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Welcome to the third Autumn/Winter issue of Autumn Moon Haiku Journal. Haiku has for the most part been a poetic form that reflects the sensibility of a poet and his or her relation to the world they live in, particularly in relation to the natural world and its seasons, with very old guidebooks (saijiki) to those seasons, including seasonal holidays, in Japan. A good source for the saijiki is William J. Higginson’s HAIKU WORLD, AN INTERNATIONAL POETRY ALMANAC, with over 600 poets from fifty countries and presented in English and the poet’s original language. The haiku poet’s sensibility should permeate their haiku in a poetic way and should therefore express originality. Thus the phrasing in this short haiku form should present the emotional underpinning of the author’s moment of insight where sensibility comes to reflect their haiku moment, such as the experience of beauty. Poetically this moment of insight is structured in the usually natural focus of the insight’s basis in a condition of seasonal changes however small, like a solitary flower or butterfly, or extensive, like falling autumn leaves or a snowstorm. The haiku’s expression and the haiku’s insight are presented as a separation in the haiku, whether formal with punctuation or a distinct shift in expression, or informal, in the poetic flow of the haiku’s phrasing. Unfortunately, as pointed out by the young climate activist Greta Thunberg, major natural catastrophes have been happening around the world, perhaps due to the effects of overpopulation and the side effects of extensive technology, leading to what has been called the “postmodern condition.” Yet, as some haiku in this journal’s current issue, while pointing to this condition, also celebrate the ongoing presence of seasons and seasonal activities relating to those seasons, expressing the effect of seasonal realities on the poets’ sensibility. So decidedly haiku poets should develop his or her sensibility by experiencing and expressing the affect of seasonal nature as it is encountered in the tangible here and now. I invite you to look up my essay “The Essence of Haiku” which examines in greater depth some of the issues brought up here: http://www.modernhaiku.org/essays/RossEssenceHaiku.html
Bruce Ross, December 2019 winter silence everything that surrounds me is unknown silenzio invernale - tutto ciò che me circonda è sconosciuto Vincenzo Adamo, Italy forgetting this isn’t home maple leaves Kate Alsbury, USA eating the pomegranate seeds another autumn Jenny Ward Angyal, USA cows settle deeper in their shadows autumn moon Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA beaver moon - what is left behind in this windswept field سنگ آبی مہتاب اس باد زدہ میدان میں کیا باقی بچا ہے Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan the skitter of an unseen bird cracks the ice Joanna Ashwell, UK autumn deepens . . . meerkats in the pile of yellowed leaves ẹ̀rún múlẹ̀ . . . àwọn ẹmọ́ àfè nínu ẹ̀rẹ́ẹ́lẹ̀ ewé Taofeek Ayeyemi (Aswagaawy), Nigeria september fog the cat’s fur carries wood smoke septembernevel de vacht van de kat ademt houtrook Michael Baeyens, Belgium flickers of an old warmth . . . autumn moon Aaron Barry, Canada the amber glow of eucalyptus trunks autumn deepens Dyana Basist, USA fallow garden she hums the same lullaby Maxianne Berger, Canada all we’ve forgotten . . . the honeysuckle in winter Mark E. Brager, USA laundry day . . . the old clothesline fallen Ed Bremson, USA sunday mushrooming bells ring out Helen Buckingham, UK moss etched her tombstone also decaying swirling leaves hugging a maple feeling one John Budan, USA a crescent moon dangles from the bare branch twelfth night Alanna C. Burke, USA Autumn night - the leafless limbs of trees carry the moon Bugnaw'ng kagabhion - naupaw'ng kulamoy sa kahoy nagsapnay sa bulan China Cancio, Philippines mountain station - the freight train carries only fog gară de munte - trenul de marfă transportă doar ceaţă Daniela Lăcrămioara Capotă, Romania leaves fall . . . every breath is already the past cadono foglie . . . ogni respiro è già il passato white chrysanthemums . . . the silent essence of the morning crisantemi bianchi . . . l’essenza silenziosa del mattino Lucia Cardillo, Italy saturniid moth clinging to September sun Matthew Caretti, USA autumn wind - i let go of myself Jennifer Carr, USA moonlight loading a port tank with the shine of harvest mjesečina puni silos u luci žetvenim sjajem Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan, Croatia winter’s dusk - i travel this last road alone Vernon Chain, USA rustle of leaves - I open my soul to let the autumn enter foşnet de frunze - îmi deschid sufletul să intre toamna Vasile Cojocaru, Romania last harvest just enough to feed the birds Sue Colpitts, Canada frozen waterfalls on a roadside cliff - the silence between us Susan Constable, Canada moonlight the smell of leaves upon leaves Vera Constantineau, Canada hunter’s moon releasing a striper Bill Cooper, USA deep winter the snow has erased his footprints Tina Crenshaw, USA At Thanksgiving all the garden laid out on the table A l’Action de Grâce tout le jardin étalé sur la table Liette Croteau, Canada heavy heart my notebook full of dead leaves le cœur gros mon calepin boursouflé de feuilles mortes Marcellin Dallaire-Beaumont, Belgium climate change on the merchant’s stall no pumpkin smiles accords sur le climat sur l’étal les potirons n’ont pas le sourire Marie Derley, Belgium golden tamaracks snowbirds take flight Karen Dick, Canada autumn wind bristled the spines of a hedgehog Jesenji vetar nakostrešio bodlje ježa Zoran Doderović, Croatia autumn’s chill at the grave an eddy of leaves Carmela Dolce, USA harvest moon - the fragrance of a fresh haiku book luna plină - parfumul prospeţimii unei cărţi de haiku Ana Drobot, Romania dark field pumpkins glow upon harvest moons of ice Michael Dudley, Canada his first Yuletide our dog marks the Christmas tree John J. Dunphy, USA the storks are leaving - will I live until next year to see them again? pleacă berzele - trăi-voi pân’ la anul să le revăd? starless sky - the field full of thistles empty autumn cer fără stele - câmpu-i plin de ciulini toamnă săracă Adina Enăchescu, Romania falling shadows of falling leaves missing my dad David Käwika Eyre, USA Kurds flee same full moon here and there Susan Farmer, USA a gentle broom for the woolly bear on the threshold Jeff Ferrara, USA wind storm - Norfolk pines hold up the Milky Way four am milking - out of the valley fog the dairy herd Lorin Ford, Australia maple wind shadows the way I used to dance Jenny Fraser, New Zealand test results come back negative . . . Thanksgiving William Scott Galasso, USA autumn arrives - the ciguas* of my house where have they gone? llega el otoño - las ciguas de mi casa dònde se han ido? *grey and white national bird of the Dominican Republic Rafael García Bidó, Dominican Republic shifting mountains autumn’s reflection in the river les montagnes dansent leur reflet d’automne à flots Line Gauthier, Canada autumn woods stillness in the stillness joan iversen goswell, USA even to the moon the red leaves rustle in this breeze 甚至对明月 红叶沙沙微风中 crabapples in moonlight . . . first frost 海棠月色映初霜 David He, People’s Republic of China fall planting grave promises of spring Marilyn Henighan, Canada a blue jay drops the smallest peanut autumn morning Gary Hittmeyer, USA bend in the road winter light through a deer’s rib cage Frank Hooven, USA after chemo snatches of sky in every puddle Louise Hopewell, Australia larger in my window than the sky full moon Gary Hotham, USA empty sky after the storm silence Marilyn Humbert, Australia end of season - my sand castle taken by the waves sfârşit de sezon - castelul meu de nisip luat de valuri Letiţia Lucia Iubu, Romania waiting for the fall of another leaf - the rest is silence aşteptând căderea altei frunze - restul e tăcere Dan Iulian, Romania Kongming lanterns - wondering which is my autumn moon Lakshmi Iyer, India a thousand raindrops in a footprint left behind Rick Jackofsky, USA for my coins he offers a winter smile the squall of wild geese at nightfall - waning moon Shirley Johnson, Canada summer into fall on a shelf with Santa two garden gnomes Jeanne Jorgensen, Canada old tin roof a full moon in the sound of autumn rain no mind still migrating geese Elmedin Kadric, Sweden Another wrinkle Found in the mirror - Bare branches Skylar Kay, Canada the boy’s hands do not stretch far enough starry lake Jeff Kressmann, USA autumn breeze I open the door to fireweed fluff kjmunro, Canada all saint’s day gathering pumpkins for squirrels Jill Lange, USA Valentine’s Day stomping out hearts in the snow Kristen Lindquist, USA harvest moon holding my thoughts of home close . . . and closer (for Li Po) 豐收月 貼近 ...再貼近 我對家的思念 the weight of winter twilight river’s edge 冬天暮色 的沉重之感 河流的邊緣 Chen-ou Liu, Canada steam rises from the newborn foal - winter dawn John McManus, UK departing autumn the kettle’s whistle brings me back to the present Indra Neil Mekala, India Late at night Still the sound of neighbors chopping wood Tarde en la noche Aùn se oyen los vecinos cortando leña Lía Miersch, Argentina the spider dead in its own web autumn breeze Ben Moeller-Gaa, USA water dried - on the bottom of the riverbed stream of leaves apa a secat - pe fundul albiei şuvoi de frunze Vasile Moldovan, Romania Thanksgiving one year ago widowed autumn leaves . . . catching in my throat the word good-bye Joanne Morcom, Canada ‘autumn leaves’ from afar a piano plays afterglow ‘le foglie morte’ nelle note di un piano . . . luce al tramonto Luciana Moretto, Italy clear ice - skating into dad’s perfect circle open door a spider swings in with the stars Laurie D. Morrissey, USA river of stars . . . a little boy wiggles his milk tooth Ron C. Moss, Australia autumn leaves the refugee’s hands red with henna hazan yaprakları mültecinin elleri kına kızılı where do you go before the rain and the swallows nereye gidiyorsun yağmurdan evvel ve kırlangıçlardan adónde te vas antes de la lluvia y las golondrinas Guliz Mutlu, Turkey/Spain clinging to life a yellowed leaf on a branch against the wind bám níu sự sống chiếc lá đã ngả vàng trên cành đối chọi cơn gió Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam The autumn moon - in the garden still chirping a lonely cricket Luna de toamnă - în grădină mai cântă stingher un greier Valentin Nicoliţov, Romania a pawn alone on the chessboard harbourfront rain Roland Packer, Canada winter sunshine a white-brown scrubwren shows the way Greg Piko, Australia autumn fair maples drop leaves all shades of red осенняя ярмарка клены роняют листья всех цветов рыжего Philmore Place, Belarus crescent moon bending wood to make a wheel Keith Polette, USA paw print on the ice just one John Potts, UK nearly ninety so many autumn moons in grandma’s life Patricia Prime, New Zealand autumn chill remnants of a web tinged with frost Carol Raisfeld, USA autumn equinox the wave before it crashes Dian Duchin Reed, USA winter rain nothing seems quite to be itself Edward J. Rielly, USA evergreens hold the old snow’s weight New Year’s Day Barbara Sabol, USA center of the lake trudging in and out in snowmobile tracks Tom Sacramona, USA winter morning the shape of words I speak to her Srinivasa Rao Sambangi, India wayang* all night the pale moon awaits outside the screen wayang semalam suntuk bulan pucat menanti di luar layar *Indonesian shadow puppet show Ken Sawitri, Indonesia baby due tomorrow she rakes fallen leaves into neat piles Debbie Scheving, USA winter rain i go back inside my thoughts Rich Schilling, USA pouring rain the buttery texture of red kuri squash trombe d’eau la chair fondante du potimarron Olivier Schopfer, Switzerland unpaved backroad 14 point shadow out of season Ron Scully, USA Lots of persimmons weigh on the branches crows cawing louder 柿たわわ烏の声の高まれり kaki tawawa karasu no koe no takamareri Kyoko Shimizu, Japan dawn . . . the sound of rain on dry leaves amanecer . . . el sonido de la lluvia sobre hojas secas Leticia Sicilia, Spain childhood recalled the smoothness of a chestnut this fall autumn leaves twenty-four new colours in the grade one class windfall the stag in the road stays put Susan Spooner, Canada missing my friend . . . the grey heron at the creek drowned suburb Canada geese float on their reflections Barbara Strang, New Zealand autumn leaves the missing colours of my life Debbie Strange, Canada Unread letters - in the mail box only leaves Scrisori necitite - în cutia poştală numai frunze Constantin Stroe, Romania autumn moon the rising aroma of roast chestnuts Andre Surridge, New Zealand everywhere a bird might sing winter sun Rick Tarquinio, USA harvest moon four spirits wander the corn maze Barbara Tate, USA deep winter . . . the silence of trackless snow Angela Terry, USA one apple in his hand in mine—harvest moon één appel in zijn hand in mijn hand—oogstmaan Corine Timmer, The Netherlands/Portugal wet night - the cat is hiding in the old waistcoat noapte umedă - pisica se ascunde în vechiul cojoc Maria Tirenescu, Romania autumn stillness - seeing the underside of the bridge Stephen Toft, UK new years morning how quietly the rain falls nieuwjaars morgen hoe zachtjes valt de regen Joanne van Helvoort, The Netherlands departing cranes . . . I search for you on each moonlit sky se duc cocorii . . . te caut pe fiecare cer pe care creşte luna Steliana Voicu, Romania a wren sings from grandpa’s gravestone autumn afternoon marriage over a monarch butterfly also leaving Marilyn Appl Walker, USA a few months of winter poems but then . . . but then! Julie Warther, USA a white feather floats down from a tree autumn coolness waking childless a glittering frost has settled Lucy Whitehead, UK Christmas morning Virgin Mary holds snow in her hands Boże Narodzenie Dziewica Maria trzyma śnieg w dłoniach autumn river heading towards a place we cannot see jesienna rzeka zmierzamy do miejsca którego nie widać Ernest Wit, Poland wormholes in the sweetest apples autumn afternoon Robert Witmer, Japan rustle of leaves on a windless day anniversary of his death forest thicket watching the fawn watching me Valorie Woerdehoff, USA |
Editorial Staff:
Founder (emeritus): Bruce Ross Editors: Astrid Andreescu Kristen Lindquist Art: Murray D. Ross Archives
May 2025
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