welcome to the new issue of hedgerow. as always grateful to readers & contributors alike. thanks for being here! to enjoy #94 click the pdf link below…
hedgerow-94-edited-by-caroline-skanne
with love & kindness,
caroline skanne
founding editor
welcome to #45 of hedgerow. thrilled to introduce this month’s resident artist Sandi Pray. if you enjoy her art please find your way to her blog — http://ravencliffs.blogspot.com. a big thank you to all the poets contributing to this issue as well as the readers!
with love & kindness.
snow on church steps
the clatter of coins
in his paper cup
Chen-ou Liu is currently the editor and translator of NeverEnding Story, http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/, and the author of five books, including Following the Moon to the Maple Land (First Prize, 2011 Haiku Pix Chapbook Contest) and A Life in Transition and Translation (Honorable Mention, 2014 Turtle Light Press Biennial Haiku Chapbook Competition)
stingray bay
dark shapes glide
through the night
Simon Hanson lives in rural South Australia near The Great Southern Ocean. He relishes these open spaces and the moods of the land and sea from which he draws much inspiration. The more he delves into haiku the more he realises that it is akin to a way of living and there is always so much more to learn.
thunderclouds
a dyer stirs his pot
of indigo
Marietta McGregor is an Australian botanist and writer who has spent much of her life explaining scientific concepts. She now tries to let things explain themselves through an early love, haiku. She lives in Canberra and hopes to capture a sense of the bush, mountains and ocean in her work.
meteor shower
in the distance
horse’s hooves
Mike Andrelczyk is currently living in Strasburg, Pa. Also lived in Los Angeles, Ca. and Lewes, De. He likes writing haiku about the ocean, potatoes, moons, plants – mostly little things except the ocean which is huge, and the moon which looks little but isn’t. Poems and fiction have been featured in Modern Haiku, Haiku 2015 (Modern Haiku Press), A New Resonance 8 (Red Moon Press), The Inquisitive Eater, The Bitchin’ Kitsch. Follow on Twitter @MikeAndrelczyk.
Homecoming
1
table full of crayons & oil
pastels she draws a
self portrait – green eyes
bloom like sunflowers hair
redbrown stripes – pink swirl
background seems placid but
for a well of sad in the eyes
she shows me twenty other self
portraits drawn over seven
years – stormy crags
yellow faces rage off the
sketch pad a revelation
today’s face stares
I cook her an omelet
2
she has been here bright as
morning sparking up
our days rock & rolling down
evening with a
sweet song surge no
one else can sing
four months of being our
“only child” like she never
could when my
mind was fogged with a house
full of spinning spirits storming
in and out like thunder
one summer to know her
will not be enough
3
two of us drive east –north- west up
rivers down mountains
van bursting with paints pots photos
her life in a capsule summer
ends and we become two again as
paths diverge I return home a
shade greyer remembering her
bags left in every chair
bike parked in our living room
shoes abandoned in the middle
of the floor where I never
tripped over them never
nagged knowing how soon they
would be gone
Carole Johnston lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, although she is from “nowhere zen.”
the art in this issue was brought to you by Sandi Pray —
a wild child who roams between mountain and marsh in North Carolina and Florida, http://ravencliffs.blogspot.com.
welcome to #33 of hedgerow, bringing you eleven different poets & artists. as always, a big thank you to readers & contributors alike!
https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems
https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress
with love & kindness.
an empty page
in the old typewriter —
new moon
.
gray shadows —
the soft landing
of a puma
.
midnight walk —
cherry blossoms shuffle
the silence
Theresa A. Cancro (Wilmington, Delaware, USA) enjoys observing nature, writing poems and short fiction, especially the challenge of haiku and related short-form poetry. Her work has been published internationally in print and online journals, including Presence, Chrysanthemum, Shamrock, Hailstones, A Hundred Gourds, A Handful of Stones, Cattails, and Kumquat Poetry, among others.
Debbie Strange (Canada) is a published tanka and haiku poet and an avid photographer. She enjoys creating haiga and tanshi (small poem) art. You are invited to see more of her work on Twitter @Debbie_Strange.
When the Dam Won’t Break
Sometimes the dam won’t break
Sometimes the breath holding
becomes so automatic, lungs
won’t expand and the oxygen
in your pores becomes painful
Sometimes the clock won’t tick
Sometimes the unrest stops
your soul from unfolding
the heart beats without pumping
your blood, leaving fingers cold
Sometimes one listen isn’t enough
Sometimes the song mustn’t end
the music has more love to give
your ears opening to the sound
makes you weep silently
Sarah Thursday calls Long Beach, California, her home, where she advocates for local poets and poetry events. She runs a Long Beach-focused poetry website called CadenceCollective.net, co-hosts a monthly reading with one of her poetry heroes, G. Murray Thomas, and just started Sadie Girl Press as a way to help publish local and emerging poets. Her first full-length poetry collection, All the Tiny Anchors, is available now. Find and follow her on SarahThursday.com, Facebook, or Twitter.
The story
settles down
for a ride
in the story.
Kim Peter Kovac lives in Alexandria, VA, USA, where he produces plays for young audiences and writes poetry, prose poetry, creative non-fiction, haiku, haibun, and microfiction.
Try to catch the wind.
Count the ripples in the sea.
Become a child again.
Joan McNerney’s poetry has been included in numerous literary magazines and anthologies such as Camel Saloon, Seven Circle Press, Dinner with the Muse, Blueline, Missing of the Birds, the Bright Hills Press, Kind of A Hurricane Press and Poppy Road Review. She has been nominated three times for Best of the Net. Poet and Geek recognized her work as their best poem of 2013. Four of her books have been published by fine small literary presses.
another morning another crack in the ceiling
.
daydreaming about a garden I can daydream in
.
solitary day alone with the house plants
.
from my afternoon bed eavesdropping on 3 crows
Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York (USA) and is the editor of the online haiku journal “brass bell.”
UNTITLED
In those dreams
You’re out beyond
The shoreline and you’ve
Been there for some time.
You’ve forgotten,
Standing on an outcrop,
That the tide’s been coming in
All the while.
You’ve been
Absorbed in watching some fish
Moving, just below the surface,
Turning in fluid movements with
Their tails swaying back and forth in
Water gravity with buoyance as
Undertow, undertow as buoyance.
Suddenly
You realize the sea has surrounded,
If not engulfed, you with nothing
Left in sight but the shore off in the
Distance and a few rough rocks
Jutting out of the tidal waters
Like a ragged line of stepping stones:
Running down one side
With an occasional anchor sticking
Out of the water, close to shore, with
Their unique rusted surfaces intact.
That’s right, an archipelago of random rocks
And then one anchor after another.
What does it mean?
Who is it?
James Mc Elroy, a native of Belfast, currently teaches at the University of California, Davis. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. Recent poetry publications include pieces in Vox Poetica, The Boston Poetry Magazine, and Literature Today.
purple sky
movements beneath moles holes
what the stray cat knows
.
after rains—
blue jay jive in the bird bath
cumulus clouds
.
August eve
long green sunlight
creeps along the grass
Anna Cates resides in Wilmington, Ohio with her two cats, Freddie and Christine, and teaches English and education online for several universities.
Meditation
This is time to pause—
and witness rainbows learn to fly.
Kevin Heaton is originally from Kansas and Oklahoma, and now lives and writes in South Carolina. His work has appeared in a number of publications including: Guernica, Rattle, Slice Magazine, Beloit Poetry Journal, The Adroit Journal, and Verse Daily. He is a Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and three-time Pushcart Prize nominee.
rain-rinsed moonlight —
one by one jasmines unfold
in my garden
Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of four books and three anthologies. Presently, she resides in Bangalore, India. You can visit her Amazon Author Profile to know more about her books and literary contributions.
first star . . .
a swift’s gentle leaf-drop
into the chimney
.
out of the blue
one crow after another
hits the updraft
.
blushing sky . . .
a hummingbird waits
for the morning glory
.
nothing to say until the oriole sings
Julie Warther (@JulieWarther) lives in Dover, Ohio and serves as Midwest Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America. (www.hsa-haiku.org). Her haiku chapbook “What Was Here” is available through Folded Word Press. http://foldedword.bigcartel.com/product/what-was-here
welcome to #31 of hedgerow! if you haven’t already passed by our new ‘poet / artist spotlight’, have have a peek here — (https://hedgerowpoems.wordpress.com/poet-artist-spotlight/ ). as always, a warm thank you to readers & contributors alike.
with love & kindness.
https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems
https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress
ambulance siren –
an albatross dragging the sun
out of waves
.
empty home –
mom’s lipstick on a teacup
so vivid
.
after divorce –
the dog carries your slipper
to its nook
Lavana Kray is from Iasi – Romania. She is passionate about writing and photography. Nature and the events of her life are topics of inspiration. Her work has been published in: Haiku Canada Review, Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi, World Haiku Association, Daily Haiga, Heron’s Nest, Frogpond, Eucalypt, Acorn, Ardea, Ginyu, Presence, Traversées and others. She has been chosen for Haiku Euro Top 100-edition 2014. This is her blog: http://photohaikuforyou.blogspot.ro
last time
i saw grandpa
just before he died
when I was fourteen
he didn’t know me
but his hand in my hand
knew our kite flying days
Robyn Cairns is a Melbourne based poet who shares her poetry and photography on twitter @robbiepoet.
Tom Slagle loves wilderness, wild rivers, good coffee, literature, travel, play, and kindness. A native of Colorado, he now lives and loves in the desert southwest, USA.
hemming curtains by hand
suddenly my mother…
school summer dresses
sun breaks through the day’s cloud
now I can hang the washing out
Jo Waterworth lives in Glastonbury, UK, where she has been writing poetry for many years. She blogs at jowaterworthwriter.Wordpress.com and has had a pamphlet of short poetry published by Poetry Space of Bristol.
Bear Moon
I’m all out of honey
but please come for tea anyway
Walking Moon
in your brand new sneakers
I can hardly keep up with you
Worn-Out Moon
now is the time
to sink into a lavender bubble bath
Roller Skating Moon
who would have thought you could be
so graceful on wheels?
Purple Moon
I almost mistook you
for a field of irises
Ice Cream Moon
not everyone can handle 3 scoops
but you can
Garden Moon
thank you for reminding me —
nobody owns the flowers
Shakespearean Moon
surely it is better to be
than not to be
Laughing Moon
I love the way
your belly rises and falls
Matchmaker Moon
what a brilliant introduction —
bee, meet flower
Midnight Moon
when you can’t sleep
do you count stars?
Brave Moon
you stood up for me
I’ll do the same for you
Fashionista Moon
on you
the hot pink feather boa is divine
Mango Moon
impossible
to get enough of you
Thrifty Moon
shopping with you isn’t as much fun
as I thought it would be
Tango Moon
claiming the horizon
as your own private ballroom
No-Poem Moon
all I can do is love you
there are no words
Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York (USA) and is the editor of the online haiku journal “brass bell.”
enchanted garden…
the languages of flowers,
butterflies and birds
are all that remain
when moonlight ceases
Ed Bremson speaks lovingly of the moon in his forthcoming chapbook, Like a Summer Night, https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2375
Tony Johnson lives in Moreno Valley, CA where he writes by the light of the moon, seeking his creativity from a dark past and emerging with poems about love, relationships, and childhood. On the side, he is a amateur photographer.
moon lake
paper boat
rendezvous
Vibeke Laier lives in Randers, Denmark. A few minutes of mindful attention helps her to engage with the world. She likes the process of capturing moments of the day in small sentences and micro poems… it is as a way to be open to the magic.
forgotten frost
the mother
I’ll never be
.
splashing through spring
my goddaughter
in her new pink boots
.
scan results
the shadow of a fly
in the spider’s web
Rachel Sutcliffe, from Yorkshire, UK, has suffered from a serious immune disorder for the past 14 years, throughout this time writing has been her therapy, it’s what keeps her from going insane!
the universe! in each snowflake
Matthew Moffett lives in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with his wife and two kids. He thanks you for reading his poems!
beachfront
the ebb and flow
of two worlds
.
frog pool
so many eyes
admire the moon
.
silent night
crossing the lake
a falling star
Simon Hanson lives in rural South Australia relishing the open spaces and distant horizons. He spent a number of years in the philosophy department of Flinders University which he thoroughly enjoyed though he did have a difficult time persuading others that Beauty is an objective feature of the universe and not just in the eye of the beholder.
welcome to #28 of hedgerow. thanks for stopping by! during the next week we’ll be launching a new section of the journal ‘poet / artist spotlight’ featuring work by four poets. it will be an ongoing feature, along with the ‘poetry / art book review’ page. thrilled! further updates will be posted at the link below. perhaps also have a peek at our sister site wildflower poetry press.
with love & kindness…
https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems
https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress
twilight
the slow pull of
an accordion
Ben Moeller-Gaa is the author of two haiku chapbooks, the Pushcart nominated Wasp Shadows (Folded Word Press 2014) and Blowing on a Hot Soup Spoon (poor metaphor design 2014). His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Learn more about Ben at http://www.benmoellergaa.com.
rolled-up pants —
bark boats race
beneath the bridge
.
seeing
what will be . . .
first blossom
Julie Warther (@JulieWarther) lives in Dover, Ohio and serves as Midwest Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America. (www.hsa-haiku.org). Her haiku chapbook “What Was Here” is available through Folded Word Press. http://foldedword.bigcartel.com/product/what-was-here
Patricia Hartman is a retired professor of English. She enjoys watching birds and reading poetry in Cleveland, Ohio and was delighted to have this little Chickadee visit her deck.
day long weeding
the last dandelion
under my bench
.
in the compost
tea bags
brewing again
David Serjeant lives in Derbyshire, UK. He is the current editor of Blithe Spirit, journal of the British Haiku Society. His interests include photography and pottering about (escaping everything) on his allotment. He publishes poetry and works in progress at http://distantlightning.blogspot.co.uk/ He also writes about his experiences with multiple sclerosis at https://davesmagicalbrain.wordpress.com/
The Way Memory Slips In and Out
after she rinses out the teapot
she can’t remember what to do with it
standing in the cold pink light of early morning
her robe hanging off her shoulders
her bare feet numb on the linoleum
cradling the clean teapot in her chilly hands
patience patience
her brain shifts slightly
left, right
oh yes
and she proceeds to make herself
a pot of tea
Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York (USA) and is the editor of the online haiku journal “brass bell.”
first spring
the east wind carries
the smell of home
(for new immigrants)
.
tenth year in exile…
tinge of green on the maple
in my front yard
Chen-ou Liu is currently the editor and translator of NeverEnding Story, http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/, and the author of five books, including Following the Moon to the Maple Land (First Prize, 2011 Haiku Pix Chapbook Contest) and A Life in Transition and Translation ( Honorable Mention, 2014 Turtle Light Press Biennial Haiku Chapbook Competition).
so many dreams…
a life spent skipping stones
across the moon
.
cool side of the pillow…
I wonder why
I still dream of you
.
bonfire guitar…
we let our bodies be marionettes
strung to the shimmering stars
Chase Gagnon is a student from Detroit, who loves staying up all night drinking coffee and writing poetry. His poems have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies over the past two years.
David J Kelly is an ecologist, based in Dublin, Ireland, where he finds scientific and artistic inspiration in the natural world.
Words wander out
by breath to the edge of the sky
where, with time enough
alone, they range over and yonder and,
fledgelings no longer,
migrate finally back to fall,
effortless, into place
Mark Kaplon’s short poems have recently appeared in Lilliput Review, the Aurorean, Right Hand Pointing, Frogpond, Ribbons and elsewhere. His chapbook Song of Rainswept Sand is available on Amazon and from Finishing Line Press. He lives in Hawaii, USA.
welcome to #20 of hedgerow, bringing you nine different poets & artists. this will be the last winter issue, next week we’ll celebrate the spring equinox! send in your work in time. thanks for all your support, every effort is appreciated. happy friday everyone.
with love & kindness…
Snow / No Hummingbirds
Finally, the refrigerator motor shuts off and the loudest sound is one I make myself by circling my thumbs around each other. I don’t realize I’m doing this until I try to identify the sound and, by the process of elimination — since there are no hummingbirds in the apartment, no rustling leaves — I figure it out.
It’s been snowing all day. The last car went by hours ago and the tire tracks are filled in. Only two people pass, a man and a woman, walking down the middle of the street instead of on the sidewalk. I watch from the window: the woman, in a pale trench coat and high leather boots, holds a black umbrella over her head; the man wears a hooded jacket and lumbers beside her. They pass my house, then the fire station’s parking lot, the pretty house with the stained glass windows, the health club, and the abandoned storefront. They don’t appear to be talking to each other but I can’t be sure.
I go back to my chair, and the novel I don’t yet care about, and realize too late that I should have changed into warmer socks. I am too lazy to get up again. The refrigerator has started to hum again and the fire department’s generator just kicked in.
hour after hour
at the window —
yes it is still snowing
Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York, where she leads weekly Writing Circles in her downtown studio. She is the editor of brass bell, an online haiku journal: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com
trying to
clear a path from
the past
yesterday’s snow
heavy in his shovel
.
watching
for her return
another
snowflake melts
on my window
Dave Read is a Canadian poet whose work has appeared in many journals, including hedgerow. You can find his micropoetry on Twitter, @AsSlimAsImBeing.
lost behind
tree silhouettes
a fallen star
.
on the edge of
a snowdrop
rainbows
Vibeke Laier lives in Randers, Denmark, she has been writing and studying poetry since 2012, but her interest in the art of haiku stretches back to when she was a schoolgirl.
winter
a neon dream journey
nowhere zen road
.
Carole Johnston lives in Lexington, Kentucky USA where she drives around Bluegrass backroads with a notebook and camera in the front seat, capturing the haiku moment. Journeys: Getting Lost, Carole’s first chapbook of haiku and tanka, is now available for presale from Finishing Line Press. https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2211
Granddad in waiting
Directed at the nirvana
whoosh…
a single digit
climbs the clouds
beyond the reach of the streetlights
trailing off into silence
Flash— Bang,
Out of this disappearing point of light
Cascades golden rain
a murmur of a pop
adds silver splashes—
fracturing stars
slowly fading—
crackling to out.
Hello?
More glittering Fingers—
racing skyward,
music?
Tchaikovsky 1812.
woven in with
Hello?
Shrieks whistles
blues and Reds
greens and yellows
hissing, screaming
bangs and ka-booms
a climax of illumination and
reverberation.
On your marks!
HELLO are you still there?
Do what lov’—
Set!
sorry—
I didn’t hear you
Go…
my heart starts the race,
Callum and Blake are here
you know, the twins
hello!
Yeah! Yeah! I hear you,
Finding it hard going
my heart
hammering on
the final lap
are they all ok?
mother and babies doing fine
pressing the tape—
crossing the finish line,
winner
lovely what weight—
hello! hello! what,
she’s gone—
I also hang up
after a pounding race
warming down
relief and joy
overwhelmed
I weep.
My first born—
that poor girl
pregnant; huge and
uncomfortable
feeling ugly
for the last few weeks.
My eyes swim as
reality floods
ya-hooooooooo
I’m a granddad
whoosh…
cue music…
Mike Keville from London AKA Mikeymike.
BACKLIT
She treads the shoulder
Hesitates
Her silhouette
fine-lettering limbs
serif paws
Her glance to the sun’s blaze
her swivel on one hind leg
her felicitous leave
The saving of her own fox self
Lizz Murphy was born in Ireland but has lived in rural Australia for a long time. She has published twelve books and is currently fixated on small poems.
winter reaching the middle of the pond
.
geese overhead
the one that fills the spaces
between honks
Julie Warther lives in Dover, Ohio and serves as Midwest Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America. (www.hsa-haiku.org)
subsiding gently into a hillside
a house I used to know
Molly Guy is Australian. She has had six books published, most of these contain collections of micro poetry and short stories.
Sandi Pray is a wild child who roams between mountain and marsh in North Carolina and Florida, http://ravencliffs.blogspot.com.
welcome to #19 hedgerow, bringing you ten different poets & artists, including for the first time some very short fiction! thank you all for turning up. it is a beautiful thing…
if you haven’t yet passed by our sister site wildflower poetry press — https://wildflowerpoetrypress.wordpress.com/
with love & kindness
The Journey Itself Is Home
for Matsuo Basho
I carry the dead weight
of cliched poetry
on the road
to the Interior
cherry blossoms drifting
Like the shadow in the morning, the workshop lecturer’s comment lingers in my mind, “There are two kinds of traveler-poets: those who look at the map and those who look in the mirror. The first are embarking on their journey, and the latter are returning home.”
Chen-ou Liu is currently the editor and translator of NeverEnding Story, http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/, and the author of five books, including Following the Moon to the Maple Land (First Prize, 2011 Haiku Pix Chapbook Contest) and A Life in Transition and Translation (Honorable Mention, 2014Turtle Light Press Biennial Haiku Chapbook Competition).
Debbie Strange is a published tanka and haiku poet and an avid photographer. She enjoys creating haiga and tanshi (small poem) art. You are invited to visit her on Twitter @Debbie_Strange.
out at sea
with no wind in my sails…
the hardest
place to be
is by your side
Sergio A. Ortiz, Editor http://undertowtankareview.blogspot.com/
reunion …
sailing in every puddle
thunder clouds
Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of four books and three anthologies. Presently, she resides in Bangalore, India. You can visit her Amazon Author Profile to know more about her books and literary contributions.
The 365th Day
This is the day we do that summing up.
Annoying, isn’t it, the way
we tally and sort the year’s days
into the things – or people – we like and those
that caused us pain? We inventory
and discard, if we’re smart, whatever
no longer works, or what
carries no joy. We have this need
to take stock, as though we
were running a giant store full of
stuff, boots and gloves, or jars
of face cream and scented soaps.
This year let’s
let it alone,
think instead of the faint yellow blush
on the forsythia. Soon we can snip
its branches, hammer the stems
against the stone walk, set it all
in warm water in an old jar.
The small blooms, and then
tender green leaves will unfold
in the corner window.
Forcing spring
in midwinter.
Lynne Viti teaches writing about law, technology and media at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She has written and published on such disparate topics as law, television, gardening, fashion, and growing up in Baltimore. See her links to publications on her blog: stillinschool.wordpress.com.
pencil pine–
letters you wrote
to the moon
Robyn Cairns is a Melbourne based poet who shares her poetry and photography on twitter @robbiepoet.
Steve Wilkinson, Co.Durham, England. Editor of the Bamboo Hut and currently exploring the avenue of TanshiArt.
Strangers
I sit on the front steps waiting for my ride. I have to be careful not to get into the wrong car. Strangers pull up in front of my house all the time and I jump up and greet them like long-lost friends. Sometimes this scares them and sometimes it scares me. I’m always having to explain about being nearsighted.
Familiar
Once in a restaurant I waved to myself in the mirror because I looked so familiar. I was critical of my haircut but other than that I looked like someone I might like to know. I gave myself a friendly smile, along with the wave. This could have been embarrassing but luckily nobody else noticed.
Excited
In the dream my friend tells me she is studying “Berlitz” and I get all excited, thinking she said “burlesque.”
Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York, where she leads weekly Writing Circles in her downtown studio. She is the editor of brass bell, an online haiku journal: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com
lemon gin
the sun sets
earlier today
winter winds
he still makes her
blush
Dave Read is a Canadian poet whose work has appeared in many journals, including hedgerow. You can find his micropoetry on Twitter @AsSlimAsImBeing.
Veronika Zora Novak is simply a daydreamer.
welcome to #17 of hedgerow, bringing you ten different poets & artists. as always grateful to readers & contributors alike. please keep sending in your work as well as spreading the word, every effort really counts! thanks also to all of you who had a peek at our sister site wildflower poetry press. if you haven’t already, simply follow the links below —
https://wildflowerpoetrypress.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress
with love & kindness…
Michael Curtis Paul
Here at the Museum of Bad Ideas
We climb the spiral staircase
With boundless enthusiasm, searching
Tirelessly for the co-relation
Of spit and sandpaper, Jackdaw and superstition.
My wife is singing ‘Mary had a little lamb.’
My wife is reciting multiplication tables.
Once she quoted Tennyson:
“There lies the port, the vessel puffs her sail.”
I reached for a bottle of port, and downed it.
We are ailing from the same ailments, but approach
Remedies from different directions.
She prepares to ingest certain curative
Substances, while I make an appointment
With the headshrinker and wait patiently
For the vessel to puff her sail.
.
All of this. All of that. All of the above.
A sort of summing up. A remedial mathematics of memory.
Walking a high wire strung between the Urban Dictionary and the Oxford Unabridged, Michael Curtis Paul is a tight rope aerialist with an inner ear disease.
Paula Dawn Lietz
Paula Dawn Lietz ( Pd Lietz ) is an accomplished multi-genre artist, photographer and poet. http://www.pdlietzphotography.com
Debbie Strange
The Sacrament of Snow
the glow
of candled sea ice
at sundown
snowflakes melting
on our lashes
moonswept
the snowy foothills
u n d u l a t e
a night bird calls
my echo answers
a nimbus
around the frost moon
above us
the hushed wings
of a snowy owl
so many words
for rain and snow
in foreign tongues
yet the language of lovers
remains the same
Debbie Strange is a published tanka and haiku poet and an avid photographer. She enjoys creating haiga and tanshi (small poem) art. You are invited to visit her on Twitter @Debbie_Strange.
Natalia L. Rudychev
the phoenix of my heart
leaves fireflies behind
like fairy tale crumbs
so if i’m ever lost
there would be
living sparks
to guide
your
path
to
me
Natalia L. Rudychev is a philosopher, dancer, poet. She lives in New York, New York.
Caroline Skanne
Caroline Skanne, Rochester, UK is obsessed with anything wild and free. She is the founder of hedgerow: a journal of small poems. Her book ‘a hundred poems by caroline skanne’ is available from amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/hundred-small-poems-caroline-skanne/dp/1506022944
Barbara Kaufmann
How Is It Possible
on a morning when the clouds
curl back upon themselves,
and give up only momentary corridors of bare sky,
on a morning when those maddeningly small tokens of blue
taunt and tease a rain-weary, fog-weary heart,
how is it that the sighing wind,
bending toward the naked oak tree,
can carry a burst of bird song
through the myriad layers
of a morose winter morning,
piercing the frozen edges of a february nap
prodding and poking me out of my february nest?
By what miracle does a Carolina wren,
the tiniest of wintering birds,
on the gloomiest of winter days,
sing in the only voice
the universe gave it,
an April voice,
conjuring up a stunning moment of spring,
and bestowing a blessing
on the rain besotted morning,
anointing my eyes and ears
with the chrism of its winter anthem,
just in time to save my despairing soul
from the depths of this winter silence?
Barbara Kaufmann can be found (or lost) wandering in the woods, beaches and gardens of New York, her camera and notebook in hand, hunting for poems. http://wabisabipoet.wordpress.com/
Wendy Bourke
We walked by bushes in the rose garden
– happy – munching on kalamata olives and
spitting out pits, that landed, capriciously,
on the earth – like peace-loving bullets.
I rested my head upon his shoulder
and listened to the sound of our breathing . . .
as the minutes fell away.
Wendy Bourke lives in Vancouver, BC where – after a life loving words and scribbling poetry lines on pizza boxes and used envelopes – she finally got down to writing and publishing her poetry “in earnest” four years ago.
David J Kelly
David J Kelly lives and works in Dublin, Ireland, where he finds scientific and artistic inspiration in the natural world.
Ed Bremson
the unstained snowy
mountain-top . . .
the pine woods,
the eagle soaring
amidst the clouds
Ed Bremson lives in Raleigh, NC, USA where he writes poetry, watches movies, erases novels, and makes haiku song videos. ‘the unstained snowy’ appears in Ed Bremson’s book of found poems Frankenstein, available at amazon — http://www.amazon.com/Frankenstein-Ed-Bremson/dp/1503116794/ref=sr_1_1
Veronika Zora Novak
on bent knees . . .
our hair washed by
twilit river song
Veronika Zora Novak is simply a daydreamer.
welcome to #14 of hedgerow, it is so good to be back! the second issue of the year brings you 14 different poets & artists. as always, grateful to contributors & readers alike, please keep sending in your submissions as well as spreading the word, every effort really counts! if you haven’t yet found our facebook page, please follow the link below. exciting news about the print version will be posted here this coming week — https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems
with love & kindness…
Alexis Rotella
Like me
the moon folded
in half.
Alexis Rotella (Arnold, Maryland, USA) served as Haiku Society of America President in 1984, her famous poem Purple appears in Creative Writing: An Intro to Poetry and Fiction St. Martin’s Press, Teaching with Heart (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2014).
Peter Wilkin
Galloping away from a murder of crows
Peter Wilkin is a writer, poet & iphoneographer who lives in West Yorkshire, England.
Rachel Sutcliffe
day of your death
flowers at the bedside
shedding petals
.
alone now
the chill in our room
at sunset
.
the first night
without you
star filled sky
Rachel Sutcliffe, from Yorkshire, UK, has suffered from a serious immune disorder for the past 14 years, throughout this time writing has been her therapy, it keeps her from going insane!
Janet Butler
crow wings
across the morning
his hard song
a scratch on tender skies
his shadow grazes your hand
Janet Butler recently dove into the wonderful world of tanka, and has yet to emerge from it.
Carole Johnston
first a wren
then two crows
hawks stand guard
over winding roads
one flies across my path
out of the fog
Carole Johnston lives in Lexington, Kentucky USA where she drives around Bluegrass backroads with a notebook and camera in the front seat, capturing the haiku moment. Journeys:Getting Lost, Carole’s first chapbook of haiku and tanka, is now available for presale from Finishing Line Press. The books will be delivered in February. https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2211
Paula Dawn Lietz
my lips cold
upon your white shoulder
a desolate touch
Paula Dawn Lietz ( Pd Lietz ) is an accomplished multi-genre artist, photographer and poet. http://www.pdlietzphotography.com
Janet Qually
caught up again
in your wave of emotion
two hearts pounding
I still enjoy
the escalation
Janet Qually (USA) has been published in several journals and enjoys writing all forms of poetry. She frequently creates computer graphics to illustrate her work.
Julie Bloss Kelsey
walking the labyrinth
with my never-born child
… the call of wildflowers
.
my daughter’s hug —
butterfly wings
around my heart
.
after the play date
glitter in the dust pan
Julie Bloss Kelsey (@MamaJoules on Twitter) just earned her certification as a Maryland Master Naturalist.
Robert Tremmel
INTERRUPTIONS
Legs up and straight
out in front
reading Red Pine’s
commentary on Heart
Sutra, page one-hundred
forty-nine, pondering
anuttara samyak
sambodhi, unexcelled
perfect mantra
siren
at the stop sign
beyond the trees
neither
can be put
into words.
Robert Tremmel lives and writes in Ankeny, Iowa.
Ed Bremson
Ed Bremson lives in Raleigh, NC, USA where he writes poetry, watches movies, erases novels, and makes haiku song videos.
Garima Behal
pistachio shells we split our ways
Garima Behal is a student-poet-writer pursuing her graduation in Commerce, in New Delhi, India. Seeking a great Perhaps, she runs her blog at : http://theseismicscribbler.blogspot.in/
Shloka Shankar
this numbness
begins to thaw
tonight
i undress wounds
of the past
Shloka Shankar is a freelance writer who resides in India. She is the editor of the literary & arts journal, Sonic Boom. (http://sonicboomjournal.wix.com/sonicboom)
Chen-ou Liu
Confession of a Photography Addict
Mary invites me over to her place for an interview. She has her strands dyed every color of the rainbow, and looks much younger than she is. On the wall facing the window, she tacks up a giant photo of herself, composed of many smaller pictures. After taking a sip of iced tea, she starts talking in an unusually deep, husky voice, “I’ve spent ten years on a shrink’s couch, but I still hear him through the wall whispering to me. Every day when I get up and look in the bedroom mirror, I see that man staring back at me. I want him carved off my face…”
Father’s Day
blanked out on her calendar
morning chill
Chen-ou Liu is currently the editor and translator of NeverEnding Story, http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/, and the author of five books, including Following the Moon to the Maple Land (First Prize, 2011 Haiku Pix Chapbook Contest) and A Life in Transition and Translation ( Honorable Mention, 2014Turtle Light Press Biennial Haiku Chapbook Competition)
Chase Gagnon
through candle smoke
I write my poem
with the quill of a phoenix
while my fingers sink
into the gray ash of this life
for warmth
.
among
the dark prophecies
of withered
graffiti,
the cracks
in an empty sidewalk
full
of tiny
flowers
Chase Gagnon is a student from Detroit, who loves staying up all night drinking coffee and writing poetry. His poems have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies over the past two years.
excited to bring you the second issue of hedgerow, featuring 13 different poets and artists. a warm thank you to all contributors & readers! comments, likes & shares are welcomed, as are your submissions for upcoming issues. with love & kindness, enjoy…
Joanne Rose
and then
he heard the moon say
there’s a beautiful earth
in the sky tonight
Joanne Rose lives in the USA and loves to scribble poems and pictures in the sand. http://forallmywalking.blogspot.com
Vibeke Laier
moonlight
the way the body
changes to silk
creasing
the origami paper
unfolding wish
evening stillness
how deep the space
between words
filling the heart
day after day
white butterflies
Vibeke Laier lives in Randers, Denmark, she has been writing and studying poetry since 2012, but her interest in the art of haiku stretches back to when she was a schoolgirl.
Roary Williams
letting go
I breathe with the crickets
until stars appear
down from the roof
and across the fence
the moon and the
neighbor’s cat
headed home
out on a limb
chest puffed out
singing to anyone
who would listen
the chickadee and I
even before
I was born
my heart pulsing
to the rhythm
of rain
two swallows
detach from the train
then veer off the tracks
Roary Williams, Albuquerque New Mexico, USA, is a simple poet who loves nature and the seasons (@CoyoteSings)
Sandi Pray
Sandi Pray is a wild child who roams between mountain and marsh in North Carolina and Florida, http://ravencliffs.blogspot.com.
Christine L. Villa
eternally lost
in a garden maze
I search for you
in places I need you
most
will I ever be loved
the same way as before
the willow hedges
of where we’ve been
still longs for you
entrenched
in my lonely heart
memories
like dandelions
full of wishes
before the day ends
counting morning glories
I have to accept
my life the way it is
without you
Aside from being a children’s book author and a poet, Christine L. Villa is also the editor of Frameless Sky – a video journal showcasing poets, artists, and musicians in collaborative projects http://framelesssky.weebly.com.
Laura Williams
our small act
between the sheets …
ecstatic motion
what does it mean to become
one with the universe?
autumn migration
crossing the afterlife
on butterfly wings
moon viewing …
the luna moth and I
simpatico
a short break
from stacking the woodpile
before the first storm
the sharp wind
cuts right through us
Laura Williams has been writing haiku and tanka since 2012. She lives in California, USA. http://www.foralovelything.blogspot.com
Alexis Rotella
Alexis Rotella (Arnold, Maryland, USA) served as Haiku Society of America President in 1984, her famous poem Purple appears in Creative Writing: An Intro to Poetry and Fiction St. Martin’s Press, Teaching with Heart (Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2014).
Zee Zahava
I could hold a pencil for a year
and not find
the poem of you
the way a mountain moves —
that’s what I mean
by slow kissing
dear moon
I forgot to look at you last night
did you see me?
Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, N.Y. she writes most of her poems in a small notebook while taking her early morning walks, she is the editor of brass bell, an online haiku journal: http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com/
Safiyyah Patel
Moment
eloquent silence
descended upon the garden
after a furious downpour…
skies opened up
to reveal a sapphire expanse
captured by a pixelled shot…
it reminded her of the moment
when nature washed her
to the bone…
dark clouds stripped
into muddy rivulets…
Safiyyah Patel lives in England, UK, and is passionate about writing and counselling.
Traci Siler
Nesting
in the soft fold
of my breasts
the sweet scent
of spring
Traci Siler is a wife, mother, poet and West Nile survivor from Carrollton, Texas whose work has appeared in numerous poetry journals and in her recently released book, Beneath A Morphine Moon, available on amazon.com and her paintings can be viewed on her art page on Facebook.
Sergio A. Ortiz
I want to die
rolling in the arms
of a cello player
naked to the waist
rolling in my sweet baby’s arms
how can I forget
those tremulous hours
where we bathed
in each other’s arms
water on water
Sergio A. Ortiz is the founding editor of Undertow Tanka Review, he lives in San Juan Puerto Rico and is a four-time nominee for the 2010-2011 Sundress Best of the Web Anthology, and a two-time 2010 Pushcart nominee.
S.M. Abeles
S.M. Abeles is just a simple poet.
hedgerow: a journal of small poems 