Leaf 199 – Reflections
.jpg) |
| Aiwa Katsushi - Sunflowers |
Plants and flowers seem to live
in accord to a different pace of time to us, but, every now and then, we maybe
get a glimpse of the world as they perhaps seem to see it.
Petal heads rotate,
gently hypnotized
to the horizon.
.jpg) |
| Ohtsu Kazuyuki - Summer Sunflowers (2012) |
This poem was originally posted on Bluesky in response to a #haikufeels writing prompt: 'rotate.'
Leaf 198 – Senryu (or witty, tom-foolery)
I wrote this little poem purely
for my own (and, undoubtedly, very English) sense of amusement …
On his way to the village fête,
the curate’s bicycle wheel
– buckled.
Photograph source: WPFastestCache
Leaf 197 – Looking Back
.jpg) |
| Edith & Rowland Hilder - Tansy and Chicory (Wild Flowers, 1957) |
This is a poem from the
sweltering hot summer of 2003 – written when I was living in rural
Bedfordshire.
Looking from the window,
that small white cottage
on the horizon,
she says
– was once her home.
Leaf 196 – Looking Back
.png) |
| Philip Townsend - No.73 Bus, London (c.1960s) |
During the late ‘90s and early
2000s, I lived in London’s Stoke Newington. I used to love travelling in and
out of town each day on my way to and from work on the old red Routemaster
buses (see also, Leaf 32).
Moist breath
on the windowpane
– early morning bus.
Leaf 195 – Senryu (or witty,
tom-foolery)
.jpg) |
| Ethan James Green - Kate Moss wearing Vivienne Westwood for Dazed Magazine (2016) |
If you can’t be good, then you
best be bad … Happy Halloween, Daahlings!
A black ant –
emerges from the eye
of a Jack o’ lantern.
Jack o' lantern image credit: Unsplash
Leaf 194 – Looking Back
 |
| Kawase Hasui - Night at the Pond Edge [Shinobazu Pond] (1932) |
I wrote this haiku during my
first trip to Japan in October 2003. The accompanying shin-hanga prints by Kawase Hasui and
Tsuchiya Koitsu, both from the 1930s, capture the scene almost exactly as I remember it, only the
trees weren’t yet quite so bare of their leaves.
Moon over Shinobazu Pond
– cicadascicadascicadas!
.jpg) |
| Tsuchiya Koitsu - Ueno Park [Shinobazu Pond] (1935) |
Leaf 193 – Looking Back
.JPG) |
| Tim Chamberlain - Malta Sunset (October 2014) |
Following on from Leaf 192, I
think this haiku captures a sentiment which most people will be able to relate
to. I wrote it with a particular time and place in mind. The place was the
island of Malta, which is steeped in history. Having just completed my Masters
degree in 2014, I rewarded myself by spending a week travelling solo, exploring
historical sites connected to the island’s prehistoric, medieval, and Second
World War eras. I had a fantastic and fascinating time, so much so that on my
last night there I sat on the cliffs overlooking the sea, watching the sunset –
which I photographed (see above), while very much wishing I didn’t have to go
home.
Different sigh,
last sunset
of the holiday.