Shadow Pond Journal Issue IV

"Snow covered pine trees and mandarin ducks"  "Secchu matsu ni Oshidori" 

Maruyama Ōkyo (1735 - 1795)

Dear All

It brings me great pleasure to present Issue IV of the Shadow Pond Journal in time for Christmas, where there is an eclectic mix of 100 wonderful haiku and senryū to read from around the globe.  Congratulations to all poets included in this issue and for those not selected, don't despair; there is always next time!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Enjoy...

Katherine E Winnick

Editor

Editors Choice 

her relapse
a crocus bud opens
in false spring

Alvin B Cruz, Philippines 

This haiku captures the fragility of renewal in the face of disruption. The "false spring" reflects the unsettling impacts of climate change, where untimely warmth disrupts nature's rhythms. It also resonates with the end of the year, symbolizing fleeting hopes and the cyclical nature of beginnings and endings.

In the context of ageism, "her relapse" suggests society's tendency to undervalue renewal in later life, much like the vulnerable crocus in an unsupportive environment. This poem invites reflection on fostering genuine, lasting growth—in nature, time, and humanity.

The Poems

snowflakes and I

drifting in silent symphony

Snigdha Agrawal (Banerjee), India 

worm moon revising my life

Cynthia Anderson, USA

suspended in fog an orphan bird’s song

Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA 

the wings

we wished we had

dragonflies

Joanna Ashwell, UK

luminaries flicker

on a dark Christmas Eve

offerings of hot cider

Jo Balistreri, USA 

fresh spring breeze  -

picking dandelions

from the child's teeth

Deborah A Bennett, USA 

orchard deer foraging

Christmas

right around corner

Jerome Berglund, USA 

resolution

waking up in snow

New Year's Day

Steve Black, UK 

climate change —

Christmas gifts are brought by

squads of mosquitoes

Maurizio Brancaleoni, Italy 

February light 

remembering her posture 

as students arrive 

Dr Randy Brooks, USA 

so cold

even the kettle

cries

B. L. Bruce, USA 

redefining pink -

bursting magnolia buds

stretch their baby fists

Clare Bryden, UK

cloud-shaped the unfathomable forms of forgiveness

Stefanie Bucifal, Germany 

a monk’s robe on the hook

autumn lodge

Christina Chin, Malaysia 

early snow-light

our limbs melt together

smiling at dawn

Ria Collins, Ireland 

first

a shadow

stone squirrel

Shane Coppage, USA 

rusty bike the squeals turning over a new leaf

Ellen J. Craft, USA 

crescent moon -

I feed the stray

by moonlight

Anne Curran, New Zealand 

her relapse

a crocus bud opens

in false spring

Alvin B Cruz, Philippines 

flowing

into every tear

autumn rain

Oana Maria Daly

hometown

the yellow sycamore

waving me farewell

Timothy Daly, France 

mountain goats

meeting me halfway

to enlightenment

Tracy Davidson, UK 

family Christmas dinner
an extra place setting
for the dog

Diana Davison, Australia 

the value of money

melts

with the snow

Melissa Dennison, UK 

secret box

made from a tax code

bulbs dormancy

Marie Derley, Belgium 

the night plumps

a Milky Way

Buddha's barbecue

Elliot Diamond, USA

scent of rain …

the pitch change

of rolling thunder

Janice Doppler, USA 

before daylight

a blackbird calling

the new year

Tim Dwyer, Northern Ireland 

bitter wind

the faltering flutter

of a butterfly

Eavonka Ettinger, USA 

winter soon

I line my walls

with paperbacks

Katja Fox, UK 

you taken

full inventory

of our neuroses

Barbara Anna Gaiardoni, Italy

winter stars

filling the sky

like light bulbs

Goran Gatalica, Croatia 

sour jujube

signing divorce papers

on a winter's night

Jahnavi Gogoi, Canada 

New Year's Eve

I miss her warm feet 

Alvaro Carrasquel Gomez, Venezuela 

silent flock

fold in mothy darkness

new lambs born

Sarah Das Gupta, UK 

finding its way in

through the tiniest of cracks

love

Jennifer Gurney, USA 

summer evening

he teaches his son to fish

for stars

Jennifer Hambrick, USA 

walking the moor

swags of black cloud

somehow lifting

 

John Hawkhead, UK 

the flash

of the firefly

and the darkness

Jeff Hoagland, USA 

as I close my eyes frozen star

Ruth Holzer, USA 

first dew christening the chrysalis

Edward Cody Huddleston, USA 

grassland plain

first frost clusters

to every stalk

Marilyn Humbert, Australia 

ripe chestnuts 

shake from spiky sleep

wide-eyed 

R J Humbl', UK

argyle sweaters

watching the geese depart

in formation

Morag Elizabeth Humble, Canada 

a tuft of hair falls from her nest monsoon ends

Lakshmi Iyer, India 

wet pavements gleaming -

a shoal of Christmas fish

in silver paper

Deborah Jones, UK 

spring morning

by the lake

a duet birdsong

Govind Joshi, India 

gusts on the Ganges . . .

over a sleeping mountain

old hairpins glisten

Monica Kakkar, India/USA 

the painted shadows

of the garden trees—

fallen leaves

Emil Karla, France 

sharp holly leaves

first Christmas

with the in-laws

Kimberly Kuchar, USA 

first snow

a white envelope

addressed to you

Lafcadio, USA

too threadbare

to separate their dreams

twin refugees

Douglas J. Lanzo, USA 

meadow ramble . . .

brushing our palms

through goldenrod

Barrie Levine, USA 

beach meditation

the rise and fall

of a dowitcher's bill

Kristen Lindquist

my cigarette smoke

rising in winter drizzle ...

midnight shift over

Chen-ou Liu, Canada 

summer haze;

a bumblebee

coated in pollen

Anthony Lusardi, USA 

open notebook

a dove diving

into the blue

Bipasha Majumder (De), India 

a slivered moon

stretches the possibilities

of language

D.Keali'i MacKenzie, O'ahu

rosemary

a honeybee hugs

her blue scent

Richard Matta , USA 

the moon attracts the tide her dark spill of hair

Joanne Merriam, Canada 

early morning snow

bare black branches

find the shadows in themselves

Basil Meyer, UK 

winterization

emptied pond and poplar

reflecting

Biswajit Mishra, Canada 

spinning wildly

on a tightrope web

filigree leaves

Claire Ninham, UK 

entering the water

I stand in the rivers

of a river

Jimmy Pappas, USA 

fresh snow

all the white space of

a new calendar 

John Pappas, USA 

a splotch of lichen

on a stone

I learn how to sit

M R Pelletier, USA 

slow thaw

a mistle thrush guards

the berry bush

Thomas Powell 

moonwalking

             on a tightrope 

thrush’s song

Vishal Prabhu, India 

gloomy November -

my glass fills

with passito

Maria Cristina Pulvirenti, Italy 

conference of parties

growing concern

soil revolution

Miera Rao, USA 

after sauna

the midnight sun's

snow angels

Sherry Reniker, USA 

cicada brood

the ground holes

it left behind

Bryan Rickert, USA 

seeing through

my doubts--

cherry blossom light

Chad Lee Robinson, USA 

winter apples

the first lines

near my eyes

Marjolein Rotsteeg, Holland 

wetland walk

even my sins

cleansed 

Barbara Sabol, USA 

cold front 

turning my cheek 

the other way

Bonnie J Scherer,Alaska 

silent night fox tracks in the snow

Greg Schwartz, USA 

autumn leaves

our fishpond suddenly

has more koi

Jenny Shepherd, UK 

zero-waste grocery -

shopping for morals 

by the ounce

Nalini Shetty, India 

train window—

the lingering warmth 

of your eyes

Neena Singh, India 

uncrossed 't's

in grandpa's last letter

autumn twilight

Srini, India

saying all

I have to say

this line of white pines

Joshua St Claire, USA 

misty glen

a sheepdog practices

its army crawl

 Debbie Strange, Canada

the king of clouds

hedgehogs feeding

the blue night sky

Alan Summers UK 

a well-driven nail ahead of the freezing rain

Patrick Sweeney, USA 

the buzzard’s talons

yellow as daffodils...

one eye snowdrop white

Kay Syrad, UK 

ladybug

on the bonsai

as if size matters

Leon Tefft, USA 

early frost

a glove forgotten

on the stile’s post

C. X. Turner, UK 

zebra crossing

crocs welcome migration

stop for a snack

D J Tyrer, UK 

city lights

reflecting in the water

lapping waves

Tuyet Van Do, Australia 

autumn way to work…

when does God read

all his emails?

Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania 

autumn arrives

I find myself

caught up in the mist 

Anthony Ward, UK 

sunset

empty bench silhouetted

snow falls

Diane Webster, USA 

an old disco ball

catches sunlight in the barn

Indian summer

Joseph P Wechselberger, USA 

black soot

on his hands

spreading her memory

Jeral Williams 

on a less than generous day

the red berries

of a holly

Tony Williams, Scotland 

not knowing

the world is ending -

snowdrops

Juliet Wilson, Scotland 

purple gallinule her briefcase full of dreams

Amber Winter 

half-moon

this emptiness

without you

Nitu Yumnam, UAE 

pendulous bells chant

names of the dead

...spring blooms 

Cindy Zeiher, New Zealand 

The Poets 

Snigdha Agrawal  (Banerjee), India 

Cynthia Anderson, USA 

Marilyn Ashbaugh, USA 

Joanna Ashwell, UK

Jo Balistreri, USA 

Deborah A Bennett, USA

Jerome Berglund, USA 

Steve Black, UK 

Maurizio Brancaleoni, Italy 

Dr. Randy Brooks, USA 

B. L. Bruce, USA 

Clare Bryden, UK

Stefanie Bucifal, Germany 

Christina Chin, Malaysia 

Ria Collins, Ireland

Shane Coppage, USA 

Ellen J. Craft, USA 

Anne Curran, New Zealand 

Alvin B Cruz, Philippines 

Oana Maria Daly

Timothy Daly, France 

Tracy Davidson, UK 

Diana Davison, Australia 

Melissa Dennison, UK 

Marie Derley, Belgium 

Elliot Diamond, USA

Janice Doppler, USA 

Tim Dwyer, Northern Ireland 

Eavonka Ettinger, USA 

Katja Fox, UK 

Barbara Anna Gaiardoni, Italy

Goran Gatalica, Croatia 

Jahnavi Gogoi, Canada

Alvaro Carrasquel Gomez, Venezuela 

Sarah Das Gupta, UK 

Jennifer Gurney,USA 

Jennifer Hambrick, USA 

John Hawkhead, UK

Jeff Hoagland, USA 

Ruth Holzer, USA 

Edward Cody Huddleston, USA 

Marilyn Humbert, Australia 

R J Humbl', UK

Morag Elizabeth Humble, Canada 

Lakshmi Iyer, India 

Deborah Jones, UK 

Govind Joshi, India 

Monica Kakkar, India/USA 

Emil Karla, France 

Kimberly Kuchar, USA 

Lafcadio, USA 

Douglas J.  Lanzo, USA 

Barrie Levine, USA 

Kristen Lindquist

Chen-ou Liu, Canada 

Anthony Lusardi, USA 

Bipasha Majumder (De), India 

D.Keali'i MacKenzie, O'ahu

Richard Matta, USA 

Joanne Merriam, Canada 

Basil Meyer, UK 

Biswajit Mishra, Canada 

Claire Ninham, UK 

Jimmy Pappas, USA 

John Pappas, USA 

M R Pelletier, USA 

Thomas Powell 

Vishal Prabhu, India 

Maria Cristina Pulvirenti, Italy 

Miera Rao, USA 

Sherry Reniker, USA 

Bryan Rickert, USA 

Chad Lee Robinson, USA 

Marjolein Rotsteeg, Holland 

Barbara Sabol, USA 

Bonnie J Scherer, Alaska 

Greg Schwartz, USA 

Jenny Shepherd, UK

Nalini Shetty, India 

Neena Singh, India 

Srini, India 

Joshua St Claire, USA 

Debbie Strange, Canada 

Alan Summers, UK

Patrick Sweeney, USA 

Kay Syrad, UK 

Leon Tefft, USA

C. X. Turner, UK 

D J Tyrer, UK 

Tuyet Van Do, Australia 

Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania

Anthony Ward, UK 

Diane Webster, USA

Joseph P Wechselberger, USA 

Jeral Williams 

Tony Williams, Scotland 

Juliet Wilson, Scotland 

Amber Winter 

Nitu Yumnam, UAE 

Cindy Zeiher, New Zealand