crispy and tender

calamari

one less squid

snow tipped Dolomites

vapour trails hang below me

I am not the first

Ligurian coast

thick jasmine hangs in the air

with cigarette smoke

light on my face
there is no food
empty fridge

Tried and failed to get above published so reworked to:

empty fridge

hungry

but my face lights up

summerhouse
straw hat for sunny days
hanging

late spring
opening summerhouse
hoovering up dead flies

tea ceremony
facing water
Chiba

by the pond
looking in and staring out
Buddha and the frog

Hong Kong sequence

typhoon season
rain washed streets
wet feet

wind chasing trees
ghosts gathering ground
then silence

Star ferry
stirs up shit smelling water
fragrant harbour

with life leaving them
insects after the typhoon
wave from the pavement

listen to this as a podcast

Riyadh sequence

Allahu Akbar
eyes stinging dusty nostrils
the camel just blinks

searing Riyadh heat
the slow pace of Ramadan
as the pigeon flies

licking gritty teeth
the call to prayer goes out
how low the sun sinks

light fading fast
words dying in darkness
still the page is turned

Arabic incense
sickly sweet in the hot air
hitting my cold face

listen to this as a podcast

business cards

my recent visit

recorded in rectangles

no mobile signal

I cannot communicate

teenage angst

summer day
stroboscopic sun through trees
train journey home

charity shop window
old clothes
my father

Tried and failed to get above published so reworked to:

charity shop window
father's old clothes

and my reflection

homeless man smiles
uriniferous dribble
walk by

with life leaving them

insects after the typhoon

wave from the pavement

typhoon season

rain washed streets

wet feet

watch hands
no fingers
pointing to time

Published (2017) Blithe Spirit (Journal of the British Haiku Society) Volume 27, Number 3, page 55

LHA Ref:
Blithe Spirit 27.3, August 2017

Living Haiku Anthology

Published (2019) All the way home: aging in haiku page 294

typhoon chasing trees

ghosts gathering ground

then silence

Star ferry

stirs up shit smelling water

fragrant harbour

encountered briefs
not mine

infidelity

Tried and failed to get above published so reworked to:

at the office party
illicit fumbling
briefs encountered

rain mantra
pitted patterned puddles
Buddha reflecting

searing Riyadh heat

the slow pace of Ramadan

as the pigeon flies

Arabic incense
sickly sweet in the hot air
hitting my cold face

licking gritty teeth

the call to prayer goes out

how low the sun sinks

Allahu akbar
eyes stinging dusty nostrils
the camel just blinks

my name is yellow
standing next to an old friend
peeing in the snow

Tried and failed to get above published so reworked to:

peeing in the snow
not quite
my full name

Published (2018) Failed Haiku Volume 3, Issue 36, p.18

Living Senryu Anthology

Living Haiku Anthology

fading light
words dying in darkness
the page is turned

dust falling around
the silence after the bomb
speaks volumes

waving not drowning

turbine blades

undisturbed

light wind and slow turn

a farm without animals

electricity