the rocket’s red glare in the spicy ribs
--Barrie Levine (Wenham, Massachusetts)

* * *

cheap cigars
we light to light
fireworks
--Randy Brooks (Taylorville, Illinois)

* * *

south-facing garden
our neighbor applying
sunscreen
--Archie G. Carlos (St. Louis Park, Minnesota)

* * *

Spilled egg
daisy petals
in my neighbor’s garden
--Laila Brahmbhatt (New York)

* * *

My cat sleeps tight
in my open suitcase
dreams of midsummer
--Carl Brennan (North Syracuse, New York)

* * *

with one eye
a sleeping cat
watches the dog
--Padraig O’Morain (Dublin, Ireland)

* * *

bindi
on my wife’s forehead
the sunrise
--Tejendra Sherchan (Kathmandu, Nepal)

* * *

Birthday gift:
daisies daughter sketched
in full bloom
--Satoru Kanematsu (Nagoya)

* * *

This lone survivor,
Bright splash on a green canvas
Like a blood-soaked rag
--Viviane Dunn (Damvillers-By-Verdun, France)

* * *

this seaside parade:
pensioners in baseball caps,
zimmer-frame champions...
--Alan Maley (Canterbury, England)

------------------------------
FROM THE NOTEBOOK
------------------------------

Wedding jitters--
fireflies in search of
their own fireworks
--Laila Brahmbhatt (New York)

The haikuist danced the jitterbug at a wedding. Guests were feeling hot around the collar by the time Tracy Davidson penned this haiku in Warwickshire, England.

flaming June
wedding flowers wilt
with the jilted bride

In this hot-tempered issue, haikuists mark the confederation, independence, renunciation of war and revolutions that sparked the writing of Constitutions in Canada, America, Japan and France. Since 1867, Canada’s constitutional language has focused on compromises and legal frameworks. Tellingly, this summer’s raging wildfires led to the enactment of laws to restrict the lighting of fireworks and campfires on the country’s national day, July 1. John Hamley shared his point of view in Marmora, Ontario.

Civil war
red and white
one grandfather died

In contrast, the Fourth of July festivities in the United States celebrate freedom. Tonight, firework displays along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., will illuminate the country’s Declaration of Independence that was penned in 1776. Monica Kakkar honored the soldiers lying in a cemetery at Arlington, Virginia, on the other side of the Potomac River.

Red, White, and Blue
brimming the warriors’ view…
summer grasses

In Fargo, North Dakota, Richard Bailly saluted the trials and tribulations of his country’s commander-in-chief George Washington (though his dentures were not made of wood) to topple a statue of King George III.

father of country
potomac confrontation
painful wooden teeth

Barbara Anna Gaiardoni wrote this whine: June wedding the dog’s whimpering

The Declaration’s wording, such as “We the people of the United States,” reflects a people-centered vision. Michael Henry Lee shared his view of his neighborhood in Saint Augustine, Florida. Charlie Smith and his dog cooled off with ice cream in North Carolina.

dog park
everyone about everybody’s
business

* * *

cloudy sunset
red, white and blue
west to east

John Richard Stephens attended a colorful wedding in Kihei, Hawaii.

emerging rainbow--
a little flower girl
trails the bride

John Zheng invoked the title of a poem by Langston Hughes (1901-1967).

“I, too, sing America”
fireworks flare
into flower flashes

Jackie Chou composed this haiku earlier this spring in Pico Rivera, California. More recently, gardeners in that community were reportedly detained by ICE, federal immigration and customs enforcement agents. In Half Moon Bay, California, Kathy Watts described “the protests which have been more like celebrations, complete with old rock and roll.”

dark poems
despite the daffodils
spring meadow

* * *

fireworks
on my street corner
our little cardboard signs

Joshua St. Claire drew this stark line in York County, Pennsylvania: more layoffs on the horizon budbreak day

Junko Saeki hopes to visit a bronze monument gracing Ellis Island since 1886: a deity holding the Declaration of Independence in her left hand and a torch in her right. Marie Derley held an arm up high in Ath, Belgium.

it’s always been there
the Statue of Liberty--
I never saw it

* * *

Independence Day
the seagulls taunt
the kites

In Tokyo, Monique Bae was inspired to compose a haiku after reading a translation of Japan’s Constitution. She highlighted these phrases: “preserves peace” and “banishes tyranny, oppression, slavery, and intolerance for all time from the earth.” The haikuist added, “In light of the distressing global shifts occurring (especially in America, my home country), I am encouraged that looking back at some past ideals can offer the strength to continue fighting for a better future.”

past ideals
beckoning forth
weary lovers of peace

Murasaki Sagano pruned white peace roses in Tokyo, though she seemed to have more to say this morning. She eventually chose sunny-side up.

Constitution Day
in compliance with
pure white roses

* * *

Blocks of words--
unfinished building
morning clouds

* * *

Boil or fry
first decision of the day
morning eggs

In Osaka, Teiichi Suzuki penned a haiku in January when Prime Minister Ishiba presented a golden samurai helmet to U.S. President Donald Trump as an inauguration present at the White House in Washington, D.C. Watching the event from Rehovot, Israel, Mike Fainzilber juxtaposed the meeting of heads of state.

Crescent moon glistens
on the golden kabuto
symbol of shogun

* * *

shogun and president
blood and ego
never a story

Leaders from NATO and Group of Seven countries don’t seem to be helping many people to celebrate, according to Ivan Georgiev in Germany who suggested more mat-work exercises to solve the world’s problems. If she could, Angiola Inglese would mend the sky with golden lining in Rapallo, Italy.

judo tatami mat
the world leaders’ delusion
about softness

* * *

kintsugi...
the frayed shape
of a cloud

Horst Ludwig took part in a European summer solstice festival. Rooted in Swedish pagan rituals, participants lit bonfires, danced and practiced magic. Stephen C. Curro celebrated in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Jumping o’er fire
not far from the church door
midsummerer

* * *

soft twilight
kids running
with lit sparklers

Giuliana Ravaglia could have jumped over the Milky Way from her home in Italy: light caress--the breath from the wheat fireflies and stars

Sagano will celebrate in Tokyo on July 7, the auspicious seventh night of the seventh month (Tanabata).

Weaver’s Festival
the moan of bamboo leaves
ardent love

Levine lingered awhile. In Sofia, Bulgaria, Stoianka Boianova might still be counting to infinity.

beach fireworks
after the finale
the stars return

* * *

summer evening
lying in the grass
we count the stars

Walking the streets of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, David Cox acknowledged the July 11, 1995, 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide when 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men were massacred.

Srebrenica flower--
all-embracing love
mothers

Justice Joseph Prah lit a fire and sang for the resilience, unity and strength of Ghana.

Independence Day
we sing around the campfire
old anthem once more

Forest fires caused by careless campers and wayward fireworks peak during summer months. When they get out of control, wildfires can reshape whole swaths of the planet. Nancie Zivetz-Gertler wrote this haiku when wildfires scorched Oregon.

where is solitude
if not in the wilderness
that’s burning away

A long, hot, wildfire season is raging in Russian Siberia, western Canada and the United States. In Moscow, Natalia Kuznetsova realizes that humans don’t share land very well. Masumi Orihara likens climate change to a virus infecting the earth. Urszula Marciniak worries about how to sustain wildflowers.

Marine Day...
living in harmony
the man and the sea

* * *

Beyond seasons
illness of the earth--
spreading wildfires

* * *

meadow fire
the flowers picked for the vase
saved?

The after effects of wildfires include the haunting loss of forest soundscapes: the chorus of foxes, bobcats, coyotes, reptiles, amphibians and insects that had once lived in the woodlands. Nuri Rosegg searched for survivors in Oslo, Norway. Brennan’s pet meowed when it was found safe and sound.

a fire
surviving object
a wood snake

* * *

A friendly scent
from the cat cafe brought home...
aptly named Lion

Down Under, Lorne Henry reminds us of the feral call of nature for an invasive non-native species introduced from Britain in 1855.

during heavy rain
the smell of a fox
two nights running

Kakkar looks forward to snapping the stem of a golden low-hanging fruit. Tejendra Sherchan won’t pluck the only thing to color dusty Kathmandu, Nepal.

home stretch…
sweeten with the sun
hanging mangoes

* * *

standing out
a blooming purple grass
in the grassland

Seeking respite from the ever-present hot golden sunshine of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, David Cox was nonetheless charmed by the Buddhist traditional color of illumination.

most fetching--
saffron monks carry
light parasols

In Yorkshire, England, Mark Valentine cautions passersby away from reaching for the poisonous seeds inside the slender pods hanging from clusters of yellow flowers.

outside the clock museum
the tall laburnum
recklessly yellow

Kuznetsova ingested a powdered yellow wildflower herbal medicine called “zveroboy” (the one who kills beasts).

St. John’s wort
to repel evil spirits...
nanny’s potent herbs

Tejendra Sherchan feigned a choking cough in Kathmandu, Nepal. Narieda Hinano recalled the Golden Week holidays in Japan, when yellow dust blew in from China.

waving all day
at the wheezing vehicles
yellow flame flowers

* * *

On a holiday
found a toy covered in dust
memories flashback

Kimberly A. Horning abutted odors in Shamokin Dam in Pennsylvania. Ravaglia tumbled head over heels.

stuck between
paper mill and pig farm
the stink

* * *

somersaults on the grass--
taste of candy
among sunflowers

Brahmbhatt caught these two hairy moments.

school children open
their lunch--the springtime sunlight
glows on a mustache

* * *

combing her hair--
a monkey snatches a banana
from her open bag

Jennifer Gurney enjoyed the warmth of family in Colorado. When his sisters got married in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, Yutaka Kitajima recalled how his dad teared-up saying a fond farewell 50 years ago.

meeting my new
daughter-in-law’s family
I am home

* * *

Close to tears
the bride touched up
her makeup

Maria Tosti celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday in Perugia, Italy. Kitajima reeled when he saw the handwriting on a summer postcard from a 60 years old pen pal.

theft of flowers--church
decorated with brooms for
my brother’s wedding

* * *

shochu-mimai
penned by a strange hand--
What’s up?

Gareth Nurden in Newport, Wales, and Tracy Davidson in Warwickshire, England, respectively, suggested the grass is greener next door, toward the east.

neighbour’s sunflower
feeling sun
before we do

* * *

all the butterflies
in my neighbour’s garden...
even insects shun me

Sagano couldn’t conceal her contrary feelings. Simona Brinzaru’s handkerchief came in handy in Transylvania, Romania.

Sunflower
faced the other way
dissembles

* * *

wedding day
mother and daughter
hide their tears

Dejan Ivanovic is taking things one step at a time in Lazarevac, Serbia.

life without haste
a June wedding
I wasn’t invited to

Rowan Beckett Minor in Cleveland, Ohio, and Kuznetsova, respectively swallowed bitter pills.

not invited
to my brother’s wedding
departing butterflies

* * *

the wedding party
of my best friend and my ex...
uninvited

Marek Printer’s face flushed and his ears felt as though they were burning in Kielce, Poland. Zdenka Mlinar saw firelight jump from a groom’s eyes.

wedding gaff
whispers
from ear to ear

* * *

wedding bells
on a June night
midsummer bonfire

Sanjana Zorinc’s daughter swirled in Bjelovar, Croatia. Sweltering in Bucharest, Romania, Florian Munteanu imagined a romantic midnight at an oasis.

wedding gown
the hue of lavender fields--
evening waltz

* * *

orchid oasis
in the scorching desert night
a camel for two

Rita Melissano penned a send-off in scorching hot Rock Island, Illinois.

4th of July goodbye
tears of fire
in the night

Francoise Maurice coyly smiled--hoping for a repeat performance during July 14 Bastille Day celebrations in Draguignan, France.

fourth of July
we pretend to watch
the fireflies

On July 14 in Wakayama Prefecture, giant flaming torches will illuminate the way for deities returning to the Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine. Bowing to religious belief, Stoianka Boianova tied a cowbell onto a belt around her waist to ward off evil spirits with its rhythmic sound.

night fires burn
mummer’s cowbells chase the evil
deep into the ground

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hot haiku at http://www.asahi.com/ajw/special/haiku/. The next issue of the Asahi Haikuist Network appears July 18. Readers are invited to compose haiku related to how wars end. Mail your haiku on a postcard to David McMurray at the International University of Kagoshima, Sakanoue 8-34-1, Kagoshima, 891-0197, Japan, or by 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).