Brocade of Leaves

The Haiku North America conference took place at the Dalton School in New York City in 2003. From the introduction: “We know from experience—or at least from a dictionary—that a brocade is a rich silk fabric, often Oriental, with gold and silver patterns. In this book, we are presented with a vibrant brocade of voices, haiku and senryu serving as the gold and silver. These poems spring not just from the Orient, where haiku began, but from poetry weavers from across the United States and Canada, as well as other countries. And this brocade . . . is not just a brocade of silk, but a brocade of leaves, reminding us that nature is central to haiku and related genres of poetry.” The following are sixteen sample poems from the book. See also the Press Here page for this book.

circling Ground Zero

a ring of sequoias

but then I wake up

                Brenda J. Gannam

                Brooklyn, New York

late for work . . .

the cat’s muddy paw print

on my collar

                Brian Tasker

                Frome, Somerset, England

heavy snowfall

the Brooklyn Bridge

cancelled

                Bruce Kennedy

                Brooklyn, New York

another autumn

the tailor shop I wrote about

is gone

                Cor van den Heuvel

                New York, New York

above the park wall

the flags of a parade

going past

                Doris Heitmeyer

                New York, New York

apple pie

what more needs to be said

about my childhood

                Jerry Kilbride

                Sacramento, California

late      to watch the deciding game

   the full moon

                Marshall Hryciuk

                Toronto, Ontario

spring thaw—

the old scarecrow

a little taller

                Michael Dylan Welch

                Sammamish, Washington

brocade of leaves . . .

a monk sweeps a path

for the guests

                Pamela A. Babusci

                Rochester, New York

the wee hours

a quartered apple

browns

                Pamela Miller Ness

                New York, New York

old punk song . . .

I pump my fist

in the gardening glove

                Paul Pfleuger, Jr.

                Brooklyn, New York

The cliff’s dirt edge

       An eroded

sense of self

                Regina Weinreich

                New York, New York

old jazz record—

a scratch

              improvises

                Stanford M. Forrester

                Wethersfield, Connecticut

chrysalis

       the old-timer’s

       rapt attention

                Tom Painting

                Rochester, New York

spring rain

rereading my own book

I fall asleep

                William J. Higginson

                Summit, New Jersey

confluence

a marsh reed sways

with a blackbird

                Yu Chang

                Schenectady, New York