Monday, May 1, 2017

Colorful Haiku

Welcome to the May 2017 issue of brass bell: a haiku journal.

This month's theme is Colorful Haiku.

Poems have been received from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, the U. K., Ukraine, and the United States


blue —
the sea saturated
with so much sky
    - Adjei Agyei-Baah

pathway a red sea of tulips
    - Adrian Bouter

a black book
on the wooden table
with dried flowers
    - Adrian Bouter

how green the peas
of spring
and of renewal
    - ai li

you call off your engagement
texting him
wearing yellow
    - ai li

in this house of emptiness
every piece of furniture
brown
    - ai li

photographing
a man photographing
a bright red sign
    - Alan Bern

blasting through red lights
in a shiny black SUV
late for the wake
    - Alan Bern

on the front windshield
eleven purple blossoms
on the back window three
    - Alan Bern

fence painting
a wish to be the green
of dragons
    - Alan Summers

spring skies
and a slide guitar
the purple tulips
    - Alan Summers

red roofs
four cats in love
full moon
    - Angela Giordano

young artist
tattooed body
purple hair
    - Angela Giordano

out in the garden
orange pumpkins
crows on wires
    - Angela Giordano

parrots and urchins screech over green mangoes
    - Angelee Deodhar

red light
gray birds drape
the power lines
    - Anna Cates

one green tomato
still clings to the vine
October drizzle
    - Anna Cates

the black sky
a flight of bats —
figs fall
    - Antonio Mangiameli 

grey sky
his answer
neither yes nor no
    - Aparna Pathak

train whistle
a blue jay
announces the cat
    - Barbara Kaufmann

cup of oolong
a goldfinch appears
in the haze
    - Barbara Kaufmann

blood-red moon
in the garden
a perfect pumpkin
    - Barbara Tate

rain
a white cat claws at
the screen
    - Barbara Tate

eulogy
a gray dove calls . . .
gets no answer
    - Barbara Tate

my mug sky blue
and hers lime green
. . . this steaming berry tea
    - Bill Waters

she pauses to twirl:
the little girl
in the raspberry dress
    - Bill Waters

like five sisters:
a row of orange maples
tall and strong
    - Bill Waters

in place of shrubs
I plant purple bell peppers
and red roses
    - Brenda Roberts

sorting stones
all the purple ones
are mine!
    - Brenda Roberts

rosemary
for remembrance
mom's plastic pink flamingo
    - Brenda Roberts

prussian blue
falling across the canvas
like blueberries
    - C. Robin Janning

heavy rainfall
my retriever
golden again
    - Carol Dilworth

winter compost
a range of browns
harbinger of plenty
    - Carol Dilworth

spring at last
a blue door opens
to sunlight
    - Caroline Skanne

spring break
a spot of red
in the bug hotel
    - Caroline Skanne

blue dusk
tracing the silhouette
of a song
    - Caroline Skanne

bone-deep
where the yellow pill
won't reach
    - Caroline Skanne

scarlet night
a bite of apple
in the nude
    - Celestine Nudanu

lemon sky
a tinge of bitterness
in mother's soup
    - Celestine Nudanu

neither here, nor there
a brown paper bag whipped
by the wind
    - Chen-ou Liu

unpacking brown cardboard boxes
too many . . .
gradually fewer
    - Cheryl Gallien

blushing bride
my red lipstick print
on her cheek
    - Christina Sng

vibrant scarves
swirl around her body
tangerine tango
    - Claire Vogel Camargo

uphill
an excuse to stop
red berries, yellow berries
    - Danny Blackwell

spring sun
the reddening of
his bald spot
    - Dave Read

sunset
a yellow rose
droops in the vase
    - Dave Read

vermillion too many poppies to count
    - David J. Kelly

forest fire the whole sky burnt sienna
    - David J. Kelly

clear blue sky
a student busy
counting clouds
    - Debbi Antebi

newly painted
on the park bench
a leaf turns blue
    - Debbi Antebi

pink tulips
taking the long way
home
    - Debbi Antebi

summer sunset
the orange glow stays
on my face
    - Debbi Antebi

balanced on the elephant's trunk a tangerine moon
    - Debbie Strange

lazy morning . . .
a ginger cat curls
into a sunbeam
    - Debbie Strange

sepia postcards
from around the world
autumn leaves
    - Debbie Strange

a row of red bindings
at the used book store
rocking chair
    - Deborah P Kolodji

childhood's end
a quilt block made from
her lavender dress
    - Deborah P Kolodji

her indentation
in the black leather couch
calico kitten
    - Deborah P Kolodji

mindful of the
lightness of meditation
periwinkle blue
    - Devin Harrison

illuminating trails
below the redwood canopy
pink sorrel
    - Devin Harrison

spring reveals
her new fashion line
a million greens
    - Dottie Piet

summer rumble
fists of gray clouds
lead the attack
    - Dottie Piet

cherry trees
beautiful evening
in pink japan
    - Ece Cehreli

after
the rainbow —
a pink moon
    - Emmanuel Jessie Kalusian

black clouds
the sky whispers
its bad mood
    - Eufemia Griffo

little maple tree
two inches high
even your three leaves are turning red
    - Frank Robinson

in the heel of the black sock a neat circle of pink skin
    - Glenn Ingersoll

graveyard —
wearing my black raincoat
once again
    - Goran Gatalica

spring pops up
against the blue sky
plums in pink
    - Hideo Suzuki

all at once
yellow flowers bloom . . .
summer break
    - Hideo Suzuki

pearls of dew
on this purple flower . . .
september ends
    - Hideo Suzuki

blue heron
the long line
at the drive-thru
    - Jennifer Hambrick

black widow spider
blood droplets
tattooed on her neck
    - Jennifer Hambrick

twining vines
shade mama's porch . . .
green beans
    - Jill Lange

white sky
white pines —
the falling snow
    - Jill Lange

a smoky-peach sunset
mother must be
painting
    - Jo Balistreri

in a barrel
of fallen leaves
one pink cosmos
    - Jo Balistreri

white clouds
strung across blue sky
ropes on which i hang my hopes
    - Joan Leotta

wind and crickets
whistling through
my blue truck
    - Joan McNerney

small red boots splatter big puddles
    - Joan McNerney

pink blossom scattered
on her grave
north wind
    - Joanna M. Weston

the sway of trees
in the wind
a yellow balloon
    - Joanna M. Weston

cloud of pale yellow
arbutus blossom —
dragonflies
    - Joanna M. Weston

honey bees
dipping into pollen
her crimson lipstick
    - John Hawkhead

winter sunlight
my father's photograph
fades to black and white
    - John Hawkhead

ebony jewelwing
were you once
plain?
    - Julie Warther

gray moon
forgetting
our wedding date
    - Justice Joseph Prah

white-lit runway
revealing snail's silver trail
thunderflashes
    - Justice Joseph Prah

time into time
the blackness of the well
counting far away stars
    - Justice Joseph Prah

little gray rabbits
the slippers she wore
on her last walk
    - Kath Abela Wilson

lost piece of sky
my mother always
wore blue
    - Kath Abela Wilson

we painted
our home with it
three shades of sunshine
    - Kath Abela Wilson

full spring moon rising
red lantern in the black sky
no one is talking
    - Katya Sabaroff Taylor

two writers are one
when they can't stop looking at
the white gardenia
    - Katya Sabaroff Taylor

red geranium
green watering can
so sure of themselves
    - Katya Sabaroff Taylor

a different white
envelope
on the snow
    - kjmunro

yellow plastic pail
left at the beach
another memory
    - kjmunro

harmattan
a tree shedding
its greenness
    - Kwaku Feni Adow

excessive pink rouge
dotting pale flesh
nursing home visit
    - Lance Robertson

yellow duckling
close to the ground
morning dew
    - Laughing waters

lilac pansies
behind the door
sudden kisses
    - Lucia Fontana

red oleander
the silence pierced
by croaking
    - Lucia Fontana

new housing estate
the monotony
of red tiled roofs
    - Madhuri Pillai

feverish —
orange slices
and an old book
    - Maria Laura Valente

jazz records —
this night my lines
are so blue
    - Maria Laura Valente

a white forepaw
gingerly
on fallen leaves
    - Mark E. Brager

blue monday . . .
in a pot on the window
green sprouts
    - Marta Chocilowska

white sky —
the empty space
for thoughts
    - Martha Magenta

bluebird song —
hiding in the grass
an iris
    - Martha Magenta

open daffodils —
a little girl twirls
her yellow dress
    - Martha Magenta

hint of yellow
teasing tips
forsythia
    - Marty Blue Waters

children now gone
no red wagon
to break the fog
    - Mary Kendall

flashes of azure wings
two bluebirds wake
the grey morning
    - Mary Kendall

Mardi Gras gold mask
cat and dogs don't
know me
    - Michael G. Smith

damned river flotsam
one red soccer ball stands out
among the rubbish
    - Mimi Foyle

among fallen vines
a pencil-thin yellow snake
arrests my footsteps
    - Mimi Foyle

wife's first gray hair I point it out a few times
    - Nicholas Klacsanzky

attic —
the ladybug loses
its red
    - Nicholas Klacsanzky

into a black hole
a sleepy brown bear drags
its shadow
    - Nina Kovacic (translation by Durda Vukelic Rozic)

heat wave
black dots fill
the flypaper
    - Olivier Schopfer

just as the traffic light
turns from red to green
my cell phone rings   
    - Olivier Schopfer

first frost
I follow the white clouds
of my breath
    - Olivier Schopfer

nightfall
the purple shamrock's petals
slowly closing
    - Olivier Schopfer

64 colors
the time it takes to pick
the first crayon
    - Pat Davis

today's lesson
the color of pasta
when it's done
    - Pat Davis

in passing . . .
waxwings exchange
red berries
    - Pat Geyer

overgrown path
filled with eastern red buds . . .
forest pansies
    - Pat Geyer

moving stealthily
through neighborhood backyards —
a dog or red fox
    - Pat Geyer

she bid me "come, see!" —
sun setting magenta gold
— eyes wider with dusk
    - Peter Ladley

lichens in design
gray splotches on forest stone
stars aging in place
    - Peter Ladley

my toni doll —
that same red dress
for sixty years
    - Pris Campbell

heavy rain . . .
green overtaking brown
in my father's garden
    - Pris Campbell

sleepless . . .
our cat stares back
at the black night
    - Pris Campbell

crossroad —
I slip the gold
from my finger
    - Pris Campbell

another year
again she wipes
her red eyes
    - Rachel Sutcliffe

first autumn alone 
the yellowing pages 
of her diary
    - Rachel Sutcliffe

white flakes
on red mittens
her first snow
    - Rachel Sutcliffe

midday sun
packing oranges
for the picnic
    - Rachel Sutcliffe

at day's end
the highest balloon —
yellow, blue, or red?
    - Ron Scully

you cannot unscent
red filling the sunroom
so amaryllis
    - Ron Scully

painter's palette
teal, cerulean, azure
no match to this sea
    - Ron Scully

spring day
even my cat's eyes
are greener
    - Rosa Clement

peace parade
white balloons invisible
in the clouds
    - Rosa Clement

twilight
an egret stands alone
turning pink
    - Sandi Pray

in the woods
the sound of
red berries
    - Sandi Pray

crunch-crunch-crunch
a red-winged blackbird stops
and I do too
    - Scott Wiggerman

drooping fruit
of prickly pears
maroon sunset
    - Scott Wiggerman

yellow stripes
run the caterpillar's length
the road ahead
    - Scott Wiggerman

first kiss . . .
my white dish
breaks
    - Shedrach Ugwu

mother's emerald ring reflections in green light
    - Simon Hanson

midnight silver
the desert pool
filled with stars
    - Simon Hanson

garden path
highlights of the moon
on black satin
    - Simon Hanson

under the bed
slouching indifferently
one lone purple sock
    - Stacey Crawford Murphy

crystal clear raindrop
borrows yellow
from a daffodil
    - Sue Norvell

purple bruise
remembering
the "youch!"
    - Sue Norvell

turmeric moon
on every page of ma's cookbook
a smear of gold
    - Sanjuktaa Asopa

crunch of red leaves . . .
the bickering continues
into the walk
    - Sanjuktaa Asopa

chalked upon the sidewalk
the name "macbeth" —
a black ant marches across
    - Stephen Page

high above the weeds
closer to the sun, white
yucca plant flowers
    - Stephen Page

a psychic's shop
black door ajar —
tell me something I don't know
    - Tara Kane

violet, lavender
and lilac dance together
on her skirt
    - Theresa A. Cancro

monarchs
perched in firs
dreaming yellow
    - Theresa A. Cancro

sliding into spring
a paprika sunset
stains the horizon
    - Theresa A. Cancro
   
on the ground
her golden hair
shorn
    - Tia Haynes

the rumpled
white linen
of my wedding night
    -Tia Haynes

pink
the triangle
she wore
    - Tia Haynes

crimson sunset
what you've said
what I've said
    - Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

spicing things up
one side of the room
painted orange
    - Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

one yellow sock
one blue
whatever    —    no one looks
    - Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

yellow bingo lights
we count meteors
over the pier
    - Tim Gardiner

a warming oven
black bananas
in the yellow bowl
    - Tricia Knoll

three gold pins pulled
from the cotton doll
spring cherry blossoms
    - Tricia Knoll

black ink on her thumb
the freelancer's
blotted safety net
    - Tricia Knoll

gray skies
at the zoo —
blue frogs
    - Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

buds on branches —
two blue jays
trading places
    - Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

filling the heart day after day white butterflies
    - Vibeke Laier

golden leaves rustling hedgehog dreams
    - Vibeke Laier

cherry tree
a pink petal lands
on my nose
    - Violet Akalu-Skanne

spring boot fair i buy a green polka dot dress
    - Violet Akalu-Skanne

playing field
i pick a buttercup
for my teacher
    - Violet Akalu-Skanne

my brother's smile reflected in a red balloon
    - Violet Akalu-Skanne

i loved to trace them —
thick blue veins
on grandma's hands
    - Zee Zahava

cardinals
visiting the tulips
red on red on red on red
    - Zee Zahava

new blue sneakers
with lime-green laces . . .
more zip in my springtime walk
    - Zee Zahava

first date —
over wildflower bouquet
her blue eyes
    - Zuzanna Truchlewska