THE HAIBUN GALLERY: 25th September 2025. Anju Kishore - Guest Poet

host: Rupa Anand

mentor: Lorraine Haig editors on haikuKATHA: Shalini Pattabiraman, Vidya Shankar, Firdaus Parvez and Kala Ramesh

Guest Poet: Anju Kishore

A Thursday Feature

25th September 2025 -

THE HAIBUN GALLERY  September 2025 Anju Kishore

Dylan Stover

First place, Haiku Society of America Haibun Award 2024

Shortlist, Touchstone Award 2024

heartwood

It began with a young beech tree on a windy day, mid-spring. Acting upon an

impulse I cannot now explain, I pressed my ear to the smooth, gray bark and

started listening. To my surprise, there was sound: a secret inner creaking, like a

stifled moan, as the crown twisted in the breeze. It was voice—tree voice. Each

limb, as it swayed high in the canopy, was sending reverberations down through

the acoustic body of the tree and into my ear as I crouched patiently at its side.

hand at my chest

the doctor suspects

a murmur

That’s when I became a listener of trees: I quickly discovered that smooth bark

was best; the thicker the cork layer, the fainter the sound. Lithe ones were more

melodious, aged ones more laconic, terse. But all speaking.

Then one day I noticed a pileated woodpecker hammering away in the upper

branches of an ash tree. Sneaking up to the bole, I put my ear against the bark:

ta-tum ta-tum ta-a-TUM ta-tum… The wood trembled at each jab. Even the

scrapes of the bird’s claws were amplified: every movement echoed inside me,

as if the bird, the tree, and I were unified in a single, ringing vibration.

a simple procedure

to remove the weevil

—then silence

***

That feeling of being one with nature. Those moments when you are the tree, or

the bird, or the breeze or all of them at the same time and still stay the human

blessed with the ability to experience that oneness and express it too. Step

outdoors today and find one aspect of nature to connect to. Connect so deeply

that your hearts beat as one. You have a whole week to forge that connection

and let the human tell us the story like Dylan has in the above haibun.

Haibun outside the prompt is welcome

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Thanks, Anju.

We've come to the end of this month and I found your selection and propmts veried and effective.

Waiting to see what our poets come up with!

_kala

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT NOTICE

              NOTICE

Dear Haibuneers

Starting from March 2025, we at haikuKATHA are moving on to a new submissions format for haibun submissions. (Only for haibun, please note!)

Writers are invited to submit one unpublished haibun per submission window.

Kindly note the submissions calendar.

1-20 March, to be considered for publication in May

1-20 June, to be considered for publication in August

1-20 September, to be considered for publication in November

1-20 December, to be considered for publication in February

All accepted submissions will receive an email to confirm their acceptance by the 5th day of the publication month.

Your unpublished (only one) haibun should be sent to: 

The Google link will be given in this space soon. This form will only be available during the submission period. 

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The Haibun Gallery continues as is.

We will be having editors and prompts, and your sharing…