This is a woodblock print, “Ushibori" (Ushibori in the Hitachi province).(Source: NDL Image Bank, National Diet Library (https://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/imagebank/))The artist Hasui Kawase (1883-1957) created this art around 1930.
Editor’s Note – Issue VI
Welcome to the sixth issue of The Shadow Pond Journal - an extension of our second anniversary edition. Thank you to all the poets who submitted their work and to our readers who return again and again to these quiet waters. Here we have 117 poems from 31 countries, each offering a unique voice, a fleeting moment, or a vivid observation captured in haiku and senryū.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
Editor’s Choice – Hifsa Ashraf
sunlit dune—
the curve of her body
in Sufi whirling
I selected this poem for personal reasons, as it resonates deeply with my upbringing in Africa, the Middle and Far East. The imagery of the whirling Sufi dervishes instantly carried me back to Sudan, where their turning bodies and devotional energy were woven into the landscape of my early years. Hifsa Ashraf captures that same luminous movement with remarkable clarity and grace.
Warmly,
Katherine E Winnick
Editor, The Shadow Pond Journal
The Poems
ring rain
girth of her ancestry
shrinking
Sheikha A., Pakistan/United Arab Emirates
grey skies...
wings trace straight lines to warmth
Snigdha Agrawal, India
winter rain —
i drag the dahlia pots
under the awning
Rupa Anand, India
dried fish a splash of last summer
Cynthia Anderson, USA
sunlit dune—
the curve of her body
in Sufi whirling
Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan
winter’s freeze
a sparrow’s song
threads the light
Joanna Ashwell, UK
bittersweet ripens
the broken promise
of a ceasefire
Belinda Behne, USA
in the mist
ellipses
of snow
Jerome Berglund, USA
yin and yang
on the chessboard
another draw
Boryana Boteva, Bulgaria
open windows—
between her lips
his chilly breath
Laila Brahmbhatt, India
standard time —
every time I check
the clock lies
Maurizio Brancaleoni, Italy
winter blue dawn
choice words to draw
closer to you
Dr Randy Brooks, USA
hole in my trainer
the bus shelter rain
swipes right
Helen Buckingham, UK
a fall ginkgo walk
shades of colors
in her eyes
Lakshman Bulusu, USA
retirement my life in adagio
Susan Burch
autumn sunlight
trees imbued
with the Midas touch
Mary Burgess, UK
my fingers stained
from red onion juice
midwinter dusk
Meagan Bussert, USA
winterloam all the potential I have
petro c.k., USA
in solitude
a garden tortoise ambles
unaware of loneliness
Paul Callus, Malta
Anniversaire
quel âge ont les dieux ?
Birthday
how old are the gods ?
Jean- Louis Chartrain, France
dawn rain...
porch tree raindrops
still hold bits of moon
Ram Chandran, India
slow drifting clouds the way we were
Wendy Cobourne, USA
twenty toes in a pond
just skin touching
- a mirror world
Ivan Cole, Australia
a child
connects the dots
winter stars
Alvin B Cruz, Philippines
blue skies -
the hiss of hot air balloons
early morning
Anne Curran, New Zealand
migrant dinghy
the outrage
of the sea
Dr Timothy Daly, Italy
waves of emotion
sailing
your ashes out to sea
Diana Davison, Australia
in the birdbath
bubbles of ice...
winter seclusion
Melissa Dennison, UK
their country
under the rubble
falling chestnuts
Marie Derley, Belgium
prayer flags
wrapped in the wind
frosted oms
Dr Elliot Diamond, USA
midnight Orion reaching the zenith
Tim Dwyer, Northern Ireland
the egrets staring
at the jammed highway
tsunami alert
Bruce H Feingold, USA
seven pigeons fly
blue windows in the sky
anywhere but here
A.H Fitzwilliam Hall, France
my son’s
long eyelashes—
corona flares
Dennis Owen Frohlich, USA
hot cocoa…
asleep, the cat yawns
into sunlight
Joshua Gage, USA
bitter coldness—
the endless stream
of Instagram DMs
Goran Gatalica, Croatia
hedgehog dreams
some greens
among the grey
Mark Gilbert, UK
leaden sky
my mother fusses
over my greys
Jahnavi Gogoi
turning the page
things left unsaid
Clive Grewcock, Scotland
coitus interruptus a jumping spider catches one of the flies
Alvaro Carrasquel Gomez, Venezuela
the reds
totally captivate me
fall
Jennifer Gurney, USA
snowdrops
the green without
snow
Joy Hallinan, USA
what she left
himalayan indigo
waving in thin air
John Hawkhead, UK
cold snap
in the busker's hands
a roadworn guitar
Jeremy Haworth, Ireland
deepening dusk
across the river
an owl calls
Ruth Holzer, USA
unrequited summer crush petroglyphs in shadow
Lee Hudspeth, USA
flying over
the attack zone
magpies
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
at dusk
waves of distant laughter
our ancestors
Roberta Beach Jacobson, USA
snow clouds
the cold air tunes
to silence
A J Johnson, USA
first sun rising
first sky -
a blue umbrella
Karl Kliparchuk, Canada
winter clouds
she laughs
she drank them all
Hynek Koziol, Czech Republic
early birth
a new reindeer follows
the herd through snow
Kimberly Kuchar, USA
dandelion
a scarlet dragonfly
trying to open a bud
Govind Joshi, India
this reluctance
to open your heart
river ice
Barrie Levine, USA
absent ocean
fossils mourn it
two miles up
Laurinda Lind
wildflowers
wind on the cheek
of a memory
Darrell Lindsey, USA
rising alone
with the light of dawn
scent of an old love
Chen-ou Liu, Canada
black echo
the toxic breath
of fear
Linda Lee Ludwig, USA
drooling weather-
the wind scatters
washed air
Brigita Lukina, Croatia
old staircase-
entrance to the neglected
past
Glorija Lukina, Croatia
plush robe of fog warms winter mood
Mirjam Mahler, Germany
memorial meeting
all but one dressed
in tears
Bipasha Majumder (De), India
the winter evening
a page of his diary
interrupted mid-word
Urszula Marciniak, Poland
starless night
snowdrop flowers
brighten the garden
Jacek Margolak, Poland
morning fog my fears in sfumato
Martina Matijević, Croatia
moonless sea
pulses of squid
in falling starlight
Richard Matta, USA
rising through the snow rose
Rita Melissano, USA
with or without
snow
the season of pines
Wilda Morris, USA
white
blankets our world
the sky has fallen
Sherri J Moye-Dombrosky, USA
wintersweet kissed crisp air wordles poem
Pegah Rahmati Nezhad, Iran
my auburn hair
now flecked
with winter
Claire Ninham, UK
lush trees
rippling in the wake
white feathers
Gareth Nurden, Wales
winter wind
the last rose wrestled
from its stem
Helen Ogden, USA
sketching
the moon
sandpipers song
Morgan Ophir, Australia
Perseid shower
our words
taper
off
Lorraine A Padden, USA
autumn gusts
a moonlit cobweb
baskets the chill
Shruti Patel, Switzerland
waterfall qigong –
an earthworm wriggles
through sapless leaves
Maeve O'Sullivan, Ireland
rainy day --
a cornflower crayon
revises the sky
John Pappas, USA
highs barely higher
than the lows
bleached sky
M R Pelletier, USA
new red rice weeps like an adolescent willow
James Penha, Indonesia
forest dawn
a persimmon eaten
on two sides
Vishal Prabhu, India
clear transparent -
crumpled origami
sidelined
Maria Cristina Pulvirenti, Italy
seeping into
a eucalyptus bath
autumn stillness
Geethanjali Rajan, India
winter clouds
the pink of her smile
dimpling into monochrome
Vaishnavi Ramaswamy, India
cold night
a new flute learner
flickers the star
Bhawana Rathore, India
HMRC
this never ending wait
try again
Steph Rendall, UK
outside the tattoo parlor
red camellias
Sherry Reniker, USA
arriving late
the heron
in my spot
Bryan Rickert, USA
asking for one more spring mountain stream
Kelly Sargent, USA
romancing
a diamond in the rough
budding moon
Bonnie J Scherer, Alaska
bickering all morning
she suddenly silences me
with her bare legs
Tejendra Sherchan, Himalayas
puzzle night
10,000 interlocking pieces
snowbound
Ronald Scully, USA
winter moon—
rinsing rice
in a steel bowl
Neena Singh, India
childhood home--
tangled roots
of banyan
Neha Singh Soni, India
lush meadow
broken by birch
pheasant screech
Sue Spiers, UK
rippling under
the espresso crema
winter sun
Joshua St Claire, USA
snow-eater wind
an ensō forms around
your headstone
Debbie Strange, Canada
startled crows of Buddha laughter the harvest rains
Alan Summers, UK
through bare branches
geese threading
a patchwork sky
Leon Tefft, USA
global warming the length of the glacier’s dirty snout
Corinne Timmer, Portugal
midnight swim
an otter slinks into
another world
Stephen Toft, UK
biting cold -
a morse code alphabet
your breaths
Maria Tosti
midwinter bauble
we order kintsugi dust
for this years cracks
C. X. Turner, UK
night fishing
the mosquitoes and I
are enemies
Tuyet Van Do, Australia
rising tide…
flutter of a purple sunbird
from the waterfall
Sathya Venkatesh, India
cocoa cools…
under the mistletoe
our first kiss
Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania
bird shadow
sings silently
in shades of night
Anthony Ward, UK
starlings wing to wing
across the telephone lines
frost clings
Diane Webster
Midnight Mass
the ebb and flow of chilled breaths
throughout the pews
Joseph P. Wechselberger, USA
downtown lovers
wings of a dove
symbiosis
Penny Wei, Shanghai / USA
the first bars
of Beethoven’s fifth –
woodpecker serendipity
Richard West, USA
moonlit
while we sleep—
fox corridors
Tony Williams, Scotland
secrets
you never shared -
falling leaves
Juliet Wilson, Scotland
last drops
before we leave
hummingbirds
Kathabela Wilson, USA
pumpkin picking
she tries speed dating
at the orchard
Amber Winter
ungendered nouns
linguists
on the politics of love
Robert Witmer, Japan
waking without you
perfume lingering
on the pillow
Dave Wynne-Jones, UK
The Poets
Sheikha A., Pakistan /United Arab Emirates
Snigdha Agrawal, India
Rupa Anand, India
Cynthia Anderson, USA
Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan
Joanna Ashwell, UK
Belinda Behne, USA
Jerome Berglund, USA
Boryana Boteva, Bulgaria
Laila Brahmbhatt, India
Maurizio Brancaleoni, Italy
Dr Randy Brooks, USA
Helen Buckingham, UK
Lakshman Bulusu, USA
Susan Burch
Mary Burgess, UK
Meagan Bussert, USA
petro c.k., USA
Paul Callus, Malta
Jean- Louis Chartrain, France
Ram Chandran, India
Ivan Cole, Australia
Wendy Cobourne, USA
Alvin B Cruz, Philippines
Anne Curran, New Zealand
Dr Timothy Daly, France
Diana Davison, Australia
Melissa Dennison, UK
Marie Derley, Belgium
Dr Elliot Diamond, USA
Tim Dwyer, Northern Ireland
Bruce H Feingold, USA
A.H Fitzwilliam Hall, France
Dennis Owen Frohlich, USA
Joshua Gage, USA
Goran Gatalica, Croatia
Mark Gilbert, UK
Alvaro Carrasquel Gomez, Venezuela
Jahnavi Gogoi
Clive Grewcock, Scotland
Jennifer Gurney, USA
Joy Hallinan, USA
John Hawkhead, UK
Jeremy Haworth, Ireland
Ruth Holzer, USA
Lee Hudspeth, USA
Marilyn Humbert, Australia
Roberta Beach Jacobson, USA
A J Johnson, USA
Govind Joshi, India
Karl Kliparchuk, Canada
Hynek Koziol, Czech Republic
Kimberly Kuchar, USA
Barrie Levine, USA
Laurinda Lind
Darrell Lindsey, USA
Chen-ou Liu, Canada
Linda Lee Ludwig, USA
Brigita Lukina, Croatia
Glorija Lukina, Croatia
Mirjam Mahler, Germany
Bipasha Majumder (De), India
Urszula Marciniak, Poland
Jacek Margolak, Poland
Martina Matijević, Croatia
Richard Matta, USA
Rita Melissano, USA
Wilda Morris, USA
Sherri J Moye-Dombrosky, USA
Pegah Rahmati Nezhad, Iran
Claire Ninham, UK
Gareth Nurden, Wales
Helen Ogden, USA
Morgan Ophir, Australia
Lorraine A Padden, USA
Shruti Patel, Switzerland
Maeve O'Sullivan, Ireland
John Pappas, USA
M R Pelletier, USA
James Penha, Indonesia
Vishal Prabhu, India
Maria Cristina Pulvirenti, Italy
Geethanjali Rajan, India
Vaishnavi Ramaswamy, India
Bhawana Rathore, India
Steph Rendall, UK
Sherry Reniker, USA
Bryan Rickert, USA
Kelly Sargent, USA
Bonnie J Scherer, Alaska
Tejendra Sherchan, Himalayas
Ronald Scully, USA
Neena Singh, India
Neha Singh Soni, India
Sue Spiers, UK
Joshua St Claire, USA
Debbie Strange, Canada
Alan Summers, UK
Leon Tefft, USA
Corinne Timmer, Portugal
Maria Tosti
C. X. Turner, UK
Tuyet Van Do, Australia
Stephen Toft, UK
Sathya Venkatesh, India
Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania
Anthony Ward, UK
Diane Webster
Joseph P. Wechselberger, USA
Penny Wei, Shanghai / USA
Richard West, USA
Tony Williams, Scotland
Juliet Wilson, Scotland
Kathabela Wilson, USA
Amber Winter
Robert Witmer, Japan
Dave Wynne-Jones, UK
Thank you Editor Katherine E Winnick for including a haiku of mine in this issue of SPJ. I have already read many of the haiku on offer, and am having an enjoying time! Best regards for Christmas and the new year!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for published my poem!
ReplyDeleteWish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2026!