August - October 2024
leaf confetti
a child's face daubed
with mud
corn snow
squirrels talking smack
outside the window
the house
where we were born . . .
bull thistles
circling hawks
the earth tilts
on its axis
Autumn Challenge Kigo: Milky Way, amanogawa
sea shanties
the Milky Way snagged
in our rigging
Honoured to know that "leaf confetti" and "circling hawks" were included among Dojin Hiroyuki Murakami's favourites!
Also honoured that "circling hawks" was chosen for commentary in the subsequent issue:
Dojin's Corner:
This haiku reminds me of the famous haiku by Japanese poet Ueda Gosengoku (1933-1997), migrating birds / I became smaller / instantly." The author's mind must be in harmony with the hawks in the sky to create a haiku from this perspective. Magnificent and free, it is an excellent haiku that shows empathy for animals.
—Hiroyuki Murakami
I think the poet is seeing earth from the hawk's point of view. They have risen so high they can see the earth's tilt!
—Patricia J. Machmiller
The haiku reveals the fact that hawks are responsible for the earth circling on its axis.
—Emiko Miyashita
I was also thrilled to know that Janice Doppler included the following haiku in her article "Pondering Zōka". This haiku was also selected for her book "One Thread: Zōka in Contemporary Haiku (2024):
peat fire
the scent markings
of other worlds
Frogpond 46:3 (2023)
