spring snow flowering from wounded heart anemones
--C.X. Turner (Birmingham, England)

* * *

on my heart
this cherry petal
weighs a ton
--Patrick Sweeney (Misawa, Aomori)

* * *

a waitress in love
instead of the expected tip--
cherry blossom
--Ivan Georgiev (Gottingen, Germany)

* * *

sunlight on the pond--
the pink feathers
of flamingos
--Julia Guzman (Cordoba, Argentina)

* * *

monkeys in a blooming tree…
the young dog’s head cocks
at a kid
--Kyle Sullivan (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)

* * *

new kid in class
the popular girl sells me
her school picture
--Jackie Chou (Pico Rivera, California)

* * *

foggy morn
purple harbinger
points to spring
--Charlie Smith (Raleigh, North Carolina)

* * *

wisdom enough
this sickle moon
at lavender dawn
--Patrick Sweeney (Misawa, Aomori)

* * *

inside a glass of water
a reflection...
the moon
--Grace Evans (South Padre Island, Texas)

* * *

wriggling nose
sniffing
the morning moon
--Kimberly Kuchar (Austin, Texas)

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

sale
family silver
Judas skuda
--Zdenka Mlinar (Croatia)

The haikuist sold off the last of her country’s currency and coins in favor of the euro. Her third line is a biblical reference to Judas, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver on the Wednesday before Good Friday. Today marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Jewish festival of Passover--celebrating the first full moon of spring. Barrie Levine slid silver moons into a little boy’s dreams in Wenham, Massachusetts. Dana Clark-Millar hit the jackpot in Bend, Oregon.

dropping silver coins
in my grandson’s bank
treasure chest moon

* * *

through the canyon’s slot
the silver dollar moon drops
and out pop the stars

Tuy-Nga Brignol counted on luck in Paris, France.

faith, hope, love, and luck
symbols of a four-leaf clover
used as a talisman

Bonnie J. Scherer acknowledged “there’s gold in them thar hills” in Palmer, Alaska.

scraping the bottom
of the worm castings barrel--
compost gold

Liz Gibbs called for the unveiling of hijabs and the unlocking of gridded windows at homes in Iran. Francoise Maurice’s naked eye watched bright lights through crossed branches in Draguignan, France.

veil of branches
her moon face finally exposed
latticed sky retreats

* * *

Orion nebula
the owl’s hoot
on the bare oak

Florin Golban observed a spider in Bucharest, Romania. Perhaps he was inspired by this first line of Mary Howitt’s poem published in 1829: “Will you walk into my parlour?” said the spider to the fly.

twilight--
the spider crocheting
the moon’s light

Mike Gallagher took a repetitive “no” to heart in Ballyduff, Ireland.

declining--
her every vowel
a dagger

Terrie Jacks made a solemn declaration in Ballwin, Missouri.

for the third time
saying
I do

Zamantha Collin Segismar wrote dramatically in Misamis Oriental, Philippines.

In her arms,
a headless doll,
keeping her warm

A strong breath blew out all the candles in St. Augustine, Florida, while Kimberly A. Horning recited the soothsayer’s warning to Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare’s play.

Ides of March
Mama’s birthday--
green with envy

Mona Bedi served as an executrix in Delhi, India.

penny moon--
he bequeathed all his money
to his dog

Giuliana Ravaglia reminisced about receiving old coins and bills in Bologna, Italy.

a memory of grandfather...
the old banknote
smells of tobacco

Teiichi Suzuki couldn’t sleep in Osaka. Claire Ninham hoped her totem would attract wisdom, intellect and good luck to her home in North Yorkshire, U.K.

Insomnia--
night journey
with the owl

* * *

sleepless night…
I turn around
the feng shui owl

Tanja Trcek suggested there was never a wrong time to bloom in Golrik, Slovenia. Murasaki Sagano suggested the inevitable in Tokyo.

the first daffodil
just opened!
hey, let’s dance

* * *

Sakura petals
but before surely falling
keep my fingers crossed

Ana Drobot looks forward to celebrations this Easter Sunday in Bucharest, Romania.

I could always
celebrate Easter--
Year of the Rabbit

Satoru Kanematsu will kick-off the day with a deliciously bright and lucky breakfast in Nagoya.

Frying up
sunny-side up eggs
bright Sunday

* * *

Good omen?
a double-yolk egg
Sunday morn

As a traditional Easter treat, Barbara Anna Gaiardoni plans to eat puff pastry filled with cream cheese and candied fruit in Verona, Italy.

Neapolitan pastiera
celebrating together
at home

Robin Rich seemed a little disappointed by his breakfast in Sussex, England.

waiting for breakfast
the ripening banana
in the bowl

Kuchar hopes children will find all the hidden Easter eggs this Sunday.

remains of the pink moon
a cottontail inspects
forgotten eggs

Here’s what Keith Evetts found in his garden in Thames Ditton, U.K.

pink moon
a coupling of grove snails
deep in the dew

Isabella Kramer felt flustered typing these two love poems in Nienhagen, Germany.

all these typos--
my breath on your skin
hunter’s moon

* * *

waxing crescent
the sixteenth
shadow of love

Eufemia Griffo responded to tactile stimuli in Milan, Italy. Archie Carlos’s fingers found the groove in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

Braille alphabet
hands touch
your love words

* * *

old park bench
brushing snow off
carved hearts

Shelli Jankowski-Smith looked out her bedroom window in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

it wasn’t until
we started to sleep apart
that the snow moon came

Sweeney spoke with aplomb. Nani Mariani replied in the language of flowers in Melbourne, Australia.

believe me when I tell you
it snowed all night
on the dark river

* * *

without sentences
i believe you
red tulips

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

It’s always a Good Friday at https://www.asahi.com/ajw/special/haiku/. An Asahi Haikuist Special issue about contest-winning photo haiku will appear April 14. The next regular issue of the Asahi Haikuist Network appears April 21. Readers are invited to send haiku inspired by Yosa Buson’s classic starting verse (hokku): Spring ocean--calmly back and forth all day long (Haruno-umi hinemosu notari notarikana). Send postcards to David McMurray at the International University of Kagoshima, Sakanoue 8-34-1, Kagoshima, 891-0197, Japan, or e-mail (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).