Just an e-mail to klgordonpoet@gmail.com and their mailing address is all I need. Much appreciation from Katherine.
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haiku celebrating the autumn equinox today
I remember trying to mentor fellow Marmora haijin John Hamley a few decades ago ("splitting firewood" haiku below). Good thing he ignored most of my advice and just kept true to his own voice. I readily accepted his choice of haijin moniker, "snowflea".
September 19, 2025 at 08:00 JST
echo smolders through the valley bowing knotweed
--Erin Castaldi (Mays Landing, New Jersey)
* * *
5 am
meeting the young faces
of my platoon
--Roberta Beach Jacobson (Indianola, Iowa)
* * *
I wish I could live
a second life for reading
the books I never read
--Mario Massimo Zontini (Parma, Italy)
* * *
first semester
I enter the dorm
with a big bag
--Shiva Bhusal (Redmond, Washington)
* * *
A wind-bell
tinkles no longer...
windows shut
--Yutaka Kitajima (Joetsu, Niigata)
* * *
playing jacks
with mom’s eyeball
middle child
--Kimberly A. Horning (St. Augustine, Florida)
* * *
Kookaburra glee
Morning glory clouds morphing
Marco polo hit
--Zoe Mahfouz (Paris, France)
* * *
lemon-coloured sun
whirlwind in a letterbox
an autumn visit
--Philip Davison (Dublin, Ireland)
* * *
home for the elderly--
dry leaves skip
along the dirt road
--John Richard Stephens (Kihei, Hawaii)
* * *
nighttime looms
soon my poetry will not see
the light of day
--Bonnie J Scherer (Palmer, Alaska)
------------------------------
FROM THE NOTEBOOK
------------------------------
family quarrel
sitting on the fence--
their smug cat
--Ivan Georgiev (Gottingen, Germany)
The haikuist won’t take sides. M.R. Pelletier heard a bell that had been restored 80 years after the destruction of Nagasaki Cathedral pealing for the first time on Aug. 9, 2025.
Urakami bell
fixing what their father’s
fathers had broken
In today’s column, haikuists mark the upcoming equinox. All eyes on who would get the biggest slice, Nicoletta Ignatti had thought serving her delicious pie would have been as proverbially simple as a piece of cake in Castellana Grotte, Italy. Beach Jacobson noted how the whole world is at war. Weighing in from San Diego, California, Richard L. Matta suggests using the scales of justice approach to restore balance in the world.
Sunday lunch--
cherry tart
shared equally
* * *
Earth
every time zone
a war zone
* * *
new bloom--cut bloom
the strength--the weakness--
unclear western support
Slobodan Pupovac thinks Sept. 23 would be as good a day as any to stop fighting. Brendan Yates McMurray celebrated a birthday in Dublin, Ireland. Traveling by plane to Bjelovar, Croatia, Sanjana Zorinc looked down at the world below.
the end of wars
the Earth starts spinning
in the opposite direction
* * *
the planet keeps going round
and around the sun,
I’m just standing on it
* * *
night flight--
how peacefully dreams
the earth
Writing from a flight of stairs leading down from a brownstone house in New York, Jon-Luc Bourget described the feeling of breathlessness when your every action is scrutinized. Marie Derley closed her eyes intermittently on the streets of Ath, Belgium.
The public eye shows
Street heat shimmers of all the
Shame I always know
* * *
endless sun
the shadows of passersby
move slowly
Nuri Rosegg threw this lifeline from Oslo, Norway:
happiness & humbleness--perfect coupling in end of summer dreams
As a symbol of marital status in Delhi, India, Ranice Tara applied a vibrant red powder to the part in her hairline:
wearing vermillion the night is long
Francoise Maurice awoke at dawn in Draguignan, France.
equinox morning
the turtle-dove sings
night and day
In the Netherlands, Joanne van Helvoort admits wearing family jewels “twice, when I got married and when I got my divorce.”
something old, something new
gran’s amber pendant
with the fly inside
An army veteran, Jacobson revealed she has “unretired twice thus far.”
starting day…
showing up on time
in my best shoes
Natalia Kuznetsova laced up new green suede sneakers in Moscow, Russia. C.X. Turner sat down to do a new job in Warwickshire, U.K.
plunging with joy
into the new full-time job--
a one-star granny
* * *
hot desk
brushing away
someone else’s morning
Tim Dwyer looked through a skylight in Brooklyn, New York. Alan Maley’s students wondered what their professor was looking at so intently on the first day of the autumn semester in Canterbury, England.
cloudless sky
through the glass ceiling
how small I am
* * *
outside the window
a seagull soars in the wind--
inside, a lecture…
Mauro Battini described the infinite mercy of God in Pisa, Italy.
war or peace--
in the eyes of children
an infinite sky
Getting ready for colder weather in Marmora, Ontario, John Hamley started thinking about the art of making a deal.
Splitting firewood
the more stubborn
side wins
Note how Ana Drobot used cutting words (kireji) and punctuation such as a dash to divide these haiku into two parts.
the sword
cutting the sky--
kireji
* * *
power cut--
I make up my own
Shogun film
Watching the “Shogun” drama series at home in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Ashoka Weerakkody was fascinated by how samurai could nobly commit suicide (seppuku) by cutting open their own belly. Excited by the terrifying scenes, he composed this haiku about a karmic journey.
season words
escape into warmer climes--
summer’s cold
Reflecting on the course of history in Castellana Grotte, Italy, Nicoletta Ignatti was mesmerized by Japan’s unending civil wars.
the supreme elegance
of a blood-filled field--
Shogun’s revenge
Relocating to Des Moines, Iowa after having lived abroad, Garth Talbot said he was soul-searching when he composed this haiku inspired by a 17th century Japanese swordsman.
Musashi writes
let go of desire
wait, don’t go
Note how Pippa Philips and Simona Brinzaru, respectively, pivoted midway through these introspective moments.
the presence
of her absence--
white chrysanthemums
* * *
a huge field
of red chrysanthemums
so lively, so close to death
Marshall Hryciuk observed butterflies in Toronto, Ontario.
hundreds of dusky emperors
covering saplings
with wings
Randy Brooks wrote on the fly in Taylorville, Illinois.
winging it
the heron has no plan
to retire
Pausing to watch a poignant death scene play out in “Shogun,” Barbara Gaiardoni in Verona, Italy, wrote this haiku about the poetry and poise portrayed by the actress Anna Sawai. The pregnant pause, an ellipsis, can be effectively used as a poetic device in English language haiku.
leafless branch…
Lady Mariko’s message
an original haiku
Rosa Maria Di Salvatore meditated among myriad tiny, bell-shaped flowers in Catania, Italy. The purple blooms are a rich nectar source, attracting bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Murasaki Sagano thirsts for bells to tinkle in Tokyo.
Zen garden…
the silence
of the heather
* * *
Hanging still
exhausted goldfish
glass wind-bell
Simona Brinzaru leafed through two library books in Transylvania, Romania.
old lady’s novel
could be “La Cousine Bette”
or “Eugenie Grandet”
Linus Blessing felt beholden by the end of the day in Berne, Switzerland. Sagano witnessed the magnificent midnight unfurling of a Queen of the Night.
daylily’s early beauty
dying at sundown in all humility
surrounded by young buds
* * *
Beautiful woman
under the humbled moon
hubris blooms
T.D. Ginting borrowed a book from the TRC Yachiyo Central Library in Chiba Prefecture. Teiichi Suzuki thought he had enough time to finish his book in Osaka. Mirela Brailean felt a cool breeze in Iasi, Romania.
library by the river--
students
reading the wor(l)d
* * *
sneaking up
on the garden chair
summer dusk
* * *
the end of summer
on the old rocking chair
mothball-scented shawl
Bob Lucky postponed a vacation in Portugal.
summer holidays
waiting for the heat wave
to take a day off
Merlin Flower, an independent artist and writer, watch the sunset.
i quit and sat
watching the alien Sun
gobbled by a small hill
Sagano enjoyed a well-balanced and healthy Japanese-style meal (washoku).
Favorite dishes
for the first day of autumn
on a tray for one
Federal elections in Germany are usually held in the fall, though Deborah Karl-Brandt wrote this haiku prior to a snap vote in Bonn.
black beans
to ward off evil...
election day
Marie Derley took an “interesting trip to Uzbekistan,” feeling humbled when she looked up at a mosaic of blue-glazed bricks and gilding on the dome and walls of a tomb that began to be built from 1403. Rosemarie Schuldes arranged flowers at a tombstone in Mattsee, Austria.
golden exuberance
at Tamerlane’s mausoleum--
so many people
* * *
white gladiolas
beside the tomb stele
tears running dry
Florian Munteanu plans to pray in the People’s Salvation Cathedral as soon as its doors open wide on Oct. 26 in Bucharest, Romania.
Sunlight rays
enter the cathedral tower
independently
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read all day and night at http://www.asahi.com/ajw/special/haiku/. The next issues of the Asahi Haikuist Network appear Oct. 3, 17, and 31. Readers are invited to send haiku inspired by an autumnal leaf, pumpkin pie, or Halloween, on a postcard to David McMurray at the International University of Kagoshima, Sakanoue 8-34-1, Kagoshima, 891-0197, Japan, or e-mail to (mcmurray@fka.att.ne.jp).
* * *
David McMurray has been writing the Asahi Haikuist Network column since April 1995, first for the Asahi Evening News. He is on the editorial board of the Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku, columnist for the Haiku International Association, and is editor of Teaching Assistance, a column in The Language Teacher of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT).
McMurray is professor of intercultural studies at The International University of Kagoshima where he lectures on international haiku. At the Graduate School he supervises students who research haiku. He is a correspondent school teacher of Haiku in English for the Asahi Culture Center in Tokyo.
McMurray judges haiku contests organized by The International University of Kagoshima, Ito En Oi Ocha, Asahi Culture Center, Matsuyama City, Polish Haiku Association, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Seinan Jo Gakuin University, and Only One Tree.
McMurray’s award-winning books include: “Teaching and Learning Haiku in English” (2022); “Only One Tree Haiku, Music & Metaphor” (2015); “Canada Project Collected Essays & Poems” Vols. 1-8 (2013); and “Haiku in English as a Japanese Language” (2003).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
email from David McMurray
Dear Haiku Colleague, 🩵🦋 Cricket
Crickets are singing this month in Marmora and points north to Algonquin Highlands.
Thank you for saving the equinox column until today, timely! Yes, the southern Ontarioans are looking good―especially fellow Marmorian haikuist John Hamley. two decades ago, “snow flea”. Yes, Always good when the student equals or surpasses the tutor!
Congrats that your blog has gone nuts recently (for a CanLit blog) and is now read mostly internationally and averaging around 1K visits a day. Hope the upcoming October 31st column-more timely will help push you past 2K/night.
Halloween...in the #AsahiHaikuistNetwork on Friday, October31 for your readers around the world, here,
https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/special/haiku/
David Christopher McMurray
🎥 Ten review standards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7E99437Ubs
Comments:
“ 😍😊 making it possible” C.D.
"video explanation for the judgment given to haiku is very clear" N.I.
"Loved the video on haiku, always good to brush up" M.P.
"stunning viewing" 🤓 🙏 ✨ J.B.
“Aloha beach 🏝️ shorts 🩳 “ D.M. https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/15992145
"turning the haiku experience into something so fun and engaging" L.B.
“ ... ❤️” M.Z.
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The top news story is the immediate cancelling of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show by the US network ABC for what he said –about Kirk’s alleged murderer. Kimmel said,
“The Maga gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Kimmel’s suggestion that the Utah born and raised alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk had not been “indoctrinated with leftist ideology” but a fellow-traveller of US president Trump and his fascist minions did not sit well with Trump. About the media, Trump just announced
“They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they’re getting a licence. I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.”
Kimmel’s toppling is also the first item of news on almost every Canadian radio, TV and newspaper. That is compounded by the story of the other late night talk show host Stephen Colbert, whose show was cancelled earlier in the summer because he criticized Trump.
Terrible –all the liberals cry – Trump is shutting down free speech. It’s the end of the First Amendment rights, they yell. Yet, in Canada, where our free speech rights are less well-defined, we have no reason to feel complacent.
(Above: Our Mountie in Ottawa; Tyler Robinson, alleged killer of Kirk (Reuters); Charlie Kirk (white tshirt) throws MAGA hats into crowd (Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Two years ago, almost exactly, Yaroslav Hunka, aged 98, was recognized by every member of Canada’s House of Commons as they stood to give him not one but two standing ovations. Hunka is a 98-year-old veteran of the 14thWaffen Grenadier Division (14th Waffen SS). The 14th Waffen Grenadiers (also known as the SS Galicia Division) was a Nazi German military formation composed of more than 80,000 mainly Ukrainian military volunteers from the area of Galicia. That means Mr Hunka was a Nazi, or a Nazi sympathizer—yet Canada’s House of Commons thought it was fine to honour him. Hunka had even boasted that 1941-45 had been “the happiest years of his life”. What an embarrassment when the truth came out.
How could Canadian politicians and political leaders, the majority with professional backgrounds, master’s degrees and PhDs, so easily have a lapse in memory about World War II and care little that we honoured a Nazi –albeit 78 years after the war.
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Two years later, what have our parliamentarians learned? Not much—though it is a new Parliament with 117 brand new MPs. Just two days ago Conservative and Liberal MPs showed unanimous support for backbench Tory MP Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge AB) who rose in the House of Commons to eulogize Charlie Kirk “an advocate for faith, family and freedom”.
The majority of our MPs* gave a standing ovation to Thomas’ tribute to Charlie Kirk – a 31 year old, right-wing ideologue, founder and leader of the most prominent and arguably pernicious Christian right youth ministry Turning Point USA (TPUSA). Kirk was killed by a 22 year old assassin that the powers that be claim was a left-wing agitator—not a right wing ideologue. Kirk was a big MAGA-supporter, and a personal friend of Trump. In 2021, Kirk earned over $407,000 from his charity, TPUSA. His personal networth is estimated to be $12 million.
Here are some of Kirk’s recent statements:
“I can’t stand the word empathy, actually,” he said. “I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that does a lot of damage.”
While debating a college student, Kirk said of Black people “They were actually better [off] in the 1940s. It was bad. It was evil. But what happened? Something changed. They committed less crimes.”
In July 2023, he attacked four prominent Black women — Joy Reid, Michelle Obama, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — asserting they benefitted from affirmative action because they “do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously” and that they “had to go steal a white person’s slot to be taken somewhat seriously”.
“If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.”
“We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor. We need it immediately.”
“Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America”.
“The great replacement strategy, which is well under way every single day in our southern border, is a strategy to replace white rural America with something different.”
Why did Canadian parliamentarians give a tribute, a standing ovation, to this US pro-fascist? Was it to curry favour with Trump? To duck away from Trump’s hitting us with huge trade tariffs? Was it to ignore the fact that Trump’s trade penalties have cost us 41,000 jobs in July and 66,000 in August?
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Was it to ingratiate ourselves with the vicious bullies south of the border like Trump and VP Vance who are working to rout the left. As Vance said,
“this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and I believe is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet.”
Meanwhile a few news sources are skeptical of the motivation, the politics and the ability of the 22-year-old man arrested to have actually murdered Kirk. And why.
Here in Canada, Poilievre and his Tories are pushing hard to pass more anti-crime laws, spend more money on the military and defense, put more people in jail, and pushing against immigration. Prime Minister Carney is walking a couple of teetering steps to the left.
* none of the seven NDP MPs rose for the ovation
Cartoon at the top credit to Steve Nease, Cagle.com
Why we have to monitor decisions made by the NS Human Rights Commission’s Boards of InquiryOctober 3, 2023In "Art"
“Can’t Buy My Silence” – why NDAs are bad for the public interestDecember 9, 2021In "Art"
Never Miss an Opportunity for Racial ProfilingDecember 1, 2022In "Arrests"
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