A
MBROSIA
Journal of Fine Haiku
Issue 4 Summer 2009
IS S N 1943-829X [P rint] IS S N 1945-8797 [D igital]
Edited by
Denis M . Garrison
M O DERN ENGLISH TANKA PRESS
Post Office Box 43717
Baltimore, Maryland 21236 USA
www.themetpress.com publisher@themetpress.com
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine H aiku
Issue 4 - Sum m er 2009
Copyright © 2009 by M odern English Tanka Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means including information storage and
retrieval systems without permission in writing from
the publisher, except by reviewers and scholars who
may quote up to six poems.
Front cover artwork Copyright © 2009
by Denis M . Garrison.
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
, a quarterly print and
digital journal, is dedicated to publishing and
promoting the finest of traditional haiku in English.
Editorial correspondence to: dmg@ themetpress.com
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
Issue 4 - Summer 2009
Published by
MODERN ENGLISH TANKA PRESS
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 2009.
Print Edition ISSN 1943-829X
Digital Edition ISSN 1945-8797 [
PDF
&
HTML
versions]
www.themetpress.com/ambrosiahaiku/
E
ditor’s
N
ote
.
In this Issue 4 of
Ambrosia: Journal of
Fine Haiku
, our final issue, we are pleased to present
another 100 fine haiku from forty-three outstanding
poets. All these poets, while writing in English, respect
the formal values of traditional Japanese haiku.
Ambrosia
has been well-received by all reports,
however, financial support for the journal has not
developed. Surely posting each issue online where it
can be read for free contributed to its low sales, but
having the poetry read
is
the goal of publishing. In any
case, M ET Press will no longer publish
Ambrosia
and
several other journals that could not support
themselves. W e can only hope that someone will step
up and publish another journal which holds that a
haiku in English, to be fine, must have the traditional
shape and duration of haiku, its metre and music, and
exhibit some aspects of traditional Japanese poetic
aesthetics, and that haiku ought to be written in a
natural, m odern, English idiom with great care for the
sound of the verse when spoken.
— D enis M. Garrison, editor
poems
written in dust
a windy day
Denis M. Garrison
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Issue 4, Summer 2009
A lone traveler
stops to listen to
the nightingale
Vasile Moldovan
Bucharest, Romania
1
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
Not a living soul . . .
all the blue of the sky
in a dew droplet
Vasile Moldovan
Bucharest, Romania
2
Issue 4, Summer 2009
crescent moon . . .
curled up on my doorstep
next door’s cat
John Kinory
Steeple Aston, O xfordshire, England
3
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
churchyard tea—
lovers touch
under the yews
John Kinory
Steeple Aston, O xfordshire, England
4
Issue 4, Summer 2009
Bluebells—
Grandma’s Sunday
singing voice.
Alexis Rotella
Arnold, M aryland, USA
5
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
From a mud puddle
the toddler brings me
a cup of water.
Alexis Rotella
Arnold, M aryland, USA
6
Issue 4, Summer 2009
old fort—
the dying tempo
of a cicada
Francis M asat
Key W est, Florida, USA
7
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
fall garden
silence rises
from the fallen stalks
Francis M asat
Key W est, Florida, USA
8
Issue 4, Summer 2009
ash-slat boardwalk
leading to the bay
fogwild
Neal W hitman
Pacific Grove, California, USA
9
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
stopped to tie my shoe
looking up evening comes
without warning
Neal W hitman
Pacific Grove, California, USA
10
Issue 4, Summer 2009
reading
over my shoulder
the moon
Don Baird
Rancho Vista, California, USA
11
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
on his nose
a koi balances
the moon
Don Baird
Rancho Vista, California, USA
12
Issue 4, Summer 2009
mountains too . . .
the rain can sweep away
all but memory
W illiam Hart
M ontrose, California, USA
13
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
the desktop watch
fills the drawers
with ticking
W illiam Hart
M ontrose, California, USA
14
Issue 4, Summer 2009
empty matchboxes
scattered in the mud
my new community
Jacob Kobina Ayiah M ensah
W inneba, Ghana
15
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
scent of her graveyard
too close to my bedroom
apple blooms
Jacob Kobina Ayiah M ensah
W inneba, Ghana
16
Issue 4, Summer 2009
monsoon winds—
tasting a hint of rain
on the dust
C. W illiam Hinderliter
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
17
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
longest day
only child chasing lizards
with a net
C. W illiam Hinderliter
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
18
Issue 4, Summer 2009
looking for my star
a comet takes a leap
toward me
Ion Untaru
Baneasa, Giurgiu, Romania
19
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
a leaned gun
in the white of bayonet
a butterfly
Ion Untaru
Baneasa, Giurgiu, Romania
20
Issue 4, Summer 2009
Electric City
the darkness
inside me
Dietmar Tauchner
Puchberg, Austria
21
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
spring sunshine
the sudden coolness
in the tunnel
Dietmar Tauchner
Puchberg, Austria
22
Issue 4, Summer 2009
daybreak
a rotten persimmon
stuck to the dish
Bob Lucky
Hangzhou, China
23
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
sultry morning
butterflies bumping
in to each other
Bob Lucky
Hangzhou, China
24
Issue 4, Summer 2009
Indian summer
a thicket of fishing poles
on the bridge
Bob Lucky
Hangzhou, China
25
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
plaster sky
the lawn speckled
with violets
Laryalee Fraser
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
26
Issue 4, Summer 2009
slow day . . .
yet on this hillside
a rush of blossoms
Laryalee Fraser
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
27
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
planting the beans . . .
this year it takes longer
to unbend myself
Laryalee Fraser
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
28
Issue 4, Summer 2009
a wetland trail—
we follow the whisper
of marsh grasses
Adelaide B. Shaw
M illbrook, New York, USA
29
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
bird song
pulling me out of a dream
first day of spring
Adelaide B. Shaw
M illbrook, New York, USA
30
Issue 4, Summer 2009
decayed leaves
on the forest floor
new ferns
Adelaide B. Shaw
M illbrook, New York, USA
31
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
a chilled white wine
sparkling in the slow dusk
fireflies
Adelaide B. Shaw
M illbrook, New York, USA
32
Issue 4, Summer 2009
from the porch swing
fog spreads across
a blue jay’s call
Althea Rowe W atson
Skokie, Illinois, USA
33
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
as shadows fade
at the edge of the lake
black swans
Lorin Ford
M elbourne, Victoria, Australia
34
Issue 4, Summer 2009
morning fog …
one by one gumtrees
being born
Lorin Ford
M elbourne, Victoria, Australia
35
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
winter reeds
bent and snarled
above still water
M arje A. Dyck
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
36
Issue 4, Summer 2009
all afternoon
that musician in a tree
the same refrain
M arje A. Dyck
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
37
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
raven sways
on the tip of
a charred pine
M arje A. Dyck
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
38
Issue 4, Summer 2009
a dock in the dust
of a rear-view mirror,
a farewell to summer
Jeffrey W oodward
Detroit, M ichigan, USA
39
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
someone must live there
on the outskirts of town—
an autumn evening
Jeffrey W oodward
Detroit, M ichigan, USA
40
Issue 4, Summer 2009
the Great Plains
to the rising of the sun
white with dew
Jeffrey W oodward
Detroit, M ichigan, USA
41
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
maple leaves
on the branch
in the brook
Jeffrey W oodward
Detroit, M ichigan, USA
42
Issue 4, Summer 2009
This spring
must I smell the lilacs
without you?
James Tipton
Chapala, M exico
43
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
the old juniper
curls endlessly
around itself
James Tipton
Chapala, M exico
44
Issue 4, Summer 2009
a seal surfaces,
shattering silence . . .
the arctic air
Brenda Bechtel
Cape Elizabeth, M aine, USA
45
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
between split rails
a pair of cranes
watching colts run
Brenda Bechtel
Cape Elizabeth, M aine, USA
46
Issue 4, Summer 2009
dark forest
no wind silencing
the owl
Brenda Bechtel
Cape Elizabeth, M aine, USA
47
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
midnight
the old clock
still ticking
Dawn Bruce
St Leonards, New South W ales, Australia
48
Issue 4, Summer 2009
spring breeze
wattle dust showers
her sun umbrella
Dawn Bruce
St Leonards, New South W ales, Australia
49
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
nightfall
in a crow’s cry
autumn chill
Jo M cInerney
Boolarra, Victoria, Australia
50
Issue 4, Summer 2009
old scars
touched by the light
winter birch
Jo M cInerney
Boolarra, Victoria, Australia
51
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
blue morning
I wake to the light
in your eyes
Jo M cInerney
Boolarra, Victoria, Australia
52
Issue 4, Summer 2009
lilac hush . . .
a single star catches
my breath
Jo M cInerney
Boolarra, Victoria, Australia
53
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
An apple blossom
stolen from the park tree at dawn
quivering with rain.
Joan M cNerney
Ravena, New York, USA
54
Issue 4, Summer 2009
whole day
a yellow tulip
inhaling the sun
Djurdja Vukelic Rozic
Kolodvorska, Croatia
55
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
end of winter
a long night drags among
white crocuses
Djurdja Vukelic Rozic
Kolodvorska, Croatia
56
Issue 4, Summer 2009
moonlight
black are the plums
black are the leaves
Djurdja Vukelic Rozic
Kolodvorska, Croatia
57
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
Tea cups and roses
kettle whistles on wood stove
bread and molasses
Victor M addalena
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
58
Issue 4, Summer 2009
School days and pumpkins
morning frost and mittens
October winds
Victor M addalena
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
59
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
my wife and I
huddled against the cold:
the boat’s wake
Edward J. Rielly
W estbrook, M aine, USA
60
Issue 4, Summer 2009
whispering to me
the old bee hive . . .
another death
Edward J. Rielly
W estbrook, M aine, USA
61
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
late winter ice storm:
above the broken branches
three brown leaves
Edward J. Rielly
W estbrook, M aine, USA
62
Issue 4, Summer 2009
wooden bridge—
the swallows swooping
underneath
Ruth Holzer
Herndon Virginia, USA
63
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
autumn path—
the whirring flock
of wheatears
Ruth Holzer
Herndon Virginia, USA
64
Issue 4, Summer 2009
summer ends
on a telephone wire
old trekking shoes
Jacek Margolak
Kielce, Poland
65
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
cloudless sky
only my memories dapple
her gravestone
Jacek Margolak
Kielce, Poland
66
Issue 4, Summer 2009
Trevi fountain
our wishes sink
to the bottom
Jacek Margolak
Kielce, Poland
67
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
bored swimming alone
i turn on my back
swim with a cloud
M iriam Chaikin
New York City, New York, USA
68
Issue 4, Summer 2009
grass
keen observer
of the sky
M iriam Chaikin
New York City, New York, USA
69
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
watering plants
i bend to listen
to the bonsai drink
M iriam Chaikin
New York City, New York, USA
70
Issue 4, Summer 2009
Wild poppies . . .
my foot eases off
the accelerator
Patrick Sweeney
M isawashi, Aomori-ken, Japan
71
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
Autumn dusk . . .
on the dull cutting board
an eggplant weeps
Patrick Sweeney
M isawashi, Aomori-ken, Japan
72
Issue 4, Summer 2009
steady drizzle
a flutter of robins
in the maple
Catherine J.S. Lee
Eastport, M aine, USA
73
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
hammock weather
winds aloft unravel
a skein of contrails
Catherine J.S. Lee
Eastport, M aine, USA
74
Issue 4, Summer 2009
tin roof
a rainbow arches above
the silence
Catherine J.S. Lee
Eastport, M aine, USA
75
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
grey clouds with
pinpricks of light
hiding the gold
Judith Anne Ahmed
Elizabeth North, South Australia, Australia
76
Issue 4, Summer 2009
spots of light
in a wildflower meadow
a fawn’s nap
Tish Davis
Dublin, O hio, USA
77
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
the short night—
a raccoon slips into
the storm drain
Tish Davis
Dublin, O hio, USA
78
Issue 4, Summer 2009
after the rains
push up the heads—
mushrooms
Aju M ukhopadhyay
Pondicherry, India
79
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
evening shadow—
my mother’s face vanishes
in the dark
Aju M ukhopadhyay
Pondicherry, India
80
Issue 4, Summer 2009
his grandson
talking to the grasshopper
one squat at a time
Guy Simser
O ttawa, O ntario, Canada
81
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
the toddler
with tiny butterfly net
exhausting
Guy Simser
O ttawa, O ntario, Canada
82
Issue 4, Summer 2009
new lake sculpture
the decorative cormorants
come and go
Elaine Riddell
Hamilton, New Zealand
83
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
morning in the bay
the sun still climbing
down the trees
Elaine Riddell
Hamilton, New Zealand
84
Issue 4, Summer 2009
time to wake
oystercatchers clatter
along the bay
Elaine Riddell
Hamilton, New Zealand
85
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
beneath the surface,
an electric blue groper
lumbers lazily
Gregory Jennings
Sydney, New South W ales, Australia
86
Issue 4, Summer 2009
hot blur at dusk
the sun seen dipping
into cool blue sea
M arisa Fazio
M elbourne, Australia
87
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
shimmering water
sunset deep inside
a windy forest
Doug Kutney
Cranford, New Jersey, USA
88
Issue 4, Summer 2009
fireworks delayed
plump drops of rainwater
explode into puddles
Doug Kutney
Cranford, New Jersey, USA
89
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
sun on the birdbath—
a sparrow hops in
and out of shadow
Hortensia Anderson
New York City, New York, USA
90
Issue 4, Summer 2009
summer evening—
morning glories fold against
an ink-blue sky
Hortensia Anderson
New York City, New York, USA
91
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
across the pond—
bare branches reach for
a floating sun
Hortensia Anderson
New York City, New York, USA
92
Issue 4, Summer 2009
skipping stones
the rings begin to touch
as they fade
Dave M oore
Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA
93
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
disappearing
onto a foggy beach
summer lovers
Dave M oore
Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA
94
Issue 4, Summer 2009
across the field
dogwood petal falls
into shadows
Dave M oore
Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA
95
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
rest area
the picnic table
blanketed by snow
M ichele L. Harvey
Hamilton, New York, USA
96
Issue 4, Summer 2009
warm night
the cigarette glow
two cars over
M ichele L. Harvey
Hamilton, New York, USA
97
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
4th of July . . .
the utter silence
of fireflies
M ichele L. Harvey
Hamilton, New York, USA
98
Issue 4, Summer 2009
deserted park—
a wooden bench succumbs
to the moonlight
W ahyu W . Basjir
Jogjakarta, Indonesia
99
Ambrosia: Journal of Fine Haiku
on the patio
a warm teacup half empty
and the rocking chair
W ahyu W . Basjir
Jogjakarta, Indonesia
100
Index
Ahmed, Judith Anne, 76
Anderson, Hortensia, 90–92
Ayiah Mensah, Jacob Kobina, 15–16
Baird, Don, 11–12
Basjir, Wahyu W., 99–100
Bechtel, Brenda J., 45–47
Bruce, Dawn, 48–49
Chaikin, Miriam, 68–70
Davis, Tish, 77–78
Dyck, Marje A., 36–38
Fazio, Marisa, 87
Ford, Lorin, 34–35
Fraser, Laryalee, 26–28
Hart, William, 13–14
Harvey, Michele L., 96–98
Hinderliter, C. William, 17–18
Holzer, Ruth, 63–64
Jennings, Gregory, 86
Kinory, John, 3–4
Kutney, Doug, 88–89
Lee, Catherine J. S., 73–75
Lucky, Bob, 23–25
Maddalena, Victor, 58–59
Margolak, Jacek, 65–67
Masat, Francis, 7–8
McInerney, Jo, 50–53
McNerney, Joan, 54
Moldovan, Vasile, 1–2
Moore, Dave, 93–95
Mukhopadhyay, Aju, 79–80
Rielly, Edward J., 60–62
Riddell, Elaine, 83–85
Rotella, Alexis, 5–6
Rozic, Djurdja Vukelic, 55–57
Shaw, Adelaide B., 29–32
Simser, Guy, 81–82
Sweeney, Patrick, 71–72
Tauchner, Dietmar, 21–22
Tipton, James, 43–44
Untaru, Ion, 19–20
Watson, Althea Rowe, 33
Whitman, Neal, 9–10
Woodward, Jeffrey, 39–42
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