and throws me a crust of the sun __________________________ valentine’s day caressing Liberace albums - Peter Adair (Bangor, Northern Ireland)
30
onset of monsoon under palm leaf umbrellas villagers knuckled _______________________ aromatic tea in a chamomile garden taste the difference _______________________ tool set for toddler colorful palette and quills art fair at class room - Somayajulu Musunuri (Hyderabad, India)
31
five wooden canoes gleaming in sienna gold olive speckled nest _________________________ five canoes at dusk coloured carvings by the lake automn at its best
- Julie de Belle
(Pincourt, Quebec, Canada)
32
cherry blossoms first transient sunrays all in pairs ___________________ night fairy tale a child repeats his mother's word ___________________ soft spring rain long pilgrimage in a snail's world
- Goran Gatalica
(Zagreb, Croatia)
33
puff of light dawn turns off the stars and paints the sky _____________________ the last train only a scent of roses remains in the air
- Lucia Cardillo
(Rodi Garganico, FG, Italy)
34
red leaf spirals down Hits the waterfall, sparkling gone - vanished forever. __________________________ like a will-o-wisp flickering between the trees, my muse eludes me ___________________________ waxy white blooms drop heady scent enveloping lovely Brides blossom - Ambre Burt (Omagh, N. Ireland)
35
shadow of the fisherman around the moon rocking the boat _________________________ cloudy sky the cock crows the same song - Florin Golban (Bucuresti, Romania)
36
I shall take my mauve notebook into my nightmare to report at dawn __________________________ late-afternoon sun illuminates crocus trail through snow-covered grass __________________________ Raven sits on branch watches for careless sparrows — ash panopticon - Helen May Williams (Carmarthen, Wales)
37
white moon is singing weeping willow full of tears a second winter _______________________ ruby sun falling koi are swimming merrily the falling sky sees. - Linda M. Crate (Meadville, PA, USA)
38
old friends are so smart close or far, they hear your voice and know what to say _____________________ sickness may strike all but still it hits as a shock what was I thinking? _____________________ easter falls, fall starts what is wrong with this picture? try switching channels! - Michael Walker (Perth, Australia)
39
open up, buddy— drink sunrise; sleep like honey: you’re tomorrow’s buzz. ___________________________ dulled darkness descends: Dad sharply yelling my name— echoes burn my heart. - Christopher Stolle (Richmond, IN, USA)
40
scorching summer days the soothing cool onshore breeze the warm winter sun ___________________________ she has a trauma an open can and lost love the sinking old ship
- Sravani Singampalli (Visakhapatnam, India)
41
I met my late fate seeing her face in a bar and my fate ended - Jake Cosmos Aller (Southern Oregon, USA)
42
over the sea darkening clouds blues deepen ___________________ almost knowing where you are cloud-covered stars - Joe Woodhouse (Barcelona, Spain)
43
the sun has risen – a drop of dew still hanging on the cobweb thread __________________________ morning scenery; the birch tree's leaves still rustling fluttering in dreams
- Zvonimir Penovic (Split, Croatia)
44
a suspended fog between ice and sun reflection pause _____________________ winter’s last moon fading in the sunrise – hospital window
- Margherita Petriccione
(Scauri, LT, Italy)
45
medicate your pain camouflage exhaustion a modern woman
____________________ winding up switchbacks – wings – sunslits through branches – a treetop jamboree
__________________________ tiger studded sky, clocks dripping on a coastline – questioning; Why not? - Molly Murray (Helena, Montana, USA)
46
the great universe begs to be seen from within it’s shining through you ________________________ something is broken it was once precious and fine don’t fret… it’s just me - Amanda R. Woomer (Buffalo, NY, USA)
47
moonlight on the pond coins that shimmer and vanish yet this fortune stays _________________________ the snows have melted yet snow scatters on the grass explodes on branches
- JB Mulligan
(Washingtonville, NY, USA)
48
a brief summer squall in a cool afternoon smell of moist earth ___________________________ a sordid caterpillar converted to beautiful butterfly time metamorphoses.
- Bishnu Charan Parida (Jajpur Road,Odisha, India)
49
just children they laugh at my long gown rolling on the floor ___________________________ life too mysterious to foretell earlier too beautiful - Sujata Paul (kolkata, India)
50
smile on lips show the depth of joy face shinning _____________________ blue sky above sing the song of life greenery down below
- Ashutosh Meher (Bhubaneswar, India)
51
morning fog it is still there jasmine __________________ funeral... on grandma's dress scent of jasmine - Małgorzata Formanowska (Wrocław, Poland)
52
rainy air the radio in the living room talk about heat _________________________ the moon is growing the shadow of our plum still smells - Terry Sisti Maria Teresa (Massa-Carrara, Italy)
53
old framed photographs recording our history stirring memory
________________________ shining diamonds mounted on a ring of gold still her hand feels cold
__________________________ eyes like a garden where i wander eagerly searching for spring time
- David Subacchi
(Wrexham, Wales, UK)
54
having an empire of attractive flowers’ home butterflies will flood
- Mniko Chacha (Mwanza city, Tanzania)
55
around the desert nothing! nothingness for miles a sky full of stars _______________________ beyond the lamplight the rain remains unseen, afalling, phantom flood ______________________ even now, it seems, though time has made us strangers, your face stops my heart - Marc J Cid (Downey, California, USA)
56
return to the shore in the boat a muffled sound of a thrashing fish ________________________ night in the orchard a wandering wind harvests the juicy apples
- Nina KovaÄ?ić
(Zagreb, Croatia)
57
Almost laughing, I swim as a fool, give myself to the glass ocean
________________________ Its tides turn our sands we endure its abuse, dance in its radius
________________________ Silent autumn wind lifts high a fragile red leaf It flies, never falls
- Scott Hughes
(Macon, Georgia, USA)
58
Call me home again the stars pleaded with the moonas the sky darkened.
_______________________ Green, closed off to light – In the sunshine your heart stirs, Gold petals awake. - Brianne Bowman (Hebron, Indiana, United States)
59
Inside a miniature bottle she gave birth to the grandest ship
- Elizabeth Cockle (Toronto, Canada)
60
My bed sheet escape artist maneuver turned me into a stranger
____________________ I sat on my bed as hardware store nail rain baptized scarred pavement
_____________________ They slither in dust as a cat trills and the sun is a bit too loud - Alyssa Trivett (Chicago, IL, USA)
61
family dinnerin the garden of Eden there is a snake ____________________ glued up like paper boxes some families
- Antonietta Losito
(Mottola,TA, Puglia, Italy)
62
cold and naked in perils of waterstumbling boatman _________________________ feeding spirits with limbs of uncircumcised boys a Ugandan witch _________________________ camouflaged her soft fall on bed-dappled back
- Ram Krishna Singh (Dhanbad, India)
63
earth and venus dance glowing orb being center by design, not chance
- Zee Mink-Fuller
(Burleson, Texas, USA)
64
In the beginning, God; the first misogynist. He created eve
______________________ Logging company can't see the trees for the wood. sweep away the leaves.
_______________________ Maiden centuary; the sweet arrogance of youth knows no boundaries. - Viv Brady (Omagh, N.Ireland)
65
two kilkenny cats fight until nothing is left but their twisted tales
- Terry Wheeler
(Brisbane, Australia)
66
rampant narcissus— scan spots some new locations of her old cancer _____________________________ remaining snow drift tender pink crocus push through a damaged ice rind
- Marilyn Ashbaugh
(Edwardsburg, Michigan, USA)
67
In our love story, i rip off the blank pages sadly it is all
- Juliet Tamara Simpson (Gensan City, Philippines)
68
1. Small globule of life Carried aloft by breezes One veined wing bears you. 2. Breeze born, spiraling. Small womb, your seed will bear fruit Send far your children 3. Brown, spent, brittle husk Your Gothic veined tracery Birthed wood monuments.
Waving overhead arborial stigmata leaves crack sepel scabs
____________ My dusty mirror reflects a softened image false realities.
- Sycamore - Karen Downs-Barton (Swindon, UK)
69
What hand gently drew? Dainty, drooping curves that breatheTenderly sway in the breeze‌
- Smitha Vishwanath (Dubai, UAE)
70
Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan (Rijeka, Croatia)
71
Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan (Rijeka, Croatia)
72
The tree on the hill How pretty in the summer As swallows fly around.
- Smudge (ć–‘)
(Blackpool, Great Britain)
73
Winston Plowes
(Hebden Bridge, UK)
74
Winston Plowes
(Hebden Bridge, UK)
75
Marilyn Ashbaugh
(Edwardsburg, Michigan, USA)
76
Christina Chin
(Kuching, Malaysia)
77
Mourning Diary Mourning: I’ve learned that it was immutable and sporadic: it does not wear away, because it is not continuous. — Roland Barthes I sit at the International Delight Café on a frigid January afternoon in Bellmore Long Island, with its retro Coke signs and bottomless sundaes and think: you’d have liked it here. And just like that, I lose you all over again. Like a scab caught, torn on the rough edge of memory, grief bleeds within me. - Alexander Radison (New York, USA)
78
Wasted breath Patner and sons for years, every one of them revolve around him. A black sun, a guilty generator, a prima Donna to please to prevent biggest problems. Looking at their faces, I think about Plato’s pilgrim clamber out of the cave of the world of appearances to see things as they really are, and I'm asking if it's really possible to change in this life. so intense comes to me aware blue monday
- Antonietta Losito
(Mottola, TA, Puglia- Italy)
79
The Kindness of Strangers “She’s learning to talk isn’t she?” A kind middle age women smiles at my child who’s saying hi to every customer in the coffee shop. Too often I’m swept up in the minutia of protecting, teaching, and caring for my young. When I can remove myself from the moment and see the bigger canvas that I’m painting, I see how stunning it is. warm muffins how my hand slips around the mug
- Tia Haynes
(Cuyahoga Falls, USA)
80
No performance Pacing, as if with purpose, in front of an audience. Working without cue cards and ad-libs. Just covering the same ground in the same way, time and again. The audience sense nothing untoward. They just clamour for ever closer views of the jaded celebrity, armed with cameras and selfie sticks. retracing its steps along a well-padded path the tiger turns
- David J Kelly (Dublin, Ireland)
81
Origami ephemeral child lightness of snow the world is melting The river ice has broken up early and a jam has formed, flooding the low bank for a mile upstream below the dam, threatening cabins that probably should never have been built. This happens every year but old-timers claim they have never seen it in February. The danger this time of year is that there could still be a hard freeze, worsening the risk. There’s talk of dynamiting the ice, but some worry that if blasting fails, it could solidify the jam, which would increase the threat to cabins on the high bank. The debate has created some hard feelings. At Amy’s diner, customers have taken to speaking in whispers and segregating themselves into high and low bank dwellers. spinning west to east earth folds in on itself a white paper crane
- David Jibson
(Ann Arbor, Michigan USA)
82
Burial The echo of a dog barking somewhere in the city let me know life doesn't end for all just because my world collapsed into a freshly dug six foot hole
- Zee Mink-Fuller
(Burleson, Texas, USA)
83
Watching You Looking at you from a distance, Got me stuck always in trance And it's very sad, that there ain't a chance For you to return the glance
- Juliet Tamara Simpson (Gensan City, Philippines)
84
Nirvana People try to attain nirvana in various forms I try to find in the chaos of my life that's left behind, Sipping coffee , eating chocolates and penning down the utopia of life. Some softer emotions snuggling swiftly Rhapsodical and perpetual, Hearts abrimDelightful evenings of groovy exuberance. Where affection lay in symphonyand soft giggles in silhouette, the only decore.
- Madhu Jaiswal (Kolkata, India)
85
Ian Fairweather In the inky waters dark hymns are murmuring murmuring murmuring to your electric blue eyes
- Terry Wheeler
(Brisbane, Australia)
86
Love let this fire rising out of the deepest of our heart vie with the darkness trying to eat up the light in our eyes
- Blessed Ayeyame (Ughelli, Nigeria)
87
1)
2)
ship in a glass jar you and me our brief journey in double moon sky solitude met sorrow fragments of a new love story broke the decayed door open only to retrace their steps she to her guardian and he to his lonely bed
- Basant Kumar Das (Bhubaneswar , India)
love is an addiction of soul climbing alone a virgin hill without steps dark night you arrange white flowers on my wet chest cast away flowers float down wards in Ganga river
88
Worth It Upon seeing her newborn photo, my eldest asks, “Was I little?” “Very” “Am I still little?” “Always” warm embrace the years she’s soaked into me
- Tia Haynes
(Cuyahoga Falls, USA)
89
Green Eyes Green eyes like ocean green Full of beauty graceful teen At a glance it can be seen She is like a lovely queen When I saw I lost my heart I decided to neverdepart Then I carried her image along Off and on I sing her song
- Muhammad Khalid Khan (Abbottabad, Pakistan)
90
The remains of us— stacks and stacks of love letters pre-digital promises to stay eternally yours, give all my heart, & say more than words, Forever and always, virtual as happily ever after.
- Elizabeth Cockle (Toronto, Canada)
91
If your shirt has no button and your trousers are roughened, if your jacket is so crushed and your carpet needs a brush, if you can’t find your clothes all the time you just curse‌ There is only one way out to marry or divorce.
- Larisa Rzhepishevska (Odessa, Ukraine)
92
1) Essence The scent of your perfume is on the pillows‌ Now, all pillows, old and new, Are fragrant like you And have your essence – Colourful and bold. Every moment I spend with you, is a gorgeous jewel That never grows old.
93
2) New Paths I left behind Dark woods of unfulfilled dreams – Knotted wild branches That I couldn’t identify at all… There’s no need To remember them now – Because, new paths Are still open…
- Jagari Mukherjee (Kolkata, India)
94
1) The Lonely Poplar She wears a crown full of flowers, blooms orange and green, hoping someone sees. Praying we’ll notice. Begging: Is she pretty, now? Is she worth our love?
95
2) I Hear The Streams Singing I hear the streams singing. That subtle choir, serene in its splendor, babbling and cooing alongside salamanders and toads. Harmonizing with waterthrush—sun-sponge, diamondskinned, meandering through pines. I hear their words, fluid and free. A song that wasn’t meant for me alone, but for every creature, whom they call home.
- Andy Lewis
(Lexington, Kentucky, USA)
96
Publication Calendar SPRING (THE 13 ALPHABET – MAGAZINE ISSUE) submission deadline: 30th march publication : 14/15th April SUMMER (BONSAI JOURNAL ISSUE) submission deadline: 30th April publication : 15th May MONSOON (THE 13 ALPHABET – MAGAZINE ISSUE) submission deadline: 30th june publication : 15th July AUTUMN (BONSAI JOURNAL ISSUE) submission deadline: 30th september publication : 15th October WINTER (THE 13 ALPHABET – MAGAZINE ISSUE) submission deadline: 31st december publication : first week of-January
Contact: www.the13alphabet.wordpress.com