Seeking true north (with a nod to Ryokan)

By Sam Fischer (stanzas 1, 3, 5) and Bill Waters (stanzas 2, 4, 6)

my feet go on walking
my mind goes on wandering
and my feet go on walking

the clouds above
the grass below

a ladybug tags along
a friend looking
for a ride

last night’s inn
so far behind . . .
ahead an upland cabin

waning day, settled
smile on my face

beaming down on me
a Buddha moon . . .
dreaming with eyes open

---

Published in Vines, issue 5 (https://hedgerowpoems.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/vines-5.pdf), page 19, on 11/11/21.

Sam Fischer’s debut chapbook, Short Cycles:

–> https://www.amazon.com/Short-Cycles-Toho-Publishing-Chapbook/dp/1733657584

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Advertisement

PING!

By Zee Zahava (stanzas 1, 3, 5) and Bill Waters (stanzas 2, 4, 6)

4 a.m.
the house settles
with a solid thump

the sizzle and pop
of eggs frying

just before shutting
the computer — PING! —
incoming e-mail

laundry day . . .
the huffing breath
of the steam iron

tuning the new radio
nothing but static for the longest time

false dusk
and the tinkle of sleet . . .
dozing over a book

---

Published in Vines, issue 5 (https://hedgerowpoems.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/vines-5.pdf), page 18, on 11/11/21.

About Zee Zahava:

–> http://zeezahava.blogspot.com/p/more-about-me.html

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Tranquility

By Bill Waters (stanzas 1, 3, 5) and Zee Zahava (stanzas 2, 4, 6)

spiral garden:
we follow it in
we follow it out

red hibiscus
exactly my height

from somewhere
a church bell . . .
rose petals

wandering mind
clouds travel
from here to there

scent of gardenia
on the breeze

spiral garden:
we inhale
we exhale

---

Published in Hedgerow: A Journal of Small Poems, issue 132, page 26, on 11/6/20.

About Zee Zahava:

—> http://zeezahava.blogspot.com/p/more-about-me.html

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Summer’s end

By Zee Zahava (stanzas 1, 3, 5) and Bill Waters (stanzas 2, 4, 6)

early September

lazy clouds

lazy me

 

floating on the breeze

a puff of milkweed fluff

 

heading toward the lake

seventy-six white butterflies

three dragonflies

 

weathered dock

my toes in the water

Queen Anne’s lace in my hair

 

a neat pile of cherry pits

lined up beside me

 

melting into the lake

a sherbet sun . . .

summer’s end

---

Published in Vines no. 3 (https://hedgerowpoems.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/vines-3.pdf), 1/30/19.

About Zee Zahava:

—> http://zeezahava.blogspot.com/p/more-about-me.html

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Rainbow

A Rengay by Bill Waters & Michael Dylan Welch

“one small step” . . .
up there on the moon
old glory

the union jack
limp at the cenotaph

Olympic rings
snapping in the wind . . .
doping allegations

summer swelter —
a tattered jolly roger
on the Disney ride

beneath the French tricolor
riot police in black and white

gallery opening —
a change of weather
ripples the rainbow flag

---

Published in Presence, issue 60, March 2018.

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Passages

A Rengay by Annette Makino & Bill Waters

revolving door
that autumn leaf
comes round again

behind the bookcase
a secret passage

tousled roses
the garden gate
rusted open

spring break
the hallways fill
with silence

a curving dirt road
to an unlocked door

tunnel’s end
morning light bouncing off
fresh-fallen snow

---

Published in Hedgerow: A Journal of Small Poems, issue 121 (autumn 2017), page 17, on 11/14/17.

You can find out more about Annette Makino at her blog, makinostudios.com.

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Day’s end

A Rengay by Mary Kendall & Bill Waters

stillness —
violet fades
to black

the scratch of a match
as I strike it

a flicker
of memory starts
then stops

turn of the tide . . .
how hard it is
to let go

a limb of driftwood
pulled back to sea

fair nights or foul
the lighthouse beam
shining

---

Published in Skylark Tanka Journal, issue 5:2 (winter 2017), page 104, on 11/3/17.

You can find more of Mary Kendall’s superb writing at her blog, apoetintime.com.

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Ancient rhythm

A Rengay by Bill Waters & Sandi Pray

morning mist
pale sunbeams
fanning through the trees

our footsteps find
their ancient rhythm

the girth
of these oaks!
old-growth forest

water sounds
the everything of
falling leaves

from somewhere
the knocking of a woodpecker

the way words
become unnecessary
heading home

---

Published in Presence, issue 58, July 2017.

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Head in the clouds

A Rengay by Bill Waters & Caroline Skanne

hedgerow —
100 starlings
rise up

sunlight in the silver birch
so much laughter

a cooling breeze
through shrubs and trees . . .
my head in the clouds

waning sun . . .
a ladybird enters
the conversation

hidden in the hawthorn
sparrows rustle the shadows

last scrap
of twilight vanishes
with the fox

---

Published in Hedgerow: A Journal of Small Poems, issue 100, 12/16/16.

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Sitting on a toadstool

Sitting on a Toadstool: A Kasen Renku with Tom Clausen and Robin White

sitting on a toadstool / if only / I were small enough ~rw

how much room / in a mushroom? ~bw

“remember what the dormouse said / feed your head” ~tc

poof! / goes the puffball / horse’s hoof ~rw

chanterelle — / your lovely name / refutes your roots ~bw

rolled out / in the woodlot / shiitake logs ~tc

a bit off / the beaten path / old man of the woods ~rw

snuffling for truffles / the pig and me ~bw

round and round / this cow pasture / with ‘shrooms ~tc

plucking my luck / four-leaf clover / inside a fairy ring ~rw

weathered garden gnome — / stuck to its boots / tiny toadstools ~bw

the domed cap raised from the forest floor / pine needles attached ~tc

it, too / when rubbed the wrong way / bluing bolete ~rw

rain on the window pane . . . / peppers and mushrooms / frying ~bw

it’s called a “Michigan Hollow” / the best portobello in town ~tc

autumn’s versicolor / hunters fanning out / for turkey tail ~rw

so far from the sea / and yet . . . / oyster mushrooms ~bw

green around the gills / rechecking the identification guide ~tc

the morel / of the understory / hidden in plain sight ~rw

foraging for fungi . . . / penny bun / anyone? ~bw

running through my brain / an inky cap dream ~tc

gathering moss / under the pines / man on horseback ~rw

sawing wood . . . / from out of the forest / black trumpets ~bw

without fanfare / the little community of milkcaps / falling apart ~tc

sweet on sugar maples / northern tooth ~rw

into the gelato / with the candy caps! ~bw

waxing eloquent / the mycologist / fills his vasculum ~tc

ka-ka-toos / the old Blackfoot warns / of falling stars ~rw

sudden downpour! / beneath this sheltering ledge / parasol mushrooms ~bw

decorated with toadstools / the baby’s blanket ~tc

winter thaw / mother nature exposes / her velvet foot ~rw

a standout / in any crowd: / the blusher ~bw

amanita / with red and white polka dots / angels call ~tc

the monk’s wide grin / the old nun’s / bag of blewits ~rw

oh, the portobello! / sizzle of the grill ~bw

the ladybug so briefly / sitting on the toadstool ~tc

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Published in Akitsu Quarterly: Winter 2015 (http://www.wildgraces.com/Akitsu-Quarterly.html), 12/5/15.

It was an honor (and a lot of fun!) to write this loose and freewheeling renku with Tom Clausen (http://tomclausen.com; @TomTpc2) and Robin White (http://www.wildgraces.com). It was read at the 2nd Annual Haiku Gathering at Wild Graces in September 2015 — an event whose lunch menu featured…can you guess?

Mushrooms!  :- D

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