Editor's bride
/ wedding Thread Choices
Pledging their
Troth
June is the most
popular month for weddings in the USA. 80 percent of American
weddings are performed in churches or synagogues and 99 percent
of the newlyweds take a honeymoon which lasts from seven to nine
days—the
most popular destinations are Las Vegas, Hawaii, the Caribbean,
and Jamaica. Las Vegas, Nevada is the second most popular
wedding city in the world with 114,000 weddings; the top wedding
city in the world is Istanbul, Turkey with 166,000 in 2007.
For the June
Sketchbook bride / wedding kukai, twenty-one poets from
nine countries—Israel,
India, Japan, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Trinidad, United
Kingdom and the United States—wrote 106 haiku.
One group of haiku
are notable for their humorous views about weddings. These
interesting senryu provide insight concerning human foibles—they
are darkly humorous and sometimes serious:
who is the father
of the bride
3 guys stand up
# 35. Ed Baker, US
my old garage
a brass nut replaces
the wedding ring
# 24. Jacek Margolak, PL
the ominous click
of a best man's pistol
shotgun wedding
# 18. John Stone, US
radiant
in her white gown:
a pregnant bride
# 75. Keith A. Simmonds, TT
full moon
in a white dress
Some Virgin!
# 39. Ed Baker, US
wedding night
trying to think of something else
to do
# 27. Bill Kenney, US
wedding day
her father and his father
agree on something
# 19. Bill Kenney, US
groom's happiness
a bride with nose ring & dowry—
for life
# 87. Manu Kant, IN
in her white
dress
my x
walking down the isle
# 29. Ed Baker, US
third wedding
her gown retired
for shades of grey
# 22. John Stone, US
gay wedding
his father gave him away
long ago
# 09. Bill Kenney, US
back-to-back-weddings—
getting in the wrong limo
june bug
# 108. Karina Klesko, US
Another group of haiku deserving
recognition are more serious and traditional in nature. These
haiku demonstrate the broad appeal of weddings in society—they
reflect an array of values, traditions, and cultures:
future dreams:
little girls
playing in their doll house—
wedding dreams
# 64. Keith A. Simmonds, TT
creating the perfect
setting:
hanayomo o
matsu umi no mado
tsubo no yuri
waiting for a bride
the ocean-front window
white lilies in a vase
# 37. eiko yachimoto, JP
the romance of
moonlight:
Wedding season—
even the moon is wearing
a white bride veil
# 71. Vasile Moldovan, RO
the exotic location:
wisps of fog
veil the wild roses
seaside wedding
# 103. Catherine J. S. Lee, US
the traditions of
bells and marches at weddings:
church bells
pealing
friends and onlookers gather:
here comes the bride
# 68. Keith A. Simmonds, TT
the wedding veil:
a veiled bride—
saturday afternoon
nuptuals
# 06. Gillena Cox, TT
age is no barrier:
Both sixty
and soon to be married—
their playfulness!
# 59. Zhanna P. Rader, US
the second time
around:
Her second
wedding—
this time the dress
is pink.
# 31. Zhanna P. Rader, US
the joy of the
occassion:
he lifts her
veil—
the radiance of
his bride's face
# 15. Gillena Cox, TT
guests join in the
celebration:
"green" wedding
the guests throw birdseed
instead of rice
# 89. Catherine J. S. Lee, US
another wedding
a pack of pigeons waits
for the rice shower
# 04. Rafal Zabratynski, PL
sometimes weddings
take place in unusual locations:
wedding day
guests cramped
in the bomb- shelter
# 61. Tanya Dikova, IL
the circumstances of
life intervene:
honeymoon cut
short—
the bride trades resort wear
for desert fatigues
# 101. Catherine J. S. Lee, US
at peace with the
world—
war bride holding a baby
says 'Goodbye' with Hope
# 07. Daniela Bullas, UK
the harshness of the
season does not hinder the event:
Late autumn—
even the bride's flowers
have withered
# 96. Constantin Stroe, RO
the sorrow of a
unsuccessful suitor:
her wedding day
one man stays home
crying silent tears
# 110. John Tiong Chunghoo
even creatures in
the natural world seem to participate:
arctic fox
dressed all in white—
the ice-queen takes a mate
# 53. Kristin Reynolds, US
We all treasure
wedding remembrances:
The old picture
album
grandma's wedding gown
shows like new
# 100. Constantin Stroe, RO
Among the haiku
submitted throughout the month, these haiku by Zhanna P. Rader,
although sent independently, and arranged randomly, suggested a
sequence of the entire marriage processes. I have taken the
liberty to give them a title and arrange them in a sequence.
I Thee, Wed
Zhanna P.
Rader, US
At
seventy five,
his chance to marry
his sixth-grade love. |
# 57. |
A
garden wedding—
the veil hides the bride's
tears of happiness.
|
# 78.
|
|
A bachelor
puts the garter on the bride—
a shapely leg...
|
# 72. |
In the
bride's hair—
in the groom's buttonhole—
cherry blossoms.
|
# 74.
|
So
lovely, the bride—
the old ladies' eyes
well up with tears.
|
# 55.
|
|
Red against
white—
the little roses
in the bride's hands.
|
# 70.
|
The
wedding ceremony:
he marries his love,
tears in his eyes.
|
# 66.
|
|
Unveiled and
kissed—
the new bride's smile,
reflected in each face.
|
# 79 |
The
bride's bouquet,
caught by a twelve-year-old—
a merry laughter. |
#
49. |
