Ink Sweat & Tears - the poetry & prose webzine

Well I don't expect anyone else to be working today, so here are a couple of haibun for the Christmas holiday season that I finished recently...

TWO HAIBUN FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
by Charles Christian

Shimmering in gold, two little angels – halos askew – frolic on a petrol station forecourt. It must be school nativity play time again. That, or the start of the Second Coming.

          deer moving cautiously in my garden –
          their bones remember the wolves

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Caught in the car headlights, an old man and his chubby dog out walking on a snowy Boxing Day afternoon. Over his shoulder, the old man carries a log. For the rest of the drive home, I keep a look out for King Wenceslas and his page.

          raucous cries in a twilit sky –
          rooks heading home to roost

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Monday, December 22

Feeling awkward - two poems by Bernardine Freud

by Charles Christian on Mon 22 Dec 2008 12:09 PM GMT

Awkward

eating, taken out to lunch
by someone I meet
for the first time,
someone I know I’ll like,
want to like me.
Eating with my pudding spoon,
chorizo, braised celery,
and things I don’t look at
long enough to recognise
because I’m staring at him
as if he can’t see me
examining his nose
and the exact fullness of lips.
He looks back at me,
napkin to mouth,
behind which he chokes
on a green bean.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Haiku Snap

Dad, fag stuck to lip,
green eyes, hard like bottle glass,
surrounded by us.

Mum, squinting against
the sun, print dress and cardi,
is feeling the cold.

My younger sister
squats, knees up and mouth open,
unkissed frog princess.

The sulky one, me,
cross legged, camera shy,
wills time to pass.

* Bernardine Freud is a working gardener, strangely fond of mud and rain and has a poem in next Smiths Knoll.

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Saturday, December 20

New haiga by Rachel Green

by Charles Christian on Sat 20 Dec 2008 08:21 AM GMT

* Regular IS&T contributor Rachel Green is a novel writer who will shortly become an novel author, but she starts every day with walking her dogs and writing poetry. Books of haiku available from www.leatherdyke.co.uk

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Thursday, December 18

New haibun by Mike Montreuil

by Charles Christian on Thu 18 Dec 2008 03:09 PM GMT

MEDICATION

I was a super spy last night, thwarting evil deeds from the seat of my Aston Martin. The night before, I was making love to the most beautiful woman in world; a person way too rich for my blood. Yes, I have vivid and unrealistic dreams when I'm on cold medication. Golly Gee! You should have seen me pitch my no-hitter the night before. It was a gem! Even Hank Aaron struck out! Now, I wonder what tonight will bring. Being a pirate ship captain would be cool. I always wanted to rape and pillage and die in the eye of a hurricane. And to think, I could come back as the archeologist who discovers my ship wreck.

Sudafed and Tylenol 3s
my bed drenched
from a harrowing experience

* Mike Montreuil is a regular IS&T contributor and sends greetings from "snowy Ottawa".

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Monday, December 15

Three haiku for winter by Lynette Shoup

by Charles Christian on Mon 15 Dec 2008 09:43 AM GMT

white winter
branded by new snow
snapping wind

fallen branches
glisten in the sun
winter wakes

ageless waters
in the breath of winter
wait for a chance

* Lynette Shoup says "In the past, my poetry has been recognized by the Massachusetts State Poetry Society and I have been published by Blue Mountain Arts. My poetry has recently been accepted for publication by the Cherry Blossom Review and Scifaikuest.

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Sunday, December 14

New haiga by Alexis Rotella

by Charles Christian on Sun 14 Dec 2008 09:36 AM GMT