Clear as a Bell
In a 2019 Sewanee Review essay, Mary Ruefle said that “No poetic form embodies the bell so much as the haiku. The haiku is the
most bell-like thing in language I know. Haiku simply strike the present
passing moment, stilling it in such a way that we pay attention.” The following bell poems,
except the last two, appeared in my essay, “Ringing the Bell: Learning Haiku
from Mary Ruefle.” a chime of bells across the snowy field— the horse’s breath Frogpond 18:4, Winter 1995 cathedral bells . . . the chestnut vendor’s steaming cart Shiki Internet Haiku Contest, 1997 Runner-Up; Sand Hill Review Vol. IV, Spring 2003 ringing church bell— moonlight dimmed by a gentle snowfall Geppo XXIX:5, September–October 2004 distant dinner bell— one more time through the labyrinth Matrix #107, Fall 2017 temple blossoms . . . the deep tones of wind bells Brussels Sprout 10:3, September 1993 noon rain syncopating church bells Cicada VI:3 (#20), July 1994 dinner bell— her husband comes as fast as the cat Ёrshik: Journal of Senryu and Kyoka, July 2013 distant church bells . . . a sparrow’s breath lost in the holly berries Frogpond 20:3, December 1997 temple bell the haijin’s tweed coat sprinkled with pine needles Modern Haiku XXI:3, Autumn 1990 + the old rope smooth in my hand— new year’s bell fading Clover: A Literary Rag #9, June 2015 |