Frederick

quiet Frederick

others work, scurry, and fret ---

I know your spirit

KJ

A favorite children's story, Frederick by Leo Lionni, is about a mouse who is not like the others in his family. His family members have difficulty truly understanding his uniqueness and role. Eventually, they do have an opportunity to accept his contributions and identify him as a poet.

A Time for Everything

White plum blossoms

return to the withered trees ---

moonlit night

Buson

The progression of seasons in nature are necessary illustrations of relationships. What I mean is, is that the concrete changes show cause and effect. People also change and we frequently use the phrases like "during this season of my life." Ecclesiastes 3 (Old Testament of Judaic Christian Bible) expresses that there is a time for everything. So, there is a time for the tree to wither so that there can be a time for blossoms to return. A rhythm exists. An understanding of cause and effect is expressed. Human relationships are like this. Human relationships are challenged to be like this plum tree --- to find energy to produce goodness after difficult events and changes in the environment. This goodness, though, may be difficult to see.

Yellow Butterfly

the solo artist

wisping in the distant trees

yellow butterfly

KJ

I have always been fascinated by butterflies. My daughter's name is Vanessa, which in a name wordsmith references Vanessa to mean butterfly. A complex idea of the metamorphosis is so beautifully expressed through this creation.  

Irish Blessing 2

May you always walk in sunshine.

May you never want for more.

May Irish angels rest their wings

right beside your door.

Tangible Sweetness

not seeing

the room is white

until that red apple

Anita Virgil

I believe contrast is needed sometimes to gain clarity. The white scene brings to my mind the message of purity. However, the red apple is what brings the sweetness of the purity. The tangible apple experience complements the scene as we need a sensual experience in our brain to connect the abstract ideas.

Winter Light

Full winter moon:

the icicle

the icicle's shadow

Geraldine Clinton Little

The light of the moon on a cold dark night --- sometimes life is like that. It is quiet outside and the moon is a light source but only because it reflects the source of the sun, it doesn't give the heat. This is actually a fascinating science concept.

So I'm wondering, can the moon guide down the right path or is it's purpose to push us into a deeper understanding of discrimination? Maybe it is in the moonlight that we are asked to see the darkness for what it is. Maybe the moon is to remind us of the light during the patterns of life.

Thin Layer

moonlight ---

through thin clothes

to naked skin

Hisajo Sugita

This haiku communicates a sensual experience. When light is given opportunity, the perspective of what is, is revealed. An artist learns that the angle of light influences the perspective of the image. I imagine the author laying out in a field and feeling the moon as it travels its arc above her.

Our clothing is just a thin layer of protection. We project who we are, what we want to be, how we see ourselves sometimes. Underneath though, we are vulnerable humans, more alike than different and yet, still unique. I wonder what additional thoughts passed through the author when she experienced the moonlight and then penned these words. I wonder what thoughts would pass through me if I allowed the moonlight to reveal my image.

Prairie or Desert?

bright sun

the seen of tall grass

when it bends

Jim Kacian

I can see this image on the prairie. A sense of respect exists between even the elements of nature. In the desert I live, few grasses or other plants exist that can bend when the wind blows and the sun rays fall. Plants generally grip the hard desert pavement and stand stiffly. Or, it has such minimal root structure that it becomes the blowing tumble weed. What a contrast between the resources and responses of the elements in the prairie and the desert.

I see the symbolism in these two environments. I have experienced both the social human community of the prairie and the desert. I feel as though human behavior, the relationships and responses to events, are very similar to that of the plants of the environment in which they live. On the prairie I have observed the farmer and his rhythm and response to the seasons while cultivating the land. In the desert people make a distinct decision of how to survive the different conditions and many times the limited resources.

Which environment do you prefer to exist?

Punctuation?

shaking

the packet of seeds

asking, are you still alive?

Kiyoko Tokutomi

The way this haiku is punctuated, a person is asking the seeds a question. What if ---

shaking,

the packet of seeds asking --

are you still alive?

How does this shift your emotional response to the words?

Letting Go

i catch

the maple leaf      then let

it go

John Wills

Letting go of an idea, object, or relationship is not an easy process for many people. I  wonder if this is partly due in my case to the teachings of Christianity. The words of Christ do speak of this process. However, I feel as if the Christian church has either misinterpreted or intentionally manipulated those words. For example, in the patriarchal social structure of the Hebrews, this idea of "letting go" to be man and wife gave the power of the relationship to the male in the relationship. The women, in many relationships, is eventually devalued as a result. I have difficulty believing that this was the message of Christ.

I believe another result of the teachings is the difficulty in the grieving process. There is a lack of something, maybe it is understanding, ritual, or space, that prevents people from "letting go" with a sense of peace. I like the way this author illustrates this as a peaceful process.

Irish Blessing 3

You'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind.

Criteria

summer grasses --

the wheels of a locomotive

come up to a stop

Seishi Yamaguchi

I believe that a reference to nature is key to the criteria of a haiku. Modern creations can be included but they are used to illustrate a contrast, another element of haiku. If the poem does not have a natural reference, I see it simply as a free verse poem.

Turning the Spade

when the spade turns

the soil in our garden --

how different

Ion Codrescu

I do not consider myself a successful flower, fruit, or vegetable gardener. During my college years I enjoyed assisting with a small garden that had an established fertile soil. I loved the fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and green beans we grew. Later I moved to a poor soil for gardening -- the northern Nevada desert adjacent to the Bonneville Salt flats. Here, I don't enjoy gardening. The results from the effort -- the financial cost, the taste of the product -- just doesn't seem worth it.  I do prefer organic products and maybe some day I'll again turn the spade with my own hand when I am not living in a desert.

Relationships

he says a word

I say a word:

autumn deepens

Kyoshi Takahama

When I read this I think --- human relationships. As the result of a spoken word the path of a relationship moves forward. Even if the word causes us to pause, we are then required to make a decision. A parent knows when a toddler learns the meaning of the word "No." The child pauses and then decides upon a course of action. This sets a path for the relationship at that moment. What words have been pivotal for you? Think of one person, one situation, one clear shift in a relationship. What word was spoken that caused you to pause and then choose your path?

Tree Trunk

stiff tree trunk

along an ocean shore

eventually breaks

KJ

Have you ever noticed which trees survive in different environments? Some trees are intended to be massive in trunk and others are not. Some trees sway their multiple limbs like a woman bends over and tickles her infant with her long thick strands of hair. I am constantly amazed by the lessons nature has to show me.

Neutral

neutral

static energy hovers

against change

kj

Asking the Universe to keep things the same is an act of resistance. Resistance requires energy, in some ways, this requires more energy than moving forward. The ideal is finding the natural flow, as in the natural flow of a river. Holding still, in almost any body of water, requires effort. The question is, which state do I want to be in at this moment?

Happy Child

shown a flower

the small baby

opens its mouth

Seifu-Ni

When I read this haiku I think -- contentment. A child who has their basic needs met and has connected in a relationship with a caregiver responds to the simplest things in life with a sense of awe. When I am with a child in this state of contentment I can more easily set my own worries aside and am able to join that state of mind. The child is reminding me what contentment can be.

Do you see this flower?

Smell this flower?

Feel this flower?

Hear this flower?

Know the the joy this flower brings?

I am sharing it with you, without judgment, without asking for anything in return.

I found I love the role as Aunt Kelly. I am not ready to be grandma, but love sharing my time with my nieces and nephews. 

Irish Blessing 1

If God sends you down a stony path, 

May he give you strong shoes.