Autumn 2011 showcase

'Invitation is my name' (c) Marie Taylor

Pushing the boat out.

With a gentle push the boat is propelled out into the river. It is only when the current takes it and begins to sweep it away that we realise that the boat is empty, we are on the shore, and we have been left behind. There is an impulse to run along the bank of the river after the boat, to grab a weighted line and throw it, or to take up a fallen branch from the tree and to reach for the boat, in an attempt to arrest its escape. Or there is an impulse to stand and to watch it out of sight, holding our breath until it has disappeared around that far bend.

However, one of us has spent his time looking instead at the river and remembering that, as I put it in one of my own poems recently, ‘she never looks at the same sky twice’.

This is the first showcase for new haiku and related poetry here at the zen space. In this autumn case we display words by an international cast of haijin – Johannes S H Bjerg, David Cobb, A D’Agio, Stella Pierides, Patricia Prime, Bill Ramsey, and Angie Werren – along with image by our to-be-regular artist Marie Taylor. Thanks to them you may catch glimpses of our boat, the river, the sky, or any combination of the three – each one writes in his or her own way.

Marie Marshall
editor
the zen space

_______________

David Cobb

lonesome scarecrow —
as I cross the stubble
he trips me up

my share of the snow
it weighs almost nothing
on top of my cap

the last leaf of all
it will be picked up
by hand

a shared winter
in the dog’s armpits
I warm my hands

yes, I say
to the blowsy yellow tulip,
yes, oh yes …

my foot in the bath
perhaps a mendicant’s
but not a buddha’s

some wasp-like creature
is sitting on my toe —
oh, for camouflage

churchyard beech
in the dead of night
I touch its buds

_________________

Patricia Prime

winter arthritis
my hot water bottle
grows cold

standing
beside the frozen lake
snow-capped sign

winter garden
is it flat-leafed parsley
or a weed?

afternoon shadows
I tie the toddler’s laces
with a double knot

percussion session
at the kindergarten
throb of a headache

winter’s not so bad –
a mug of hot chocolate
beside the fire

________________

Johannes S H Bjerg

a blank space –
cuddling the word ”fault”
I taste strawberry

'Bridge' (c) Marie Taylor

white poppies –
the still lake throws my face
back at me

even this –
a femur flute invaded
by ants

glass dolphin –
the Dinghy of Sighs floats
in a cathedral

mud altar –
a calendar marking each day
as spent

the earliest of mornings
Substance presents itself
as an apple

__________________

Angie Werren

circles in the water
she enters this room
unnoticed

summer pond
her body slipping
through the fog
I bookmark pages
with birthday photos

before sun appears
a soft call
the whistle of wing
water boils
I make tea

summer morning
there are two doors
one is open

mourning doves
this soft rain follows
the same path

________________

Stella Pierides

swaying branch—
the hummingbird here and not
here

after sitting–
crawling out of its skin
a snake

roller coaster ride–
I learn how to still
my heart

attention seeking–
the organ grinder
and the monkey

solstice–
the sun’s moment of
doubt

snow white–
stepping on my shadow
I lose the dream

________________

Bill Ramsey

     morning glories
especially at dawn
love people

     from one heart
grow hundreds of hates—
except this minnow

     trickling into grasses
the urine feeling for
its modest way

     i could have crushed
the garden snail—
but i was slow

     monk burning himself—
once he’s out of skin
he’s out of time

     leaves falling—
in each release
there is Buddha

_____________

A. D’Agio

just now
soon now
be just here

emerging blossoms
veiled by
doubt filled suspensions

when
stop
I
notice
the universe sighed

 chase not the stars
but wait…
the sunrise

lily pad to lily pad
hoping for a place
without a leak

oak- even you must have been an acorn once

______________

'Flood' (c) Marie Taylor

The next Showcase at the zen space will be the Winter 2012 which will be released (subject to karma) on 1st January 2012.

MM