hosts: Kala Ramesh & Firdaus Parvez
mentor: Lorraine Haig
A Thursday Feature 2nd January, 2025
HAPPY 2025! HAPPY 2025!
HAPPY 2025!
Memories of a Lunch
hard rain
the sound of Hindi film songs
from the kitchen
One day in Chiang Mai a colleague invites me to lunch at a nameless Indian restaurant not far from the Sikh gurudwara. A Punjabi widow has set up two tables in her front room and dishes out whatever she’s got on the stove in the kitchen, always a dal, another vegetable dish, raita, and fresh chapattis that disappear quickly from the communal bread basket. I speak to her in my rusty, formal Hindi. She tells me about her late husband, her two married sons who live nearby in the town of Lamphun, her life in Delhi, her move to Thailand. My Hindi is not quite up to the task, and she periodically slips into Punjabi, but I do my best to keep up and manage to answer questions about my family. Putting on my shoes to leave, I notice the picture of the Thai King next to a portrait of Guru Nanak.
sticky afternoon
the heavy fragrance
of frangipani
Bob Lucky
Read the analysis of this haibun here, by Mathew Caratti:
Challenge:
Does any point in the haibun (given above) strike you as important? See how Bob merges and weaves in two cultures, languages, and thought processes.
Challenging?
It's the New Year—start afresh!
Try something new!
Have fun!
Please remember that the haiku needs to be strong and a stand-alone poem in a haibun. A weak haiku eats into your haibun's strength.
Even haibun outside this prompt can be shared.
PLEASE NOTE:
1. Only two haibun per poet per prompt.
2. Share your best-polished pieces.
3. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written.
Let it simmer for a while.
4. Post your final edited version on top of your original verse.
5. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.
We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished haibun (within 300/250 words) to be considered for inclusion in haikuKATHA monthly journal.
Important: Since we're swamped with submissions, and our editors are only human, mistakes can happen. Please, please, remember to put your name, followed by your country, below each poem, even after revisions. It helps our editors; they won't have to type it in, saving them from potential typos. Thanks a ton!
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PLEASE NOTE:
1. Only two haibun per poet per prompt. Please put your name and country of residence under your poem, it makes the editors' work easier. Thanks.
2. Share your best-polished pieces.
3. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written.
Let it simmer for a while.
4. When poets give suggestions and if you agree to them - post your final edited version on top of your original version.
5. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.
We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished haibun (within 300 words) to be considered for inclusion in the haikuKATHA monthly journal.
Tropical Travellers
Our little family was a funny sight on the train up Mt. Titlis. We were bundled up with mufflers, monkey caps, woollen sweaters, gloves, thick socks, et all, while the rest of the travellers seemed to be dressed like it was spring—which it was. ‘Brrr! It’s this cold in June? Imagine December’, I remarked to my parents and my dad pulled out another muffler and wrapped it around his head!
The temperature fell steadily as we climbed up the mountain, and we huddled together as the green pastures gave way to snow. The world was white with bright yellow dots of paragliders. I imagined Heidi, a beloved character from a book, prancing in her little frock, with her…
#1, 6/01, trying a Terbalik
coins clattering
in my piggy bank
mom's unfinished wish
conscious conscience
Lakshmi Iyer, India
Feedback welcome
Terbalik = haiku followed by a prose line on a trek
the light
fireflies’ gift
the seamless sky
Kala Ramesh #1 Feedback welcome.
5/1/25 #2
Shatterpoints
Some nights, her mind whispers with the sharp edges of broken things—a kaleidoscope of thoughts spinning too fast to hold. At six, she thought she could outrun the dark, sprinting barefoot through the neighbourhood until her soles blistered. Her friend once called her a hummingbird for the way she flitted, restless, between school projects and friendships. But when the silences came, her wings grew too heavy. One winter, she smashed every mirror in the house, claiming the reflections were strangers. She left the shards where they fell, watching the light splinter and scatter like unspoken truths.
frosted window—
a restless bird’s wings
caught in the pane
Her girlfriend’s arms are constellations, the scars mapping places she can’t…
Post #1
5.1.25
All about smiles
Traveling to Prague, I am excited and nervous at the same time. The feel of a new country, new people and diverse languages is unbeatable. As we venture on the walking tour I can’t help but marvel at the rich history on display. The Prague Castle dominates the skyline. The Clementinum boasts of beautiful baroque architecture, stunning library, astronomical towers and picturesque courtyards.
r
a f u r of maple leaves
l y
down the street
spring breeze
The guide is speaking in Czech with a smattering of English. “Dobré ráno” he says to our group with a smile. “Je krásný den… yes?” he continues gesturing with his hands towards the blue sunny sky.…