3LIGHTS3LIGHTS3LIGHTS3LIGHTS j o u r n a l o f m i c r o p o e t r yj o u r n a l o f m i c r o p o e t r yj o u r n a l o f m i c r o p o e t r yj o u r n a l o f m i c r o p o e t r y

Issue 3 : Summer 2010

ISSN 2042-910X

Edited by Liam & Diane Wilkinson

3LIGHTS Journal of Micropoetry

Issue 3 : Summer 2010 ISSN 2042-910X Copyright © Liam Wilkinson 2010

All rights reserved. If you wish to reproduce any part

of this journal, please contact the editor/publisher in writing. Reviewers and scholars may quote up to six poems.

3LIGHTS is dedicated to promoting modern English haiku

and related forms. It is edited by Liam Wilkinson and Diane Wilkinson. Please send all submissions

and correspondence to threelightsgallery@yahoo.co.uk.

3LIGHTS Editions www.3lights.wordpress.com

Editor’s Note Whether it’s the crash of waves, the light babble of a stream, the white noise of summer rain or the deafening tranquillity of soft snowfall, the sound of water has enchanted writers of haiku for centuries. More than three hundred years have passed since Basho first saw that frog plunge into that pond and, even now, the ripples are still moving beneath us in ever-expanding rings. And, as the swell laps at the side of this particular journal, we present a selection of some of the best contemporary micropoems with a watery theme. Liam Wilkinson

Summer 2010

falling droplet

a green frond shivers

from the blow

JOHN LAMBREMONT, SR

morning mist no plans for my day off CLAUDETTE RUSSELL

summer day a glass of ice water sweats by the pool BOB LUCKY

In floods of tears she calls the plumber. LIAM WILKINSON

lying in the desert water sealed in a plastic bottle BOB BRILL

watercolour class— everyone begins with light blue MARK LONERGAN

hotel waterfall— the old man finds his way back ROBERT EPSTEIN

a village awakens in a drop of water like a glass dome MARTIN WILLITTS JR.

first argument the teakettle hissing CLAUDETTE RUSSELL

I’ve been singing rainy day blues for weeks the drip drip secret loud enough for all to hear the sun’s been cheating on me BOB LUCKY

today was a flannel shirt taken out of the dryer too soon TIM GEAGHAN

change of life— she turns her face into the summer rain RAMONA LINKE

lake waters rippling a diver’s feet BERNARD GIESKE

a small boat lies rotting by the dock at sunset so does my heart out of longing for you CHEN-OU LIU

the drifting boat within the echo of a curling shell ALTHEA ROWE WATSON

summer fishing trip I cast both fly and hope into the lake fly floats where I wanted it – hope sinks faster each minute CRAIG W. STEELE

after the gaffe searching the pond for ripples BILL COOPER

submerged in Lake Ontario I wash my heart repeatedly to make it pure and white CHEN-OU LIU

Foreign Song Today I wander, wonder at strange mountain streams, listen with my heart. I cannot understand them, their voices breaking on rocks. BRIGIT TRUEX

on Slieve Foy’s slopes close to the wishing well a leprechaun’s bones

BARBARA A TAYLOR

mallards splashing down blueing the waters northern sky BERNARD GIESKE Cranes extend lopping bodies in calendar winds through streams going without me MARTIN WILLITTS JR.

Harinezumi-san and the Speckled River

speckled river petal by petal erasing the asphalt a bright breeze makes me fumble I stumble towards lunch half-knowing he’ll have ordered tears all round startled by the fact a kingfisher crosses the park the sun beats down as I pour myself into a daiquiri icecream a wave from a passing car

lost to the dusk and a thousand neon gestures lingering over the phone’s blossom picture two buses pull in the moon wedged between them all but full the right shade of colour for the nursery supper smells mingle as next door’s radio forecasts light snow the needlemouse shifts a patchwork of stars

HELEN BUCKINGHAM & ALAN SUMMERS

3LIGHTS Feature : Summer 2010

Searching the Blue Sky

Poems by André Surridge

sounding the wind chime hailstones

WHR Vol 7, Issue 2, August 2009 – 1st place Traditional haiku

fallow field the frosted shadow of a scarecrow

THN Vol. XI No 4

landing in her lap a scroll of bark from the eucalypt

paper wasp 15 (1)

cheerleaders the synchronized bounce of pony-tails

3rd moonset senryu competition 2008

Sunday collection… the nasturtium leaf full of raindrops

Japan Bulletin Sept 2002

two hands on her teacup still it shakes

4th NZPS International Haiku Contest 2007

fading harbour light becoming brisker her brush strokes

HM The Betty Drevniok Award 2007

a robin redbreast on the shoulder of a spade singing as snow falls

1st 2008 Florida State Poets Assoc. haiku contest

ah what I’d give for a good talk with you by the river our favourite café still serves cheese with fruitcake

2nd place moonset tanka contest 2009

tonight spring fishing he cuts the outboard motor – now only the sound of water lapping the boat and the splash of a catfish

3rd Hoshi-To-Mori 2006

I came to you because you fell asleep thinking of me... what shall we do in this dream of yours?

Kaji Aso Tanka Award 2007

more white hairs in the bathroom mirror this ghost I’m slowly turning into

MET 10

sometimes you can have too much of a good thing a plum branch breaks under its own weight

Tanka Splendor Award 2008

the old woman with a walking stick bent over her daughter’s grave like a question mark

Ash Moon Anthology 2008

old ballerina hair too thin and brittle to take the comb she ties it in a scarf printed with gardenias

Eucalypt 5

a large slice of tiramisu to share - we order two spoons but I eat faster than you

Kokako 7

retirement home there he is, the old pilot by the window searching the blue sky for vapour trails

Eucalypt 2

somewhere wandering the streets of Knaresborough my boyhood ghost still playing truant

3Lights: Way Back Home 2008

skylark singing its heart out for me too the world is joyous… birth of a granddaughter

VM Vol 12 Issue 09

a photograph of my great great grandfather Dr Ponsonby carrying his Gladstone bag a part of him in me

MET 5

Torrential rain Umbrellas mushroom In the park MARK LONERGAN

rainy day not even the postman tempts the dog outdoors MICHAEL GALLAGHER

listening to the lullaby of rain… a smell of mold from our pictures DANA-MARIA ONCA

rain drops and chemo drips; life and death? MARNIE BROOKS

rain in the tire swing hazy moon DOUG KUTNEY

water in the basement deciding what I’ll throw away CLAUDETTE RUSSELL

a dead crow hangs from a cable monsoon rains KALA RAMESH

crows rattle in bare branches wet with rain I tidy my garden, bury the worm a little deeper SUSAN CONSTABLE

winter rain after a long life, his casket surprisingly light MATTHEW M. CARIELLO

pine boughs shaken by wind releasing veils of powdered snow BOB BRILL reading a tanka journal all around me the small silence of an auto parts store in a winter blizzard M. KEI beneath the bridge generations of ice slide silently by MATTHEW M. CARIELLO

kretan firewater kretan singer of tales you whisper to me i am no poet i tell you it’s time to wake the dead you rise from your desk dark bare feet against the hard wooden floor meeting eyes i petition you to read a poem in Greek the cicadas below sing louder you take my hand as i turn to put your book back on the shelf i pause long enough to feel the sweat in your palm

you bend low for me to smell sweet wine in the brush of your beard before we part you lean in for a last look i blush to go hurrying you the bell on your door jingles twice my glance back finds you gone ice cold firewater i wince swallow hard slip back in CARMELLA BRANIGER

tea dance his partner’s smile drifts out to sea HELEN BUCKINGHAM

angels on the freeway call me to roads that always end in the sea M. KEI

dawn at low tide . . . have waves left their raga as shoreline patterns? KALA RAMESH

side-glancing gulls I slowly let go of a fistful of sand ROSIE ROUMELIOTIS her obsession old lady of the sea washing rocks clean BERNARD GIESKE over sea-filled footprints a full moon hauls its light from horizon to shore ROSIE ROUMELIOTIS

night storm sea oats grip the sand BILL COOPER

at Grand Central bodies rush around the waves and the undertow burying my feet in sand TIM GEAGHAN

lapping gold waters a splintered moon splashes the dingy BARBARA A TAYLOR

rippled sky… one moon in all waters DANA-MARIA ONCA

half moon . . . yet still a full reflection on the water SUSAN CONSTABLE new moon a blank puddle at my feet MATTHEW M. CARIELLO hiding tears behind a glass of wine - last supper NATALIA KU KUZNETSOVA