Into Our Words

Michael Dylan Welch and Grant D. Savage, editors. Peter Vernon Quenter, artwork. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2009, 40 pages, 90 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-30-5.

 

The 2009 Haiku North America conference took place at the National Library of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario (equivalent to the Library of Congress in the United States). This was the second time that the conference had been in Canada, and was also the tenth conference in the biennial series (started in 1991). Some words from the introduction: “No one was ever more in his element at Haiku North America conferences than William J. Higginson. Always the quintessential haiku poet, scholar, enthusiast, advocate, translator, and critic, Bill found such a stimulating and inspiring outlet for his passions and talents at this conference that he surely wished Haiku North America happened multiple times every year instead of just once every two years. He was, too, the only person who had been to all nine conferences since it began in 1991. When he passed away in October of 2008, Bill left a gaping void not just in Haiku North America, but in the entire haiku community worldwide. It is therefore fitting that we dedicate this tenth HNA anthology, Into Our Words, to William J. Higginson.” You can also read the entire introduction. Here are thirty-four sample poems from the anthology, including one translation and several bilingual versions.

 

 

        mise en abîme

mes seuls cheveux blancs

   dans tous les miroirs

 

     my hair white

 reflected infinitely

between the mirrors

 

                André Duhaime

                Gatineau, Québec

 

 

first snowman—

a toddler’s breath

on the windowpane

 

                Carmen Sterba

                University Place, Washington

 

 

Milky Way

his reluctance

to hold my hand

 

                Carolyn Hall

                San Francisco, California

 

 

sunflower field

all the windmills

face the same way

 

                Charles Trumbull

                Santa Fe, New Mexico

 

 

in this gentle rain

aquilegia

pinking the garden

 

                Claudia Coutu Radmore

                Carleton Place, Ontario

 

 

words unspoken—

smoke hovers round the mouth

of the volcano

 

                David Burleigh

                Tokyo, Japan

 

 

matilija poppies

the appliance repairman

comes the wrong day

 

                Deborah P Kolodji

                Temple City, California

 

 

御仏の御鼻の先へつらら哉

mihotoke no mihana no saki e tsurara kana

 

                Issa

 

Buddha on the moor,

At the tip of his nose

Hangs an icicle.

 

                Dennis Maloney, translation

                Lake View, New York

 

 

heat wave—

the cow’s udder

hangs in the pond

 

                DeVar Dahl

                Magrath, Alberta

 

 

mid-meeting the pressure released from a soda can

 

                Eve Luckring

                Los Angeles, California

 

 

hillside peas

did I ever wish

to be a man?

 

                Fay Aoyagi

                San Francisco, California

 

 

      trees growing

out of rock

      I give in to him

 

                Francine Banwarth

                Dubuque, Iowa

 

 

The merry-go-round

turns a few more times

as they walk away

 

                Garry Gay

                Windsor, California

 

 

setting sun—

the mountain’s shadow creeps

   into our words

 

                Gary Hotham

                Scaggsville, Maryland

 

 

moonlit pool

from the silence

a waterfall

 

                Grant D. Savage

                Ottawa, Ontario

 

 

                                    fresh asparagus

                  up from the urinal

farmer’s market

 

                Guy Simser

                Kanata, Ontario

 

 

biodôme

devant la toilette des dames

querelle d’oiseaux

 

biodome

outside the ladies’ washroom

two birds fighting

 

                Jessica Tremblay

                Burnaby, British Columbia

 

 

          those of money

        and those of rags

their sandals in a single pile

 

                John Brandi

                El Rito, New Mexico

 

 

summer solstice

a note beyond

the singer’s range

 

                John Stevenson

                Nassau, New York

 

 

no path goes there

wild orchid

 

                Karen Sohne

                Toronto, Ontario

 

 

on paper

the tree hugger’s

agenda

 

                LeRoy Gorman

                Napanee, Ontario

 

 

the boat

at the very end of the wharf—

and two moons

 

                Luce Pelletier

                St-Basile-le-Grand, Québec

 

 

second honeymoon

taking pictures

of each other

 

                Marco Fraticelli

                Pointe Claire, Québec

 

 

my voice begins

further down in my throat

visiting home

 

                Marilyn Hazelton

                Allentown, Pennsylvania

 

 

Valentine’s Day—

a few clicks

of the swans’ beaks

 

                Michael Dylan Welch

                Sammamish, Washington

 

 

news of Hubble—

slicing a pear

for its stars

 

                Michele Root-Bernstein

                East Lansing, Michigan

 

 

pluie chaude d’été

nous ralentissons le pas

vers la maison

 

hot summer rain

we slow down our walk

home

 

                Micheline Beaudry

                Boucherville, Québec

 

 

a prism

  in my eyelash

morning snowfall

 

                Mike Rehling

                Livonia, Michigan

 

 

into the darkness

the whisper

of silver grass

 

                Patricia Donegan

                Evanston, Illinois

 

 

one of the road crew

resting his eyes

spring meadow

 

                paul m.

                Bristol, Rhode Island

 

 

last light

the wing-whistle

of mourning doves

 

                Paul MacNeil

                Ocala, Florida

 

 

train whistle—

I remember the warmth

of your hand

 

                Penny Harter

                Mays Landing, New Jersey

 

 

rising mercury

our jogging circuit

                 all uphill

 

                Scott Mason

                Chappaqua, New York

 

 

Canada Day heat wave

the dancer takes off

her earrings

 

                Terry Ann Carter

                Ottawa, Ontario