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.

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.

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.

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.

turtle path she found her way home

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 #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 #17

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Caroline Skanne

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.

hedgerow #12

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #12 of hedgerow & the last one for the year. thrilled to bring you a record-breaking 22 poets & artists. grateful for all your support over these past three months, thanks to you hedgerow has grown into a thing of beauty!

feel free to keep sending in your submissions for the new year. the date for #13 will be announced here & on our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hedgerowpoems). you can also follow hedgerow on twitter (https://twitter.com/hedgerowpoems).

also a special thanks to Veronika Zora Novak for her beautiful tribute dedicated to the memory of Serbian haiku poet Verika Živković, who sadly passed away this week. to echo Veronika’s words ‘as a community we will continue to celebrate your legacy…’

may 2015 be filled with magic, dreams & creativity for all of you!

with love & kindness,
caroline skanne

Veronika Zora Novak

deeper
into the cosmos…
white lotus

dublje
u kosmosu…
beli lotos

dublje
u kosmosu…
bijeli lotos

(Tr. by Milena Burčul Mrkela)

‘With great sorrow to know of her untimely death, a deeply heartfelt tribute to our dearly beloved sister Verica Živković. As an international, multilingual award-winning haiku poet, may Verica’s profoundly beautiful, passionate and insightful poetry withstand the test of time…’ Veronika Zora Novak

David J Kelly

David J Kelly lives and works in Dublin, Ireland, where he finds scientific and artistic inspiration in the natural world.

Robyn Cairns

outback skies
spread with stars
where the red dirt road
has no end

underneath her skin- moss lined and honey veined

Robyn Cairns is a Melbourne based poet who shares her poetry and photography on twitter @robbiepoet.

Bauke Kamstra

Poetry dispels the illusion of separateness

when we touch
when we are touched

we are no longer alone.

Will these words explain
my life to me

I don’t know

maybe it is not this life
I’m writing about.

Bauke Kamstra is a poet & visual artist residing in Nova Scotia. His poetry has been published in Vine Leaves Literary Journal, Poetry Nook, Shot Glass Journal, and Spark. His new book We All Reach the Earth by Falling is available at Amazon and B&N.

Susan Constable

when ordinary
is more than enough …
skunk cabbage
blooming in the ditch,
a spider spinning her web

it took years
for my sister to ask
my opinion …
even rivers and robins
have something to say

Susan Constable lives on the west coast of Canada, where she’s been writing mainly haiku and tanka for the past nine years. She is currently the tanka editor for the online journal, A Hundred Gourds.

Stella Pierides

winter sun
piling kindling
for the fire

Stella Pierides lives in Neusaess, Germany, and London, UK. Her poetry book, In the Garden of Absence, won a HSA Merit Book Award 2013, for books published in 2012. Stella manages Per Diem: Daily Haiku for The Haiku Foundation. Homepage: http://www.stellapierides.com

Maurice Devitt

Circle of Life

When you hold the photo
up to the light, who do you see?
The boy I was or the man
I have become,
already shrinking back
to that world of ludo
and slip-on shoes,
where names walk in and out,
never staying long enough
to make an impression.

‘I like short poems because they are easier to smuggle across borders…’ Maurice Devitt, Dublin, Ireland

Shloka Shankar

shoreline…
broken seashells scatter
my dreams

goodbyes…
my tears dry up faster
this time

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)

Susan Diridoni

A Yorkshire Noon

out the window
tall trees still bare
sun shows the green moss
upon the branches usually under
leaf canopy
so like the trees at the Abbey
yes, we’re going inward
our crosses being shared
and transformed
it is our Easter

Susan Diridoni, from the San Francisco Bay Area, is on the trail of the muse, no matter where she roams.

Debbie Strange

Debbie Strange is a published tanka and haiku poet, as well as an avid photographer. Her current passion is for creating haiga and tanshi (small poem) art.

Rachel Sutcliffe

waiting room
I wonder what
forever feels like

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!

James Roderick Burns

Only through rain
and beaten grey skies
can the sun burn gold

James Roderick Burns’ short-form collections ‘The Salesman’s Shoes’ and ‘Greetings from Luna Park’ are published by Modern English Tanka Press. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and daughter, and serves as Deputy Registrar General for Scotland.

Ruth Zuckschwerdt

torrential spring rains
with lightning and thunder
tender new leaves

Ruth Zuckschwerdt, Switzerland, started writing to get her thoughts away from health issues. Publication of Haibun, Haiku and Tanka. Her poetry reflects travels to faraway places. She is now retired and lives in Switzerland.

Zee Zahava

great blue heron
washing dishes
at the kitchen sink —
what are you doing in Grandma’s apron?
what are you doing in my dream?

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/

John W. Sexton

a thousand gardens
hide him … the demolished
porcelain golem

John W. Sexton lives in Ireland and was found inside a Christmas cracker in 1958, swaddled in a rather ridiculous joke about bassoons, or probably baboons, or was it spoons? His fifth poetry collection, The Offspring of the Moon, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2013. In 2007 he was awarded a Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship in Poetry.

Dave Read

she paints
her toenails black
new moon

water drips
through the coffee filter
I dilute
my thoughts before I
share too much with her

Dave Read is a Canadian poet, whose work has appeared in many journals, including hedgerow. You can find his micropoetry on Twitter, @AsSlimAsImBeing.

Mike Keville

You scare me

No sound.
Except the wind—
a lone wolf
calling for a lost mate.

As chills
explore my back;
they race to be the first
to make me shudder.

My chest held
within your vice;
tightened by
imaginary tales.

Please—
just tell me
how much you spent?

Mike Keville from London AKA Mikeymike.

Christopher P. P. White

For Her

In the spoils of sunshine–
When the birds sing you to sleep
At 5 in the morning
And you get into bed
With the woman that you married
For love and not for comfort
Or conformity,
You see the real reason
Why you need to wake up
In a steady handful of hours
After.
Not for money or a wage
But for her–
Simply for her.
The birds are still singing
That same song
And the beauty of life
Is embellished
In their serenade.

Christopher P. P. White is a poet and writer from Derby, England. He hopes that you don’t judge him too harshly regardless of what you’ve heard.

Chen-ou Liu

A Short Story about Love

at her window
two shadows entwine
in one embrace …
like vampires sucking blood
from my memories

Sitting at my desk, swathed in darkness, I use the new telescope to zoom in on them – watch her rise and fall as the man guides her slow circular movements. His hands slide up from her hips to her breasts, continue to her shoulders, altering her rhythm, pulling her down onto him…

I open the drawer, take out a pocket knife, rush down to the basement parking lot, and find his piercing red Jaguar. Crouching, I plunge the tip of the knife into one of his tires with climactic fierceness; then I stab and I stab…the second, third, and fourth.

I rip out
each page of our life
this sultry night
the dream soaks my bed
with her moaning

Chen-ou Liu is currently the editor and translator ofNeverEnding 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)

Caroline Skanne

Caroline Skanne is obsessed with anything wild & free, she is the founder of hedgerow: a journal of small poems. find her @ https://www.facebook.com/caroline.skanne.9 & https://twitter.com/CarolineSkanne

Michael Cantin

In Quandary Dilecto

Anne makes me want to love a woman
I know I shouldn’t.
To learn all the romance languages they never teach.
Those tongues only foreign to the uninitiated
Curses levied with need in lieu of simple bitterness
and goodbyes fraught with acceptance.
The sublime loneliness of the other woman
or the other man.
I know I shouldn’t.
I know this with every fiber of my moral tapestry.
And yet conventions are constructs,
and my wants intersect my needs.
The sting of the stitches sings a siren’s song.

Michael Cantin is an aspiring poet and sloth fanatic residing somewhere in the wilds of Costa Mesa, California.

William C. Patterson

For Love

What the mind idealizes & the body desires,
something unknown accelerates, keeps, & makes last.

Some call it soul,
others heart or spirit,
but by whatever name
(& all words lack something essential)
it preserves, persuades, & protects.

It is there in the patter of a child,
in the needful relief of travel,
& in the shared glance of any given day.

It is the promise that makes forever possible;
It is the excitement of knowing one thing doesn’t disappear.

Proof

”[…] Everything in me
Wanted to bow down, to offer up,
To go barefoot, foetal and penitential,

And pray at the water’s edge.”
[Seamus Heaney, ”Triptych” III: At the Water’s Edge]

It wasn’t the picture I was after,
the picture was proof.
The truth is: proximity was all
I desired.

That somehow closeness could prove
friendship, connection, community
led me to the side of the road,
against the barbed fence,
to the edge of the water.

Sometimes seeing is all prayer is.
Or is it: prayer is what seeing is?

Of the three prayers:
praise, forgive, & need,
I prefer the blue heron,
two legs in the water,
bill stabbing southward,
crown raised or fallen.

The moment wings stretch
into lazy flight is
prayer answered
& prayer denied.

There is no sense in waving
as you disappear,
but let this moment
be proof against
the slow current
of doubt.

William C. Patterson lives, teaches, and writes in northeast Kansas. The poems come from his life with his family, his life teaching literature and composition, and the daily commute between these two lives.

publication credit —

the poem (without artwork) ‘half moon’ by Caroline Skanne, appeared previously in ‘Bright Stars 5: An Organic Tanka Anthology’ edited by M. Kei, Keibooks

hedgerow #10

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #10 of hedgerow, featuring 16 different poets and artists. thanks to contributors and readers alike, and also for spreading the word. every effort is appreciated! please keep sending in your submissions, with love & kindness…

Roary Williams

all those seeds
we planted at night
stars upon stars

crescent moon
in an icy sky
Buddha’s half smile

Roary Williams, Albuquerque New Mexico, USA, is a simple poet who loves nature and the seasons (@CoyoteSings)

Veronika Zora Novak

Teika

Veronika Zora Novak is simply a daydreamer.

Scott Kovach

I walk in my suit
down snow-fallen sidewalks

If I were a boy again
I would clobber me with a snowball

Scott Kovach provides poetical and facetious commentary from the Middle West on Twitter as @scottkovach.

Jon Wynne

The science
Of why we hear sound in a shell
Does nothing
To explain the voices we hear

Dad and lad holding hands
Big proud strong safe,
Small clutching a comic.
Big grins big boots
Stomping down the windy hill
Together.
Forever.

Old Man’s Beard
Silvering the hedgerows
Snare the sunbeams
In your gentle decay

Jon Wynne lives in Hampshire and has been writing on & off for many years. People and places are the real poetry. ‘I just try to describe what I see and feel.’

Rachel Sutcliffe

all this time
in grandma’s press-
his first red rose

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 keeps her from going insane!

Mary Harwell Sayler

Rehearsals

We practice aging – the bruise
that takes too long to heal,
the once-cracked ankle radiating
pain to indicate rain coming,
a memory lost among many,
many.

Mary Harwell Sayler, an almost native of Florida, writes books in all genres for Christian and educational publishers. In 2012, Hiraeth Press published her first full-length book of poetry, Living in the Nature Poem, with an e-book version released in 2014. Also, in 2014, Kelsay Books published her Bible-based poems, Outside Eden, and book of nature poems for children, Beach Songs & Wood Chimes.

Joann Grisetti

Joann Grisetti lived up in Sasebo Japan and eighteen other places. She lives inFlorida 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. Her latest book ‘Round Trip’ is available at Amazon.

John Byrne

Ireland
where moonbeams
and lover’s kisses
are often stored
In the hedgerows

John [Jack] Byrne lives in Co. Wicklo Ireland, and has been writing poems and taking pictures for quite a number of years having had some published success along the way with the right words and images.

Barbara Kaufmann

The River

the river Silence
beckons,
i dive in
listening
to ancient psalms
sing their poetry
tapping deeper
touching the pain
swimming through
to the still, silent pool,
i reach for a whisper
a single metaphor,
murmured underwater
an echo…. maybe joy
gasping,
and coming up
for air
then seeing
the sun rise
hearing the sky shout,

i breathe,
find a voice,
and sing.

Barbara Kaufmann can be found (or lost) wandering the woods, beaches and gardens of New York, camera and notebook in hand, hunting for poems. http://wabisabipoet.wordpress.com/

Kat Lehmann

holding hands:
the moonlit woman
and the girl
with a sun in her heart —
I show myself the world

Kat Lehmann lives in the United States by the river where she writes, under a clear view of the Moon. Her first book of poetry – Moon Full of Moons – will be published in January 2015. She writes on twitter as @SongsOfKat.

Jameson Bayles

a trembling dove-
fresh seeds rest
in my open palms

Jameson Bayles, a Kansas City, Missouri resident, has been published in various literary magazines and journals whose most recent work can be viewed in the poetry anthology entitled “The Artistic Muses”, published by True Colors Press.”

Jennifer Thompson

snow flurries
never knowing
what to hold back
and what
to unleash

Jennifer Thompson, West Virginia, USA

Bauke Kamstra

The river
holds no print

yet remembers
the touch
of your foot

as does the sea

one day
a raindrop
will remember
you.

Every voice
dedicated
to truth
& beauty

transforms the world.

Bauke Kamstra has mostly been a visual artist. He now paints with a different medium: words. Residing in Nova Scotia, he can be found writing poetry among tree, listening to the silence, & finding reasons to laugh. His work has been published in Poetry Nook, Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and Shot Glass Journal. His book We All Reach the Earth by Falling http://www.amazon.com/We-All-Reach-EarthFalling/dp/0992509750/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412602040&sr=1-1&keywords=we+all+reach+the+earth+by+falling was released on October 6th, 2014. You will find him on twitter as: @wyrde

Dominic Moriarty

Voyages

Dominic Moriarty is a Fine Arts photographer based in Ireland … a love and awareness of nature is a central theme in his work. A broader selection of his art is available to view and purchase as giclée prints @ http://www.dominicmoriartyphotography.com

previously published —

* the poem ‘a trembling dove’ by Jameson Bayles was previously published in “The Cataman Years”, Jameson Bayles, Mistop Publications.

hedgerow #9

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #9 of hedgerow, bringing you work from 16 different poets & artists. on popular demand a print issue has been scheduled for early 2015. selection for this issue will end on 12th december. as always, grateful to contributors, readers & anyone spreading the word! with love & kindness…

Paula Dawn Lietz

Walks Far

Elders are drumming
the history of the present.
Embrace this knowledge
that walks far upon the wind
and resonates deep in your chest.
You know the stories told through
the ages of right and wrong
of mother earth father sky.
Tis not simple nor complex
listen…to the trees, the birds
the rivers too,
before all falls silent, listen.

Paula Dawn Lietz ( Pd Lietz ) is an accomplished multi-genre artist, photographer and poet. http://www.pdlietzphotography.com

Rachel Sutcliffe

first frost
a new greyness
to the sheepdog’s coat

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 keeps her from going insane!

Jane Dougherty

In dark winter’s depths
red throat pulses fierce defiance
singing to the sun.

Jane Dougherty is Irish and lives in Bordeaux where she writes novels, short fiction, and lots of poems, some of which have been published in magazines and journals.

Ken Sawitri (words) & Jimat Achmadi (painting)

Ken Sawitri was born in Blora, Central Java, Indonesia, and completed
her degree in psychology at the University of Indonesia, she was the
Psychology & Education editor of ‘Ayahbunda’ magazine (1995-1998).

Jimat Achmadi was born in Yogyakarta (1959), in collaboration with Ken Sawitri, two of their haiga have been awarded as the Editor’s Choice in “Cattails” May 2014 Edition and September 2014 Edition http://maedisensetheunsense.blogspot.com/.

Zee Zahava

blue morning
a hole in the basket
where a cloud slips through

lonely day
then I found you
and a blue iris

growing out of a crack
in a Bronx sidewalk
the first dandelion
mother says
“it’s like living in the country now”

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/

Helen Buckingham

beetroot pee
my sister dials
111

Helen Buckingham has been writing ku for the past couple of decades in Bristol, and has recently moved to Wells, the smallest cathedral city in England, deep in the heart of Somerset.

Jo Waterworth

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING TODAY?

It’s a good year for apples
and riots.

We sit in the garden,
discussing the family life of swallows.

Art, good coffee. A dragonfly.
Why can’t everyone have this?

‘They should bring back hanging,’
my neighbour says.

Watch. Listen. Sunshine and birdsong.
Looters. Arsonists.

Whose voices are heard? Whose are not?
The rosehips are hanging orange.

My inspiration, I say, is ancient tribal cultures.

Jo Waterworth lives in Glastonbury and has had a pamphlet of short poetry published by Poetry Space of Bristol.

Caroline Skanne

life
is learning
to let go
of everything
but love

Caroline Skanne, rochester, uk, obsessed with anything wild & free, she is the founder of hedgerow: a journal of small poems.

Marianne Paul

upon frail wings and faith
the monarch sets out
for places she has never been
locks course
pulled by some internal compass
maybe instinct
heartbeat, wing beat–
places so distant
they might as well
be imaginary

life stages–
the baby in her womb
shifts position

Marianne Paul is a Canadian novelist and poet. You can learn more about her work by visiting http://www.mariannepaul.com or following her on twitter @mariannpaul.

Laura Williams

feathering the nest
in just the right color
robin’s egg blue

in need
of all these things …
I consider
the lilies
of the field

Laura Williams has been writing haiku and tanka since 2012. She lives in California, USA.http://www.foralovelything.blogspot.com

gennepher

gennepher, North Wales (UK), writes poetry on Twitter as @gennepher

Devin Harrison

animism
behind it all
the woodlands

Devin Harrison, Vancouver Island, Canada, a writer of regular poetry, recently became addicted to writing Tanka and Haiku/Senyru, which gives him more time for field study and less time for introspection. He recently won the Akita International University President Award.

Loretta Diane Walker

GRATITUDE FOR A POET

For the skin of words
in which you house
fragments of yourself.
For the distance your dreams
traveled to pitch a tent on the page.
For your poems that took off their boots
to walk barefoot through consciousness.
I carve your name in a stone of gratitude.

Loretta Diane Walker, Odessa, Texas, USA is a two time Pushcart nominee. She has published two books of poetry.

North Gregory

North Gregory, Canada, https://www.flickr.com/photos/northgregory/

hedgerow #8

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #8 and two months of hedgerow! let’s celebrate with the news that there is a print issue in the pipeline. also, have a peek at our newly launched sister site wildflower poetry press http://wildflowerpoetrypress.wordpress.com thanks for all your support in making our small poems grow! with love & kindness…

Sandi Pray

Sandi Pray is a wild child who roams between mountain and marsh in North Carolina and Florida, http://ravencliffs.blogspot.com.

Rena Lindgren

at dawn I wash my face in sunlight

Rena Lindgren, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA enjoys singing, reading and writing poetry.

Angelee Deodhar

night train
trailing white exhaust
across the moon

Angelee Deodhar is an eye surgeon by profession. She is also a haiku poet, translator and artist from India. Her haiku/haiga has been published internationally in various books, journals and on the internet.

David Ishaya Osu

full moon
i remember all tales
of mama
heaven was in
our village

David Ishaya Osu is a Nigerian poet and a street photography enthusiast. He believes in hedonism, and says his role is ‘Air’. He is just obsessed with living.

Zee Zahava

Still Arm-In-Arm

linking elbows in a town that is not ours
I ask Is this okay?
you pull my arm closer to your body

Where can I get a really good cookie?
you ask
your lips brushing against my ear

4 strangers (older than we are)
squeeze by on a narrow strip of sidewalk

we are anonymous here

I suggest the bakery we’ve been to before
But if that doesn’t work out
I tell you
I know another place

we like to return to the familiar
but also (or so we tell ourselves)
we are open to the unexpected

we arrive
still arm-in-arm
at the bakery we know

they have exactly the kind of cookie you are craving

But next time we’re here
you say
We could try the other bakery

Robyn Cairns

she lay on the warm pier looking skyward and dreamt

Robyn Cairns is a Melbourne based poet who shares her poetry and photography on twitter @robbiepoet.

Mary Hohlman

Mary Hohlman, USA, is a mother, writer, student, and athlete. She enjoys writing Japanese and short verse poetry. She finds daily inspiration outdoors at her home in Northern California and spending time with her 4 year old daughter. http://www.poetrypretty.wordpress.com http://www.maryhohlman.com/

Sarah Thursday

Fixing a Hole

How do you fill
                       a chasm?
With stone or wood
               or earth?
An artist doesn’t fill
                       a chasm
but instead creates
          an amphitheater
and floods the space
    with song
Steep gouged walls
become a torso
     its beating heart
          begins to sing

Sarah Thursday is a music obsessed, poetry advocate and documents her antics on http://www.SarahThursday.com

Tim Gardiner

the caterpillar
hangs by a single thread
hostage to the wind –
I face the loneliness
of another winter

Tim Gardiner is a professional ecologist who has written scientific papers, natural history books and poetry which has been published in literary journals such as Blithe Spirit and Frogpond.

Tobi Cogswell

Look up—
Not to the oceans of clouds,
or the moss dripping fragrant
with the turn of season.
Not to a place inside
that furrows your brow,
one side of your lip folded
across your teeth. Not to
photos, memories,
dreams of ancients
once smiling, now dead.
Not to the sound of coffee,
or smell of melodies
golden and gorgeous,
and beckoning.
Not to the clock ticking,
or the sound of the
far-off train, so distant
it could be mistaken for thunder.
Not to the dirty pennies
jingling in the jar.
Look at me.
I am…

Tobi Cogswell lives in Torrance, CA. She is the co-editor and co-publisher of San Pedro River Review (www.sprreview.com). Her seventh chapbook, “The Coincidence of Castles”, is forthcoming from Glass Lyre Press. You can reach Tobi at editor@sprreview.com.

Jamie Wimberly

I heard your murmurs,
You, drunken streets of Dublin,
I heard and awoke.

Jamie Wimberly has been writing haiku for many years with some success, including publication and awards. Recently, Jamie has been publishing haiku everyday on Twitter (@haiku_america).

Carole Johnston

where do the homeless
go when it rains?
broken winged butterfly

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 January. https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2211

S.M. Abeles

when the wind
blows the whole sky
blue
the cool way
you look at me

S.M. Abeles is just a simple poet.

Helen Buckingham

Royal Swans
circle the moat…
how little they know

Helen Buckingham has been writing ku for the past couple of decades in Bristol, and has recently moved to Wells, the smallest cathedral city in England, deep in the heart of Somerset.

Matsukaze

when they called me
“creole n*****!”
ran into grandma’s arms
she brushed tears aside
giving me a sweet dough lemon tart
*
nothing really needs to be said
to my right, the vivid blue of hydrangea this autumn

Matsukaze, has been writing tanka for the last 10 years. He is featured in Atlas Poetica, and the Tanka Kajin Club Magazine. He is the founder of the Chocolate Cosmos Tanka Study Group @CCosmosTankaSC on twitter.

Michael Tolleson

Lament

Michael Tolleson, Seattle, Washington, is an Autistic Savant Artist, who has no formal art training, but instead relies on the use of the huge amount of stored information that his Asperger’s mind has observed and retained. During his career of only 3 years of painting, he has painted more than 600 paintings, and each painting is usually completed in less than one hour of painting time regardless of size. He states that he feels trance-like during the actual act of painting, and is reluctant to take credit for the finished work as he feels the autism is actually the artist. http://www.MichaelTollesonArtist.com

hedgerow #7

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #7 of hedgerow, bringing you 19 different poets & artists! please keep sending in your work and thanks also for spreading the word, every effort is appreciated. grateful to contributors and readers alike. with love & kindness…

Marianne Paul

beneath Toronto
there is an ancient river
the current as slow as the flow
of glass
there is something beautiful
about the hidden
the forgotten
in the form of rivers
beneath our surfaces

Marianne Paul is a Canadian novelist and poet. You can learn more about her work by visiting http://www.mariannepaul.com or following her on twitter @mariannpaul.

Jennifer Arbini

Child of the Earth

I was a child of the Earth:
Dirty hands, dirty feet.
I loved the sound
of cicadas in summer;
Rattle snake grass
Rattling against the hem of my skirt
And billowing dust.

I was a child of the Earth:
Curious eyes, curious heart,
I relished the adventure of exploring the land;
Cool streams
Covered by an evergreen canopy
And dappled light.

I was a child of the Earth.
Devoted mind, devoted spirit,
I played in this backyard everyday;
Long ago memories
Lingering in my daily thoughts
And writing my story.

Jennifer Arbini is a Californian woman whose greatest passion is to travel and experience the world.

Jo Waterworth

It’s OK

I can remember lying on the earth
gazing at the blazing-with-wonder night sky
knowing I would not fall off.

Shining right back.

Let me hold your hand.

Jo Waterworth lives in Glastonbury and has had a pamphlet of short poetry published by Poetry Space of Bristol.

Neelam Dadhwal

Blue

The sky dripped away or
held back, with no remorse,
I ever watched
the crescent blue,
striking sometimes
my heart
of green valley, of meadows,
of limbs of forms,
and I decided
to look at you,
and hold it for ever,
the blue of you.

The ever blue.

Neelam Dadhwal, Chandigarh, India

Paula Dawn Lietz

Paula Dawn Lietz ( Pd Lietz ) is an accomplished multi-genre artist, photographer and poet. http://www.pdlietzphotography.com

Clifton Redmond

Square Peg

He was different.
He could see sounds,
feel colours.

When people tried
to get close
he threw tantrums,

pressed his hands
against his ears,
his cocoon.

The doctors diagnosed
him with fancy words,
dosed him with drugs;

branded him unstable,
and filed him away
in a locked cabinet.

Clifton Redmond is an Irish poet; a member of the Carlow Writers Co-operative, his poems have been published in various literary magazines and journals.

Anne Curran

just loving
I hold him close
afraid
the storm in me
might push him away

Anne Curran lives in Hamilton, New Zealand close to her
parents where she writes, dreams and works to help elderly
stay in their homes.

Melanie Barbato

Roman Room

Mnemonists
Tie thoughts to tangible things
With the chair, the table
The framed painting on the bedroom wall
They recall
Random words
Or the order
Of shuffled cards
I do this, too, but for reassurance
I touch in my room
The wood and the glass
Substitutes for what
Has been wrested from my hands
When I ask who am I?
They say
You give us shelter –
We remember the names

Melanie Barbato is currently completing her doctoral studies in Indology and Religious Studies at LMU Munich/ Germany.

Carole Johnston

among tombstones
an old man in a chair
red cap and jacket
playing music for the dead
leaves blowing in the wind

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 January. https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2211

Maureen Sudlow

It’s just an old cardboard box from my mother’s attic. My sister wants to throw it out with ‘all the other rubbish’, but I am afraid of losing more of my mother than I can bear. When I open it, there is a smell of dust and old peppermints, and I think I feel the pressure of my mother’s warm hand on mine.

memories are
the treasures that I hold
these photographs

Maureen Sudlow is a member of The New Zealand Society of Authors (Northland), and the New Zealand Poetry Society, and writes mainly poetry and text for children’s picture books.

Billy Antonio

summer vacation
my daughter’s crayons
scattered on the floor

late afternoon
an old woman carries
the sun
on a winnowing basket
on her way home

Billy Antonio is a public school teacher in the Philippines where he writes fiction and poetry to remind himself of moments he thinks are worth remembering.

Roary Williams

crystal
on a string
in the window
first thing the sun
has said all day

Roary Williams, Albuquerque New Mexico, USA, is a simple poet who loves nature and the seasons (@CoyoteSings)

Stevie Strang

november sunrise
silently inches its way
across the yard
unfolding the morning
one ray at a time

Stevie Strang is a writer, photographer/Artist and late night poet in Southern California. More of her work can be viewed at http://justperfectstudio.blogspot.com/

S.Eta Grubešić

Grain of sand.
In my shoe I wear the
whole universe.

S.Eta Grubešić, Croatia, ex-journalist, writer short story , poems and photographer. Her works have been published in various books and literary e-portals.

Vibeke Laier

touch of
moonlight in the
evening prayer

gentle waves
a line of stars
painted in the sand

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.

Tim Gardiner

onshore wind sea horses dance

Tim Gardiner, Manningtree, England is a professional ecologist who has written scientific papers, natural history books and poetry which has been published in literary journals such as Blithe Spirit and Frogpond.

Julie Warther

above the spillway —
root steps
in the riverbank

Julie Warther writes haiku from her home in Dover, Ohio where she lives with her husband and three children.

Laura Williams

all that remains … frost on the blackberry brambles

Laura Williams has been writing haiku and tanka since 2012. She lives in California, USA. http://www.foralovelything.blogspot.com

Caroline Skanne

Caroline Skanne, rochester, uk, obsessed with anything wild & free, she is the founder of hedgerow: a journal of small poems.

hedgerow #6

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #6 of hedgerow, featuring work from 14 different poets & artists. please keep sending in your work and thanks also for spreading the word, every effort is appreciated! grateful to contributors and readers alike. with love & kindness…

Pat Geyer

tonight the veil is thin once again we dream together

Pat Geyer lives in East Brunswick, NJ, USA. An amateur photographer and poet, her home is surrounded by many parks and lakes and she walks every day to find her inspiration in Nature. She has been published in several books and journals.

North Gregory

North Gregory, Canada

Archana Kapoor Nagpal

end of rain …
in my broken pot of water
the two full moons

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.

Seonaid Francis

Night, South Uist

Peat smoke drifts
on the cold still air.
Moonlight silvers the silent water.
We are adrift in darkness,
unmoored in the ocean.

We sail alone
abandoned, but for our history.
Far lights to the west
of other boats.

Seonaid Francis lives in the Western Isles of Scotland, runs a publishing company and is slowly, oh so slowly, learning Gaelic.

Robyn Cairns

a pair of black swans slice the sky

Robyn Cairns is a Melbourne based poet.

Phillip Larrea

Chess Game

A chess match.
Since you’re white,
You move first.

Knights, castle,
Queen lost. King
Checkmated.

No deaths here.
Just pieces
Of me gone.

Phillip Larrea is the author of We the People (Cold River Press) and Our Patch (Writing Knights Press), and hails from Northern California.

Laura McKee

the sweet postcard

propped up
amongst all the mess
all this time
wishing you were here

Laura McKee lives in Bexleyheath, Kent, UK, so she is practically Kate Bush, and likes to twerk in the kitchen.

Veronika Zora Novak

I am the open road
I am the midnight wind
I am the dew laden grass
I am the river flow
I am the forest lush
I am the warmth of fire
I am the coolness of rock
I am the glow of the moon
I am the light of dawn
I am the love song

homeward bound…for a moment

Veronika Zora Novak is simply a daydreamer.

Scott Reid

Scott Reid (Twitter: @apwpoet) lives in Northern California, enjoys photography and nature, and curates the Albany Poetry Workshop

Helen Buckingham

constellations
of pink hydrangeas
temper the dusk

Helen Buckingham has been writing ku for the past couple of decades in Bristol, and has recently moved to Wells, the smallest cathedral city in England, deep in the heart of Somerset.

Sarah Thursday

Unnamed

Write about important things
things that move me
things that crush me

Write about hurricanes
and avalanches
the earthquakes of my soul

It’s the grit beneath
my fingernails
it’s the cartilage in
my vertebrae

I am driven to expose it
to pull it out
hold it up
to the light

I am only the messenger
of all the beauty
underneath the common face
beauty in the unheard voice

I hear it
I draw the letters
to form the words
to give it name

Sarah Thursday is a music obsessed, poetry advocate and documents her antics on SarahThursday.com

Laura Williams

autumn shelter …
a scarecrow’s coat pocket fills
with wren song

Laura Williams has been writing haiku and tanka since 2012. She lives in California, USA. http://www.foralovelything.blogspot.com

Chase Gagnon

if suffering
had a color…
it would be periwinkle
because purple sounds
far too real

only the light
of dwindling candles…
a wooden crucifix
clenched
in cold hands

goosebumps…
your breath, a memory
on my skin

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.

Caroline Skanne

Caroline Skanne, rochester, uk, obsessed with anything wild & free, she is the founder of hedgerow: a journal of small poems.

hedgerow #5

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

thrilled to bring you #5 of hedgerow, featuring work from 14 different poets & artists. please keep sending in your work and thanks also for spreading the word, every effort is appreciated! thanks to contributors and readers alike. with love & kindness…

S.M. Abeles

whatever gets you
to the end of the line
my muse
wears a flower dress,
ties a sunbeam through her hair

S.M. Abeles is just a simple poet.

Peter Wilkin

‘Brontë Waterfall’

Peter Wilkin is a writer, poet & iphoneographer who lives in West Yorkshire, England.

Robyn Cairns

end of pier
lovers entwine
an egret moon

Robyn Cairns, Melbourne Australia, enjoys writing haiku, tanka and micropoetry for pleasure and publishes her work on twitter @robbiepoet. She has a passion for nature and photography

Dave Read

awash
in silver light –
all the moon
poems I
never meant to write

Dave Read is a Canadian poet whose work has appeared in many journals. His micropoetry can be found on Twitter, @AsSlimAsImBeing.

Sandi Pray

Sandi Pray is a wild child who roams between mountain and marsh in North Carolina and Florida, http://ravencliffs.blogspot.com.

Chase Gagnon

In a makeshift boat
I paddle through her enchanting iris
trying to reach the black island
of her soul…
but the sirens that sing
of her fear of love
pull me to the depths
of crystal green lust.

For Angel

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.

Veronika Zora Novak

winter garden . . .
his warm touch revives
a frozen orchid

Veronika Zora Novak is simply a daydreamer.

Debbie Strange

Debbie Strange is a published tanka and haiku poet, as well as an avid photographer. Her current passion is for creating haiga and tanshi (small poem) art.

Jo Waterworth

IN BED
She promises to make him a coat.
He promises to beat her carpets.
She kisses his little toe.
He kisses her breakfast bar.
She murmurs into his armpit.
He murmurs into her cellar.
She agrees to heaven on earth.
He agrees to a garage conversion.

Jo Waterworth lives in Glastonbury and has had a pamphlet of short poetry published by Poetry Space of Bristol.

Zee Zahava

dear one
come closer
my flame is going out

the two of us
breathing into the silence —
when did the clock stop?

I pour the tea
you butter the toast —
our waitress thinks we are sisters

Christine L. Villa

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.

Roary Williams

what he never said
to the girl who fell in love
with the man
who loved her almost
as much as he did

Roary Williams, Albuquerque New Mexico, USA, is a simple poet who loves nature and the seasons (@CoyoteSings)

Ed Bremson

the eloquence
of heart
of image
of love —
no limits

Ed Bremson is an award-winning haiku poet, and founder of Mijikai Press, book publisher. He has been writing and publishing poetry for fifty years. Ed lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the USA.

Kanchan Chatterjee

Kaimur range on my left–
‘Delhi – 1092 Kms’
the milestone says. . .
I step on the gas &
leap
towards the sun
&
you’re only
a breath away. . .

Kanchan Chatterjee lives in Jamshedpur, India, he loves to write short poems/haiku and sharing a hearty meal with his family.