hedgerow #11

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Caroline Skanne

welcome to #11 of hedgerow, bringing you 13 different poets & artist. the next issue will be the last one for this year, the theme is ‘reasons to write’, feel free to interpret as you please. very excited about the print version scheduled for early 2015. it will feature work published throughout 2014; last chance this coming friday. more details to follow regarding this venture. as always, grateful to contributors & readers alike, please keep sending in your submissions as well as spreading the word, every effort really counts! with love & kindness…

Zee Zahava

red gloves give me strength walking into the wind

I knew you’d arrive today —
in my dream
the call of a bamboo flute

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/

Diana Matisz

‘Some of my best stories, have been written with my eyes’… Diana Matisz, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA http://lifethrublueeyes.wordpress.com/ & http://about.me/diana_matisz

Kat Lehmann

morning bird
sings its song
It knows no other song
to sing
no other bird
sings it
the world is made
beautiful
in a new way

my birth place
a distant memory —
fireflies

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

Debbie Strange

Lovelorn Moon

one pair
of tundra swans
silhouetted
a pas des deux
across the moon

a loon’s
plangent tremolo
how eloquently
you plead your case
for going

in the pond
a great white egret
w r i n k l e s
on my face
and the moon’s

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.

Jon Wynne

This Morning’s Walk

This morning’s walk
Was quick – but not too quick
To stop and lend an ear,
Even the greyest skies
Have a tale to tell.

A billion raindrops
Beat time upon the trees and
Danced in circles on the puddled road.
Listen!
The streams on the tarmac
Are singing

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.’

Jane Dougherty

Washed winter white
the trees stand
bare branches in the darkness
full of night sounds
and the silent moonlight.

Jane Dougherty lives in Bordeaux by the river, where she writes poetry and poetic, mythological, lyrical fantasy.

Julie Warther & Meik Blottenberger

Julie Warther – Dover, Ohio (words)
Meik Blottenberger – Hanover, Pa (photograph)
Julie and Meik both came from other forms of writing to haiku. Now, they collaborate and support each other in their haiku habits.

Robin Dawn Hudechek

Courtship

The boy sees the girl
from his place on the sidewalk in the rain.
Her curls are sun bright
and warm as a window pane.
He wants to throw a rock or climb a leafy hedge
anything for a smile or a sideways glance–
her lips on his cheek,
or in the small of his back.
Her breath steams the window;
her fingers leave delicate prints.
He thrusts his hands in his pockets.

Robin Dawn Hudechek lives in Laguna Beach, CA with her husband, Manny and two beautiful cats, Ashley and Misty. More of her poetry can be found at http://robindawnh.wordpress.com./

Clifton Redmond

Coping with Loss at Ten

‘The heavens are opening,’ you said
and I rushed to the window
pressed my face against the cold glass
looking for a glimpse,
but all I saw was disappointment.
There were no angel’s feet dangling,
no gentle strums of harps
sneaking through the muted clouds.
Nothing but rain, empty streets,
puddles, reflecting the locked door
that you had passed through
and forgot to tell me you were going.

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.

Caroline Skanne

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

Carole Johnston

we dream alone
and come together again
you used to
follow packs of dogs in woods
imagine battles with trees
I drew maps of fairyland

in my pocket
small tan river stones
smooth as memory

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

Mathias Jansson

Mathias Jansson is a Swedish art critic and poet. He has contributed with visual poetry to magazines as Lex-ICON, Anatematiskpress, Quarter After #4 and Maintenant 8: A Journal of Contemporary Dada. He has also published a chapbook of visual poetry and contributed with erasure poetry to anthologies from Silver Birch Press. Homepage: http://wordshavenoeyes.blogspot.se/

Maurice Devitt

Spider/Man

How easy it must be
to forget
what never happened
and something found
may not have been lost.

The sky may darken
but the length of a minute
is still the same,
whether we rush in expectation
or sit and watch

as a spider walks on stilts
across a bedroom floor,
not sure
if he is coming or going.

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

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 #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.