THE HAIBUN GALLERY: 4th 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

4th September 2025 -

THE HAIBUN GALLERY  September 2025 Anju Kishore

Richard Grahn

Contemporary Haibun Online 20.2

what do you want for your birthday?

it’s an age-old question, which i fail to answer correctly every time i’m asked,

but i’ve finally got you an answer. it’s the simplest of wants. i truly don’t care

for being cornered into wanting, nonetheless, given the obligation, here’s my

wish…

i would like a grain of sand, a single grain of sand, the simplest grain of sand

you can find. and i only want it for a day. then you can put it back—exactly

where you found it.

midas touched. . .

just enough room in his pack

for a pillow

***

The Challenge!

The first thought to strike me when I read this haibun was this:

To see a world in a grain of sand

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.

Auguries of Innocence

By William Blake

Perhaps the haibun was intended by Richard as an allusion to the poem, or

perhaps not. But for me, the reference is unmistakable, the blending smooth and

masterfully done. This week let’s try writing a haibun that alludes to a famous

piece of writing in such a way that the reference flows quietly into the narration.

It will be interesting to see if our poet-friends here can identify the referent.

Anju Kishore

Haibun outside the prompt is welcome

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A fresh take, Anju.

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Writers are invited to submit one unpublished haibun per submission window.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Your unpublished (only one) haibun should be sent to: 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…