Notes & Whatnot
July 23, 2022
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June 21, 2022
Recycling the cover of our 2020 CD with the addition of some rooster haiku.
The Homegrown String Band™
(AKA Rooster Rick & the Cacklin' Hens)
www.homegrownstringband.com
The Homegrown String Band™
(AKA Rooster Rick & the Cacklin' Hens)
www.homegrownstringband.com
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June 1, 2022
Honored to have a poem featured in "Haiku 2022" an anthology of 100 notable English language haiku published in 2021.
Edited by Scott Metz & Lee Gurga and published by Modern Haiku Press.
saying nothing
about everything
empty shells
about everything
empty shells
Autumn Moon Haiku Journal # 5:1, Autumn/Winter 2021-22
Modern Haiku Press - Haiku 2022
Modern Haiku Press - Haiku 2022
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April 23, 2022
March 2022 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest English Semifinalists.
Shukan New York Seiksu, April 2022
New York Seikatsu Press - 4/23/22
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April 19, 2022
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April 1, 2022
Grateful Friend
About thirty years ago, our family became members of The Religious Society of Friends. Sometime shortly after, while trying to describe the essence of a Quaker meeting to an old friend of mine, I compared the feeling of collective consciousness one hopes to attain during a silent meeting for worship, with the experience of a Grateful Dead concert, without the music . . . or the drugs.
One Sunday, a few weeks later, about halfway through meeting, my friend; and soon-to-be Friend, wheeled his bike into the room and took a seat.
One Sunday, a few weeks later, about halfway through meeting, my friend; and soon-to-be Friend, wheeled his bike into the room and took a seat.
squeaky wheel
a Friend arrives late
silence pauses
Failed Haiku # 76, April 2022
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March 15, 2022
a crowd gathers
around the middle of nowhere
Zoom meeting
Golden Haiku Contest Selection 2022
around the middle of nowhere
Zoom meeting
Golden Haiku Contest Selection 2022
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February 26, 2022
2022 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest January Semifinal Selections
Shukan New York Seiksu, February 2022
New York Seikatsu Press - 2/26/22
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December 1, 2021
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| photo by Annalee Jackofsky |
Asleep at the Wheel
Halfway through the story, I come to the conclusion that this author can't be trusted! He can't be trusted to leave me with the happy ending I’m looking for. As a matter of fact, he can’t be trusted to provide any kind of ending at all. Even so, I decide to press on, go along for the ride, just relax and enjoy the scenery; it is all about the journey, right? Later that night, I lie awake, wondering if the next chapter might reveal a clear path through the labyrinth of my dreams.
tinnitus—
a cricket harmonizes
with the ringing in my ears
a cricket harmonizes
with the ringing in my ears
Failed Haiku # 72, December 2021
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November 25, 2021
a garden gone to seed
butterflies stumble
in the autumn breeze
Semifinalist October 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
New York Seikatsu Press November 2021
butterflies stumble
in the autumn breeze
Semifinalist October 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
New York Seikatsu Press November 2021
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September 22, 2021
bent by the wind
an old salt trims his sails
in an empty bottle
Semifinalist September 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
an old salt trims his sails
in an empty bottle
Semifinalist September 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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August 28, 2021
climbing a mountain the color of the sun
Semifinalist July 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
Semifinalist July 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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July 25, 2021
tacking
into the wind
a black-backed gull
Semifinalist June 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
into the wind
a black-backed gull
Semifinalist June 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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July 1, 2021
looking up
We live in the woods; our old house rests under a canopy of maple and oak, sturdy trees that provide us with shade and a welcome respite from the summer heat. Unfortunately, for much of the year, their leafy crowns also block our view of the moon and stars. But sometimes, on a clear winter night, I step out under the leafless branches to catch a glimpse of the heavens above.
pissing
in the snow
stargazer
Failed Haiku # 67, July 2021
We live in the woods; our old house rests under a canopy of maple and oak, sturdy trees that provide us with shade and a welcome respite from the summer heat. Unfortunately, for much of the year, their leafy crowns also block our view of the moon and stars. But sometimes, on a clear winter night, I step out under the leafless branches to catch a glimpse of the heavens above.
pissing
in the snow
stargazer
Failed Haiku # 67, July 2021
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June 24, 2021
the cry of a loon
piercing the morning mist
a red canoe
piercing the morning mist
a red canoe
Semifinalist May 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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April 22, 2021
the gray area
between two seasons
woodsmoke
between two seasons
woodsmoke
Semifinalist March 2021 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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March 19. 2021
One of my poems has been selected, in the Golden Haiku Contest, to be one of approximately one hundred haiku that will be printed on placards and displayed around the Golden Triangle neighborhood of downtown Washington D.C. this spring.
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January 1, 2021
On December 12th I was honored to receive the third place award in the English category of the 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest. Domo Arigato!
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November 29, 2020
hanging basil
and canning tomatoes
what’s left of summer
and canning tomatoes
what’s left of summer
Semifinalist October 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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November 13, 2020
rods and cones
the reds and grays
of autumn days
the reds and grays
of autumn days
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October 25. 2020
summer lingers
in the cool evening air
a few fireflies
in the cool evening air
a few fireflies
Semifinalist September 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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October 6, 2020
Haibun
Haibun is a literary form originating in Japan and pioneered by the 17th-century haiku poet Matsuo Basho. This poetic form ties together a piece of prose and one or more haiku. Below is a haibun I wrote that was recently published in Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America. While Basho used haibun to chronicle his travels around Japan, in this piece, I fantasize about a different type of travel.
A Backspace in Time
Once again, my train of thought gets derailed by a steady stream of unconsciousness, bits and bytes of random and somewhat related data, taking me further and further away from myself. At times like this, I dream about going back in time; back to the days when rotary telephones and typewriters were state of the art technological wonders. Is there an app for that?
My DeLorean is in the shop, so I pull the plug and hop onto a 1954 Smith Corona Silent-Super. The rhythm of my analog digits dancing on Bakelite keys accompanied by the sound of typebars smacking into a fresh ribbon invokes visions of Kerouac and Ginsberg, bebop and scat; clickety-clack, I’m back on track.
ringing bells
and rattling bones
smith corona
Frogpond - vol. 43, #3 - Autumn 2020
smith corona
Frogpond - vol. 43, #3 - Autumn 2020
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October 1, 2020
Haiga
Haiga is a Japanese art form that combines an image with a haiku poem. Traditionally haiga featured Japanese-style brush painting and calligraphy, but over the years, the term has grown to include other types of media, including photography and digital images.
With a background in photography and haiku, it was a natural progression for me to start creating photographic haiga. My first published haiga appears in the October 2020 issue of failed haiku: A Journal of English Senryu. The is an image of a fungus with an oxymoronic name, gilled polypore, growing on an oak log, a piece of wood that remains unburned after an unseasonably warm winter and a short maple sugaring season.
Haiga is a Japanese art form that combines an image with a haiku poem. Traditionally haiga featured Japanese-style brush painting and calligraphy, but over the years, the term has grown to include other types of media, including photography and digital images.
With a background in photography and haiku, it was a natural progression for me to start creating photographic haiga. My first published haiga appears in the October 2020 issue of failed haiku: A Journal of English Senryu. The is an image of a fungus with an oxymoronic name, gilled polypore, growing on an oak log, a piece of wood that remains unburned after an unseasonably warm winter and a short maple sugaring season.
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September 28, 2020
heatwave—
the cricket's song interrupted
by a lovers' quarrel
Semifinalist August 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
the cricket's song interrupted
by a lovers' quarrel
Semifinalist August 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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September 7, 2020
A song I wrote and recorded Labor Day weekend 2012 for all the working people of America and around the world.
September 2, 2020
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Busy Bees
busybodies
spreading gossip
they call it news
spreading gossip
they call it news
Failed Haiku #57, September 2020
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August 22, 2020
fading light—
in the spider’s web
a firefly
July Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
in the spider’s web
a firefly
July Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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July 25, 2020
sandlot heroes the roar of cicadas
June Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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June 27, 2020
mother’s day—
a bouquet of flowers
in sixty-four colors
a bouquet of flowers
in sixty-four colors
May Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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May 14, 2020
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April 8, 2020
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March 28, 2020
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| Cabin fever in New York, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic |
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March 2020
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February 2020
New Year’s Day
a blanket of snow
covers our tracks
January Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
February 19, 2020 a blanket of snow
covers our tracks
January Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
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the cat watches
a squirrel watching me
tap a tree
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February 4, 2020
even the cat
sleeps late
a cloudy day
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January 27, 2020
bump ditty bump
ditty bump bump bump
banjo haiku
ditty bump bump bump
banjo haiku
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January 17, 2020
my new laptop a '58 rocket
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| Hermes Rocket |
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January 3, 2020
Congratulations!, Omedeto! to all the winners of the 2019 Ito En Haiku Grand Prix.
dandelions
fill the little girl’s poem
with wonder
fill the little girl’s poem
with wonder
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| New York Seikatsu Press January 1, 2020 |
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January 1, 2020
Happy New Year!
looking back
my twenty-twenty
hindsight
my twenty-twenty
hindsight
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December 13, 2019
Domo Arigato!
My wife and I attended the 2019 Ito En Art of Haiku Grand Prix awards ceremony at the Nippon Club in N.Y.C. where I received my third place award from Rona Tyson, Vice President of Ito En North America. Many thanks to the folks at Ito En, NewYork Seikatsu Press, and the Nippon Club for making the contest and wonderful awards ceremony possible.