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Celebrations
The dog days of
summer have passed. In the pleasant cooler weather there is
now no excuse to dawdle and malinger—it
is time to get on with choosing haiku that for one reason or
other struck my fall fancy. Quite diligently eleven poets
have contributed ninety-nine colorful leaflets to titillate my
palate. As requested the poets have regaled the editors with
their colorful haiku descriptions of
Autumn Colors:
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first leaf
of fall...
color spirals
# 84. shanna baldwin moore, US
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The brevity of
this minimal haiku draws my attention to the welcome change of
season. The ellipsis at the end of line two imitates the
actions of the leaves as they begin to fall from the trees in
"spirals", tumbling, and turning on the wind currents. The
simplicity of statement is highly appealing—it
effectively invites me to the fall soiree.
Wren's boisterous song—
in the roses, the radiance
of autumn light.
# 46. Zhanna P.
Rader,
US
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Similarly, the
sound of the wren's song and that special autumn light among
the still blooming summer roses is captured here with finesse.
Appealing to both the senses of sound and sight have merit and
are skillfully used here to create a memorable haiku that
aptly captures some essences of the fall season.
everywhere i look
bright colors erupt
winter coats
# 59. Bryan Bridges, US
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One facet of
life in climates where there are four seasons is the dramatic
temperature change that takes place. In this haiku we are
reminded that along with the colorful displays comes the
seasonal heads up notice that winter and cold temperatures are
fast approaching. The first two lines portray a colorful scene
with simple language. Especially effective is the verb "erupt"
because it imitates the suddenness with which these changes
take place; line three, "winter coats" is a fine juxtaposition
with the first two lines of the haiku, establishing the
dichotomies of seasons.
gold and scarlet leaves
frame skies of robin-egg blue—
her stormy gray eyes
# 31. Michael Kleiza, CA
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Into every life
some rain must fall—
This intriguing haiku is a marvel of ambiguity. Lines
one and two are simple and straightforward descriptions of
familiar environmental details. Likewise, line three depicts
commonplace details. But this simple language is mischievously
misleading. What is the meaning of "her"? Does "her"
refer to the possibility of stormy weather or is it a metaphor
for the human element—a member of the opposite sex—a woman
being involved in a life relationship? Nothing in the
haiku reveals the writer's exact meaning and it is this ambiguity
that is most appealing.
the crush
of ochre leaves
our first kiss
# 10 Trish Shields, CA
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One of the
delights in life is the quality time spent with another human
being. Just imagine—a pleasant walk through the fall landscape
with the person you admire, trust, and love. Listen to the
crunch of the crisp leaves—smell the odor of decay and
change—and then quite without knowing how it happens—the first
kiss. In this haiku the suggestive language invites us to
listen and to smell the surroundings—and then quite suddenly,
the tactile, sensuous "first kiss". The strong use of
senses—sound, smell, and touch combine in simple language to
portray a memorable momment.
Alone on the bench—
one by one, the maple leaves
join me.
# 62. Zhanna P.
Rader,
US
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Solitary moments
alone with nature are rare enough in life, but they do happen.
This haiku celebrates such a moment. Lines one and two set the
autumn scene, and then, using a turn in line three, we find
the leaves have suddenly become human-like and joined the
observer in the haiku. The "maple leaves" suddenly have the
persona of a human being. This subtle personification of the
leaves is barely noticeable. In the scene a sadness and pathos
emerges. The leaves are at the end of their cycle of life—they
have filled their purpose and now will decay. But for one
brief moment they lend comfort to a human. As an onlooker
viewing the scene the reader senses the similarity between the
life of the leaf and the life of the human—both are undergoing
the inevitable change of the life cycle. For these brief
moments the mutuality of their lives stand in sharp contrast
and they are found to be strikingly similar in their
"aloneness". Once again, the writer has used the juxtaposition
of two seemingly unrelated objects to make a statement about
existence.
the
gray lake reflects
orange and red staghorn sumac—
clouds backlit by sunset
# 64. Michael Kleiza, CA
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The captured
moment in this haiku is memorable for the celebration of
nature colors—a gray lake, orange and red staghorn sumac, and
clouds turning multiple colors at sunset. The haiku writer
deftly selects visual details that resonate with a reader,
evoking their own moment of natural beauty. Here, the visual
elements recorded in the haiku have depth and evoke similar
personal experiences in a reader.
Autumn light
in a forest clearing
a deer
# 67. Zhanna P. Rader, US
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Double the
pleasure! In this simply stated haiku the second line
functions as a pivot line providing the writer with the unique
opportunity to give the reader two haiku experiences in a
single verse. The first experience is "Autumn light / in
a forest clearing"; the second encounter is "in a forest
clearing / a deer". This haiku is a savoir faire of delight
and economy
Northern wind—
the peach bucket fills
with red leaves.
# 70. Zhanna P.
Rader, US
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Celebrating the
harvest in the fall after a crop has been nurtured
through the growing season is man's acknowledgment of his own
skills of husbandry as well as offering praise in the form of
"thanksgiving" to a higher power. In this haiku two opposing
images say it simply, implying much more than offered in the
surface details. As seasons inevitably change it is the
chill of the North wind that signals the shift. In this
simple scene the bucket used in harvesting peaches has been
left behind and nature now fills it with the remnants of the
harvest—the leaves from the trees. The natural cycle is
complete—the cycle of decay and return to the earth has
started and we implicitly know that the cycle will move
forward in the continuum of time. Growth and decay are
deeply imbedded in the simple language and images of this
haiku.
windswept—
enjoying the autumn leaves
in my neighbor's yard
# 77. Karina Klesko, US
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Levity! Humor! The
simple smiles of pleasure in the midst of the mundane elements
of life. With the breath of a "windswept" breeze readers are
reminded of the "mess" left behind when the autumn leaves begin
to fall. The understated pleasure of seeing that debris in
"my neighbor's yard" and not on "my" property is indeed
beautiful experience to behold. The subtleness of wry
humor provides the reader with a bit of joy in the colorful
beauty that he can enjoy without later expending his own
personal physical effort. This haiku skillfully combines
understatement with the juxtaposition of images providing a
happy moment in our life.
Pumpkin Lips
coloring my thinking
p u c k e r - u p !
# 20. Ed Baker, US
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...And so
farewell. With a kiss I take leave! The pumpkin is the
quintessential symbol of the harvest season. Here, the lips,
"puckered-up", visually echo the shape and color of the season
in a lighthearted and joyful gesture.
Taken together
these haiku also make a pretty darn good haiku sequence that
captures some of the essences of "Autumn Colors". As a
lyrical reprise read these haiku in an editorial arrangement
celebrating the harvest season.
Autumn
Colors
A Haiku
Sequence Celebrating the Harvest Season
first leaf
of fall...
color spirals /sbm
Wren's
boisterous song—
in the roses, the radiance
of autumn light. /zpr
everywhere
i look
bright colors erupt
winter coats /bb
gold and
scarlet leaves
frame skies of robin-egg blue—
her stormy gray eyes /mk
the
crush
of ochre leaves
our first kiss /ts
Alone
on the bench—
one by one, the maple leaves
join me. /zpr
the
gray lake reflects
orange and red staghorn sumac—
clouds backlit by sunset /mk
Autumn
light
in a forest clearing
a deer /zpr
Northern
wind—
the peach bucket fills
with red leaves. /zpr
windswept—
enjoying the autumn leaves
in my neighbor's yard /kk
Pumpkin Lips
coloring my thinking
p u c k e r - u p ! /eb
Authors
bb
Bryan
Bridges, US
eb
Ed Baker, US
kk
Karina
Klesko,
US
mk
Michael Kleiza, CA
sbm Shanna Baldwin Moore, US
ts
Trish
Shields, CA
zpr
Zhanna P.
Rader,
US
John
Daleiden, Sketchbook editor
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