Poetic Musings: Inbreath and Outbreath Haiku by Robert MacLean

inbreath at the tip of my nostrils cool

outbreath warm

Wintermoon, 2022

Robert MacLean

Commentary: This two-line haiku reads like a poetic rendering of "mindful breathing," which means slowly and gently focusing one's attention on the breath -- noticing the breath coming in, L1 and going out, L2. And the contrasts (in vs out and cool vs warm) between L1 and L2 and the sensory details enhance the emotional aspect of this meditation haiku.

And it might be interesting to do a thematic comparative reading of my haiku below about mindful breathing in and out in relation to one's surroundings:

starlit sky ...

breathe in, breathe out

the silence

tsuri-dōrō , 6, Nov/Dec 2021

Butterfly Dream: Demons Haiku by George Swede

English Original

nightfall
the demons
on time

micro haiku: three to nine syllables, 2014

George Swede


 Chinese Translation (Traditional)

黃昏時刻
一大群惡魔
準時報到

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

黄昏时刻
一大群恶魔
准时报到


Bio Sketch

George Swede's most recent collections of haiku are Almost Unseen (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000), Joy In Me Still (Edmonton: Inkling Press, 2010) and micro haiku: three to nine syllables (Inspress, 2014). He is a former editor of Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America (2008-2012) and a former Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives (2008-2009).

One Man's Maple Moon: Recurring Dream Tanka by Rajani Radhakrishnan

English Original

just enough water
for one cup of tea
she murmurs
to the empty chair
about a recurring dream

Rajani Radhakrishnan


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

剛好足夠
一杯茶的水
她喃喃地
對空椅子訴說
一個重複出現的夢

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

刚好足够
一杯茶的水
她喃喃地
对空椅子诉说
一个重複出现的梦


Bio Sketch

Rajani Radhakrishnan is from Bangalore, India.  Finding time and renewed enthusiasm for poetry after a long career in Financial Applications, she blogs at thotpurge.wordpress.com . Her poems have recently appeared in The Lake, Quiet Letter, Under the Basho and The Cherita.

Butterfly Dream: Unfinished Scarf Haiku by Beverley George

English Original

fireside knitting
the unfinished scarf
around my neck

Presence, 42, 2010

Beverley George


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

爐邊針織
在我脖子上
未完成的圍巾

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

炉边针织
在我脖子上
未完成的围巾


Bio Sketch

Beverley George is the past editor of Yellow Moon and the founder/editor of Eucalypt: a tanka journal 2006 - . In September 2009 she convened the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference in Terrigal, Australia. Beverley presented papers on haiku in Australia at the 3rd Haiku Pacific Rim conference in Matsuyama, Japan in 2007, and on Australian tanka at the 6th International Tanka Festival, Tokyo 2009. She was the president of the Australian Haiku Society 2006-2010.

A Room of My Own:A State of Mind Tanka

night after night
her last words ripple
through my mind…
in the winter sky
the hazy day moon

useless poetry
echoes in the back of my mind --
I float downstream
on a moonlit river
full of word-bodies

Butterfly Dream: Mood Swings Haiku by Archana Kapoor Nagpal

English Original

mood swings --
changing colours
of the summer sky

DailyHaiga, September 2014

Archana Kapoor Nagpal


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

情緒波動 --
夏天的天空
不斷地改變顏色

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

情绪波动 --
夏天的天空
不断地改变颜色


Bio Sketch

Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of 7 books, and her winning stories are now part of international anthologies. She writes inspirational content for corporate newsletters, websites, blogs and print publications. Her inspirational poems touch every area of a person's life. She enjoys writing haiku and tanka as well. Visit her Amazon Author Profile to know more about her.

One Man's Maple Moon: Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee Tanka by Neal Whitman

English Original

at four p.m.
my spirit drops down
like the sun
but then an old friend calls
chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee

red lights, January 2014

Neal Whitman


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

下午四點
我的精神不濟
像下山的太陽
但是隨後一位老友來電
好像山雀快樂地歌唱

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

下午四点
我的精神不济
像下山的太阳
但是随後一位老友来电
好像山雀快乐地歌唱


Bio Sketch

Neal Whitman began to write general poetry in 2005, haiku in 2008, and tanka in 2011. He writes to be read and believes that the reader is never wrong. With his wife, Elaine, he combines his poetry with her Native American flute and photography in free public recitals with the aim of their hearts speaking to other hearts.

A Room of My Own: Two Mind Tanka for Robin Williams, "My Captain"

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

--  Robin Williams' character John Keating, Dead Poets Society (1989)

awake alone

with Good Morning, Vietnam

echoing in my mind

the ghost I keep

under the pillow

shoe prints
on a classroom desk
echoing
in my mind
oh captain, my captain

Note: Below is my haiku written for Robin Williams and published early this morning on PoemHunter:

misty morning
Reality, what a concept!
scrawled on the window

Reality: What a concept!
Reality is just a crutch for people who can't handle drugs.
-- Robin Williams

Butterfly Dream: Dripping Faucet Haiku by Harry Rout

English Original

the faucet dripping ...
the silence
between each drop

Harry Rout


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

水龍頭在滴水 ...
每滴水之間
的沉默

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

水龙头在滴水 ...
每滴水之间
的沉默


Bio Sketch

Harry 'E.G.' Rout lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He has been writing poetry for many years, and has been published in Japan several times, including three haiku in the 2nd Mainichi Haiku Contest.

One Man's Maple Moon: Dark Pond Tanka by Beverley George

English Original

dark pond
a flicker of gold
between rocks
holding my breath to hear
your quietest thoughts

empty garden, 2006

Beverley George
 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

黄昏下的池塘
岩石之間
金子般的閃爍
我屏住呼吸傾聽
你幽靜的意念

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

黄昏下的池塘
岩石之间
金子般的闪烁
我屏住呼吸倾听
你幽静的意念


Bio Sketch

Beverley George is the past editor of Yellow Moon and the founder/editor of Eucalypt: a tanka journal 2006 - . In September 2009 she convened the 4th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference, in Terrigal, Australia. Beverley presented papers on haiku in Australia at the 3rd Haiku Pacific Rim conference in Matsuyama, Japan in 2007, and on Australian tanka at the 6th International Tanka Festival, Tokyo 2009. She was the president of the Australian Haiku Society 2006-2010.

One Man's Maple Moon: Enhydro Tanka by Lynda Monahan

English Original

small sip of air
caught there in the crystal
enhydro
my friend tells me
I,too, hold things inside

Lynda Monahan


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

發現一小撮空氣
在石英晶體中
我的朋友告訴我
我，也一樣，
藏東西在內心深處

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

发现一小撮空气
在石英晶体中
我的朋友告诉我
我，也一样，
藏东西在内心深处


Bio Sketch

Lynda Monahan is a Canadian poet living in the Nesbit Forest in Saskatchewan.She is the author of two poetry collections,A Slow Dance in the Flames and What My Body Knows, both published by Coteau Books. Her third collection,Verge, is forthcoming in spring of 2015 with Guernica Editions.She has seen her tanka published in Atlas Poetica, Gusts and Ribbons and has published several tanka sets co-written with British poet Joy McCall

One Man's Maple Moon: Corner Tanka by Susan Constable

English Original

the baby
crawls backwards
into a corner
time after time
I’ve been there, too

Haiku Canada Review, 7:1, 2013

Susan Constable


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

小寶寶
向後爬入
一個角落
一次又一次
我也在那裡

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

小宝宝
向後爬入
一个角落
一次又一次
我也在那里


Bio Sketch

Susan Constable’s tanka appear in numerous journals and anthologies, including Take Five. She placed third in the 2010 Tanka Society of America Contest and her tanka collection, The Eternity of Waves, is one of the winning entries in the eChapbook Awards for 2012. She is currently the tanka editor for the international on-line journal, A Hundred Gourds. Susan lives with her husband on Canada’s beautiful west coast.

Butterfly Dream: Gendai Knives Haiku by Alegria Imperia

English Original

tomorrow still a house of knives

Bones, 1:1, December 2012

Alegria Imperial


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

明天還是滿屋子的刀

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

明天还是满屋子的刀


Bio Sketch

Alegria Imperial’s haiku for Haiku Foundation’s 2012 Haiku Competition was Commended in the traditional category. She has also won honorable mentions in the 2007 Vancouver Cherry Blossoms Festival Invitational Haiku and her tanka adjudged Excellent, 7th International Tanka Festival Competition 2012. Her poetry have been published in international journals, among them A Hundred Gourds, The Heron’s Nest, LYNX, Notes from the Gean, eucalypt and GUSTS. Formerly of Manila Philippines, she now lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

One Man's Maple Moon: Fallen Tree Tanka by toki

English Original

a tree fell
in my mind --
no one
was around
to hear it

toki


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一棵樹倒落
在我的腦海裡 --
沒有人
在旁
聽到這個消息

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一棵树倒落
在我的脑海里 --
没有人
在旁
听到这个消息


Bio Sketch

toki is a Pacific Northwest poet whose works have appeared online and in print. toki enjoys listening to the music of the spheres, pondering the interstices of the universe, and taking long walks in liminal spaces. toki tweets as @tokidokizenzen

Butterfly Dream: New Widow Haiku by Erik Linzbach

English Original

new widow
the jello
not quite set

Frogpond, 34:1, Winter 2011

Erik Linzbach


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

新寡婦
果凍
未尚凍結穩固

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

新寡妇
果冻
未尚冻结稳固


Bio Sketch

Erik Linzbach's poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Besides writing, he enjoys cooking, reading and playing chess.

Butterfly Dream: Widow Haiku by June Rose Dowis

English Original

the moment between
waking and remembering
a widow’s first morn

On Our Own: Widowhood for Smarties, 2012

June Rose Dowis


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在清醒和回憶
的時刻
寡婦的第一個早晨

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在清醒和回忆
的时刻
寡妇的第一个早晨


Bio Sketch

June Rose Dowis reads, writes, and resides in Shreveport, Louisiana.  A love of nature, a heart for the underdog, and a slice of everyday life find their way into her haiku.   Her work has been published in Ouachita Life, Acorn, A Hundred Gourds and anthologies, On Our Own-Widowhood for Smarties and  Harbingers of Hope in Hard Times.  She was also a winner of the Highway Haiku Contest in Shreveport with her haiku gracing a billboard.

Butterfly Dream: Funeral Haiku by John McManus

English Original

funeral home feeling nothing about feeling nothing

Modern Haiku, 43.2, Summer 2012

John McManus


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

身在殯儀館對於沒感覺感到没感覺

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

身在殡仪馆对於没感觉感到没感觉


Bio Sketch

John McManus is a poet from Carlisle, Cumbria, England. His haiku and senryu have appeared in various journals all over the world and is the current expositions editor for the online haikai journal A Hundred Gourds. He currently works as a support worker for people with mental health issues. In his spare time he enjoys watching films, sharing poetry with friends and spending time with his family.

Butterfly Dream: Creek Haiku by Michael McClintock

English Original

my guest departs ...
the waters in the creek
louder and clearer

Modern Haiku, 39.2, 2008

Michael McClintock


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

客人離開後 ...
小溪的水流聲
響亮而清晰

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

客人离开後 ...
小溪的水流声
响亮而清晰


Bio Sketch

Michael McClintock's lifework in haiku, tanka, and related literature spans over four decades. His many contributions to the field include six years as president of the Tanka Society of America (2004-2010) and contributing editor, essayist, and poet for dozens of journals, anthologies, landmark collections and critical studies. McClintock now lives in Clovis, California, where he works as an independent scholar, consultant for public libraries, and poet. Meals at Midnight [tanka], Sketches from the San Joaquin [haiku] and Streetlights: Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka, are some of his recent titles.

Butterfly Dream: Yellow Crocus Haiku by Pamela A. Babusci

English Original

first yellow crocus …
i release
my winter heart

Basho Haiku Festival Anthology, 1997

Pamela A. Babusci


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

第一朵黃色的番紅花 ...
釋放
我的冬日之心

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

第一朵黄色的番红花 ...
释放
我的冬日之心


Bio Sketch

Pamela A. Babusci  is an internationally award winning haiku, tanka poet and haiga artist. Some of her awards include: Museum of Haiku Literature Award, International Tanka Splendor Awards, First Place Yellow Moon Competition (Aust) tanka category,  First Place Kokako Tanka Competition,(NZ) First Place Saigyo Tanka Awards (US), Basho Festival Haiku Contests (Japan).  Pamela has illustrated several books, including: Full Moon Tide: The Best of Tanka Splendor Awards, Taboo Haiku, Chasing the Sun, Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, and A Thousand Reasons 2009. Pamela was the founder and now is the solo Editor of Moonbathing: a journal of women’s tanka; the first all women’s tanka journal in the US. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Owl Tanka by Robert D. Wilson

English Original

as always,

the echoless flight

of owls...

slicing what’s left

of sanity

Selected Tanka, Gusts, #15, Spring/Summer 2012

Robert D. Wilson 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

如往常一樣

飛翔的貓頭鷹

寂靜無聲...

將殘存的神智

切成一片片

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

如往常一样

飞翔的猫头鹰

寂静无声...

将残存的神智

切成一片片

Bio Sketch

Robert D. Wilson is Co-Owner of Simply Haiku.