Some haiku

in-flight meal –
a kookaburra swipes
my fries - Windfall, 2015

tablet time ---
social media's
many bytes  - Windfall, 2014.

bush poets the overflow of Clancy - Prospect #5, 2015.

shiver of leaves . . .
the equivocal stance
of a deer - Kokado  2015.

distant hills...
the artist running
out of blue - The  Edge Anthology 2015

first spring day ...
birdsong unravels
my knitting - Cattails January 2016.

sanding
the knots that tie him
to his job. - in Cattails January 2016.

first school day ...
the wagtail's turn
for show and tell  - in Cattails January 2016.

moon-shadow...
facing the silhouette
of what comes next -  A Hundred Gourds  5.2, 2015.

spring cleaning
I grab a sunbeam
to polish the brass - Presence 54, 2016.

chocolate bunny . . .
so hard to remove
your silver foil -  Kokako 24, 2016.

abandoned cat . . .
the return of springtime
for a homeless man - Cattails May 2016.

air on a g string  . . .
the scribbled manuscript
of a thrush -  Frameless Sky 4, 2016.

whetstone . . .
in the carpenter's eyes
a hint of steel   - Presence 55, 2016.

Some recent published haiku

winter's fingers . . .
the blue tongue lizard
tucked up tight

flying fox night . . .
a few chirps left over
for morning

in-flight meal –
a kookaburra swipes
my fries - Windfall, 2015.

tablet time ---
social media's
many bytes  - Windfall, 2014.

bush poets the overflow of Clancy - Prospect #5, 2015.

shiver of leaves . . .
the equivocal stance
of a deer - Kokado  2015.

distant hills...
the artist running
out of blue - The  Edge Anthology 2015

first spring day ...
birdsong unravels
my knitting - Cattails January 2016.

sanding
the knots that tie him
to his job. - in Cattails January 2016.

first school day ...
the wagtail's turn
for show and tell  - in Cattails January 2016.

moon-shadow...
facing the silhouette
of what comes next -  A Hundred Gourds  5.2, 2015.

spring cleaning
I grab a sunbeam
to polish the brass - Presence 54, 2016.

chocolate bunny . . .
so hard to remove
your silver foil -  Kokako 24, 2016.

abandoned cat . . .
the return of springtime
for a homeless man - Cattails May 2016.

air on a g string  . . .
the scribbled manuscript
of a thrush -  Frameless Sky 4, 2016.

whetstone . . .
in the carpenter's eyes
a hint of steel   - Presence 55, 2016.

bush stone curlew

bush stone curlew

burhinus grallarius

when the moon gleams silver white

I hear the bush stone curlew write

its piercing notes upon the night

bird as motionless as stone

when peril strikes your bushy home

you fade into the bark and loam

Ngamirliri, spread your tail

with fan-like wings through soils of shale

dance the story you bewail

wer-looo wer-looo ki-liri-coo

in cascades of nocturnal blue

let dreaming spirits follow you

for they can read that yellow eye

like topaz as your plaintive cry

shatters the silence of the sky

as you sign your autograph

on woodland habitat held fast

don't let this be its epitaph

____________________________________________________________

Recorded for the Bimblebox Art Project 2014

The Hard Facts

The Hard Facts

the rumble

of cantering cattle . . .

a kelpie's zigzag

two cockatoos

respond to the stock-whip

crows squabble

over a carcass . . .

the bank's ultimatum

sunset . . .

a landscape stretches

in the red

the hard facts

of jam on damper

campfire . . .

twin moons shining

from a mopoke's eyes

Hazel Hall

First published in The Canberra Times Panorama April 11, 2015, p. 18.

An Australian Christmas Carol

An Australian Christmas Carol

used to it, he is –

dog before the man

I like your dog, they say

today the black lab wears a necklet

of silver tinsel and a bell

below inquiring eyes

I want to stroke the silken nose

but say instead

looks like your dog's

ready for Christmas –

he doesn't flinch

who's that, he says

he's tall, assured, a man of the land

I guess he's known its hardness

you don't know me, I blunder

well I do now ‒

I'm Ross and this is Harry

he puts out his right hand

I drop my shopping

take it, warm and confident

okay with the world;

shaking seasons greetings into mine

somebody yells

hi Ross

hi Harry

and he answers with a name

he won't forget we met . . .

then they're off

to buy a gift for his grandson

dog leading man,

disappearing in the crowd

of trash n' treasure vendors selling Christmas

he doesn't have to wonder

where he's going –

he's following his star

Hazel Hall

First published in Kelen, Kit and Page, Geoff (Eds.), 2014, The House Is Not Quiet And The World Is Not Calm. Page 44.

Updating: some of my published pieces 2014

this perfect

pink hyacinth spring . . . 

fragrant scent

of new-born infants

fills my mind with rain 

- in Kei, M. Bright Stars 3,  2014, p. 40.

luna moth

hovers too close

to the web

my young friend too often

writes about death 

- in Kei, M. Bright Stars 3, 2014, p. 40

a rainbow

straddling the river

waxes then wanes

you thought you were safe

 with a foot on each side 

- In The Tanka Journal of Japan 45, p. 20.

two mynahs

weave plastic pieces

in a nest --- 

that hint of discomfort 

you have in my presence

 - In Rice, David, Ribbons 10:2, 2014, p. 26.

reaching
into the river
a willow's limbs . . . 
your long distance call
after fifty years

  - In Babusci, Pamela,  Moonbathing 11, 2014, p. 8.

Call for Submissions Flood Fire and Famine

Call for Submissions:

Flood, Fire and Famine. Close: 29 August 2013.

The School of Music Poets invites all Australian poets and songwriters to submit unpublished poetry and/or song lyrics of no more than 30 lines on any or all of the three themes (flood, fire, famine) for its new anthology of Australian poetry and song. We are happily aware that Australia has not experienced a full scale famine and will accept innovative poems or song lyrics exploring conditions that might be conducive to short or long term food security. Responsive and ekphrastic pieces are welcome. If submitting song lyrics, please do not include chord symbols or music scores, as they will not be accepted. Entrants may submit up to two poems for consideration. Each poem should be on a separate page without personal details. Your full details should be included on a separate page. The following information is required:

1. name/s of the poem/s or song/s that you have submitted;

2. your details, including name, date, email address and telephone number;

3. a statement that your work is original and unpublished.

Te selection panel will include award winning Canberra poets P.S. Cottier (The Glass Violin 2008; The Cancellation of Clouds 2011; Selection Criteria for Death 2013. ), Suzanne Edgar (The Painted Lady 2006, 2007; Talking Late 2012; The Love Procession 2012) and Kathy Kituai (Straggling into Winter, 2007; In Two Minds, [with Amelia Fielden]; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow [with Amelia Fielden] 2011).

Entries should be sent to hazelsshall@gmail.com. We accept no liability for loss of electronic mail. SOM Poets is unable to pay for successful submissions but each poet and song writer involved will receive a complementary copy of the anthology.