Under the Bashō 2023
Linked Forms, Sequences and Contrapuntal Poetry

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Written by: Michelle Hyatt & Jacob Salzer

a flying crow—
above the Eastern Sea
Jengwei carries a twig

women gather peaches 
in Wang Mu Niang Niang's garden 

a golden tincture…
Bao Gu prays
for the apothecary

Feng Po Po rides
a tiger through clouds 
autumn wind 

taming the gorge
Yaoji calms the storm

clay-born humans...
Nüwa and a tortoise repair
the pillars of Heaven 

Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA

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Written by: Michelle Hyatt & Jacob Salzer

winter song
Changing Woman tilts the earth
this longest night

spring sunset . . .
a bat enters Evaki's dream

past lives 
Spider Woman weaves
a willow basket

Onata's breath
between stalks of corn 
children whispering 

Kipitaki’s transformation—
a coyote flicks her tail

Sky Woman descends
through a hole in the sky 
the sound of the sea

Michelle Hyatt, Canada
Jacob D. Salzer, USA 

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Written by: Milan Rajkumar & Richa Sharma

River's Cry

Vanda blossoms

at the edge
of the descending graph
a red balloon string

for her post chemo

chilling rain –
lying in a heap
a mannequin

a long black wig

new diary ...
the mirror aligns
an erased path

Milan Rajkumar
&
Richa Sharma

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Written by: Nicky Gutierrez

spring morning
the quiet fiat
on her lips

leaping gazelle
the fig
begins to ripen

midnight
the stillness
of a newborn’s cries

pair of turtle doves
a mother presents
her child

temple courts
a mother rushes
to her son

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Written by: Nicky Gutierrez

salted with fire
the Jordan River
aglow

another cup of wine
and another…
mother’s dancing

hearing the good news
the bricklayer lays
another brick

mountain top
the sun rising
overhead

breaking bread
the table
in silence

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Written by: Randy Brooks

Athens, Ohio Flood

my father waves for me
to stay back . . .
swirling floodwaters

inches above brown water
the kitchen table holds
our piano

the family dog
in a loft over the garage
still yipping

a carpet of muck
throughout the first floor
the smell of shit

floodwaters recede
a fish flop calligraphy
left in the mud

— 

Foxtail

follow the leader
through the snowy woods
my turn

harvested corn
enough moon
to keep her company

a field of foxtails
letting the dog
go

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Written by: Richard Gilbert and Jennifer Hambrick

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Written by: Roman Lyakhovetsky

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Written by: Roman Lyakhovetsky & Peter Jastermsky

morning chill

nose to the glass
a second coming
of childhood dreams

a raindrop slows

air show rehearsal
the pilot thumbs up
from a dead loop

before its reflection

bed to floor
a blanket parachute
nails the landing

 
Roman Lyakhovetsky
Peter Jastermsky

Details

Written by: Samantha Sirimanne Hyde & Kent Robinson

wintry amble…
the basket of wiry sticks
of a magpie’s nest                               

through the vale
woodsmoke wreaths gaunt trees —
cozy hearth                                         

twilight
the faint afterglow
of a crescent moon                              

mist loiters
in chill hollows —
star strewn vault                                 

deserted house
from roof beam to floor
a veil of cobwebs                               

spring clean . . .
on beryl twig tips
buds swell                                           

Samantha Sirimanne Hyde
Kent Robinson