Winter 2012 showcase

Dark Tree

Welcome to the Winter 2012 Showcase here at the zen space, in which we have forty or so pieces by eleven writers, all invitees, each with a slightly different eye. The boat which was pushed out into the river in Autumn has drifted downstream. Is there someone asleep in it? Is that a lost oar drifting astern or a limb from a tree? What will it pass as it continues to drift?

Suggested by the map which someone remembers used to hang on the wall of the boathouse, are a Showcase of speculative submissions – pieces sent in by people who have not been specifically invited – and a Showcase of haiga. For the first it is merely a case of asking whether readers have a piece or two, or three, or so that they think might float in the river. For the second we might be looking for a well-crafted canoe. Haiga may well be as difficult to define as haiku. You may feel strongly that yours should be created on paper, with the visual image and calligraphy executed in brush and ink, not necessarily detailing the same subject but the same moment of mono no aware. That’s fine. You may equally want to employ all the digital processing which is now available to us. That’s equally fine. I would only ask two things: firstly that you provide an image that will fit conveniently within the format of the zen space, and secondly that you don’t simply dig out an old haiku and find a pretty picture to go with it – a canoe like that may well sink.

Marie Marshall
editor
the zen space

 

__________

Joanna Ashwell

let it be
floating ahead
a simple feather
catches my eye

just for me
you point to a star
that weighs my breath

the cold touch
granite refuses to give
even for the darkening cloud

silver threads
betray the snail’s march
between the roses

__________

 

Peter Butler

sea horses
hurdling
coral

she sits
as the tide goes out
leaving
hemlines
on the shore

helping mum
up the steps
with the buggy
the child
offers his biscuit

heavy gardening
the expectant robin
arrives

__________

 

Amit Rao

glass window
rain water streaming down
like memories…

dark skies
tropical downpours
raindance…

rains in mumbai…
nights and weekends
business friendly city 😉

rimjhim rimjhim
relentless rain running riot
mumbai mellowed…

__________

 

Michael Dylan Welch

daylilies nodding –
the commuter train
sounds its horn

faint scent of plum –
the judge unfolds
the jury’s verdict

December flurries –
in the airplane magazine
a half-finished crossword

morning chill –
the bag of marbles
shifts on the shelf

__________

Niobe by the River

Rae L

On the nature trail
We walk into the mountains
And they, into us.

Cat singing back to
Migrating Canada geese
From the windowsill.

This is not about mourning
There are crows on the snowy roof across the street
My cat watches avidly.

I awaken to
A jam-jar of wildflowers
On the night-table.

__________

 

Graham Nunn

washing day
her nightgown reaches
for a dandelion

narrow path
a crow loosens
its throat

spring moon
between her teeth
the grape bursts

church bell
the ting
of unexpected thaw

__________

 

Humberto Gatica

her voice
drags a song
through the autumn rain

evening wind
swings the yellow
of the marigold

empty church
she lights a candle
with a shaking hand

with a friendly voice
a toddler talks
to the scarecrow

__________

 

Claire Everett

clear water
the stillness of reeds…
nag champa
rising on the wings of breath
this heron mind

now and then
between each breath
the sound
of a snowflake
upon the stream

this breath alone
leaf by leaf the maple
fills with sky

hint of cool…
the weight of a harvestman
in my palm

__________

 

Pansies

Frances Trosborg

crow crowing I eat seeds

 

snowdrops show
the start of a new
filing system

 

herring gulls their houses on our houses

 

a fisherman
checks his tackle
on the bus

__________

 

Bernadette Duncan

Highland river
at sunrise – the gold washer
unpacks his bowl

lime blossom tea
the little one starts
humming

walking past an amber the shell seekers

after a clear night
floating in the water butt
elderflower stars

__________

 

Vera Primorac

Under the street lamp
The snowflakes rush
Into the dark night

(haiku selected by Kōko Katō, Basho Festival Haiku Contest 2009)

on a deserted beach
the seagulls sipping
the silence of the night

(First prize – Kloštar Ivanić Haiku Contest 2008)

under an old cherry
tenderness touching
my palms

(Winning haiku – VCBF.CA/VCBF.CANADA, Honourable Mentions, 2011)

Sunday dinner
all chairs are vacant
except mine

__________

The next Showcase at the zen space will be Spring 2012 which will be released, subject to karma, on 1^st March 2012. All written pieces © the named authors. All images © Marie Taylor. No material from this Showcase or from the site to be used without permission.