July 2018 Vol. III No. VII
Not your ordinary poetry magazine!
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Haiku
with Kevin McLaughlin
Death-Song
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Bhikku Bodhi writes of spiritual enlightenment in a manner that would be familiar to any poet who has written a poem that has used all the best words and all the correct images. The writing of your perfect haiku, which may well differ from mine, results in ecstasy.
In The Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End Of Suffering, Pariyatti Publishing, Bodhi writes, “As energy increases, the fourth factor of enlightenment is quickened. This is rapture, a pleasurable interest in the object. Rapture gradually builds up, ascending to ecstatic heights: waves of bliss run through the body, the mind glows with joy, fervor and confidence intensify. But these experiences, as encouraging as they are, still contain a flaw: they contain an excitation verging on restlessness. With further practice, however, rapture subsides and a tone of quietness sets in signaling the rise of the fifth factor, tranquility.”
Beginning with mindfulness, with being free of distractions and delusions, Bodhi has depicted the states of mind that come to a poet who has written a verse he or she would be well content to consider their Death-Song.
the brief squall passes
one drop of water glistens
on each pine needle.
In samsara, the conventional world, we each have the delusion of existing as discrete beings, like separate H2O molecules, and have a sense of duality with the world around us. But at the ultimate Big Mind state of being, we are fungible, indistinguishable entities like the drops of water in the streams, rivers, and oceans.
​
scooping warm vomit
from a dying man’s air ways:
EMTs arrive.
​
-K. McLaughlin
​
Cherese Cobb is a professional writer and photographer from Maryville, Tennessee. When she's not printing copy for newspapers, blogs, and magazines, she splits her time between family, nature, and cat-worship, chugging coffee to survive all three.
origami,
my heart,
folded in his hands
Published in Shemom.
cupped,
in the tulip
honeybee dance
with dawn's first rays
she slips on her
shadow
jigsaw puzzle
our hands lingering
on the same blue sky
Published in Frogpond.
​
headwind—
sharing my short-lived love story
with cherry blossoms
​
campfire,
from my canteen,
I drink in flames
​
Published in The Asahi Shimbun.
-Cherese Cobb
Devon Richey, from Vidor, Texas, casts an exacting eye over phenomena ranging from acorns popping underfoot to zig-zagging dragonflies in a panorama of beautiful imagery, infinity, and an appreciation of everyday life.
​
gentle summer breeze—
the barren acorn refuse
popping underfoot
dawn's lilac shade parts
revealing golden glimpses
of infinity
upon cold steel door,
the household's lost happiness
outlined in crayon
rolling summer fog—
children ride their bikes beyond
slanted window shades
above august flood
the dragonflies zig-zagging . . .
youthful innocence
my pulling the plug—
a child holds his mother's hand
at the county fair
​
-Devon Richey
James Babbs is a poet from Stanford Illinois. In these haiku a well-crafted winter theme links to the final poem, a resurrection verse that would delight Christians, scientists, and pre-Christians alike. Mr. Babbs displays every bit of the rapture and tranquility described in the first paragraph.
cold wind
leaves dance across empty fields
almost winter
dusting of snow
grass still showing
drinking my sweetened tea
Sunday afternoon
watching snow fall
listening to the wind
snow-covered car
sleeps in the driveway
dreaming of summer
all the snow melted
birds in the yard
pecking at the grass
bare trees
winter skeletons awaiting
the resurrection
(An especially meaningful verse!)
-James Babbs
Bob Whitmire is a motorcycling ex-journalist, retired social worker, and ex-soldier who has learned to pack the unabashed joy of living into three lines on a sheet of paper. Clearly, Mr. Whitmire has learned profundity lies in happiness, not some form of existential angst. It is always a pleasure to see his work in my inbox.
flip-flop half buried
on a beach in Florida
someone wears one shoe
she is barely four
my granddaughter’s shoes sparkle
I wish they were mine
polished silver pond
mirrors a sweep of pale sky
the loon submerges
how I dream to see
the polished silver moon
through veil of soft rain
steam rises from the bowl
two poached eggs float serenely
on a sea of grits
-Bob Whitmire
John DeCesare is a first-time contributor who attended Montclair State, earning a degree in Economics and Pre-Law. He currently makes his home near Lake Wallenpaupuk in Pennsylvania. He enjoys inventing and has had his work patented.
one legged heron stands
looking for early spring fish
that don’t yet exist
dark nights still water
I am startled by a splash—
two ducks, one landing
​
-John DeCesare
​
​
Joseph Davidson seems to be free from the bondage of rigid thinking. Such a person’s mind retains its natural spontaneity and is unencumbered by illusion and distractions. This will manifest in the poet’s work.
blushing hibiscus
sweet caress of summer rays
little bee buzzing
wordless poet’s moon
teases senses through silk clouds—
last light of day fades
leaf drifting on pond
floating down from heaven’s bough
echoes washed away
fire ants mounding high
rising above fresh mowed lawn:
summer rains begin
​
-Joseph Davidson
​
​
Angie Davidson also possesses a direct insight into how the world operates. I particularly admire the second haiku, the daylight moon lingering in a body of water.
cloudy spring morning
misty rain on the mountains
echoes of nature
white moon up above
the daylight is here now
moon reflects in water
-Angela Davidson
Colin W. Campbell escaped from his day job in Scotland and now writes short fiction and poetry in Sarawak on the lovely green island of Borneo and also faraway in Yunnan in Southwest China. He can be reached at www.campbell.my. By his own acknowledgement, these three haiku have a wee cheeky quality.
​
locusts hide the sun
everyone has to eat quickly
soon be nothing left
firefly in the dark
when lights can follow the path
with your bright rear end
terror in the night
mosquito comes to the light
and bites my backside
-Colin W. Campbell
​
Be Mindful…every poem you write could be your Death Haiku!
Yet once more I encourage all haiku writers to share their work, their insights into the nature of all things, with fellow poets and BTS readers.
For those interested in haiku, I recommend you cast back into the BTS archives and reference the September 2016 column. It provides a pretty thorough explanation of the basic format.
-- Kevin Mclaughlin