hedgerow #7

welcome to #7 of hedgerow, bringing you 19 different poets & artists! please keep sending in your work and thanks also for spreading the word, every effort is appreciated. grateful to contributors and readers alike. with love & kindness…

Marianne Paul

beneath Toronto
there is an ancient river
the current as slow as the flow
of glass
there is something beautiful
about the hidden
the forgotten
in the form of rivers
beneath our surfaces

Marianne Paul is a Canadian novelist and poet. You can learn more about her work by visiting http://www.mariannepaul.com or following her on twitter @mariannpaul.

Jennifer Arbini

Child of the Earth

I was a child of the Earth:
Dirty hands, dirty feet.
I loved the sound
of cicadas in summer;
Rattle snake grass
Rattling against the hem of my skirt
And billowing dust.

I was a child of the Earth:
Curious eyes, curious heart,
I relished the adventure of exploring the land;
Cool streams
Covered by an evergreen canopy
And dappled light.

I was a child of the Earth.
Devoted mind, devoted spirit,
I played in this backyard everyday;
Long ago memories
Lingering in my daily thoughts
And writing my story.

Jennifer Arbini is a Californian woman whose greatest passion is to travel and experience the world.

Jo Waterworth

It’s OK

I can remember lying on the earth
gazing at the blazing-with-wonder night sky
knowing I would not fall off.

Shining right back.

Let me hold your hand.

Jo Waterworth lives in Glastonbury and has had a pamphlet of short poetry published by Poetry Space of Bristol.

Neelam Dadhwal

Blue

The sky dripped away or
held back, with no remorse,
I ever watched
the crescent blue,
striking sometimes
my heart
of green valley, of meadows,
of limbs of forms,
and I decided
to look at you,
and hold it for ever,
the blue of you.

The ever blue.

Neelam Dadhwal, Chandigarh, India

Paula Dawn Lietz

Paula Dawn Lietz ( Pd Lietz ) is an accomplished multi-genre artist, photographer and poet. http://www.pdlietzphotography.com

Clifton Redmond

Square Peg

He was different.
He could see sounds,
feel colours.

When people tried
to get close
he threw tantrums,

pressed his hands
against his ears,
his cocoon.

The doctors diagnosed
him with fancy words,
dosed him with drugs;

branded him unstable,
and filed him away
in a locked cabinet.

Clifton Redmond is an Irish poet; a member of the Carlow Writers Co-operative, his poems have been published in various literary magazines and journals.

Anne Curran

just loving
I hold him close
afraid
the storm in me
might push him away

Anne Curran lives in Hamilton, New Zealand close to her
parents where she writes, dreams and works to help elderly
stay in their homes.

Melanie Barbato

Roman Room

Mnemonists
Tie thoughts to tangible things
With the chair, the table
The framed painting on the bedroom wall
They recall
Random words
Or the order
Of shuffled cards
I do this, too, but for reassurance
I touch in my room
The wood and the glass
Substitutes for what
Has been wrested from my hands
When I ask who am I?
They say
You give us shelter –
We remember the names

Melanie Barbato is currently completing her doctoral studies in Indology and Religious Studies at LMU Munich/ Germany.

Carole Johnston

among tombstones
an old man in a chair
red cap and jacket
playing music for the dead
leaves blowing in the wind

Carole Johnston lives in Lexington, Kentucky USA where she drives around Bluegrass backroads with a notebook and camera in the front seat, capturing the haiku moment. Journeys:Getting Lost, Carole’s first chapbook of haiku and tanka, is now available for presale from Finishing Line Press. The books will be delivered in January. https://finishinglinepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=2211

Maureen Sudlow

It’s just an old cardboard box from my mother’s attic. My sister wants to throw it out with ‘all the other rubbish’, but I am afraid of losing more of my mother than I can bear. When I open it, there is a smell of dust and old peppermints, and I think I feel the pressure of my mother’s warm hand on mine.

memories are
the treasures that I hold
these photographs

Maureen Sudlow is a member of The New Zealand Society of Authors (Northland), and the New Zealand Poetry Society, and writes mainly poetry and text for children’s picture books.

Billy Antonio

summer vacation
my daughter’s crayons
scattered on the floor

late afternoon
an old woman carries
the sun
on a winnowing basket
on her way home

Billy Antonio is a public school teacher in the Philippines where he writes fiction and poetry to remind himself of moments he thinks are worth remembering.

Roary Williams

crystal
on a string
in the window
first thing the sun
has said all day

Roary Williams, Albuquerque New Mexico, USA, is a simple poet who loves nature and the seasons (@CoyoteSings)

Stevie Strang

november sunrise
silently inches its way
across the yard
unfolding the morning
one ray at a time

Stevie Strang is a writer, photographer/Artist and late night poet in Southern California. More of her work can be viewed at http://justperfectstudio.blogspot.com/

S.Eta Grubešić

Grain of sand.
In my shoe I wear the
whole universe.

S.Eta Grubešić, Croatia, ex-journalist, writer short story , poems and photographer. Her works have been published in various books and literary e-portals.

Vibeke Laier

touch of
moonlight in the
evening prayer

gentle waves
a line of stars
painted in the sand

Vibeke Laier lives in Randers, Denmark, she has been writing and studying poetry since 2012, but her interest in the art of haiku stretches back to when she was a schoolgirl.

Tim Gardiner

onshore wind sea horses dance

Tim Gardiner, Manningtree, England is a professional ecologist who has written scientific papers, natural history books and poetry which has been published in literary journals such as Blithe Spirit and Frogpond.

Julie Warther

above the spillway —
root steps
in the riverbank

Julie Warther writes haiku from her home in Dover, Ohio where she lives with her husband and three children.

Laura Williams

all that remains … frost on the blackberry brambles

Laura Williams has been writing haiku and tanka since 2012. She lives in California, USA. http://www.foralovelything.blogspot.com

Caroline Skanne

Caroline Skanne, rochester, uk, obsessed with anything wild & free, she is the founder of hedgerow: a journal of small poems.