Simply Haiku: An E-Journal

Simply Haiku: An E-Journal of Haiku and Related Forms
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The Arrival
by Adelaide Shaw

Twelve year old Lucia. Put in charge of her two younger brothers and baby sister because Mama is sick. Trying hard not to cry. Always the smells and heat in steerage. For thirteen days, nausea and fear of roving U-boats a daily companion.

a cold slap of spray-
whitecaps rolling
into tomorrow

Disembarking immigrants flood a great hall. Where is Papa? Shouts and cries, the stink of soiled clothes and stale bodies, a polyglot of languages, men in uniforms, pushing, prodding, poking. Open your mouth, cough, turn your head. Show your papers, name, destination. Pass. But to where? And where is Papa?

a thickening mist-
the tide of faces surges
again and again

He promised to be here. He promised a better life. All these people. Were they given promises, too?

gulls circle the docks-
a biting wind brings
the smell of sewage

There! Pushing through the crowd. His black curly hair, bushy mustache; his thick muscled arms spreading wide to embrace them all.

a look back
to that arm raised in welcome-
a light through the fog

A Weather Change

After days of spring rain, chill and fog, a breath catching heat. Summer clothes still wrinkled. Dressing in the bare minimum for a trip to the City.

express train passes-
the first breeze
this hot day

the walk uptown
crossing a street
to catch the shade

Staying close to buildings. A pause to suck in the occasional blast of cold air from an open door.

grumbling talk
from a passerby
iced coffee in hand

Adelaide B. Shaw began writing haiku and haibun over 30 years ago and has been published in several journals, both in print and on-line. She also writes short fiction and children's poems. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, she has lived in California and Switzerland, and now makes her home in Scarsdale, NY with her husband of 43 years.