a speck in my eye

becomes

the first bat of the evening

the jade whip in her hand

grows...mysteriously

the dragon's eyes

become

the fisherman's cigarettes

the fox in my dream

becomes

my neighbour's cockerel

Parisian hotel

through the wall

la petite mort

coronativity

Mary and Joseph

socially distanced

Sequence 5 with Erin Castaldi

winter forest
snow streaked
only by shadows

needle and thread
hand embroidered hanky
deep ancestry

leafless trees
the sky
as big as it gets

worship song
matching my pitch
to hers

wet ivy dripping
into the cold pond
carp unseen

Roger Watson
Erin Castaldi

vixen morning

the smell of fear

among the chickens

Pea TV Uncut: Roger Watson speaks of humour in haiku

 Listen here.

morning crow

concealed

behind the mist

****

morning crow
behind the mist

(divorce pending)*

* suggestion from Michael Dylan Welch

morning crow

behind the mist

lost in thought

moon breath

a child's face

upturned

the cyclist

wearing a face mask

and no helmet

Published (2021) Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 37

fresh reams of paper

my mind

goes blank

Published (2021) Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 47

two kids

kicking up leaves

track and trace

Published (2020) Blo͞o Outlier Journal Winter

into the grey sky

a calligraphy

of birds

****

Alternative version:

into the grey sky

a calligraphy

of starlings

****

a murmuration

in the grey sky

evening calligraphy

cicada sunset

the eucalyptus

begins to shiver

Published (2020) Blithe Spirit Volume 31 Number 1 page 38

government briefing

Lockdown 2.0

the sequel

Published (2021) The Poetry Pea Journal of haiku and senryu Winter page 54

winter hawthorne
festooned
with bags of dog poo

Published (2021) Failed Haiku Volume 6, issue 52, page 19

wet ivy dripping

into the cold pond

carp unseen

Sunday Mass

blessing myself

with alcohol gel

Published (2020) Creatix Number 51

over Stone Creek

a curlew takes flight

into the grey sky

****

a curlew takes flight

into the grey sky

just the

                silent

        sound

        of

                one

                    leaf

water calligraphy

seen

but not read

concrete mushrooms

I whisper

to insects

Published (2021) weird laburnum 7 February

the bare stone

after

the frog jumps

from behind face masks

seeing each other

eye to eye

Published (2021) The Asahi Shimbun 29 January 2021

Published (2021) Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 27

the days

shortening

along with my temper

Published (2021) Failed Haiku Volume 6, issue 52, page 19

day's end

the fisherman

releases his catch

the fisherman
his keep net full
of dreams

midges*

unable to pretend

their absence

Midges are tiny flying insects with a wingspan of only 2-3mm. There are over 35 different species of biting midge in Scotland, but it is Culicoides impunctatus, otherwise known as the Highland Midge that earns its place as Scotland’s most ferocious foe.

You’ll be an all-you-can-eat buffet for their miniature scissor-like jaws if you foolishly venture out in ‘midge weather’ without your insect repellent.

From

Midge Facts

a hot dog
without mustard
howling at the moon

Mustafa

They call me Mustafa

In Karakoy

But dry food is not enough

A bowl of water?

I have no need

I drink from puddles

Crossing the Galata Bridge

They call me Mehmet

They have fish

Some caught, some scraps

But  moist and salty

I drink from puddles

In Tophane

Such riches

Unfinished iskender

I pull the slices

From stale pitta bread

I drink from puddles

Here I have no name

Tophane is no home

For the likes of me

I lower the tone

Tourists don't want stray cats

So I get moved on

Back in Karakoy

Ignoring my progeny

I seek a wife

One who won't scratch me

They call me Mustafa

I drink from puddles

she stirs my Turkish coffee grounds for divorce

Published (2021) Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 41

the muezzin's call

reminds me

it's opening time

Published (2020) Creatix March

forty years married
less kama
and more sutra

Published (2020) Creatix Number 51

flashing past me
empty promises
billboard poetry

unable to sleep
the pillow book
inside my head

Published (2020) Weird Laburnum 5 November

early morning

a fox
struts his stuff

Sequence 4 with Erin Castaldi

the sour smell
of a cork
popping

****

steam engine

the thick smoke

of tomorrow's wind

****

the hissing smell

of bacon

frying

****
rain washes away
crows soaking wet
with wonder

****

the flickering smell

of a candle

burning

****

Roger Watson

Erin Castaldi

Published (2021) Failed Haiku Volume 6, Issue 64, page 84

daughter-in-law
saying it
for the first time

autumn evening
candle wax
and burnt pumpkin

Published (2020) Blithe Spirit Volume 30 Number 4 page 6

Sequence with Erin Castaldi

early evening pond
the splash
of a ghost carp

tornado season
thick thunder wind
buried memories

midsummer montbretia
flames
lick the garden

earth, air, wind, fire

the pressures that lift

men up

patio door
sliding
into silence

cloud woman
drum of thunder
night skin

Roger Watson
Erin Castaldi

Published (2021) The Bamboo Hut Number 2

howling mushrooms
I dream
of clouds

listening
to sunflowers
with
van Goch's
ear

first Mass
after lockdown
empty      pew    s

my wife's old bike
so many miles
between us

Published (2020) Stardust Haiku Issue 45

Published (2021) Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 19

that old plate
the one
that just won't break

so
you can make an omelette
out of bad eggs

midsummer montbretia
flames
lick the garden

a fledgling
on the grass
no cat in sight

wisteria

wistfully

winding 

olive bread

my carotid glands

anticipate

tapping

my grandfather’s barometer

childhood memory

broken barometer

no pressure

Zoom or Skype?
my place or yours?
the new normal

new bed
same sides
bigger gap

wild mushroom window dream

Published (2020) weird laburnum 7 August

quiet church
just the smell
of hand sanitiser

Published (2020) Blithe Spirit Volume 31 Number 1 page 38

the hollow sound
of
wooden wind chimes

the old cat
ominous scraping
at the litter tray

stone circle
everyone
speculates

lakeside trail
a pied wagtail
shakes her booty

evening pond
the splash
of a ghost carp

beneath shell eyes
shore dreams of fish

early evening
in the Friend's graveyard
short shadows

garden
  song
    before
      wet
        blossom
          morning

Published (2020) seashores Volume 5 page 86

lockdown heatwave
in each room
a fly

how quickly
the sakura blossom
turns to bird poo

the striped sound
of a
woodpecker

Published (2022) seashores Volume 5 page 86

tanka

night sky
our hands
barely touching
strawberry moon
without cream

Published (2020) BHS 30th Tanka Anthology page 29

tanka

relationship
counselling
we meet half way
but the bridge
collapses

above
  moon
    wood
      still
        purple
          blossom

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut  Number 3

pale peonies

drooping

momento mori

a dragonfly

electric blue

not a day wasted

Published (2020) weird laburnum 7 August

Magpies

a magpie

swoops on the sparrows

playground bully

Published (2021) Haiku International Number 150, page 12

****

an anxiety of magpies

****

a menacing of magpies

hooting
the silhouette
of an owl

pondering
the sound
of pigeon flight

on the fence
two pigeons
foreplay

a murmuration of bees

harvest dawn
dreaming
the smell of wet grass

Published (2022) Water BHS Anthology page 30

last rays of the sun
goosebumps
on my legs

dawn dreaming
the sound
of petals

dawn chorus to dusk
same sound
different pigeon

tergiversation
first one thing
then another

A sense of loss Sequence with Erin Castaldi

leaves

a trail of moonlight

parting lovers

this heartbeat

resonating

in my ears

falls asleep

headlong

into stars

turning over in bed

last night's barbecue

still warm

sifting moonlight

tempered glass cast

a tepid glow

Erin Castaldi

Roger Watson

Pubilshed (2021) Failed Haiku Volume 6, issue 69, page 39

peeling layers
from
my mind's banana

Menagerie - Sequence with Erin Castaldi

what what
the skim
of low flying swans

tall pines

ravens caw and jostle

Spring wanting

the early worm
emerging
the blackbird...watching

out from under
the cat's paw
fighting squirrels

glancing up
a blue tit
gone

Roger Watson
Erin Castaldi

wild strawberries
with just a hint
of fox pee

two pigeons
on the narrow branches
the mile high club

Published (2020 Poetry Pea Series 3 Episode 15: Chocolate Box

hot spring wind
above thunder
creaking fish
dream of
summer

time
drops
from the dragon clock*

With acknowledgement to The Song of Kiều by Nguyễn Du
Translated with an introduction by Timothy Allen (2019)
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241360668

* a clock that dripped water to indicate the passage of time

sakura blossom
on the koi pond
two legends meet

Published (2020) Poetry Pea Series 3 Episode 14: Voyages
Published (2020) Poetry Pea Series 3 Episode 15: Chocolate Box

in the ivy
the wren
I never see

Published (2020 Poetry Pea Series 3 Episode 15: Chocolate Box
Published (2021) Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 15

half way house
from the window
Tubular Bells

only the weeds
listening
to my lament

forming an orderly queue

sparrows

at the birdbath

hot
  spring
    harvest
      moon
         beam

leaving my dinosaur

of prejudices

in the Jurassic parking lot

the insistence
of
wood pigeons

Liminality - Sequence with Erin Castaldi

eagle cry
jolts me out of
spring fog
****

from the undergrowth
the year begins
croaking
****

old bog

the black beaks

of Tundra swans

****

snowmelt
losing its grip
on the mountain
****

daylilies

the last time I

dreamt in color

****

fading light
the last bee
hurries home

Erin Cataldi
Roger Watson

Roger Watson
Erin Castaldi

Published (2020) Presence Issue 67, July pages 90-91

Çiçek tozları

Sürüp giden

Olası fırtına

the sun

leaving her smile

on a stone

Kadir Aydemir

Translated by Gulcan Taskirin, edited by Roger Watson

Published (2020) seashores Volume 4 April page 14

Originally published in:
Kadir Aydemir (20914) Sessizliğin Bekçisi (The Guardian of silence) Publisher: Yitik Ülke Yayınları (Lost Country Publications), Istanbul ISBN: 978-605-4841-59-2

dusk chorus
all the birds
sundowning

springtime
gradually disappearing
my neighbours

a butterfly
puzzled
by a pane of glass

Mentioned (2021) as close to runner up by David Jacobs in Another Year The London Haiku Group Anthology 2020 page 7

a woodpecker
but not
where I was looking

my electric toothbrush
humming a tune
for me

an oblivious bee
zig-zagging
between headstones

Published (2020) The Mainichi 3 June

Included in The Mainichi Haiku in English Annual Selection 2020 

overcast
a patch of blue
races across the sky

winter's death throes
birch blossom
shivering

Funereal senryu

retirement day

the undertaker's final nail

in the coffin
****

closing time

the coffin-maker grins

"nailed it"

****

wilding harvest
dandelions
on a still evening
****

wilding harvest
with only a splash
of dandelions

early spring morning
the smoke
of autumn leaves
****

sunny spring morning
a resilience
of frost
****

Mother’s Day

in my mind

scattering her ashes

curiosity
kills the duckling
pike rising

in the refrigerator
I freeze
thunder

crab eyes glistening
between
creaking waves

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut  Number 3

my daughter
showing me
the evening star

at sunset
the prominence
of trees

a bevy of doves
gathering
at dusk

Published (2020) Haiku International Number 149 page 7

I investigate
creaking mushrooms
while blossom shivers

the                hummm
       ing                      bird
                                was
            there

Published (2020) Creatix Number 49

fluttering bamboo
the ancestors
arrive

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut  Number 3

the compass
in my prayer mat
pointing to Rumi

existential sushi
with lashings
of wabi-sabi sauce

climbing the old church tower
reaching
the moral high ground

octopus breath
the effervescence
of love

inside
the folded newspaper
toast crumbs

Published (2020) Blithe Spirit Number 30 Issue 2 page 29

between
cicada breaths
petal wind

Dew (tsuyu) death haiku

my old body:
a drop of dew grown
heavy at the leaf tip
****
oi no me ya
hazue no omaru
tsuyu no tama

Kida d.1968 (90 years)

****

like dewdrops
on a lotus leaf
I vanish
****
hasu no ha no
tsuyu to kieyuku
wagami tana

Senryu  d.1827

****

to grass it comes
and turns to grass:
a drop of dew

kusa ni kite
kusa ni kaeru ya
tsuyu no tama

Shikatu d. 1767 (53 years)

****

I wish this body
might be dew in a field
of flowers

hana no negai
hanano no tsuyu to
naro mi kana

Tembo d. 1823 (83 years)

****

even dew distilled
from a thousand herbs
can't cure this illness

shisho ni wa
chigusa no tsuyu no
gen mo nashi

Tojun d. 1695 (73 years)

dead plant skin

the garden

beneath

my breath

blooming

early spring blossom
one sneeze
after another

the adopted peasant

reeking of fish

considers

the willow tree

and expires

(in honour of Namagusai Tazakurai)

wet pigeons

with ruffled feathers

adding to their misery

on a run of bad luck
I search the night sky
for syzygy

in the spirit
of Alfred Jarry
the pataphysical
becomes
the possible

ships of the desert
waltzing
in ochre dust

without eye contact
greeting
the first nation man

Coronavirus sequence

coronavirus

I quarantine

my fears

Published (2020) Frogpond Volume 43:2 page 11
****

no problem
finding a seat
coronavirus
****

isolated
wishing I could blame
coronavirus
****

from me
         to you
coronavirus
***

coronavirus
the refrigerator full
of light
****

no hugs, no kisses

is this coronavirus

or is it over?
****

coronavirus

all shopping bags

bulging
***

each morning
through the letterbox
coronavirus
****

coronavirus lockdown
our old cat
with more food that me
****

praying

that Covid-19

doesn’t go viral

****

lockdown lifted
packing away
those happy memories
****

my COVID-19 walk
glue sniffers and junkies
in the park
****

flat screen TV personality disorder

coffee break down time out of body experience

identity theft
I pass myself
in the street

just below the surface
my submarine love

approaching the flames
I become
               people

Krakatoa

south

of my imagination

Published (2020) Failed Haiku Volume 5, Issue 51, page 61

green grass field mouse trap shut door handle with care less time out maneouvered

Lammastide
once again
I predict the past

vernal equinox
I thrust my hands
deeper into my pockets

Published (2020) Wales Haiku Journal Summer

the mousetrap
the spider's web
deceitful
like the eye
of the storm

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut Number 2

looking up
from my notebook
three old men reminiscing
"she was gorgeous"
today's gogyoshi
****

three old men
reminiscing
"she was gorgeous"

shattered mirror
the compound eye
of the drosophila

Accepted (2020) HSA Anthology

holding up my trousers
Orion’s belt

Published (2020) Creatix Number 48

Published (2020) Failed Haiku (Personal best) Volume 5, Issue 55, page 82

the doctor’s surgery

they phone me

first

dawn trickles
between
concrete clouds

Comment by Fay Aoyagi:
'trickle' is an interesting word, but I am not really sure about the last line.   I may not like the word 'concrete'

city of concrete

dawn trickles

between clouds

Hmm...   I tried to save 'concrete,' but the first line above is not very good...   I bet you can come up with a better one!
****

early evening
wind shivering
the blossom

my clothes next morning

the pungency

of the bonfire

Published (2020) Akitsu Quarterly Summer

in the aquarium

the fish nibble

at my soul

Published (2020) Failed Haiku Volume 5, Issue 51, page 61

pickpocket attempt

all I lose

is my temper

if only

the poltergeist

would empty the dishwasher

Published (2020) Failed Haiku Volume 5, Issue 51, page 61

finally

Hedda Gabler

meets Godot

Musings on the Musee d’Orsay

worshipping
at the death mask of Victor Hugo
in the cabaret of the black cat
Van Goch makes a (post) impression

time goes backwards from the inside out
to the Sacred Heart
a pudendum perfectly painted
unshaven

Rodin taunts me
with comely shapes
but no ‘penseur’

my entry becomes my exit
claustrophobia
and all pretensions over

Haiku lecture January 2020

Haiku

‘moke pot’ graffiti

the ‘S’ goes up

in s...

Parisian life

even the graffiti

is elegant

Published (2020) Cattails April page 52

Parisian rain

more sophisticated

than the rest

Dutch evening landscape only the horizon

Published (2020) Poetry Pea Series 3 Episode 10: monoku
Published (2020) The Poetry Pea Journal of haiku and senryu Summer page 29

Found haiku:

a few paces on

brand new

early December roses

Rebecca Perry (2019) Beaches Offord Road Books, London page 11

three old men

reminiscing

“she was gorgeous”

along The Humber

a spot of sunshine

chases the train

along the river
a spot of sunshine
chases the train

my tanshi session

graced

by the spirit

of Rumi

...sohbet

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut Number 2

hot dog fish

skin tight

fit for purpose

unknown

warrior

bull's breath
the reek
of fermentation

finally
finding my way
to the opticians

Published (2020) Cattails April page 62

moon rise
the house
creaks

losing track
my mind races
Scalextric

the doctor

tells me it’s treatable

hypertension

****

high blood pressure

so many books to read

a new reality

end of semester

all household facilities

occupied

flight upgrade

trying to look

like it always happens

headless chickens

not running

after the fox

as many

as the grains of rice

in my bowl

a stream

of endless thoughts

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut Number 2

rusting roof
the moon
trickles through

Published (2020) Wales Haiku Journal Spring

leaning
on the mountain
I become immortal

the ripple
and reflection
of low flying swans

haiku dawn
reaching
for my pen

squeaking door
our argument hinges
on the next move

morning howl
wet footprints
on concrete

spring
weed song
a fly listening

purple night
a leaf drops
to green grass

closing time
on the high street
a vapour trail

subsequently
the insult arrives
Doppler effect

the zen master builder
green
with chlorophyll envy
watching
the morning sun
rising

Published (2020) The Bamboo Hut Number 2

our deceased neighbour
her living room light
still on a timer

Accepted (2024) Light Anthology 

Thai mountain haiku
of course
a temple bell

Published (2020) Akitsu Quarterly Summer

one field further
the smell of cow dung
becomes cattle

Published (2020) seashores Volume 4 (April) page 78

birch moon

wild evening light

trickles through trees

only his shoes

still there

by the side of the road

aiming

for haiku heaven

the worst kind of religion

bee or wasp?

I sip my miso soup

and think about it

in the hedge

two pigeons

and a beer can

insect song
the sound
of flower breath

Published (2020) seashores Volume 4 (April) page 78

fishcakes
with chilli sauce
and sweet potatoes
contemplating
the next move

driving
through freezing fog
a story unfolds

Published (2020) Poetry Pea Series 3 Episode 14 (Voyages)

Published (2020) The Poetry Pea Journal of haiku and senryu Autumn page 11

birds nest soup
the cat reaches
for a spoon

Christmas TV
repeat
prescription

fishing for thoughts
my mind yacht
drifting

evening fish
trickle
beneath my dream

Comment by Fay Aoyagi:
I might have missed something.   'beneath'?
****

the early owl
dawn
above birch whispers

wild garden
the sound
of insect night

snow
        melt
               drop
                      s
                        lightly
                                  into
                                        spring