open sky :: SAMVAAD/ 8th February
- sanjuktaa
- Feb 8
- 1 min read
hosts : Sanjuktaa Asopa & Aparna Pathak
hard frost—
the snail-hammerings
of a song-thrush
-Alan Summers
(First published in Muttering Thunder, vol1, 2014, ed.Allan Burns with Ron Moss; Runner-up The Haiku Calendar Competition, 2015; Blithe Spirit 33.3, August 2023)
Thanks for featuring this haiku!
hard frost–
the snail-hammerings
of a song thrush
Alan Summers
First publication Credit:
Muttering Thunder, an annual of fine haiku & art
ed. Allan Burns with Ron Moss vol. 1, 2014
Award Credit: Runner-up, The Haiku Calendar Competition 2015
Haiku Calendar credit: The Haiku Calendar 2016 (Snapshot Press, 2015)
Article/exercise: Ginko: All Fingers and Thumbs with Alan Summers
Blithe Spirit 33.3 (August 2023) ed. Iliyana Stoyanova
Features:
Miriam’s Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond ed. Miriam Sagan (February 2015)
Brass Bell Showcase: Alan Summers (July 2015) curated by Zee Zahava
Blo͞o Outlier Journal issue 3 (the natural history haiku edition, Summer 2022)
What is natural history haiku? The phenomena of nature section
The Pan Haiku Review Issue 2
Kigo Lab Special…
Loved the snail-hammerings!
Here is the poet himself explaining this poem to you.
EXPLICATION:
This haiku was taken from my memory when birds were numerous in residential back gardens.
The seasons were more regular and predictable in my childhood, with strong delineation.
Winters were hard and the hard frost somehow made the sound travel further. I was an avid birdwatcher back then and recognised a song thrush.
The habit was to lift and throw down a snail onto a rock or stone to break its shell. They often have a regular rock or stone that is used as an anvil, and we'd never move it.
It's a simple juxtaposition, in basic shasei style, with a strong season marker in the first line, and…
https://www.trivenihaikai.in/post/celebration
The February Selection is up at CELEBRATION!
Check it out!
Such a wonderful piece of nature captured. I love 'snail-hammerings.' Beautifully done.