4/1/09

The Fifth Collection

a cold night

a cold night--
stuffing the gap between
the walls and the roof

long day

long day--
my caricature shadow on
the water dances

withering wind

withering wind--
she keeps adding peggs on
her wet clothes

christmas shopping

christmas shopping--
a pregnant woman weighs
the vendor's hen

august mist

august mist--
his dark hair turns whitish
waiting for a bus

school holidays

school holidays--
another spider caged
in a milk bottle

market day

market day--
vendors freshen their mangoes
with jets of water

green avocados

green avocados--
she squeezes them gently
for a ripe one

lunch break

lunch break--
we meet under the
mango tree

teacher's strike

teacher's strike--
excited students jabbering
before cameras

3 comments:

Area 17 said...

I love these!

My favourites are:

a cold night--
stuffing the gap between
the walls and the roof

christmas shopping--
a pregnant woman weighs
the vendor's hen

august mist--
his dark hair turns whitish
waiting for a bus

school holidays--
another spider caged
in a milk bottle

market day--
vendors freshen their mangoes
with jets of water

These haiku particularly stand out for me. You have a knack of capturing the very ordinary and making us pause, even if it's just for a few seconds, in this crazily hectic modern world.

Beautifully gently observed poems.

all my best,

Alan
With Words

Sylvia said...

Gotcha, Caleb! At first glance, I consider them beautiful, but I must return and pay more attention to details. Are there several forms of Haiku? I've only written the 5-7-5 sort, and as I'm an amateur, I shudder to make any serious critiques. Just congrats! As Alan says, your pieces make one pause in a rushing world.
All the best, Sylvia

Anonymous said...

I agree with Alan and I find these unusual. I've never been to Kenya or Africa for that matter. Very interesting observations. I would like to give my version of yours:

green avocados--
she squeezes me gently

lol...

enjoyed them,

martin