Butterfly Dream: Ebb Tide Haiku by Peggy Heinrich

English Original

ebb tide

turning to look back

at my footprints

Issa's Untidy Hut, July 23, 2010

Peggy Heinrich

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

退潮

回首注視

我的足跡

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

退潮

回首注视

我的足迹

Bio Sketch

Peggy Heinrich's haiku have appeared in almost every haiku journal both nationally and internationally and in many anthologies. Awards include Top Prize in the Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest in both 2009 and 2010. Peeling an Orange, a collection of her haiku with photographs by John Bolivar, was published in 2009 by Modern English Tanka Press. Forward Moving Shadows, a collection of her tanka, with photographs by John Bolivar, was published in 2012.

Poetic Musings: Bombs and Storks Haiku by Daniela Misso

bombs fall

in a child's eyes

storks flying

Third Place, indianKUKAI, 37

Daniela Misso

Commentary: Enhanced by the effective use of a pivot, L2, the contrasts between L1 and L3 are timely and poignantly effective.

And the choice of the POV of an innocent and defenseless child adds emotional weight and psychological depth to the haiku.

When evaluated in the context of European folklore or now global pop cartoon culture, storks are often associated with new beginnings, fertility, and the arrival of babies; it's mainly because of their return from wintering in Africa to nest on village roofs in the spring.

Therefore, the symbolic significance of "L3, storks flying (away), " increases the negative impact of L1.

A Room of My Own: Sin Haiku

This Brave New World, CXXI

spiral razor wire

along the white church wall

Sin Is Everywhere

FYI: In Christian theology, "missing the mark" (or "hamartia" in Greek) is a metaphor for sin, signifying failing to meet God's standards or purpose.

And Matthew 24:12-13

12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 

This haiku could be read as a prequel to the following:

no one for miles

the billboard declares

SIN IS EVERYWHERE

Raw Nervz Haiku, 7: 2, Summer 2001

LeRoy Gorman 

Added:

a flock of seagulls

between ocean and sky

the touch of breeze

Added:

the unspoken

gnaw into our regret

For Sale sign

Added:

her eyes' warmth 

through bulletproof glass

jail guard's stare

Butterfly Dream: Curve Haiku by Angelee Deodhar

English Original

gibbous moon

my ear on the curve 

of her belly

Galaxy of Dust, 2015

Angelee Deodhar

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

凸形月

我的耳朵貼在她的腹部

的曲線上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

凸形月

我的耳朵贴在她的腹部

的曲线上

 

Bio Sketch

Angelee Deodhar of Chandigarh (India) was an eye surgeon by profession as well as a haiku poet, translator, and artist. Her haiku/haiga has been published internationally. She didn't have her own website.To promote haiku in India, she has translated six books of haiku from English to Hindi.

One Man's Maple Moon: Beast and Cherry Blossoms Tanka by Fumi Saito

English Original

long dead

the bones of a beast

decaying tonight

I am nearly choked

as cherry blossoms are falling

White Letter Poems, 1998

Fumi Saito

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

早已死去

一頭野獸的骨頭

今晚腐爛

當櫻花飄落之時

我差點窒息

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

早已死去

一头野兽的骨头

今晚腐烂

当樱花飘落之时

我差点窒息

 

 

Bio Sketch

Daughter of a military officer who was noted for his verse-writing talent, Fumi Saito began writing poetry in the traditional 31-syllable tanka form in her early teens. Her first book of tanka, Fish Songs, published in 1940, immediately established her as a brilliant young poet. She was inducted into the Japan Art Academy in 1993 and invited to serve as meshiudo (a position similar to the Poet Laureate's) at the Imperial Palace in 1997.

Butterfly Dream: Dollhouse Haiku by vincent tripi

English Original

white lilac scent --

the dollhouse at the window

with its window open

Haiku Anthology, 1999

vincent tripi 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

白丁香花香味 --

窗邊一個娃娃屋

的窗戶敞開

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

白丁香花香味 --

窗边一个娃娃屋

的窗户敞开

Bio Sketch

Founder of The Haiku Circle, vincent tripi was closely associated with the spiritual movement in American Haiku. He wrote haiku for over 35 years, and published 14 books of haiku. Most of his haiku reflect a Buddhist foundation.

Butterfly Dream: Midnight Silence Haiku by David He

English Original

midnight silence ...

my wife opens the curtains

to let in moonlight

David He

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

午夜的寂靜…

我妻子打開窗簾

讓月光照進來

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

午夜的寂静…

我妻子打开窗帘

让月光照进来

Bio Sketch

David He has been working as an Advanced English teacher for 35 years in a high school in China. So far he has published  twenty short stories in English. In recent years he has published haiku and tanka in print journals and e-zines, including Acorn, The Heron’s Nest, Frogpond, Ribbons and Cattails.

Poetic Musings: Dawn Moon Haiku by Marian Olson

dawn moon

quiet mind, quiet

embers in the ash

Mann Library’s Daily Haiku, May 9, 2014

Marian Olson

Commentary: Enhanced by the midline break, the use of repetition of "quite," when juxtaposed with visually evocative and symbolically rich images of "dawn moon" and "embers in the ash," is fresh and psychologically effective, successfully conveying a sense of "contemplative calmness."

And it might be interesting to do a thematic comparison reading of my haiku below:

hazy day moon

alone, awake with the weight

of memory

PoemHunter, Feb. 17, 2013

The past is never dead. It's not even past.

― William Faulkner, "Requiem for a Nun"

A Room of My Own: A Season of Regret

snowed in

for three straight days

again, I check

the machine for the sound

of your voice

I dream 

that winter dream again ...

sadder than then

as I look out the window

at the sky, endless gray

FYI: This set could be read as a prequel to my tanka below:

It's me

I just wanted to hear

from you ...

fifteen seconds of soft voice

after ten years of silence

Gusts, 35, Spring/Summer 2022

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XV

Day and Night, Forever?

for Mark Twain who claimed, "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."

step after step

one by one to the exit

DOGE cuts

red district town hall 

a crowd-fest 

of boos and jeers 

distant sirens

free-ranging dogs pee

on the Trump Mural

Liberation Day!

the news on mute, I change

my baby's diaper

bursts of spring snow

Tariffs are a tax cut,  a twist

to Trump's mouth

FYI: DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency. And the Convicted Felon Donald Trump is set to roll out his massive tariff plan on April 2, which he has touted as "Liberation Day in America."

April 3: On Fox Business, former Republican Senator Pat Toomey warns Trump's tariffs will be “probably the largest tax increase on American consumers in the history of the country”

And Daily Beast, April 3: JD Vance Tells Paycheck-to-Paycheck Americans to Suck Up Tariffs Pain

JD Vance is telling Americans living paycheck to paycheck that the pain from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs will all be worth it—at some point.

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XVI

10% tariff on goods from the manless islands near Antarctica

the fight with one man

a sea of king penguins

trumpeting

FYI: USA Today, April 6: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's tariff rollout last week when asked why two uninhabited islands were hit with the fees, saying in a new interview "whatever."

Added:

a dollhouse

in the rain-streaked window

of a thrift store

a girl holds her mother's hand

tight ... and tighter 

Added:

frost flowers

on my son's study room window

paper planes gather dust

Butterfly Dream: Father's Ring Haiku by H. Gene Murtha

English Original

shooting star -- 

father’s ring

slips off my finger

 The Heron’s Nest, 5:11, November, 2003

H. Gene Murtha

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一顆流星 --

父親的戒指

從我的手指上滑落

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一颗流星 --

父亲的戒指

从我的手指上滑落

Bio Sketch

H. Gene Murtha, a naturalist and poet, sponsored and judged the first haiku contest for the inner city children of Camden, NJ., for the Virgilio Group, of which he was a lifetime member. He was widely published for his work in haikai literature from the USA to Japan. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Caregiver Tanka by Lorraine Pester

English Original

after five years

no longer your caregiver,

nothing matters now ...

unable to live

you sleep forever

Lorraine Pester

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

五年後

不再是你的照顧者,

現在什麼都不重要了 ...

無法活下去

你永遠沉睡

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

五年后

不再是你的照顾者,

现在什么都不重要了 ...

无法活下去

你永远沉睡

Bio Sketch

Being curious and staying open to possibility is Lorraine Pester’s way of keeping her haikai fresh. She shies from no topic that presents itself. Her deliberate interactions with birds while dog walking is a frequent theme. She lives with her husband and  Abbey schnauzer in south Texas. 

Biting NOT Barking: Early Freeze Haiku by LeRoy Gorman

English Original

early freeze

some give in the sign

GOD SAVES

Modern Haiku, 55:3, Autumn 2024

Leroy Gorman

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

早來的結冰

有些人提交了

上帝拯救的標誌

    

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

早来的结冰

有些人提交了

上帝拯救的标志

Bio Sketch

LeRoy Gorman lives in Napanee, Ontario. His poetry, much of it minimalist and visual, has appeared in publications and exhibitions worldwide. He is the author of two dozen poetry books and chapbooks. He is also the winner of the 2017 Dwarf Stars Award

Butterfly Dream: Turn Sign and Wild Lilies Haiku by Ellen Compton

English Original

missing the turn sign

                                    missing the turn

                                                                wild lilies

Woodnote, 30, 1996

Ellen Compton

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

錯過轉彎標誌

                          錯過轉機

                                            野百合

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

错过转弯标志

                          错过转机

                                             野百合

Bio Sketch

Ellen Compton was an award-winning haiku poet with a background in visual and theatre arts. Her haiku  collection, Gathering Dusk, received a Snapshot Press Book Award. And she was an editor emerita of The Red Moon Anthology series and a founding member of Towpath. Ellen credited her childhood in the Ohio River Valley for her deep love of the natural world and for her awareness of its fragility. 

Special Feature: Selected Poems on 50,000 DEATHS in GAZA

(FYI: EuroNews, March 31: Bodies of 15 aid workers discovered in southern Gaza mass grave

And Haaretz, April 1: UN Recovers 15 Aid Workers' Bodies in Gaza, Say Some Found Bound and Shot

Rescue teams say some victims had their hands tied and were shot at close range, suggesting they were executed.

please bury me

with no casket, no prayers

face down, away

from this shrapnel-filled world:

the note in an aid worker's hand

NeverEnding Story, May 5 2024

And Haaretz, April 3: Israeli Strike on Gaza City School Leaves 27 Dead, at Least 70 Wounded

a girl convulsing 

on the bloodstained classroom floor

smell of Gaza's  air

NeverEnding Story, June 28 2024

slanted moonlight

on a half-collapsed school wall

chalk poppies bloom

NeverEnding Story, August 3 2024

FYI: "The Palestinian poppy (Anemone coronaria) is a non-official but more recognizable national symbol of Palestine)

My Dear Readers:

Israel's oldest daily now sanctioned by the Israeli government, Haaretz, March 24: 50,000 Palestinians Have Been Killed in Gaza: This Is How It Happened, Day by Day

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CLXX: "Gaza's are Humans?"

too much to ask YOU 

to see Gazans as humans? 

50, 000 deaths

silenced, forgotten, buried

under the weight of daily life

Haaretz, March 24: Announcement That Death Toll Surpassed 50,000 Didn't Faze Anyone, Not Even in Gaza

Even Gazans aren't preoccupied by the number of dead these days. They're busy with questions of day-to-day survival: Will Israeli attacks become as widespread as they were before the cease-fire? Will all of Gaza be reoccupied? And who will die today or tomorrow?

XVIII: "Rafah"

attacks on Rafah ...

will the sound of bombings 

echo, echoing

in the ears of the World

thousands of miles away

NeverEnding Story, February 12 2023

LXXXIX: "smeared sun"

anything new

under Gaza's smeared sun?

smoky rubble

beyond smoky rubble, and yet

again smoky rubble

NeverEnding Story, August 15 2024

Haaretz, March 23: Eyal Zamir Is the Israeli Army's First Kahanist Chief of Staff

Zamir even told Israel's ministers that he's capable of bringing about the complete destruction of Hamas' rule in Gaza and its military capabilities – or, in other words, the "total victory" Netanyahu promised.

Haaretz, March 23: Israeli Government Approves Bureau for 'Voluntary Emigration' of Palestinians From Gaza

Defense Minister Katz said the bureau will act to facilitate 'safe and supervised passage' of Gazans to target countries. Ministers also approved the separation of 13 neighborhoods in West Bank settlements, granting them independent settlement status

LXXVI: "Gaza's safe zone"

mule-drawn wagons

wind past one mound of rubble

after another ...

across the bottom of my screen

scrolls the text: from here to nowhere

NeverEnding Story, July 4 2024

CXIII: "preparing for settlement in Gaza"

each bombed-out house:

an album with no photos

but with people

living, wounded and dead

pressed between its pages

NeverEnding Story, October 22 2024

Haaretz, March 23: A Country That Dehumanizes Millions in Gaza Will Do the Same to Its Own People

Even if it's too late for tens of thousands of Palestinians who were killed, it's still possible to change our ways. This time, not just for the hostages – but to end the slaughter of our neighbors

To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following poem excerpt :

In the dark times

Will there also be singing?

Yes, there will be singing

About the dark times.

-- Bertolt Brecht (tr. John Willett), "Motto", written during his exile in Denmark in the late 1930s. 

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CLXXI: "crowded shelter"

crowded shelter

layer within layer 

of hushed silence

FYI: Haaretz, March 27: In One of the Gaza War's Most Horrifying Nights, the Israeli Army Killed Nearly 300 Women and Children

the IDF and the Shin Bet focused this time on civilian and political targets and less on the military wing of Hamas.

A Room of My Own: Man in Black Haiku

store windows barred shut

footsteps of a man in black

echoing mine

FYI: For more examples, see "To the Lighthouse: Haiku Noir"

Added:

in a blue suit

the "Great One" walked onto the ice 

near the US team’s bench

with a thumbs up ...

Gretzky statue smeared with poop

FYI: Maclean's, March 5: Goodbye to Gretzky

The cracks in Gretzky’s patriotism have been showing for years. In 2009, he was promoted to companion of the Order of Canada—the nation’s highest civilian honour—but he wouldn’t come home to accept it. “It’s just embarrassing,” Christopher McCreery, an expert on the Canadian honours system, said in 2018, after nearly a decade had passed and The Great One still claimed the honour. 

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XI

Land of the Crazed --> USA

Canada <-- Home of the Brave

giant road sign

at the corner of the border

as flocks of geese fly north

FYI: This could be read as a prequel to the following:

in Toronto sunshine

with the scent of early spring

and freedom

two Americans meet and part:

one draft dodger, one Trump evader

NeverEnding Story, March 17 2025

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XII

Uber ride home

a Trumpinator bobblehead

rattles on the dashboard

(FYI: Trumpinator bobblehead is a figurine of Donald Trump as the Terminator) 

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XIII

fast-hitting snowstorm

as Trump enacts another round

of tariffs ...

to stay or to go, I muse

[yet this longing for Never Land]

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XIV

inspired by The Atlantic, March 24: The Trump Administration "Accidentally" Texted Me Its War "Plans" 

supersized

FistStarsandStripesFire 👊 🇺🇸 🔥 ...

three emojis

and MAGAmoronsinsuits

love company in the spotlight

FYI: The Canadian Press, March 26: The Atlantic releases the entire Signal chat showing Hegseth's detailed attack plans against Houthis

The Independent, March 26: ‘It’s really not a big deal’: Trump responds to latest round texts published in Signal text scandal

And CNN, March 26: The politics of the Yemen chat scandal is obscuring key foreign policy shifts