a southbound Amtrak

a southbound Amtrak
passenger and mail train gone
when the windows clear



From an NPR news story some time in the early 1990s. One evening I turned on my car radio and the words in the poem were the first thing I heard. Submitted by John Maruskin.

Mundesley

We may come to the
sands through pathways cut in the
cliff, and the tide leaves

on these priceless shores
long lagoons which are
the delight of children’s hearts.



From a chapter on Holidays in Every Woman’s Enquire Within: A Complete Library and Household Knowledge for all Home-Loving Women, ed. A C Marshall (London: George Newnes Ltd). Estimated to be from the 1930s. Submitted by H L Foster.

January

January. The days
are short but dramatic scenes
await the hardy.



From the Great British Year poster, Open University. Submitted by Uschi Gatward.

Watched the Tour de France then went for a walk on Cotswold Edge

Cinnabar Moths as
exuberantly coloured
as cycling jerseys.



From a Tweet by @DomForestry, 21 July 2013. Submitted by Ailsa Holland.

What it sounds like to be without windows

Sabayon Haiku
Bodhi Saluki Fusion
Dragonfly Hybryde


Peppermint Chakra
Absolute Vine Vyatta
Cinnamon Zenwalk


Ultimate Pinguy
Arios Porteus Fedora
Damn Small Manjaro


Quirky Aurora
YellowDog Deepin Redo
Puppy Tails Antix


Elementary Kwort
Calculate Zorin Vector
Backtrack Mandriva



From a list of the most popular free software offerings (mostly operating systems) that provide alternatives to Microsoft Windows. Submitted by Geoff Blanchard.

25-5-12

Please could you park
in the student car park if
you are in again.

The student car park
is on the opposite side
of the building.



A handwritten note found on the street near to my house in the UK, signed "Traffic Controller". The title is the date written on the note. Submitted by Steve Clement-Large.

Weather Girl's Haiku

A wet and cold start
This morning windy. Later
rain dying away.



The BBC Breakfast weather forecast, as delivered by Carol Kirkwood, March 2012. 'The' removed from the start of line 3. Submitted by Fran Isherwood.

Breaking up

What am I supposed
to do now? I've got your face
tattooed on my arm.



From a most incredible exchange on Facebook, in which a young man finds out that his girlfriend of one week has had his face inked permanently on her body. Sadly, for us, a hoax. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

The moderate Finnish sauna

You should not slap
your neighbours without asking
their permission first.

The sauna is dear to me, almost sacred.
My father was born in one,
and his dying wish was to bathe 
in a sauna one last time.

Summer is the best time to go.
Strike a match, hear
the crackling of dry birch wood
as it is engulfed by the greedy flames,
then sit down on the steps
to ponder the ways of the world
and wait for the sauna to warm up.

Your body sighs with relief when the first
ladleful of water hits the sizzling stove.
The experience is topped off with a dive
into a pure, clear lake.
What else does a human being need?



Both the senryu and main poem are from a piece about saunas by Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner in charge of the Eurozone crisis. Omitted: 'to the sauna' (line 5) and 'sauna' (lines 9 & 14). Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Lion/Lamb

Rain makes for mood of
sadness. I wish for sunny
days for all. My fans.



A tweet by Tommy Wiseau on 4th January, 2012. Submitted by Marika Rose.

Clothes make the man

Naked people have
little or no influence
on society.



Mark Twain, quoted in 'High and Mighty' shop window in Newcastle, spotted 18 August 2011. A perfect senryu. Submitted by Marika Rose.

This Text Is Just To Say

The rose bush
is falling over
with the wind.



A whole text message from my wife, 23 May 2011. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

In the Merry Month of May

Arsenal missed
the chance to close the gap on Premier
League leaders—

Arsenal's rapidly
deteriorating season
took another blow.

Arsenal—could
only earn a point as their Premier League title
aspirations were dented.

Arsenal's Premier
League title aspirations suffered
a significant setback.

Arsenal kept
up the pressure—and maintained
their title hopes.

Arsenal's title
hopes were left hanging
by a thread.

Arsenal's Premier
League title hopes were dealt
another devastating blow—

Arsenal's Premier
League title challenge is all but over after
they lost to a last minute goal—

Arsenal blew
the Premier League title race
wide open.

Stoke extinguished
Arsenal's Premier League title dream
with a deserved win at the Britannia stadium.



Lines from the opening paragraphs of Arsenal football match reports on the BBC football website. The reports quoted cover a run of 10 games from Sunderland (home), 5 March, to Stoke (away), 8 May 2011. Ellipses replaced with m-dashes. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Always

It is always okay
to paint the sky orange
and give cats six legs.



From the blog post What Should a 4 Year Old Know? The first line is one syllable too long for a proper senryu/haiku but close enough. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Analysis

All I can do is
tell the truth. No that isn't
so – I have missed it.

There is no truth that
in passing through awareness
does not lie.

But one runs after it all the same.



Spotted in the preface to The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis by Jacques Lacan. Submitted by Marika Rose.

Stuck in the Middle

A senryu

The slide doesn't slide!
The kids get stuck half way down.
Very frustrating.



Another poem from the Hexham Courant, Friday 29 May 2009. These are the words of mum-of-one and owner of the Miner's Arms Lynn Crozier in the article 'Playfield Mums Launch Campaign for £60,000'. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Kamikaze Pigeon on the M5

I had it happen
To me by a blackbird, strange
Experience huh!



My friend Dave's comment on my Facebook status update on 06 April 2009. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.