Edible haiku

summer woods . . .

beneath the leaf mold

mushrooms

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wabi? sabi?

I scratch my head

and eat some wasabi

Wabi and sabi — the bittersweet beauties of imperfection and impermanence — are fundamental Japanese aesthetics that figure prominently in haiku. I can never remember which is which, though, so I’m forever looking them up. LOL!

(For a more nuanced look at wabi and sabi — because it’s more subtle and complex than the simplistic definition I offer above — see my post The Wabi-Sabi Aesthetic.  ;- )

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Published in Brass Bell: A Haiku Journal (http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com/2021/05/edible-haiku.html), 5/1/21.

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Haiku poetry day 2021

April 17th was National Haiku Poetry Day! (There’s a day for everything, right?)

 

As a part of the day’s celebratory events, The Haiku Foundation presented its 7th-annual HaikuLife Haiku Film Festival, which included four of my under-a-minute video poems.

 

You can find all 51 films from the 2021 festival here:

 

https://thehaikufoundation.org/haikulife-the-haiku-foundation-video-project/haikulife-2021/

 

Mine appear toward the bottom under the section titled “Video Haiga” and include “Urban Canyon”, “Time and Clouds”, “Icicles”, and “Ghosts in Your Eyes”.  :- )

 

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National Poetry Month @ MCL

After a year’s delay due to COVID-19, ten of my micropoems have “blossomed” in the garden of the headquarters branch of New Jersey’s Mercer County Library System.

As local community members continue to look for novel things to do during the pandemic — and after? — maybe poem-spotting will become a “thing”! ;- )

Many thanks, MCL, for supporting public poetry! And a happy National Poetry Month to one and all!

The Mercer County Library headquarters branch, located in Lawrence, New Jersey. Photo by Bill Waters.

the hush / of an overcast day . . . / red tulips nodding
Photo courtesy of Nancy Waters.

periwinkle butterflies / carving the heavy perfume / of honeysuckle
Photo courtesy of Julia Cuddahy, MCL reference librarian.

Photo by Bill Waters.

book-lover’s bedtime — / I mark my place / with a smaller book
Photo courtesy of Julia Cuddahy, MCL reference librarian.

birds on a phone line / some this way / some that way
Photo courtesy of Nancy Waters.

hitchhiker: / this ladybug / on my hand
Photo courtesy of Nancy Waters.

Photo by Bill Waters.

Photo courtesy of Julia Cuddahy, MCL reference librarian.

Photo by Bill Waters.

Such a beautiful day for taking pictures! :- D
Photo courtesy of Nancy Waters.

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Mercer County Library System: https://mcl.org/branches/lawrence

Poetry in Public Places Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PoetryInPublicPlacesProject

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NaHaiWriMo 2021: post script

Each year’s NaHaiWriMo writing prompts have a theme / gimmick. This year the writing prompts were song titles from four major music groups spanning the 1960s to the ’80s: Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, U2, and The Beatles. An interesting challenge!

Using social media likes as an informal poll, my top two poems from National Haiku Writing Month are . . .

:: drumroll ::  <–[Nah; just kidding.]

waiting for the train . . .

the weight of the sun

on my back

 . . . and . . .

searching for third gear —

the too-long whine

of second

Thank you for taking the time to read my posts!

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Prompts, posts, and participant submissions: https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo/

More on NaHaiWriMo and writing haiku: http://www.nahaiwrimo.com

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NaHaiWriMo 2021: week 5

“come join
the tea party!”
Lucy sits by Alice

[2/27 prompt = Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds]

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so suave:
that sleek dove
pogo-ing after his love

[2/28 prompt = Love Is All You Need]

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Prompts, posts, and participant submissions: https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo/

More on NaHaiWriMo and writing haiku: http://www.nahaiwrimo.com

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NaHaiWriMo 2021: week 4

the back of beyond . . .
straight to the horizon
this parched dirt road

[2/20 prompt = Where the Streets Have No Names]

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searching for third gear —
the too-long whine
of second

[2/21 prompt = I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For]

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as if my childhood
were only yesterday . . .
the strange lens of time

[2/22 prompt = Yesterday]

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twisting, shouting —
Peter Rabbit squirms
in the arms of Mr. McGregor

[2/23 prompt = Twist and Shout]

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a spent force . . .
ten million years ago
the supernova

[2/24 prompt = Across the Universe]

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waiting for the train . . .
the weight of the sun
on my back

[2/25 prompt = Ticket to Ride]

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weeping cherry —
the breeze blows blossoms
onto your discarded guitar

[2/26 prompt = While My Guitar Gently Weeps]

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Prompts, posts, and participant submissions: https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo/

More on NaHaiWriMo and writing haiku: http://www.nahaiwrimo.com

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NaHaiWriMo 2021: week 3

Kashmir Valley . . .
even today
the ancient ruins

[2/13 prompt = Kashmir]

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spiral stairway
climbing
into the sky

[2/14 prompt = Stairway to Heaven]

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east to west
east to west
one crow follows another

[2/15 prompt = One]

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spinning
a thousand m.p.h. —
this dizzy Earth

[2/16 prompt = Vertigo]

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first hot day . . .
fragrance of flowers
on the breeze

[2/17 prompt = Beautiful Day]

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mating season!
the tom turkey
flaunts his fanny fan

[2/18 prompt = Pride]

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go on
without me, sunrise!
warm bed

[2/19 prompt = With or Without You]

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Prompts, posts, and participant submissions: https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo/

More on NaHaiWriMo and writing haiku: http://www.nahaiwrimo.com

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This moment

By Bill Waters (poem) and Robin White (photo)

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Published in DailyHaiga (http://www.dailyhaiga.org/haiga-archives/2867/-balancing-my-time-by-bill-waters-sa), 2/12/21.

About Robin White:
—> http://haiku.mannlib.cornell.edu/category/author/robin-white/page/3/

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NaHaiWriMo 2021: week 2

tropical harbor
the rattle and splash
of the anchor chain

[2/6 prompt = The Chain]

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two narwhals
crossing swords!
pepperoni dreams

[2/7 prompt = Tusk]

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Tangiers . . .
strolling the maze
of the Medina

[2/8 prompt = Tangerine]

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four sticks,
their fuses flaring
— “fire in the hole!”

[2/9 prompt = Four Sticks]

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56 feet
and rising . . .
Mississippi 1927

[2/10 prompt = When the Levee Breaks]

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the clank of tanks
and billows of smoke and flame!
arms in the air
they stumble and stagger
from their bunkers

[2/11 prompt = Dazed and Confused]

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hemmed in
they share out
their last bullets . . .
the sun creeps higher
while death creeps closer

[2/12 prompt = No Quarter]

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Prompts, posts, and participant submissions: https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo/

More on NaHaiWriMo and writing haiku: http://www.nahaiwrimo.com

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Colorful haiku

winter rain

pooling

on pewter-colored ice

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Published in Brass Bell: A Haiku Journal (http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com/2021/02/colorful-haiku.html), 2/5/21.

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