Spring breeze haiga

A piece of my Macintosh Haiga Project

House of light haiga

First collaboration with my fellow photographer Denies Senopranoto.

The heat haiga

Another collaborative work with Bambang N. Karim, appears on Notes from The Gean 3;3, December 2011

Window view haiku

window view--
unseen song of the
singing birds

Shaking she-oak haiga

My fellow sketcher Pakcik Ahmad posted his work on my haiku discussion group. It is usually a challenge  to most of members who is interested in haiku/haiga exercise. And I responded with my words

Frog song haiku

frog song
her last farewell
in evening drizzle

In fading rain haiku

in fading rain
the frog song gets
louder

If only haiku

if only
Basho were here
frogsong

Torrential rain haiku

torrential rain
once I wish it were
snowflakes

Moonless night haiku

moonless night
even my shadow refuses
to walk with me

Mandala haiga

Along with "cerebral palsy" this haiga was previously submitted to Notes from The Gean. Due to editorial changes, Mellinda Hipple returned this back to me. She then, started to work on new online journal A Hundred Gourds and asked me if I were interested in submitting this to AHG. And, voila! It appears in A Hundred Gourds Vol. 1;1. 

Cerebral palsy haiga

First published in A Hundred Gourds Vol. 1;1

Traffic light haiku quartet

1/
green light--
a glimpse of a little girl
holding her tambourine

2/
green light--
fading reverb of her
tambourine

3/
at the traffic light
discerning the sound of
different colors

4/
busy junction
her tambourine glistens with
unknown song

Cigarette butt haiga

Samsara haiku

1/
samsara...
holding his breath as deep
as he bows

2/
shaking she-oak..
the way she tightens the straps
of her bikini

Gloomy afternoon haiku

afternoon gloom...
a lady at the reception
fakes her smile

siang yang kelam...
senyuman palsu
resepsionis

Flight of the herons haiga

First collaborative work with Teguh Santosa. Now I look forward to seeing another good piece of his. The haibun is already published on this blog but I just couldn't help myself when I saw this image.

Sharing the silence

the bamboo grove and I
surrender to the silence
this cold evening

Ponytail girl tanka

swiftly
out of the mist
ponytail girl
as if i didn't see her
yesterday

Morning bliss

morning bliss
songbird from the cherry tree
sounds like Norah

No return haiga

Never enough dancing haiku

never enough dancing
satintails to whispering wind
this steppe was

Racing homeward haiga

The sand of Nanganesa haibun

Nothing changed after two months as I step my feet back in the sand of Nanganesa beach.
They are there where they were; the cliff, the trees and fishing boats. The sky, too. Don't they move just a little somewhere?
Nothing changed. But this nothingness.

over

the sound
of waves—

the sound
of wave

Morning rush haiga

Degrees of separation haibun

In my hand is her memo telling me that she decided to leave our house. No need to re-read it, I already knew from the very beginning that it will happen. Sooner or later. But it shocked me, still. 


more unused hangers
in the wardrobe--
her scent

Beach haiku

‎1/
wave-washed sand castle--
the fading warmth of
your laughter

2/
i know, dear
you were stars last night
pebbles on the beach

3/
barefooted--
knowing why the left
deeper in the sand

Four sound of wave haiku

1/
the sound of wave
over the sound of wave
over the sound of waves

2/
the sound
of
wave

over

the sound
of
waves

3/
over

the sound
of waves--

the sound
of wave

4/
after
the sound
of wave

the sound
of

another
waves

Sunday paper haiga

Image; Selected ramdomly by PhotoEffectsLite for Mac, pinched and gamma adjusted 

Pile of dust haiga

http://notesfromthegean.com/archives/sept-2011/haiga/haiga_001.html

Changing shape of clouds haibun

Just figured out, after hours from dinner, a new way to sip my coffee. 

the moon, and i too

enjoy the changing shape

of clouds

Dead leaves tanka

1/
listen to goodbyes
as dead leaves off the branches
and i hear you weep
for the waves leaving the shore
or the words you cannot keep?


2/
when it was the rain
fell on the plain where
lambs are grassing
writing a poetry 'bout love
more about drifting clouds


3/
pray for rain
you whisper as we walk
across the plain
october breeze hisses
the echo from desolate moor

Jack-in-the-box haibun

I slowly return to my full concsciousness. My senses are back, quickly map out the surroundings and produce a graphic representation on my mind screen; a 3x2 meter windowless wooden cabin, red mahogany, the floor lifted inches above the ground.

Outside of the cabin is completely mental darkness; nothing my senses can fathom but the smell of dust trapped between the logs stacked to erect the wall structure.

jack-in-the-box
even beating heart
in silent mode

The light slips thru a tiny leak on the ceiling intensifies and falls on my face. It’s the only light illuminates this room, too weak to light up anything around me. Sunlight? It probably is as my skin feels the heat it radiates on my skin. But, still, I doubt my own guess.

discerning
darkness between lights
complete desolation

 

Pale moon haiku

‎1/
pale moon
piercing my window glass
owl's cry

2/
dark window glass
how far is it from here
to cricket song? 

Umbra haiga

http://www.dailyhaiga.org/haiga-archives/799/-umbra-by-wahyu-basjir-indonesia

Whereabouts in the sky

whereabouts in the sky
my heart beats in silence
fireworks crackling

di langit mana
jantungku hanya sunyi
dentam petasan

Satori; Chapter 20, haibun*

Men are fools, Solange thought as she left the house in Tokyo.
A few tears, a sparkle of en eye, the twitch of a hip, and their brains are as easily turned off like an electrical switch. 
Haverford was smarter than most, just as blind.
Like the rest, he sees what he wants to see and nothing more.
Nicholai, on the other hand..
Dommage.
What a shame.

lanterns in the breeze
in her mind, darkness and light
darkness and light

*The prose excerpted from Don Winslow's Satori, Grand Central Publishing, June 2011

Satori haibun

After Haverford left, Solange turned to Nicholai and asked, "Does it bother you?"
"What?"
"That I was a prostitute."
The question surprised him, " It's an honorable profession in Japan." 
"It isn't in France."
"I'm not french," Nicholai said, "There's nothing about you that I find to be anything but delight, a joy, and an honor. 
Solange came into his arms, kissed him lightly on the neck, and said softly, "I think I'm falling in love with you."

satori
from across the roji
fallen frangipani

"And I with you." His words surprised him as much as the actual emotion, something he had not felt for years, something he had taught himself never to feel again. It had been his experience that anyone he loved went away, usually through the portal of death.

in the cha-shitsu
the hiss of the kettle
between words

*The prose excerpted from Don Winslow's Satori, Grand Central Publishing, June 2011

Flight of the herons haibun

Suite No. 132 is at the end of the hallway, where nothing but a wide thick transparent glass is between me and the open air. The warmth creeps on my skin and drives away the shiver as I momentarily let the sun bathe me with light.

I notice the amber in the west a second before three knocks on the door. “Please, come in,” a female voice reaches my eardrum from the inside.

She rises from her chair the moment I show my face at the door, and rushes for a formal handshake with me.

outside the window
the flight of white herons

Chanel no. 5

I knew it won’t be a meeting we usually had in old days. “It’s been long, and you know where it goes,” she said emotionlessly. Not commanding, just a bit colder than her please-come-in.

years lost

what’s within the perimeter

of her deeper voice

Sheer loneliness haiku triplet

‎1/
lonely breakfast
a swan song
after the main dish

makan sahur
hidangan terakhir dengan
nyanyian angsa

2/
black coffee
the last sip of
solitude

kopi pahit
sesap terakhir
kesunyian

3/
sheer loneliness
the sediment in his cup
unspoken grief

sepi yang sangat
keluh tertahan mengendap
di dasar cangkir

Obituary for the koi

Saya kerap menghabiskan waktu bersama Saleh Abdullah dengan memancing di kolam kecil di halaman belakang kantor. Di kolam yang kami bangun 4 tahun silam itu, hidup berbagai jenis ikan; bawal, tawes, nila, gurameh, cethul, patin, gabus dan lele. Kemarin sore, seekor koi menyambar umpan di ujung kail saya. "Itu ikan pertama yang ditebar dikolam ini," kata Saleh. Ia menyebut ikan itu Sang Pembuka Jalan. Tentu, ia tak bermaksud memparodikan Tirtoadisuryo yang diceritakan dalam novel Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Sang Pemula. Ikan itu dimasukkan ke kolam untuk menguji apakah air sudah cukup sehat karena sebagian dindingnya terbuat dari semen, yang sering membuat air beracun bagi ikan. Dengan alasan itu, Saleh meminta saya melepaskan ikan koi itu kembali ke kolam. Dua haiku terlampir lahir dari hubungan antara saya dan ikan koi itu. Haiku pertama saya tulis semalam dan sudah saya unggah lebih dulu di blog ini dan grup Damselflys's Lament di Facebook. Di bawah posting di grup itu, pada ruang komentar, Saleh menulis; "Pagi ini, di salah satu sudut kolam, koi itu mengambang: mati...." Sore ini, saya menengok kolam tempat kami memancing kemarin. Benar juga, ikan koi itu --satu-satunya di kolam kami-- mengambang mati. Lalu lahir haiku kedua; 1/ sunny pond the only koi moves into my shadow terik di kolam satu-satunya koi menuju bayanganku 2/ by the pond his writing about the koi an obit of three lines di tepi kolam catatannya untuk si koi obituari tiga baris Setelah ini, saya tidak tahu bagaimana mendapatkan ide menulis haiku dari seekor ikan koi.

Sunny pond haiku

sunny pond

the only koi moves
into my shadow

terik di kolam
satu-satunya koi
menuju bayanganku

Early bird haibun

Awakened by the chill early this morning, she gazes at the wall clock hung on her gray wall. No ticking sound she can hear. "I need some new batteries."

early bird
under the sheet
his aftershave

::
Dingin yang merayapi kulit membangunkannya dini hari itu. Matanya melirik jam di dinding yang kusam. Ia tak mendengar bunyi detik yang biasa ia dengar. "Ah, aku harus mengganti baterainya."

bangun awal
aroma aftershave
di balik sprei

Washing dishes tanka sequence

1/
washing dishes
after a dinner for two
the hissing from the sink
sounds like nice words
we no longer mean to say

membersihkan piring
setelah makan malam berdua
desis dari pencucian
bagai kata-kata mesra
yang tak lagi kita ucapkan

2/
let me be
as she told me in anger
i noticed
the rose in the vase
withering petal by petal

tinggalkan aku
saat ia berucap marah
aku sadari
mawar dalam vas mengering
kelopak demi kelopak

3/
in my solitary garden
grasses mown last month
it's now overgrown
watered with hope and dreams
i can only let it go

di taman terasing
rumput yang dipotong bulan lalu
kini tumbuh liar
disiram harap dan impian
yang hanya bisa kuikhlaskan

Empty birdcage haiku

empty birdcage
children's laughter pierces
my mossy wall

sangkar kosong
tawa anak-anak menembus
tembok berlumut

Visiting dad tanka

visiting my dad
at his grave
it's deep enough
the hole I dug
to plant the rose


Haiku Pix Review No 3/Summer 2011

Withering leaves haiku

withering leaves
seconds to count
till dusk

dedaunan kering
detik-detik yang tersisa
sebelum senja

Gone too soon haiga

Looks brand new haiku

it looks brand new
on the first day of Ramadhan
my old wristwatch

terlihat baru
di awal Ramadhan
arloji tuaku

Thunderbolt haiku

thunderbolt--
i hold on the afterimage
for the echo

Biographical haiku

1/

december dawn

the clouds, the owls, the breeze

and a baby boy

2/

i too, cows

on my first day at school

barefooted

3/

o waning moon

if only i were the cat

the wayward one

4/

puppy love

the poetry i wrote

about shooting star

5/*

it takes long

to get acquainted

my reflection and me

in my late dad's

old sarong

*Previously published.

She sweeps the lawn haiku

she sweeps the lawn
for another falling leaves
the coming of ramadhan

Japan tsunami haiku-reposted with japanese translation

I sent these haiku to Hidenori Hiruta, my fellow poet in Akita, Japan, to show my condolences and solidarity in the aftermath of Japan tsunami. Few days ago, he posted my works on his blog along with works of some other poets from around the world. Hiruta-san kindly translated and transliterated my works into kanji as seen below. 


1/
japan tsunami
short question in my prayer
god, falling asleep?


tsunami jepang

aku bertanya dalam doa 
tuhan, kau tertidur?


日本の津波

祈りの中で短い質問

神よ、眠っているの？


2/
close attachment
from tv screen to my skin
the tremor crawling


kuat terikat
dari layar tv ke kulitku
getar merayap


ごく近い付着
テレビの画面から私の皮膚へ
揺れがゆっくり進んでいる


3/
tidal waves..
cherry blossoms fall
to the coldest night


gelombang tinggi…
bunga sakura rontok
ke dingin malam


津波
桜の花が散る
一番寒い夜に

Tsunami haiku

1/

rising tide

he kneels longer

on the tatami

ombak nan tinggi

sujudnya lebih dalam

di atas tilam

2/

pale moon

mirrored on the last snow

night in Ibaraki

malam ibaraki

bulan pucat bercermin

salju terakhir

3/

clouds overhead...

how big the moon looks

from miyagi?

di sini mendung...

tampak besarkah bulan

dari miyagi?

4/

tsunami update

strange sound

of splashing water

warta tsunami

suara kecipak air

sungguh tak biasa

Family retreat haiku

family retreat
more time and space
to weave a web

vila keluarga
lebih banyak ruangwaktu untuk
memintal jaring

Ripe mulberries haiku

ripe mulberries
the plain fact she can
hardly conceal

murbei masak
kenyataan yang tak mungkin
dia simpan

Pengemis tua haiku chain

1/
pengemis tua
kelontang di mangkuknya
bunyi recehan

2/
butiran debu
barusan ia kibas
kembali lagi

3/
angin yang lewat
menyeka keringatnya
menuju laut

4/
menatap senja
ia menghela nafas
dalam, dan lagi

5/
jalan benderang
di cekung matanya
lilin terakhir

Solem promise, tanka sequence

1/
spend the week end
with doing quiz
in a puzzle book
nothing i really know about
but living a simple life

lewatkan akhir pekan
dengan mengisi kuis
di buku teka-teki
tiada yang kutahu kecuali
hidup sebagaimana adanya

2/
i write a poetry
about the rain of july
the words we had
widen the hollow in between us
where nights are much colder 

kutulis puisi
tentang hujan bulan juli
semua pembicaraan
menambah ruang kosong antara kita
di mana malam terasa lebih dingin

3/
it's still there
a solemn promise to keep
in our minds
we talk intimately
and sleep back to back

tak hilang
janji suci yang dirawat
dalam hati
kita bicara begitu intim
dan tidur beradu punggung

4/
can you hear
a meow at the door?
in the dark
i'm drown in my thought
you in your dream

kau dengarkah
suara kucing di pintu
dalam gelap
aku tenggelam dalam fikiranku
kau dalam mimpimu

5/
no talk
no dispute
about divorce
we forget when it was
the last breakfast for two

tak bicara
tak bertengkar
tentang perceraian
terakhir kali sarapan berdua
entah kapan itu

Scythe moon haiku chain

1/
scythe moon
watching over paddy field
a scarecrow stands still

bulan sabit
di atas hamparan padi
hantu sawah diam

2/
midnight gust
wandering along the hallway
cut grass odor

angin tengah malam
melintas sepanjang lorong
bau jerami layu

3/
peasant song
his bamboo flute leads
the chirping birds

lagu petani
nada sulingnya memandu
koor burung-burung

The earth and the moon haiku

the earth and the moon
beauty pageant special report
on a homeless' hut

Old poetry book haiku

old poetry book
a haiku on the title page
about my first love

buku puisi tua
haiku di halaman judul
tentang cinta pertamaku

Afternoon wind haiku

afternoon wind
the leaves start dressing
the color of dust

angin sore
daun-daun berbusana
sewarna debu

Tunnel vision haiku

tunnel vision
incoming call alert
from private number

Roadside stop

roadside stop
a girl in straw hat
selling koi

You too, bees

you too, bees
hypnotized by its color?
hibiscus blossoms

Easy life haiku

easy life
an alley cat stretches
a while longer

Kid's clothing

kid's clothing
bend her laundry line
a morning at grandma's

School holiday haiku

school holiday
war game shooting gun
and warbler's cry