The Bamboo Hut
  • Home
  • Read online
    • Winter 2019
    • Number 1 2020
    • Number 2 2020
    • Number 3 2020
    • Number 4 2020
    • Number 1 2021
    • Number 2 2021
    • Number 3 2021
    • Number 1 2022
    • Number 2 2022
    • Number 1 2023
  • Submissions
  • Previous Issues
  • Podcast

The Bamboo Hut Autumn 2019


Picture

David He Zhuanglang




a glimpse
of Dad's last smile ...
family album






train whistle...
Gran sips her tea
of loneliness






first date
her lip print
marks my collar


​


Bruce England


Past midnight
the cockatiel still
out of its cage



All that remains
one stretch of freeway
faint whiff of skunk






Ernesto P Santiago




the white wall
‘tween our day and night
how mezmerising
a butterfly can be
on top of it





country crossing
fairly close to home
this undying love
how many sunsets
worthy of picture frames





sultry evening
we both agreed to turn
the lights down low
to check our body parts
breathing together







Roberta Beach Jacobson




the season of lemons sunshine



war yet they dance



he died too soon to be a war hero






R.A.Allen




"Meditations on Incarceration"




Cellmate
I might kill him if
he don't kill me first; looks like
we're friends for life.




Letter
She wrote: Your kid cried
for you on Christmas morning.
Your guilt brings your tears.




The Hole
Claustrophobia.
Exercise to exhaustion.
Dreams are your escape.





Kevin Jones


Roofing


A leaking roof can be mostly good.
My life is mostly good.
Would someone please hand me that hammer?




Fortune


The fortune cookie told me
opportunity is just around the corner.
As I paid my bill I thought,
damn this spherical world.






Fallen Leaf


A willow in black ink. Simple.


Your father makes you cry. Simple.


You're asleep on the couch,
curled like a fallen leaf.






Reverse Psychology


Well I don’t love you
any more
than you don’t love me
anymore.






Dinghy


My dinghy ran aground
in dense fog.


A gull’s screeching laughter
led me back to moonlight.




Louise Hopewell


bare elm
a child’s red beanie
trampled in mud


dead coral
the doctor says
it’s lung cancer



first kiss
the aftertaste
of chocolate


Lovers’ Bay
the tangling and untangling
of seaweed


the singing of
a prayer bowl
sea breeze






Dave Read


a slow afternoon
my mind starts
to drift
with the traffic
passing outside


along with
the pizza wedged
in his mouth
the end of
our conversation


picking
my kid up from
the gym…
his backpack
stuffed with dreams


returning to work
I peek out
the window
the sky fills
my mindset with clouds


slipping in
at 3 a.m.
the moon
and I
greet Dad




Chen-Ou Liu



her wild self
trapped in a diary
a thornless rose


red lingerie
on the clothesline
sultry night


the cry
of an unknown bird ...
cliff edge in mist


wind surge
an old man tap-tap-tapping
through gravestones


the croaking
of a lone raven ...
I lean
to the dark
inside myself





Marilyn Humbert and Kate Brown
A Swagman’s Life


outback
this clear winter night
stars gleam
with knowing eyes
waiting for frost-fall




speech plumes
burst from her face
blushing cold…
each breath scattering
the chills of skyward prayers




walking beside
the cloister’s high wall
a choir of nuns
brings peace and calm
to my daily busyness




in the darkness
dotted by halogens
a stray
struts along the middle
of his own catwalk




on the road
or following train-lines
a swaggie’s life …
new opportunities
and encounters


note – a swaggie or swagman is Australian slang for a drifter




Pasquale Asprea


evening calm
but yet



reflectors along the road
on the radio a reggae rhythm



tanned girl
the scent of the four o'clock flowers



the old port city -
expired cologne of the parish priest






Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo


round of cards
all still to begin
under the stars
long and brief the night
and the parting yet here





going back
the summer a promise
without memory
light was I once
and I flew beside you





Life's shrinking
Bit by bit we return
in an old child’s body
Yet the heart still demands
to beat
at the rhythm of blood




The soul is thirsty
of impetuous joy
And in disenchantment
one gets lost
like in a sea



Kumarendra Mallick


morning breeze...
where is its
destination?


herbal tea...
a new leaf on the creeper
in my heart


sound of music...
the silence
between the notes




Ibrahim Clouds


symposium
a stream goes down
the window


each crumb
lifting to the sky
deep clouds


setting things aright
this summer dinner
no word from you still




Michael H Lester




Remembering the Chaffinch


the moon
Pluto, and Saturn
are aligned tonight
but the sky is overcast
and I can’t see anything


the sycamore
blocks the view across the street
but not long ago
a chaffinch flew down
landing at my feet


the moon
has its way with the heart
but never
has the moon stopped a heart
the way a chaffinch could


the experience
may never repeat itself
but it lingers
in my mind’s eye as bright
as any harvest moon


dear chaffinch
if you can read this
I long for you
to come again one day
and land at my feet



Goran Gatalica


fallen gingko leaf --
a hundred miles
of my thoughts



a sign of a war --
crimson leaves swirl
into the drain



cicada corpse --
the memory of those
wasted months





an’ya


after the dunes
our shoes are eco-rich
with memories
we pour into an old
apothecary bottle


with waning light
ocean rain clouds blend
into nightfall
and the morning begets
another whale-gray day


oh falling star
how fortunate tonight
you pinpoint me
in this whole universe
full of other people


a sea mist clears
cobwebs from my eyes
this solo morn
I allot alone time
for creatures of the deep


when shines your light
in the depth of darkness
never before
have I felt so knowing
to the ways of a moth



Ben Moeller-Gaa


evening breeze
dandelion seeds join me
for dinner


shading the shade tree thunderhead


twilight
backyard bushes blend
into one


beyond the darkness
of the thunderhead
another thunderhead


morning sun
the silence before
cicadas




Joy McCall




listening to the stream bubbling by
the owls calling high in the trees
evensong from the ancient church
my friend reading poems




a new bird in the garden
small and brown and black-headed
a reed bunting from the marshes
I dream of cattails and rushes




so I be rowan, you be ash
bending in the northern wind
life and bravery long be ours
green plains, ruined towers




is there silence anywhere?
the breeze rustles the curling leaves
the rain splashes on the brickweave
my mind keeps on talking




the old granny rocks and sews
making dreams out of sunflowers
lilac, rose, lavender, sweet pea
lupines and wild blue sage




I hide in thickets and brambles
in the dark shadow of hedges
muttering with bright-eyed mice
stay safe small ones, sleep safe




Hemapriya Chellappan


waiting room
we sit together
facing away


scorching sun
even the mannequin
wears coolers


dusting off
grandmother's chair . . .
memories





Scott Wiggerman


all-night winds
rattle rooftop pipes
that nagging snub




binge-watching
a season of clouds
all afternoon


coffin maker
lines buried in each

stroke of wood




dreaming these pages lead anywhere



howling coyote
I leave for another
root canal





Bryan Rickert


midnight hour
a lover’s whisper
to someone else


dry heat
the little white husks
of pill bugs


June wedding
after the reception
silence
of the firefly’s
flicker dance


another round
of bombing
sunset glow
sets the distant
tree line aflame


blossom season
in the rubble
something sprouts
we gather what remains
and start anew




Jason Gould


ripples on the pond
prevent the sky from knowing
its own true nature
yet the wind cannot fathom
how far down the waters go


modeling success
the fishermen take notice
of the cormorant:
he is never in a rush;
takes a breath when he needs to


carefree children play
in late-afternoon sunlight
apple blossom wind --
storm clouds are gathering but
no one will mind if it rains


when i lift a stone
i feel sorry for the bugs
whose home i've disturbed
but stones need to be lifted
if progress is to be made


finally the oaks
begin to loosen their grip
on what used to be --
what life lessons might we glean
from red autumn's farewell kiss?





Marietta McGregor


spring’s return
each prunus mume
fully pink


indulging
my inner cat
bay window


in my eighth decade
blooming for the first time
queen-of-the-night


my daughter’s eyes
her daughter’s too
first birthday


the swell full
of salmon and seals
hunter’s moon






John McManus


garden in bloom
I breathe in the smell

of a new book



searing heat
a bucket of crabs
catches my eye


still warm
inside my pocket
the stolen cookie


day’s end
a couple of anglers
compare eels




shouting match
a crow on the fence
joins in





Joe McKeon


missing letter
a neon sign buzzes
in the rain


late autumn
my teacup
leafless


leftovers
the warmth of her hands
as we give thanks


derby day
all but one
in the stable


wisps of snow
at the end of the pier
a child's rod





Taofeek Ayeyemi


lily . . .
beside it
a lily



meteor shower . . .
the clash of hurrying
fireflies



crumbs of dry cattail
around a wild cat's tail --
summer solstice





Ashoka Weerakkody



how you feel
I asked caged parakeet -
inbox me!


eating with you
I still learn things anew
chopsticks


souvenirs of Nikko
red lantern and wind chimes
her bus ticket too





Lucy Whitehead



a spider sleeping
in the curl of a leaf
sweltering heat


shimmering summer day
a blue bottle settles
on a shattered snail


after the rain shower
the cat sniffs
every leaf


pink thrift trembling
the rain-soaked stone –
rush of the sea


after the thunderstorm
the beauty

of fallen blossoms




Zoran Antonijevic



Loner

A loner sits in the heart of a city,
his eyes are snarling,
he turns the streets into meadows,
people in straw,
himself in flames.


The language of silence

I'm going to the cemetery
to talk
with those who have
said all
that they could say.


Man-oak

This morning
the roots
breathe in me.
In my mouth
the owl fell asleep





Pravat Kumar Padhy


abandoned--
the sun still shines
over the monument


clouds in hurry--
the kids enjoy
the shifting moon


tea flowers--
plucking warmth
of your memories


space rocks--
the farmers harvest
celestial science


a noble thought the last page of the book





Debbie Strange


forest bathing
I immerse myself
in your light


dew point
fountain grass bends
to the earth


calm lake
otters slip between
starbeams


pinnacles
the cup of valley
fills with fog


a grebe's nest
the rise and fall
of our paddles





Christina Chin


dim light on the patio, nightingale song


blackout curtains the moon peeps through a gap


her speed carves
a mountain slope
skiing


winter fountain
the whir of breakfast
espresso


new year day
the magpie repeats
last year's song






Willie R. Bongcaron


cat howls
the moon provides
a roof


the whistle
of an old street thug
summer night


bed of roses
the bonding of a mother
and her child


gentle waves...
the moon
and I


rainy evening
August finds me
at a street cafe






Tiffany Shaw Diaz


prelude
in D major
the sun’s slow ascent


free jazz
all at once
birdsong


syncopation
the wind
before the storm


coda
breathing in
day’s fall





Paul Callus & Karen O'Leary


rising mist-
stream slips through
silence
the sub surfaces
in a secure port



gateway…
getting my masters
for tomorrow

with patience I water
the little olive tree




Paul Callus


seagulls
bobbing on the waves -
fluctuating thoughts




Karen O'Leary


peeling onions--
tears open a layer
of my grief





Eva Joan


believe

even if i know
that love is fragile
and fairy tales
are only fairy tales ...
i want to believe in





on his finger
the golden wedding band
of someone else



free fall


on white clouds i was floating ... felt safe
i believed to be stronger than life
without you i'm falling
like a puppet without its strings
too free ... too fragile





Keith Nunes


and then suddenly
despite the sun
he was cold
she’d always said he was cold


You build a town
You build a jail
In expectation
In readiness
Not everyone does what they’re told


I’m altered
The reflection doesn’t reflect it
Come see from behind
These eyes
You’ll see
There is no focus





Nadejda Kostadinova


The butterflies
hovering around you
the bees
covered up in your dust
tender flower


A cuckoo
it is too late
to go back
it is too dark
to continue




Only a few hours
between us
mixing up our
directions





Mike Gallagher


the island's people
its windswept crops
dragged east




season’s greetings
the king sends plum pudding
to the trenches




silent shuffling
bare feet on the famine way
to the poorhouse






David Jibson (4 sijo)


For many weeks, I have been looking
forward to this day,
The Siberian iris have bloomed,
their throats a heavenly blue,
but like every good thing they will fade
and wither too soon.





In the sunny front garden
I have raised up a new bed
with planks of rough cedar
and a special mix for growing.
The lavender are so happy now
that they raise me up too.





It is the time of year
that salmon come into the river
and the overnight temperatures
have begun to fall.
If the first frost were a bell,
you could hear it ring in the distance.





At the bus stop a girl with a hijab
shivers against the cold.
Together in silence, we wait
on this dark winter morning,
occasional snowflakes
catching in her long eyelashes.





Steve Wilkinson ( 5 ju roku )


tunes in a minor key -
the sadness
of an autumn wind


a handful of poems
in an old notebook -
what else would I leave you?


scudding clouds
above the hills
the pain of grief
that comes and goes


I inhale summer
exhale autumn -
how quickly
the seasons change


present in the moment -
above the traffic
a church bell
ringing




John Tustin


DEAD IN THE YELLOW


Dead in the yellow
Street with the sun in my eyes
Noticed by no one



I AM JUST SCRAPS OF


I am just scraps of
Pieces of to go fluttering
Until they reach you




LOOKING FORWARD TO


Looking forward to
The death of night. Dreading the
Rise of another sun.



SOMEONE’S KILLED AND THEN


Someone’s killed and then
The people rise up and then
No one cares again
































Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.