2012—A Haiku Odyssey

One hundred haiku;

Seventeen-hundred syllables;

Stones to ford the Styx.

A gap in the clouds;

Luring buds to bloom again;

The return of Spring.

1

Missing from the breeze;

The kiss of the North Country;

A stab in the heart.

2

End of a tunnel;

Gloom becomes light becomes warmth;

Your smile and your breast.

3

Shadow in your eyes;

Shying at the stable door;

Scared of straw and peace.

4

Lip-red, blood-red bus;

Chariot and prison cell;

Kiss me soon my love.

5

Smouldering nighttime fire;

Quenched by love and happiness;

Embers of desire.

6

Fortunes rise and fall;

Natural and graphical;

Outline of the hills.

7

Summer promises;

Hillside heather, golden gorse;

Sunlight on your breast.

8

Summer promises;

Breakers crashing on the shore;

Ice-tipped solitude.

9

A beat of your heart;

Lightning strike from cloud to earth;

A beat of my heart.

10

Reflection of the stars;

Færies dancing out of reach;

The perfect sword stroke.

11

The delight of Færie;

Just beyond the ken of Man;

Catch me if you can...

12

Delight in failure;

The same clouds, the same sunshine;

Pleasure in success.

13

Luminescent disc;

Mystical and magical;

Stabbing through the pines.

14

Pleading skyward eyes;

Harbinger of summer warmth;

The swallow's return.

15

Ramshackle garden;

Consequences of neglect;

Will love bloom again?

16

Sapling in each hand;

Both demanding my surrender;

Who will take me first?

17

Flower that you brought;

Sprinkled dewdrops on my breast;

Taste my gratitude.

18

Cancer in April…

Jewel missing in the crown;

A daughter’s love lost.

19

Oasis of love;

Storytelling round the fire;

The screech of an owl.

20

Island and beacon;

Splash of rain stains parched grey ash;

Phœnix rise again!

21

Mottled clumps of snow;

Tissues lying by the bed;

Pools of melted love.

22

Seeds that sprout nightmares;

Ivy climbs my rose trelis;

Infidelity.

23

The orchid’s strange allure;

Primitive and decadent;

Madonna and whore.

24

Your cold, stony face;

Hardness, wetness, roles reversed;

Penetrate my tears.

25

Executioner;

Scribe my crime upon my heart;

With pen or with sword.

26

Call of the chaffinch;

Timpani roll and thunder;

Oblation of larks.

27

The point that you touch;

Attack, caress—an interface;

So shall I respond.

28

Life in harmony;

Melodic and discordant;

Shönberg and Bach.

29

Promotion ahead;

By sepulchre Jesus wept;

Fear of ascension.

30

Renaissance unfold;

Man’s achievements limited;

The demise of faith.

31

A perfect pleasure;

Neither too great nor too small;

Lucifer's revenge.

32

Germinal darkness;

Of celestial chaos born;

Love at last declared.

33

Your gentle caress;

My vainglorious empty angst;

The poppy's petals.

34

Yesterday’s embrace;

Shoe on a bus shelter roof;

A lost memory.

35

Early evening rain;

Washing, cleansing, nourishing;

Tears of gratitude.

36

Smoking volcano;

Lava coursing through my veins;

Begging to be cut.

37

Willow behind glass;

Beautiful, your love for me;

Beautiful, your pain.

38

Rose through the window;

Beautiful, my love for you;

Beautiful, my pain.

39

Lonely companions;

Together, never touching;

Tramlines in the wheat.

40

Victory divine!

If I loathed my enemy;

As I hate myself.

41

Speak Thee Not to Me;

Deliberate and silent;

The river remains.

42

Swirling energy;

Man and woman, yin and yang;

Eddies in the stream.

43

Sometimes it is me;

Sometimes it is someone else;

Stranger in a bar.

44

Summer evening chill;

Oats amongst the swaying corn;

My elusive guilt.

45

Precipitation;

Rocks awash, colours ablaze;

Moist, expressive eyes.

46

Evaporation;

Desiccated eyes and rocks;

Rainbows faded grey.

47

A four-leafed clover;

Singular deformity;

Blessing or defect?

48

Seagull, goose and crow;

Barred from splendor by numbers;

Daisies on the lawn.

49

Saint Peter’s contempt;

Weeping at the Pearly Gates;

Forgotten password!

50

Obsidian black;

Mocking silence, false alarms…

Waiting for your call.

51

Flowers in a vase;

Attacker lying at my feet;

Complete perfection.

52

Innocent the hills;

Black cock, shag, chough and beaver;

Hurry Home My Love!

53

An outsized marrow;

Neighbours shamed and friends outstripped;

An Olympic Gold.

54

Kindle or kindling;

Can technology ignite

The Eternal Flame?

55

Visions all extinct;

Capitalism remains;

The Eternal Flame.

56

Capitalism;

Possession of capital;

Man’s only escape.

57

Sun-bleached skull and spine;

Mangy gelding euthanised;

Leftovers of Man.

58

Bike frame chained to post;

Rusty triangle stripped bare;

Leftovers of Man.

59

Doppler red and blue;

Past me, lashed by God and self;

Running through the rain.

60

Cooperation…

Shaking hands with your clenched fist;

Dancing on my own.

61

Horizontal rays;

Sun now beating overhead;

Half a day slips by…

62

Fuchsia, avocado,

Emerald and robin’s egg;

Hues bestowed by God.

63

Gods into battle!

Celestial gladiators;

Temporal disputes.

64

Sprightly and erect;

Drooping shyly, slightly shamed;

Lilac… buddleia…

65

River without rocks;

Sky, but clouds obscure the sun;

Life without your love.

66

Rift Valley sunset;

Sunrise over Mount Fuji;

Glencoe in the rain.

67

Looking at the world;

Disney-tinted spectacles

Help to keep things real.

68

Touch me if you dare!

Appearance, reality;

Nettle, dead nettle.

69

Menacing letters;

But coercion cannot draw

Blood out of a stone.

70

Bankrupt exodus;

Humiliation… failure…

Touch me if you dare!

71

Contemplate my fate…

Robins singing in August!

Am I blessed or doomed?

72

Folds of whipping cream;

Softly undulating hills;

Pleasure peak ahead!

73

Solitary oak;

Too much earth meets too much sky;

Broken horizon.

74

Tangle of Autumn;

Winter's teeth comb Summer's fronds;

Stark cold twigs remain.

75

Felt I was alive;

With youthful intensity;

Just for a second.

76

Moss-covered tombstones;

The passing of the famous;

Time keeps rolling on.

77

Pillow of content;

No resentment, no regrets;

A well-made death bed.

78

So much left undone!

A winter with no autumn;

Death bed poorly made.

79

Downfall of Mankind;

Elevation of the Beast;

Nature’s knowing sigh.

80

Promiscuity;

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Ripples blur the pond.

81

Passing of summer;

Robins singing winter song;

The White Witch returns.

82

The tears of children;

Irrigating adult pride;

Raindrops from Heaven.

83

Snowflakes from Heaven;

Melting, dampening childlike cheeks;

God’s will overturned.

84

Eyes across the bar;

Flashing headlight gratitude;

Wordless empathies.

85

Insecurities;

Meteorites from distant space;

Raindrops on the roof.

86

Effervescent pains;

Inhale light, exhale darkness;

Summer never fades.

87

Tesco bag and leaf;

Earth-born, wind-borne fluttering;

The Autumn of Man.

88

One stress too many;

The habit of worrying;

Terminal winter.

89

Sunshine to snowflakes;

Briefer than a turning page;

North Country autumn.

90

Simultaneous;

Past and present, every point;

Inhale, hold, exhale.

91

Invasive species;

The root of my jealousies;

Violates my mouth.

92

Mr. Micawber;

Wed to Mrs. Gargery;

A match made in Hell.

93

The limits of Man;

Arctica, Antarctica;

Relentless toothache.

94

Gazing at the stars;

Nodes in pictures that expose

Human vanity.

95

Ever-changing sea;

Aston Martin, Dr. Martens;

Islands in the storm.

96

Crystal winterscape;

Colours stark against the snow;

Highlights of your face.

97

Annual milestones;

Sakura and Santa Claus;

Stepping stones to death.

98

Elf-made mobile phones…

Equally infeasible:

Reindeer in the sky.

99

Follow the leader;

Footprints on a narrow path;

Matsuo Basho.

100

Contents1. A gap in the clouds

“Gap in the Clouds” © Neil Blacknell2. Missing from the breeze “Weathercock—Spring” © Neil Blacknell3. End of a tunnel Photo © Carolyn Cowan4. Shadow in your eyes5. Lip-red, blood-red bus6. Smouldering nighttime fire7. Fortunes rise and fall Photo © Chris Mann8. Summer promises (Sunlight on your breast) Photo © Valeria Evdokimova9. Summer promises (Ice-tipped solitude)10. A beat of your heart Adapted from “Dean Calligraphy” © Neil Blacknell11. Reflection of the stars12. The delight of Færie Photo © Valeria Evdokimova13. Delight in failure Photo © Valeria Evdokimova14. Luminescent disc Photo © Carolyn Cowan15. Pleading skyward eyes16. Ramshackle garden Photo © Carolyn Cowan17. Sapling in each hand Adapted from “Dean Calligraphy” © Neil Blacknell18. Flower that you brought Photo © Carolyn Cowan19. Cancer in April

Photo © Pete20. Oasis of love “Owl” © Neil Blacknell21. Island and beacon Photo © Carolyn Cowan

22. Mottled clumps of snow

23. Seeds that sprout nightmares Photo © Ron Eibel24. The orchid’s strange allure Photo © Valeria Evdokimova25. Your cold, stony face26. Executioner27. Call of the chaffinch Photo © Carolyn Cowan28. The point that you touch29. Life in harmony

“Colourscapes” © Neil Blacknell30. Promotion ahead “Airport” © Neil Blacknell31. Renaissance unfold Photo © Carolyn Cowan32. A perfect pleasure Detail from“Long Hair, Short Hair” © Neil Blacknell33. Germinal darkness “Body” © Chris Mann34. Your gentle caress Photo © Carolyn Cowan35. Yesterday’s embrace36. Early evening rain Detail from “Colourdrops—Plum” © Neil Blacknell37. Smoking volcano

“Body” © Chris Mann38. Willow behind glass Photo © Penny Maycock39. Rose through the window Photo © Penny Maycock40. Lonely companions Photo © Carolyn Cowan41. Victory divine42. Speak Thee Not to Me “Heron” © Neil Blacknell

43. Swirling energy “Paradise” © Neil Blacknell44. Sometimes it is me Adapted from “Dean Calligraphy” © Neil Blacknell45. Summer evening chill “The Sinner” © Neil Blacknell46. Precipitation Photo © Carolyn Cowan47. Evaporation Photo © Chris Mann48. A four-leafed clover49. Seagull, goose and crow Photo © Carolyn Cowan50. Saint Peter’s contempt Adapted from “Five Gates” © Neil Blacknell51. Obsidian black Photo © Carolyn Cowan52. Flowers in a vase Detail from “Colourdrops—Parasol” © Neil Blacknell53. Innocent the hills54. An outsized marrow55. Kindle or kindling56. Visions all extinct Photo © Valeria Evdokimova57. Capitalism Picture © Adrian Miler58. Sun-bleached skull and spine Photo © Carolyn Cowan59. Bike frame chained to post60. Doppler red and blue “Doppler” © Neil Blacknell61. Cooperation62. Horizontal rays “Half a Day” © Neil Blacknell63. Fuchsia, avocado Photo © Carolyn Cowan

64. Gods into battle Picture © Momo Ueda65. Sprightly and erect66. River without rocks67. Rift Valley sunset68. Looking at the world69. Touch me if you dare Photo © Valeria Evdokimova70. Menacing letters71. Bankrupt exodus72. Contemplate my fate Detail from “Life in Bars” © Neil Blacknell73. Folds of whipping cream

Photo © Carolyn Cowan74. Solitary oak “Oak Fen” © Neil Blacknell75. Tangle of Autumn Photo © Chris Mann76. Felt I was alive “Alive!” © Neil Blacknell and Chris Mann77. Moss-covered tombstones78. Pillow of content79. So much left undone80. Downfall of Mankind Picture © Adrian Miler81. Promiscuity82. Passing of summer “Turqoise” © Neil Blacknell83. The tears of children Picture © Adrian Miler84. Snowflakes from Heaven Photo © Carolyn Cowan85. Eyes across the bar86. Insecurities “Colourdrops—Black” © Neil Blacknell87. Effervescent pains

88. Tesco bag and leaf89. One stress too many “Stress” © Neil Blacknell90. Sunshine to snowflakes “Weathercock—Autumn” © Neil Blacknell91. Simultaneous

Adapted from “Dean Calligraphy” © Neil Blacknell92. Invasive species93. Mr. Micawber Picture © Paul Fleming94. The limits of Man Photo © Carolyn Cowan95. Gazing at the stars Photo © Chris Mann96. Ever-changing sea97. Crystal winterscape Photo © Carolyn Cowan98. Annual milestones99. Elf-made mobile phones 100. Follow the leader Photo © Carolyn Cowan