how to simplify
your life and travel light
I turn the page
to refugees fleeing
the bombardment

Skylark Vol.5 Issue 2. Winter 2017

the peaceful streets
and undamaged buildings
of a nation
where so many eyes
are broken windows

Skylark Vol.5 Issue 2. Winter 2017

another
long dark day
together
a comfortable silence
in this circle of light

Skylark Vol.5 Issue 2. Winter 2017

third day
of the heatwave
in the city
a burned out building
casts a long shadow

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.3 August 2017

the outlines
of faded lettering
on an old brick wall
perhaps we missed the chance
to read the writing there

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.3 August 2017

the hours I spent
weaving a flimsy garment
out of words
for you to wear
next to your skin

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.3 August 2017

in the silence
following the blast
of a foghorn
a sense of something
massive on the move

Presence 58 July 2017

Sunday morning
the memory of bells
on still air
in this city just
the traffic's drone

Presence 58 July 2017

older now
and used to watching
seasons pass
walls broken down
built up again

Presence 58 July 2017

living the life
of a hermit now
she recalls
the days when protest
was a cause for song

Skylark Vol 5 Issue 1 Summer 2017

untangling
a string of lights
complications
I didn't have the heart
to deal with last year

Skylark Vol 5 Issue 1 Summer 2017

talking about
how she came to be divorced
after so many years
her hand still goes
to twist the ring

Presence 57 March 2017

first snow
I wake from a dream
of such deep comfort
that for a moment
I can hardly move

Presence 57 March 2017

the dust that rises
from the streets of Aleppo
settles everywhere
filtering softly
into our dreams

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.1 February 2017

green, gold and brown
the tumbling leaves
rush past
and now this urge to share
whatever warmth is left

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.1 February 2017

airless night
the first spattering of rain
on dry husks

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.1 February 2017

new home
I wake to autumn sunshine
on a yellow door

Blithe Spirit Vol.27 No.1 February 2017

all the colours
fade slowly into grey
and the concrete
of the overpass
darkens in the rain

Moongarlic Issue 8 May 2017

dark evenings
watching world news
day after day
ruins reflected
in the children's eyes

Moongarlic Issue 8 May 2017

an interview
with a survivor
cut short
now this, now this
now this, now this

Presence 56 October 2016

fifty-eight years
on this spinning planet
I wonder if
we're nearly
there yet

Presence 56 October 2016

sunset
a blackbird's silhouette
takes a rowan berry

Presence 56 October 2016

mayfly day
the shimmer of its wings
in passing

Presence 56 October 2016

into the mist
into the mystery
another friend passes

Blithe Spirit Vol.26 No.4 November 2016

in the station
they point the way
speaking earnestly
in a language
I do not understand

Blithe Spirit Vol.26 No.4 November 2016

the brittleness
of dry rose petals
sleepless hours

Blithe Spirit Vol.26 No.4 November 2016

NaHaiWriMo contributions

The following are my contributions to NaHaiWriMo this year. After the first - which introduced the subject of news - I decided to continue by giving vent to my reactions to current events, while also responding to the prompts. One of the reasons I don't usually look for inspiration from current events is that the resulting work can lose meaning when taken out of the context of that news. However, looking back over these now I find that some deal with specifics, such as refugees, that are timeless as well as contemporary, and most could be about any experience of being in a dysfunctional relationship.

reading again
his last haiku -
breaking news

refugees
left with nothing
but their lives

alpha male
praises himself and pouts
to camera

sleight of hand

our deception is required
for your security

the beckoning light
swallowed up by toxic fog
lies about lies

wind-chill
the crack of light around
a closing door

the ominous mood
of a half-remembered dream
fast moving clouds

a book opened
at a labyrinth mandala
winter retreat

taking a break
from the news about news
Spiegel im Spiegel

wiped from the sky
with the stroke of a pen
the sun and stars

kicking up dirt
he says he's the only one
who'll keep us clean

the worst - pretending it can't happen

icy blast
a small voice whispering
this is not normal

a way of speaking
that says much more
than words

backing away
from the angry man's smile -
a child

morning stillness
sunshine
in the winter garden

how long until he
causes irreparable damage?
haze about the moon

a bumblebee drones
from flower to flower
slow news day

even among
the lies and deception
cherry blossom

Plane trees
as if there'd never been
a storm

Presidents' Day
falling silent in remembrance
of the truth

the tattered edge
of a dry leaf in the wind
restless nights

sleep deprived
the world becomes ever more
nightmarish

the urge to hide
until it's over -
winter storm

that thing he
doesn't want to hear mentioned
violent squalls

winter's end
things that were ours
now yours or mine

spring greening
the stone Buddha's smile
remains unchanged

without palaver
the quiet glory
of spring sunrise

NaHaiWriMo

I'm doing NaHaiWriMo again this year and Michael Dylan Welch has come up with an unusual set of prompts. I've made things more difficult for myself by deciding to experiment with writing what I'm calling haiku from a place of social engagement. I've been reading about the history of haiku and tanka and the phases these forms have gone through, including some where they have been overtly political or more generally reflecting contemporary social conditions. Shasei, the familiar 'nature sketch from life in the moment' is not the only possible way to write haiku although it has become the predominant style in English language haiku. There are two reasons why I decided to do this, one is that I feel I've got into a rut in my writing and I'd like to broaden the range and scope of it, the other is that the spirit of the times seems to be weighing rather more heavily recently than it has for some time and to ignore that entirely would feel like self-censorship.

I will post the set here at the end of the month.

sound muted
the politician's evasive
body language

Prune Juice Issue 18 March 2016

war debate
the opposition becomes
the enemy

Prune Juice Issue 18 March 2016

thunderheads
their conversation continues
in silence

Blithe Spirit Vol.25 No.3 August 2015

trying to make sense of it
geometric patterns
in the carpet

The Haiku Foundation Per Diem October 2016