The Bamboo Hut
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The Bamboo Hut       Number  2       2020


RP Verlaine
​

a butterfly
lands on her knee
in the park
while breezes caress her
like my eyes from afar


the mime says
let pure silence speak
as I look into her eyes
I'm a reborn angel
only air knows my shadow


I watch her sleep
each gentle breath
new ocean waves
pulling me close
to drown quickly


she asks
what am I looking at
when she catches me
staring at her eyes

I say Heavenly sunsets





Roger Watson

the zen master builder

green
with chlorophyll envy
watching
the morning sun
rising


as many
as the grains of rice
in my bowl
a stream
of endless thoughts


my tanshi session
graced
by the spirit
of Rumi
...sohbet


the mousetrap
the spider's web
deceitful
like the eye

of the storm



Gerard Sarnat

Tears flew when high school
hero’s funeral was described
as being live streamed




Joy McCall

All people that on earth do dwell.

John Donne said 'no man is an island'
and he may be right - but I feel ...

I am
a small green island
in a sea
that stretches as far
as my eyes can see

maybe it's all an illusion ...



this misty sense
of solitude - maybe
there are millions
more islands
in the great vast blue

inhabited by those like me who think they are alone

no matter ...

I cling
to the cliffs
the caves
the shores
the rocks, the trees

who is to say this place is not real?

I sit on the meadow grass and pick daisies and make a chain

and then feel sad for the flowers that for a moment made me happy

the view is outward from within ...

across the great expanse
over the limitless edge
and does it matter
if where I am is small
and dark and tide-washed?






I woke in a banshee wind
from a dream of cloves and honey
the doors and windows rattled loud

a spook owl was calling my name



darkling song

the old hedgewitch is crawling
on her belly through the sweetgrass
night frogs are singing in the woods
her skirts catch on thistles

her vision is faltering
she is searching for seedheads
of spent dandelions, blowing
ten-eleven-midnight

the wind carries the black seeds
circling above her weary head
nto the night, into the grass
she falls asleep and dreams

a myriad fluttering wings
tiny pitch-black birds landing
pecking, burrowing, sinking
into her pale skin

dark bodies settle in her flesh
bird voices rise from her bones
she wakes in the dawnlight
a seeded changeling

she sits muttering in the field
breathing sweetgrass, smiling, rocking
stroking her tattoo'd arms
singing mad and raucous

oh my little darkling ones
no more can we take flight
we will grow among the sweetgrass

black as indigo, as night

****


I dreamed a bright canary

in a field of clary sage
he sang so sweet - I wrote then
some lines upon a page

that's all there was to it, yet
it stayed with me all day long
the blue-green herb, the yellow bird

the scent, the field, the song



Andy McCall

I will bring light

to the darkness
and not be afraid
of the shadows


a shadow
is a kindly place
out of the hot sun
and the scary dark


bring me your fears
I will lift them
in my hands to the light -

look, look at the shadows!



John Grey

BLISS


silence
peace
on the banks of the pond

not even the dragonflies intense


FROM THE SICKBED

the bedridden window
is a solitary nightshade,
flowering on an unseen tree trunk,
coming to me days and nights,
letting loose the stop in my throat
with a luminous side-turned flower


A COUPLE IN THEIR 80’s CUDDLE ON A PARK BENCH

Outside of us,
fat moons sit in the sky
like judges.
Our only crime...

to remember our old selves too well



Ivo Drury


within the memory prison

there is no time past
only time unattainable


a conscience
tightly laced with rumble strips
obviated straying


by a quincunx of boulders
a grove of young willows
thrills of red-winged blackbirds


it rained javelins that morning
even the avid earth

must have felt pain


David He Zhuanglang


full moon

the smiling face
of my baby

sunset
a puppy chases
its shadow

amid our bamboo
a few sparrows settle
in darkening dusk
I wait with bated breath
for their sweet voices

an old man
wandering inside
a temple
the bell echoes
through loneliness

the moment
a seagull hovers
no words
come to my mind

for this tanka



Eva Joan


lost


one look in your eyes
the slightest touch
of your fingertips
just one kiss
and I would be lost
lost in you ...

too late

he promised too much
a thousand times
broke my heart
a thousand times
thousand times regretted
too late ... too late ...


empty coffee cup -
the silence heavy as lead

after the last word​



Michael H Lester


Keeping it in the Family


I serenade
my lady fair
yet she keeps
her curtains drawn
as if I were not there

perhaps
my song is out of tune
discordant
like the sound of crows
squawking at the moon

yonder
past the lemon grove
in her cottage
cousin Mary pines away
mourning her betrothed

tomorrow
I will rendezvous
with Mary
by the railroad tracks
where the river splits in two

I remember
Mary always liked me
mama said
sometimes it’s okay

to marry family



Bryan Rickert


honeysuckle scent

the deer’s narrow path
through the thicket

morning mist
a little rasp
in the wren song

first frost
smell of the furnace
burning dust

moonrise
the cricket and frog song
calling me home
the never-ending question
of why I’ve strayed so long

long summer days
scoured down
by the prairie winds
the sharp edges

of my youth



Neelam Dadhwal



festival flags
bearing down their colors
I tell the kids
the parrot's talk is
not magic



Terri L French


St. Joseph’s Day
swallows gather
at the mission


Capistrano
a white butterfly
with something to prove


chickweed blossoms
her sweater tied
to the twirling bars


shiny pebbles
on my windowsill
the kindness of crows


dappled light
my fickle shadow
on the wooded trail



Ben Gaa


pausing
in the labyrinth walk
a toad


winter wind
the branch that breaks
our marriage


bistro fiddle
the slow curl of cream
in the coffee


reaching across
the width of the river
loon call


homemade scones
sunlight fills
the jelly jar



Isabel Caves


paper flowers
in a picture book meadow
flu season

another friend
for her collection
Jupiter’s rings

moonstones
my loneliness
in the stray’s eyes

crystal beads
the dusk lights up
with cricket song

they always flock
to the next tree -
ripe tamarillos



Roberta Beach Jacobson


forest underbrush
- secluded habitat
for lizards and toads


javelin pierces
the sun
silver medal


named
for the trees cut down -
Maple Street


shattered edges
of the midnight sky


black-and-white wars
not available
in technicolor




Antoni Ooto


While Night Slept


Morning comes naked…
giving everything to light. And
the sun wakes blind,
crosses a line rope
holding the horizon down. And
no light in me only questions.



And Remember

What a mistake
to be unaware
of fragile time we’ve shared.

I’m looking for a word,
and yesterday must mean everything.




Michael T Smith


Peeking at new love

A green clock is jealous
And tells a bold-face lie

A flower blossoms
Like a Basquiat work, only
The edges are soft

Writing a haiku:
Images of my teacher
Erasing the board




Lavana Kray


the storm

struck a bird's nest in the door -
string by string
our life song lost
its harmony

dandelion fluff
in and out of the murkiness
of my room -
if I were a gust of wind
I would close the door behind you

by fireplace
trying to fit a new hand
to the old doll -
I kept in my rebuilt life
a secret place for you




Judy DeCroce


Disappointment


That’s what I like about it;
there’s not a limit in sight!

Brush against pain, confusion
then snag fingers in joy, or happiness…

Disappointment—there are worse things
but not many.


This Rift

weaving the vastness
into silence

and afterward that cold field
returns

a destination planned
nothing in fear— something in doubt




Hema Ravi


MICRO POEM


the distance
in our proximity
our breaths



CINQUAIN

Proximity
Temporal, Intimate
Whirling,Twirling,Dancing
In tight embrace
Courtship



QUATRAIN

Let us dance, be merry, let there be cheer
In the proximity let our hearts blend
Past dreary sands, choppy seas as we wend

Let the winds be favourable, not veer.



John J Hann


winter dream

my deceased dad and I talk
about his deceased dad


a lone goose…
the hearse followed
by strangers


green grass
the proud steps of
mother goose


squirrel acrobatics
in the backyard
my cat yawns


spring breeze
an ice cream truck returns

with the same old song



Rashmi VeSa


trawling

the blackhole
of the past
my life circles
on a sheet of ice


sizzling
in a hot pan
mom’s tempering
we spice our day
ladling gossip


gossamer drizzle
in the cusp of my grasp
a new world …
I sever all ifs and buts
tethering my life


in the hills
lost for a lifetime
wildflowers
the joy of blooming

for non-appraising eyes



Chen-ou Liu


a stretch of flophouses

after the rain potholes fill
with summer stars


a woman in black
on the pier's edge ...
wind surge


first light ...
the soft curves
of her silhouette


in winter light
another anniversary
slips away ...
the glass wall of silence
between my wife and me


the laugh track
on a late-night game show
echoes in the dark ...
my hand feeling colder
on the empty side of the bed




Tim Gardiner & Wendy Constance



you see snakes
I see complication-
Medusa’s mass
of knotted roots
as it should be


tangled roots
fates entwined-
we pause to wonder
dreams hidden
beneath cold feet



pathway oak
leaves walkers
a choice of left or right-
isolation much harder
to bypass


crimson mushrooms
strewn across our path-
winter blues
leave me wistful
for summer attire



we admire
oak cavities-
decaying timber
bramble doesn’t engulf
the woodpecker drills


rampant brambles
ensnare the dead oak-
we retrace our steps
find a way through
woodland anarchy




Dave Read


whitened stubble
ages my face --
I shave off
a couple
of years

along with
his backpack
after the loss
I carry my son’s
disappointment

he loses his coat
on the way home
from school --
a leaf slips away
in the breeze

opening the window
to a cold breeze
I let in
a contagion
of goosebumps

the first sign of spring:
the sun
starts to thaw
the sound
of my neighbour’s dog




Christina Chin




pop up canopy
nutshells multiply
on the picnic table


kite competition
the ocean takes
our puffer fish


high noon
arctic sun briefly latches
the sea ice


drumming
a woodpecker
breaks fast


moonlit grove
the sound of footfalls
on fragrant pine




Joy McCall & Michael H Lester


the hedgewitch and the tinker
are hiding around the bend
watching the cripplemouse nibbling

on words, words without end

the tinker fiddles with widgets
while the hedgewitch sips her porridge
the cripplemouse cracks a chestnut
somewhere down in Norwich




Tom Bierovic


written
on a bookmark
the first draft
of her
last
poem


high above
the prayer flags
an eagle
seeking
prey


sandhill crane
its knees
bend backwards
its call sounds
inside out


clouds
flutter across
the crescent moon
dance of the
seven veils


the slow drip
from a maple tap
a glacier
collapsing
far away




Taofeek Ayeyemi


night fishing . . .
the continuous thud
of grapes

stove --
the cat shares
my warmth

on the leaves
the beads of dew . . .
spring dawn

hotter days . . .
windows and doors
widely open

roasting sun –
a duckling scuffles
my shadow




Bill Pauly and Julie Warther


peeling a pear --
careful not to let it
slip away
held spellbound
by the gentleness of his words



echoes of carols
how long has it been
since the thaw?
at last, a reply of trickled notes
from the creek



her old cutting board,
scored with marks
of her kindness
counting tree rings
we start again



cleaning the fish --
small heart,
but O! the eggs . . .
behind a thin scrim
the secret of a night sky



all the leaves are torn --
how can we not blame the wind
for what we've done?
memories blown from glass
still warm to the touch




Tiffany Shaw-Diaz


silent film
clouds move across
my thoughts


an Oscar
worthy performance
dying rose


brighter days
the chickadee’s call
awakens me


spring
your gentle
encouragement


all my luggage
packed

road to freedom



Joy McCall & Liam Wilkinson



hot black coffee and candlelight
I stay awake all night to write
the words that I will long to say
when the virus finds me


refusing to read the day's news
pretending that all will be well
I pull the quilts over my head
and sleep, and dream of stars




John J Dunphy


pharmacy
woman sorts through get-well cards
with gloved hands


grocery store window
employee removes its
'we have toilet paper' sign


liquor store
from the adjoining alley
sound of coughing


my neighbor's yard
his Buddha statue
masked


quarantine ended --
still social distancing from

my Trump-loving neighbors



Pat Geyer



white breasted
nuthatch picks a ballad
of nature..
chords of a
basswood tree

red breasted nuthatch
picks a blues ballad...
on a basswood tree
silken spider strings
quiver in cool riffs

four kids play
gourd rattles...
with a turn
their voices sing
a balladée

worn down rocks
shine yellow
in the brook ...
babbling
songs of spring

cardinal songs
raise the day...
as if
high flying
i am home free




Liam Wilkinson


schools are empty, hospitals full

supermarkets stripped to their bones
and on the radio, a voice
says that spring has arrived


not enough coffins for the dead
in some houses the corpses lie
cold and still and sealed in spaces
that once were living rooms


a glowing ring around the moon
my windowpane is wet with tears
I, from my isolation, mourn
the world’s pandemic dead


so often I have tried to write
to tell you how I really feel
and now that death stands in the lane
my letters all are lost


in my isolation I read
many translations of Han Shan
for I know, when rain is falling,

Cold Mountain is shining



John McManus


my son's friend asks

for the wi-fi password . . . 
tree fort


I sit on the bench
where we last kissed . . . 
the scent of wild rosemary


old pine
the dog and I 
take a leak


sun-kissed ruins 
the sound of grandpa’s laughter 
inside my head 


out in the garden 
for the first time in weeks 

father finds his smile 



Keith Nunes

headlights flicker 
in the midnight rain  
like blown 
birthday
cake candles

a thousand silver eyes
carry me out
over the sea
when they release me
I can fly

ordered rows
of sweetened life
a fruitful season

 seaweed sushi
by the summer sea
her salty kiss

million-dollar view
snail climbs

the walled street



Cliff Rames


summer sunrise

a sail inhales the sea’s
first breath


sheltered in place the parakeet's mocking sound


six feet
our relationships grows
more distant


self isolation
a more casual approach
to laziness


first star 
her yearbook photo 

still that smile



Nadejda Kostadinova


spring

the fist flower blossoms
looking up at the sun


church bell
waking me up
I remember
I have been here already
in my sleep


spring sun
It’s all in their
smiles


drifting  
into meditation
haiku podcast


bright night
the sky is shining

differently


Anna Goluba




Looking for
Any kind of light...
Moth


Unsent love letter...
The paper boat is ready
For sea adventure


A full list
Of contacts
And nobody to call...
Another sudoku
Filled up


Waiting for
Her lunar lover
The night transforms
Panes into the mirrors
And enhances her beauty


At the end
Of my road
Home
Of someone else...
Moonlight



Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo

For my acrobat heart


For my acrobat heart
nothing remains but to dance
between the plots of memory
Thin cobweb threads
laid by a time
no longer interchangeable
mark the pace
The ticket for the trip
already sold
at the moment of the first cry.


​


Cumha* A memory

On a hill in Ireland
a long time ago
between sea and sky
the sound of a harp
brought distant echoes

The soft whispers
of all those
who were missing
at the blue call
of that Celtic sky

Foals grazed calmy
on the moss of the moor
and the notes were lost
in the brackish wind
of the sea beyond

* homesickness in Gaelic




on the horizon
the clouds gather
in a sunset
the last light laps the sky
between you and me



heavy the moon
like a closed flower
waiting waiting
let the sky dissolve
in a blue whisper



slumbering
petals in the dream
fall lightly
stay a little longer
to remind me of you


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  • Home
  • Read online
    • Winter 2019
    • Number 1 2020
    • Number 2 2020
    • Number 3 2020
    • Number 4 2020
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    • Number 1 2023
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