#37

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #37 of hedgerow! if you haven’t already done so, please have a look at the new ‘poetry & art book reviews’ (https://hedgerowpoems.wordpress.com/poetry-art-book-reviews/). new titles will be added shortly! thank you for being here & happy friday!

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with love & kindness…

once again
my yard breathes
violets and clover …
the sea so close
I forget distant galaxies

silver ghosts
dandelion seeds
riding the night wind

long gone –
my old dog’s bark
waking me at dawn

Joy Reed MacVane lives on the New Hampshire seacoast and hides out in the summer on an island off the Maine coast.

Lotus opening

Alexis Rotella is a well known poet of Japanese forms in English who has been writing since the early 80’s. In the spring of this year, Red Moon Press published her latest book of haiku called BETWEEN WAVES. As a digital artist, Alexis is now working on editing the portraits of celebrities such as Obama, Robert Redford, Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger, the Beatles, and many others. A selection of her haiga appeared in April at danmurano.com thanks to poet and critic, Grace Cavalieri.

Illuminated by fireflies
the dark corners
of night

Joyce Joslin Lorenson lives in Rhode Island, U.S.A., grew up on a dairy farm and records the daily happenings in nature around her rural home.

Willow at the edge of the marsh
wiggles her toe-roots in the cold mud
as the sweet racket
of thousands of peeper frogs
washes through her branchy fingers
and the continuous trilling
gently coaxes the bark from the ends
of buds and their beginnings
with a chorus of
“at long last,
we have made it.
You are safe to grow again”.

Stacey Crawford Murphy savors life in Ithaca, NY.

Yellow Finches

They flock as commuters,
in erratic wavelike patterns—
territorial in construction,
the aggression short-lived.
Residents of open country,
tweets and warbles, ti-di-di-di.

Agile feet grip the catkin
for feeding, the conical
beaks turn bright orange
with the spring molt.

Lew Caccia serves as a professor at Walsh University, where he teaches courses in composition, rhetoric, professional writing, and literacy. He earned his Ph.D. at Kent State University. His recent poetry has appeared in The Storyteller, The Shepherd, The Write Place At the Write Time, and The Penwood Review. This summer, he will present at the Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference in Boise, Idaho. After the conference, he looks forward to a hike somewhere in the Rockies.

dreams of birding . . .
the variety of ringtones
in a waiting room

all the swifts in a robin’s song

emptying
the hour glass . . .
ocean breeze

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

first warm day
all that pent-up tension
melting

Matthew Moffett lives in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, with his wife and two kids. He thanks you for reading his poems!

ice cream counter
choosing the same flavour
the wasp and I

self check out
I wonder how much
I’m worth

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!

my Beagle sleeps
on her side of the bed …
blossoms falling

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)

speaking to her
for the last time
not knowing it was

Duncan Richardson is a writer of fiction, poetry and haiku. He teaches English as a Second Language part-time in Brisbane, Australia.

lonely night a child touches the moon with her fingertips

Vibeke Laier is a artist and dreamer who lives in Randers, Denmark. She began writing three years ago and likes the process of capturing moments of the day in small sentences and micro poems… it is a way to be open to the magic.

the cat on her lap
kneading its paws
she sucks her thumb

as I fold the page
she drifts off
to Narnia

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 athttp://distantlightning.blogspot.co.uk/ He also writes about his experiences with multiple sclerosis at https://davesmagicalbrain.wordpress.com/

#36

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to the latest issue of hedgerow! thrilled to announce that the ‘art & poetry book reviews’ page (https://hedgerowpoems.wordpress.com/poetry-art-book-reviews/) is up. the first instalment features two books & more to come! also happy to announce that the winner of the book draw is Clifford Blizard who will receive a signed copy of a hundred small poems by caroline skanne shortly! a big thanks to those of you who registered your interest! please find a link below where the book can be purchased. grateful to everyone, for simply turning up & happy friday to you!

with love & kindness,

Caroline Skanne

founder / editor

first summer
fawn belly deep
in brook water

as we wave goodbye
a heron overhead
disappears into the distance

Joyce Joslin Lorenson lives in Rhode Island, U.S.A., grew up on a dairy farm and records the daily happenings in nature around her rural home.

Jane Williams is an Australian poet based in Tasmania. Her most recent book is Days Like These – New and Selected Poems. http://www.janewilliams.wordpress.com

twilight mist
a female pheasant
sprints passed a gateway

a heron’s call
on this moonlit night
the river I long for

Thomas Powell is a potter who lives in County Down, Northern Ireland. Journals in which his haiku have appeared include A Hundred Gourds, Blithe Spirit, Chrysanthemum, Presence, Shamrock Haiku and The Heron’s Nest. He is a winner in The Snapshot Press eChapbook Awards and The Snapshot Press Book Awards. Thomas is also a contributor to A New Resonance 9, published by Red Moon Press.

How It Feels to See Her
For Melissa M. Schaefer

Her essence wraps itself
around my broken rib cage,
ties itself around my heart,
swings down vertebrae.

She’s such a soft giggle
to my organs, a tease
for my soul. She feels
like sister, like home.

Raquel Reyes-Lopez lives in Montebello, California USA. She is a Gemini madly in love with life and a moon child. If you squint hard enough you can find her sleeping in the moon’s craters. Follow her at contactraquel.wordpress.com

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.

roadside rest
daisies among
the cat tails

yoga class
unexpected twist—
pretzel pose

Nancy Brady lives in Huron, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie from which she takes inspiration. She is the author of two books of haiku: Ohayo Haiku andThree Breaths.

watershadows
a secret
under a stone

the floating cow
sniffs at a floating mushroom
as the clouds float by

jellyfish swimming
through a pale blue sky
the sound of rustling paper*

*a found haiku in the “Fu-go” episode of the Radiolab podcast

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. Follow on Twitter @MikeAndrelczyk.

shelter in the hut—
a swinging cobweb
touches my wet hand

bass notes
in the rocky river
birdsong

Myron Lysenko has published six books of poetry, the latest devoted to haiku. He lives in Victoria, Australia and runs a monthly poetry venue in Woodend.

Estuary

The water and the sky are like eternity —
A roll of wrist in water
And in light,
Casting a net of birds in flight
I know to be
The motion of forever.

I catch with all my frailty
At the gesture —

Catch at the curvature
Of strength in its acclivity of wings
Through tremulous resurgences and blurred diminishings —

Until an hour when, through the length of light,
You cast a net of birds in flight
And gather me.

Isabel Chenot lives in the US. She has been previously published in Anima poetry journal and on the Atavic poetry website.

counting the fireflies
circling our bed
summer romance

waterfalls
of summer rain
mother’s old red boots

Joy Reed MacVane lives on the New Hampshire seacoast and hides out in the summer on an island off the Maine coast.

Three cabbage whites, two dragonflies,
One thrush
Distinguishing silences.

Moorchicks sprint along the
Lily pads
Playing at flight with stumpy wings.

A baby toad, my thumbnail size,
His thumb
A perfect pinpoint miracle.

With the unhurried grace of a
Gardener,
Hope holds my elbow, smiles.

I dig and hear, near me, her
Silent breath –
She who first buried spring bulbs.

Rosie Johnston’s three poetry pamphlets have been published by Lapwing Publications in Belfast, Northern Ireland where Rosie was born. She lives in London where she also writes fiction and journalism and is poet in residence for the Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust.

After midnight
only the owls
hear Jupiter’s bawdy joke
and Venus’ twinkly laugh

After midnight
the lonely ghost in the hall
beckons: “just one dance”

After midnight
is quieter and paler
than when it was young

Stacey Crawford Murphy savors life in Ithaca, NY.

#35

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to the latest issue of hedgerow. thanks for being here! thrilled to announce that the ‘poetry / art book reviews’ feature of the journal will be launched this coming friday. if you have had work published in hedgerow & you have a book out to shout about, do get in touch. to celebrate i’ll be giving away a signed copy of my book ‘a hundred small poems…’ register your interest by sending a message to —
hedgerowsubmissions@gmail.com & i shall pick one winner at random. thanks everyone i think this will be fun.

https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems
https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress

with love & kindness,

Caroline Skanne

low tide
wandering away
from the world’s sharp edges

Joy Reed MacVane lives on the New Hampshire seacoast and during the summer hides out on an island off the Maine coast.

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.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?

the answer is thirty-two

where do geese go when they die
there is no way to translate that

what moves backwards in a swamp
how little flecks of gold glitter in the mines

when will this alliance be forged
with song and dance of tambourines

who are you dressed in red Thursdays
I have this desire to change the world

how many times will you ask me
why did you have to ask me that

and in distant darkness shone the city lights

Anna Cates resides in Wilmington, Ohio with her two cats, Freddie and Christine, writes, and teaches English online for several universities.

her smooth hands
collecting pine cones
in a bag

the wind
changes direction
my lonely heart

Jade Pisani, Australia, began to write haiku in 2010. She is a regular ginko participant.

daydream about the children I never had

walking into the morning fog to clear my head

my aging hands more beautiful right now

late afternoon curled into a nap beside you

Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York (USA) and is the editor of the online haiku journal “brass bell.”

Making Waves

Each new page becomes a paddling pool
you hesitate to dip your toe into.
You stare into its glassed reflection,
shimmering world, fragile,
peaceful, unattainable.
You hesitate, the pen jitters;

the crippling fear of tiny ripples
turning somehow into rapids.
Still you long to close your eyes and jump;
letting go of everything; forgetting the page,
the pool; your head submerged
where every word and every splash becomes miracle.

Clifton Redmond is an Irish poet, a member of The Carlow Writers Co-Operative. He has had poems published in various Journals and Magazines.

evening light
the invisible lace
of swallows

daybreak
a veil of light
over the stars

Simon Hanson lives in a small country town in South Australia where he spends quite a lot of time walking the back roads between paddocks. Some of the cows have become acquainted with his Blue Heeler dog who seems to forget on occasions that it is not her job to round them up no matter how much fun it might be.

Different

I wake up shedding the skin
of a tender lover, pushing it
from behind my teeth, forcing
myself to chew, and swallow.
I let it all slide down my throat
with no regrets.

As I’m brushing my teeth
I’m mentally punching at
my brain letting it know
I will not regurgitate, will
not slip back into weakness.

Today I’m wearing amethyst
armor underneath my little
black dress and ignoring
all of your phone calls.

a river of fire
swept along the street;
some time later,
drops of black rain fell …
I see the hell in his eyes

in Hiroshima
I wake up to the cry
of cicadas …
under the grass
what’s left of angered souls

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)

all our pictures
now I know
I’m made of water

summer sunset
still losing you
bit by bit

left on the trail
I must write
your death poem

Perry L. Powell lives in College Park, Georgia, USA. He works as a systems analyst and writes poetry out of love in the evening. His short poems have been published in Hedgerow,A Hundred Gourds, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Presence, Prune Juice, Ribbons, small stones, and The Heron’s Nest.

overcast sky…
I look for shapes
in the river’s depths

with the squirrel’s leap the feel of new leaves

when he stands up
to end the conversation
it pains me —
always the garden sparrow
wanting to chat till sundown

Anne Curran has been writing short verse forms for about
four years now. She lives in Hamilton New Zealand, a pretty
provincial town in the North Island. She reads and writes poetry as time and inspiration allows. She is inspired by people, memory, landscape, and language.

childhood room —
familiar tree shadows
on the wall

longest day
blueberries
still green

hedgerow #34

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

thrilled to bring you #34 of hedgerow, an issue that will hopefully make you smile! some exciting news to share with you this coming week, stay tuned. thanks everyone, for being here…

with love & kindness!

so much happiness but no tail to wag

practicing how not to be too honest

hibiscus tea in a sunflower mug mixing it all up

bad handwriting I must want to keep secrets from myself

Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York (USA) and is the editor of the online haiku journal “brass bell.”

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.

riding the
Midnight Butterfly Express
wearing my
glassy glitter wings I
wonder why everyone
reaches out to touch me

drummer in the
Midnight Butterfly Blues Band
heart beats neon
while a blind poet
misses the light show

got a letter
from Midnight Butterfly
tattered and worn
hand painted haiku moon
stained by indigo blood

jetting in my
Midnight Butterfly car
radio maniac
blaring cosmic questions
I meet myself on the road

lost again
at Midnight Butterfly
Coffee Shop
scribbling runes in my notebook
with skyblueluminous ink

Circus of the Soul
starring Midnight Butterfly
run away with me
to the light show of your mind
join the poetry bizarre

in line at Starbucks
Midnight Butterfly taps
me on the shoulder
a poem pops in my mind
steams off in a coffee cloud

some say
Midnight Butterfly is just
a metaphor
muse in an old photograph
your smokey absinth dreams

wish I could paint
chiaroscuro lightning like
Midnight Butterfly
Joan Jet & Black Hearts
silver studs leather jackets

that carousel
my childhood in hyper-drive
a gold ring quest
chasing Midnight Butterfly
on glossy white horses
into the blue distant sea

Carole Johnston lives and writes in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, although she is from “nowhere zen.”

moored in a cove
the stars above
the stars

Meik Blöttenberger was born in Baltimore to German immigrant parents. He is currently living in Hanover, Pennsylvania and in a decade will be retiring to the high desert of Arizona. His other passions are photography and traveling.

birding . . .
he shushes
the cicadas

outdoor diner
joined by a party
of sparrows

brush marks
in wet paint
the cat’s tail

falling barn—
unhurried
the drooping roof

starlings
in the chicken house
thieving feed

Ed Higgins’ tanka, haiku, and haibun have been published in various print and online journals. He and his wife live on a small farm in Yamhill, OR. where they raise a menagerie of animals including a pair of Bourbon Red turkeys (King Strut and Nefra-Turkey) and an alpaca named Machu-Picchu.

AT THE BUS STOP

guy next to me
is making earthquake noises,
cracking open the earth,
toppling buildings
with a jerk of his tongue
across the roof of his gums

I hold on thankfully
to poles that do not totter,
stand on a sidewalk
that doesn’t crack,
below a sky that does not fall

so how come he knows
what kind of day I’ve had?

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in New Plains Review, Big Muddy and Sanskrit with work upcoming in South Carolina Review, Gargoyle, Owen Wister Review and Louisiana Literature.

transformers
covered in morning glories
electric blues

rice cakes
that even geese won’t eat
your lies

Scott Wiggerman is the author of three books of poetry, Leaf and Beak: Sonnets, Presence, and Vegetables and Other Relationships; and the editor of several volumes, includingWingbeats: Exercises & Practice in Poetry, Lifting the Sky: Southwestern Haiku & Haiga, and the new Wingbeats II. Recent poems have appeared in Decades Review, Frogpond, Pinyon Review,Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, and the anthologies This Assignment Is So Gay and Forgetting Home: Poems about Alzheimer’s. He is chief editor for Dos Gatos Press, now of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

WHEN LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH

would it help
to get naked
but for a welder’s
helmet

Anna Cates resides in Wilmington, Ohio with her two cats, Freddie and Christine, writes, and teaches English online for several universities.

the road that goes to Philadelphia
a modern haiku

hedgerow #31

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

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

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.

hedgerow #29

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #29 of hedgerow, featuring nine poets & artists. as mentioned last week, a new section of the journal called ‘poet / artist spotlight’ is about to be launched, followed by a ‘poetry / art book review’ page. it was scheduled for this week but has been moved forward to coincide with the celebration of the 30th issue of the journal! any updates will be posted at the link below. thanks everyone for your continued support in helping hedgerow grow into a thing of beauty!

with love & kindness…

https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems

https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress

overcast-
she paints the sun
with sidewalk chalk

Gabriel Patterson lives in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) with his family. He escapes the city’s fast pace by writing haiku.

swing… drive…
pick-axe into bare hillside
swing… drive… swing…
to dig a hole to put a tree
drive… swing… drive–

the air is nice
thoughts float light

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.

morning stillness
the warmth of tea
on my tongue

from the budding oak
a bird call
then an answer

the cat on my lap
cleans his shoulder
then my book cover

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.

slow afternoon
refilling the salt shaker
then the pepper one

palomino field
ripples in the wind,
shivers, shudders, foams,
moves like waves.
golden, flaxen, froth
on sea of grass;
ever-moving yet
forever at rest

Freya Pickard is a cancer survivor, trying to re-discover her creativity after bowel cancer, surgery and chemotherapy. She is the author of Dragonscale Leggings and is currently writing poetry in order to try and get her creative flow to return. Freya blogs at either http://purehaiku.wordpress.com or http://dragonscaleclippings.wordpress.com depending on how she is feeling…

unblinking
one fixed star outstares
the stargazer

Lisa Cherrett lives in north Wiltshire, England, and works as an editor in book publishing. She writes haiku and cinquains to force herself to pay proper attention to her surroundings. She blogs at ‘The poised moon’, lisannie44.wordpress.com.

lightning flash
just for a moment
the crow

sure as day
dawn slips into
the rooster’s yard

Simon Hanson lives in a small country town in rural South Australia. Being a bird lover he is alarmed by the cat recently smuggled into the house by the rest of the family who have agreed at his request to plant two trees for every bird it might catch. Much to his surprise he has grown attached to the cat but has decided to up the ransom to three trees.

Burlington, Vermont — June, 2013

out of the rain and into a tea shop
we lunge for the last available table
drop our wet things onto an empty chair
shake ourselves off

the menu is brought by a young man with an old face
he brings a small brass bell, too

we are instructed to ring the bell
after we’ve considered all the tea choices
which are mind-numbingly numerous

we are still dripping rain all over ourselves
not in the best of moods
the day got off to a rocky start
we don’t sleep well in hotels

I’m not wearing the right shoes
your eyes are burning from allergies

but here is the menu
a dense tome devoted to all things Tea
and also, the little bell
it is all so dear and pretentious and exactly what it should be

you order something chilled and milky and sweet
I order lavender tea

we ask the waiter to leave the bell right there
in the middle of the table
in case we just want to ring it again for no reason at all

we stay a long time

you order a second cup of chilled tea
I ask for something different
something that doesn’t taste like drinking a bubble bath

we watch as the candle
(not really a candle —
more like a blob of wax in a small glass dish
with a wick that seems like an afterthought)
burns out

after a while
you look out the window and say
it has stopped raining

later
looking back on everything
I think this was the best hour of our trip to Vermont

Zee Zahava lives in Ithaca, New York (USA) and is the editor of the online haiku journal “brass bell.”

hedgerow #25

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #25 of hedgerow, featuring ten different poets & artists. in this issue we celebrate the international haiku poetry day. thanks for stopping by everyone! enjoy.

with love & kindness.

https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress
https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems

old mare
on her back
the sun

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/

spring rain
so many greens
on my palette

April picnic
every sandwich
slightly damp

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!

leaving for London
the dawn chorus
sees me off

Thirteen Bends Road
as usual we argue
the number

war exhibition
the crawling toddler
has lost a shoe

David Serjeant lives with his young family in Derbyshire, UK. He is the current editor of Blithe Spirit, the journal of the British Haiku Society. Among other things, he enjoys art-house and foreign cinema and growing vegetables.

morning meditation…
separating the worm
from a weed’s roots

muddy puddles —
opening a new box
of watercolors

stepping into whitespace rain

the tears
collecting in his eyes
turn to sobs …
until now, I have never
let myself cry like this

Anne Curran who lives with her cat Ollie and extended family
in Hamilton, New Zealand has been writing Japanese verse forms for publication for about four years. She is a great fan of many other short verse poets.

Tea washes down these many dry hours
I haven’t spoken to a soul all day
Tonight I shall dry my throat again
Talking, talking, talking to the moon

Lightwater lives and writes on the shores of the North Sea in England. His blog can be found at hagakimoon.blogspot.co.uk.

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).

as far as my dreams can see … lily of the valley

Lolly Williams, from California, is a little magpie who collects scraps of words, phrases, images and other shiny things for her short form poetry and mixed media art. Her work can be found in various print and online publications.

hedgerow #23

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #23 of hedgerow, featuring 13 different poets & artists. this first issue of April celebrates spring flowers! enjoy.

with love & kindness…

https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress

https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems

pale and watery
in my bones
I need red flowers tonight

even here
atop the ferris wheel
honeysuckle

3 red flowers
in a teapot vase
keeping me company
when you are away

the untuned piano
flowers dying in the vase
even the mail is late —
when will you be home?

lilacs
thank you
for filling my empty spaces

first slow rain of summer
dear iris
there you are
reveling in your
luscious self
making the most of all
your moments

beside the monastery
a plastic chicken
guards baby tulips

Zee Zahava looks for flowers each morning as she walks around her neighborhood in Ithaca, New York

front step. . .
this snail delivering
a plum blossom

cherry blossom moon
my home becomes
a palace

graduation day
after the hands land
wondering what to do

Lauren Krauze writes short stories, short poems and long emails. She currently teaches and lives in New York, NY.

Repairs of the Week

That week you didn’t call
I was quite busy
plastering myself together
Shoring up the beams
Repairing the glass of an ego
That didn’t withstand the storm.
I swept up the gravel from
A rock hard heart
that remained unflinching
until now.
How unfair to the structure
To shake its foundation so.
How unfair to upend me so.
How unfair…

10 tips on writing a poem

1. Mention things by genus (which crows do you hear screaming like fog horns; which tuber in your garden is making your nose smile?).
2. Describe something as something else (the sun stings like battery acid).
3. It is helpful to mention vast expanses of hilly land with some wind slapping your hair around. Or conversely, the grittiness of your street, the dirt under your nails.
4. Bring in a few details like sights and/or tastes, but remember to describe them as something else (your hair tastes like fury).
5. Stop… Hold time in your palm. Look at it with the precision of a second-hand. Notice your smallness in the world. Or contemplate the vastness of the Milky Way.
6. What do you feel (remember… feel it as something else [your hands, like autumn kisses])? Notice and recount the details.
7. Reveal something so secret it makes others uncomfortable, and so big your priest is repenting from association.
8. Rhyme sparingly and with care. Same with alliteration.
9. Juxtaposition works well at the end.
10. Place your heart on your sleeve and send it off, then wait and wait and wait. Repeat…

Jeri Thompson resides in Long Beach, CA where she spends much quality time with herself and her Trikke (Scarlett Birdie) riding along the beach bike/Trikke path. Nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2014, she is soon to appear in Pearl Magazine. Also find her in Silver, Green and Summer Anthologies from Silver Birch Press, and online at Cadence Collective, Bukowski on Wry, Cactifur and Carnival Literature Magazine (Vol. 4). CSULB grad, studied with professors G. Locklin, E. Fried, R. Lee and R. Zapeda. LBC resident since 1993.

the potato seeds begin to sprout space station

The Force

(After Dylan Thomas)

This tiny, nondescript, lavender flower,
growing in a crack in the sidewalk–

a divine explosion of cells–

has a power greater
than that of two spiral galaxies colliding
in space–

and you
share in that power.

George Young is a retired physician living in Boulder, Colorado, USA. He has published four books of poetry and has recently become engrossed in writing short, eight-lined poems.

her bookmark
divides The Art of Love —
living apart

moving day …
in her throwaway pile
my first chapbook

snow angel —
the touch of her lips
cold in my memory

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).

Joann Grisetti writes poetry and short stories. She lives in Florida with her husband and two sons. Joann loves travel and reading.

delicate
in her spring dress
of purple…
oh my, myrtle I say
where is this frock in winter?

Pat Geyer lives in East Brunswick, NJ, USA. Her home is surrounded by the parks and lakes where she finds her inspiration in Nature. Published in several journals, she is an amateur photographer and poet.

they look like snowflakes…
pear tree blossoms falling
past my window

Ed Bremson is retired, but he hopes he never retires from being a poet, just as he hopes he never fails to enjoy the pleasures of Spring.

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/

each story
sparks to the surface
in spurts
most of the time
I’m just living

Kat Lehmann (@SongsOfKat) lives in Connecticut, USA by the river where she writes. Her first book of free verse poetry, Moon Full of Moons (Peaceful Daily, 2015), was published in February 2015 http://peacefuldaily.com/page/books.

hedgerow #22

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to hedgerow #22, featuring eleven different poets and artists. the next issue will be dedicated to spring flowers. send in your your work in time! and, if you haven’t done so already, please have peek at the links below.

with love & kindness…

https://www.facebook.com/wildflowerpoetrypress

https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems

Cardinal and I
eat sour cherries off the backyard tree
at dusk.
“you’re molting”, I say.
and he tells me how he can change
become even brighter
while staying completely true
to his very
nature.

Stacey Crawford Murphy is happiest when her thoughts are clear, short and haiku shaped, but living in Ithaca, NY helps too.

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

winter’s end
hearing the stream
sing again

back from the vets
opening the car boot
to silence

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!

“Fresh ink?”
“Yeah, the souvenir of my trip,” the youth said,
  with a shy smile.
“Very nice, truly cool.” I meant it
   (although tattoos are not my thing).
Yet both of us have been ritually marked
  –whether obvious or not,
  by experiences in
the land of the Maori.

A pharmacist by profession, a haiku poet by nature, Nancy Brady reads and writes, living on the coast of Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio.

mid-fight
our dog
sighs

in the steam
on the window
a freshly-drawn sun
drips

Lauren Krauze writes short stories, short poems and long emails. She currently teaches and lives in New York, NY. Discover more of Lauren’s writing at http://www.laurenkrauze.com.

insomnia —
trying to read
grandmother’s bible
in a foreign tongue

Julie Bloss Kelsey’s favorite thing about spring is the emergence of frogs, especially the spring peepers that frequent her back yard. @MamaJoules on Twitter

The Color of Night

Behind the closed doors of my childhood
I have lived my life.
In my room, a separate
Compartment of safety and solitude
From a stormy combination of chemicals,
A bubbling brew called “father.”
Struggling against the rip
Drowning in his tides of darkness,
I fought to stay afloat
Learning comfort comes from solitude.

I walk away too easily, tossing people in my wake,
“It is less trouble to be alone” I repeat.
I fill my days with events and errands,
My nights with marijuana and TV shows I’ve already seen
Attempting to fill an empty space, a birthing place,
A universe filled with my father’s indifference.
I crave what I have no roadmap for
And I search without knowing north.
Am I lost if I don’t know my terrain?

Loneliness is just a frame of mind
A filter to look through
A decision made unconsciously
A badge, a lost battle.
It doesn’t need to define my daylight,
Because it colors my night.

Exsanguination

When he said, “You shine so bright. I am lucky to know you.”
I believed him.
When he said, “You make me want to be a better man,”
I believed that, too.

Then he continued to date
Other women. He liked to talk about them… and
How much better, smarter, prettier, sexier I was,
(Soon I will be the chosen one, I thought).

While I have never received a fist in the face like her,
I am still my mother’s daughter.
I can take a squared off punch in the gut like a heavyweight,
Expecting it to be the last. It never is.

Then, the tipping point…
That place where I stand upright again, finally.
There is no rush of blood to my head.
Only the anemic dizziness of a woman
All bled out.

a sea of blue uniforms
under the New York sun
a black man
holding up a placard
that reads I can’t breathe

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).

Enlightenment

is not a state, it’s a winged thing.

Swimming in our ocean, gasping for breath,
battered by waves,

we do occasionally

look up,
see the blue sky, feel the sun on our faces,

glimpse it for a moment–
serene, flying.

George Young is a retired physician living in Boulder, Colorado, USA. He has published four books of poetry and has recently become engrossed in writing short, eight-lined poems.

turtle path she found her way home

hedgerow #21

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #21 of hedgerow, dedicated more or less, to the arrival of spring! for those of you in the southern hemisphere, wishing you a happy autumn equinox. always grateful for all of your support, contributors & readers alike, you make this a beautiful place.

with love & kindness…

crossroads —
a cloud
covers Polaris

Julie Warther lives in Dover, Ohio and serves as Midwest Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America. (www.hsa-haiku.org)

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/

celebrating
seven inches of melting snow …
the frog choir

midday snooze …
the old dog stretches
toward a patch of sun

Julie Bloss Kelsey’s favorite thing about spring is the emergence of frogs, especially the spring peepers that frequent her back yard. @MamaJoules on Twitter

For Luck

The scarf she gave me is rather shocking. Orange, red, light blue, dark blue, shades of green. But not a smidgen of brown and the absence of purple is nearly palpable. More to the point: where is the black? Nothing I own, or have ever owned, has been this colorful. It’s alarming. But also, strangely magnetic.

I wear the scarf when I’m alone in the apartment, waiting for water to boil, or squinting over a book in the fading afternoon light. I don’t have the courage or the humor to wear it in front of anyone else. It wraps twice around my neck, is soft against my cheeks, and when I inhale I’m brought right back to that childhood bedroom at the end of the long, dark hallway. Did I have a baby blanket that felt like this?

for luck —
a red thread
hangs from the crib

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

Robin White is an artisan, gardener & beekeeper living in Deerfield, New Hampshire, USA. She is the face behind Wild Graces and a co-founding editor of Akitsu Quarterly, a haiku journal.

winter wind …
letting go of myself
in the sand

at the cliff’s edge
I wait
for the cold moon

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).

last leaf
goldfinch alights
the stripped branch

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.

Joann Grisetti lived up in Sasebo Japan and eighteen other places. She now lives in Florida with her husband and two sons. Her poetry, photos and stories have appeared in a number of print and online journals. She is still waiting to grow up.

Process

every morning before a mirror
you make-up like you were building
the world all over again on your face

do you not know that time
is a metaphor— for something that moves
deep and fast like fire on the mound of a wax

don’t you know that time is the same as death
even if it’s just a profusion of the process of dying
and living again

Saddiq Dzukogi is a Nigerian poet. He writes from the Capital city of Minna

hedgerow: a journal of small poems

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