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