Private View: Nijuin

winter gale—
a bald man running
after his hat                                    

snowed in for the night
they dance the tango

the clear song
of a blackbird echoes
round the estate                            

on the pond today
not a ripple                                    

***

a bonfire of old vines
makes hazy
the harvest moon                           

the scarecrow guards
a row of bare poles                       

father’s new jacket
borrowed secretively
for their first date                

he gets home late
wearing a stranger’s scent   

on the kitchen wall
a water stained poster
of lavender fields   

plans for a housing estate
at the gypsy camp

***

for a moment
a hoverfly hovers
just before my eyes                      

in moonlight the ceiling
fan's gentle whirr                         

the chapel
where we married
now open to the sky                    

inside her locket a photo
and a tuft of his hair                    

at the antiques fair
the dealer says it all
with a nod and a wink                

stolen from the museum
a rare marble bust                       

 ***

private view,
the art critic praises
the wine                                   

a storm of soap bubbles
disappears on the wind             

overnight
most of the plum blossom
falls to the earth                        

slightly later this year
the swallows return                   

Participants:

Max Verhart (NL)

Vanessa Proctor (AU)

Frank Williams, Sabaki (GB)

Paul Smith (GB)

Composed via email
Started: 19 January 2009
Finished: 01 February 2009

Related items in this issue of Simply Haiku: A Renku Perspective, by Frank Williams.