Welcome to Notes from the Gean the journal of haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun, linked forms & more. Brought to you by Gean Tree Press. Mission Statement: We seek to encourage excellence, experimentation and education within haiku and its related genres. We believe this is best accomplished by example and not imitation. Our aim is for authenticity above all else. We therefore solicit your finest examples of haiku, tanka, haiga, haibun and renga/renku so that we may "hear" your voices speak. The Editors For details on how to submit to Notes from the Gean please check our SUBMISSIONS page. cover artwork Colin Stewart Jones Overall content copyright © 2012 Gean Tree Press. All Rights Reserved. Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 2 contents linked forms Tsunami p.4, Patent Leather Shoe p.10-12, Man Standing in Rain p.21, Sepia Blues p.29, Fairground Animals p.38, Moonlight Settles p.60, Stars that know no sadness p.67, The power of light p.68, "rain on the tracks" p.88, In The Rain p.96-98, “the short goodbye” p.106-108, Tea at the Tate & Around the Gherkin p.116-117, A maggot & Scattered moon p.122 haiku haiku 1 p.5 haiku2 p.6, haiku 3 p.13, haiku 4 p.24, haiku 5 p.25, haiku 6 p.36, haiku 7 p.37, haiku 8 p.42, haiku 9 p.43, haiku 10 p.58, haiku 11 p.59, haiku 12 p.70, haiku 13 p.71, haiku 14 p.86, haiku 15 p.87, haiku 16 p.99, haiku 17 p.109, haiku 18 p.115, haiku 19 p.126, haiku 20 p.127, haiku 21 p.128 tanka tanka 1 p.7, tanka 2 p.19, tanka 3 p.27 tanka 4 p.40, tanka 5 p.41, tanka 6 p.57, tanka 7 p.72, tanka 8 p.73, tanka 9 p.90, tanka 10 p.91, tanka 11 p.95, tanka 12 p.112, tanka 13 p.113, tanka 14 p.119, tanka 15 p.124, tanka 16 p.125 haibun In Another Town p.8, How an acceptance happens – Into the Sky p.14-18, a trace of warmth p.26, Searching the Size p.39, House and Bird p.56, Guilty Pleasures p.65, After Arrival p.66, ‘The Point p.76, “The midnight” p.77, A little from the tip p.89, shadows p.93, THE SEASIDE p.103, Return p.104, The Narrow Gate p.105, Mountain in Late Afternoon p.114, One Nation Under Jazz p. 120-121, The Summing Ups and Downs p.123 haiga coming home p.9, log fire p.20, day by day p.28 river weir p.35, time p.55, early spring p.64, a break p.69, Sunday drizzle p.74, falling leaves p.75, barnacles p.85 wild geese p.92, knotholes p.94 chilly autumn breeze p.110, rose cuttings p.111, woodpile p.118, waiting p.129 The Dreaming Room heatwave p.22, wildflowers p.23, on a bare branch p.61-62, snow melting p.63, smell of bile and winter hive p.100-101, two months gone p.102 essays/haiku matters Humour in Haiku p.30-34 special feature NaWriHaiMo p.44-53, Old Pond Comics p.54. interviews Jack Galmitz p. 78-84. reviews small hours p.130-132, Leptir nad pučinom p.133 back page dog days p.134 Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 3 Tsunami seized from the mud one lottery ticket a shaking of heads as the earth shakes one mother cradling a piece of rock someone else’s mother finding a missing shoe a minute’s silence just the rumbling of sea children’s voices the old man shrugs remembering Hiroshima out of the rubble a new road bending into sunlight Peter Butler U.K. Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 4 Wires run through the sky. All platforms flooded by march. Volker Friebel - Germany Land of snow— the crows wings shimmer when turning. Volker Friebel - Germany Waning March light. Sheep on the river, their mouths washed by water. Volker Friebel - Germany swan wrapped in sleep— drifting moon John McDonald - Scotland full moon— winter’s stillness in a soap bubble Ramesh Anand - Malaysia Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 5 nearing dusk a girl dumps bait worms back into the earth Ferris Gilli - USA the mimosa tree has closed its leaves . vesper bell Ferris Gilli - USA morning star the glimmer of gilt from the spire Köy Deli - Turkey pulling up an oak seedling— the clinging acorn Ruth Holzer - USA this blue and white world— even if the plane falls at home in it Ruth Holzer - USA Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 6 the abbess prays to the icon of her groom: "my womb is a chasm deep as the morning star" Köy Deli - USA dusk takes its time to linger on the soft blues of March snow Christina Nguyen - USA the establishing shot of an old film set in New York . there they both stand with the world yet to change Jon Baldwin - USA Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 7 In Another Town As you dream in another town, I stroll to the lake at dawn for a swim. At a curve in the path, a lily has bloomed as blue as the sky at dusk. I kneel. I want to bring it to you. Instead, I can only let you know it was there. endless sky – sun shines on the spires of pines Hortensia Anderson – USA Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 8 Cherie Hunter Day - USA Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 9 Patent Leather Shoe A Kasen Renku more light to ponder what might grow Michele from here turning the earth with garden tools John sticky silk threads of a chrysalis Michele soon to shed its skin knitted doilies in the linen closet John the moon has drawn us Michele to a distant shore his confidence about edible mushrooms John - alone like a ghost Michele on a windy corner diligent rehearsal of the kissing scene John I undress after dark Michele before a flame the rent is being raised again John observance of a day no one wants Michele to remember Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 10 patent leather shoe in the refrigerator John return to the store for more cold beer Michele led by the summer moon dusk deepened by swarming bats John chemical injections leave her with Michele a childlike look “Little deuce coupe You don’t know what I’ve got” John the daffodils would be pretty in a color Michele other than yellow soft edges of a cross made of ashes John - roof leaks in the same places John as last year inaccurate translations are causing lots of problems Michele the spell check feature questions names John like Auschwitz not too old to pull an all-nighter Michele the doorman at the end of John a Christmas list my neighbor throws crumbs on snow for hungry birds Michele Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 11 they say a cactus can have all the water John you need to survive when we’re together nothing else matters Michele contractions coming quickly John in the car annoyed by an empty wallet Michele moonlight silvers the last window pane John left unbroken collapsing onto a new pile of leaves Michele - I close the door and padlock John the boathouse passing time in a smoker’s cafe Michele freshly shaved showered John and shampooed a horseback ride along mountain trails Michele this very cool spring in which the blossoms John are snowy white our upturned hands tap into the pulse of a spring shower Michele John Stevenson - USA Michele Harvey - USA Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 12 warm front the romance novel opens itself John Hawk - USA something more in the air tonight golden moon John Hawk - USA lost summer the berries the birds left behind John Hawk - USA thriller my cat shreds the last page Pris Campbell - USA grey morning dream painted on the lake is the sun. Tatjana Debeljacki - Serbia Notes from the Gean 3:4 Page 13 How an acceptance happens – Richard Krawiec I thought it might be interesting for some to read the process Penny Harter and I went through that led to minor changes in her poem which is published in this issue. This is an example of my process as an editor, her process as a writer, and the process we both engaged in together. I have cut some of the familiar chit-chat out of these exchanges and left in the focus on the poem. 1. Submission by Penny Harter Into the Sea A night light? I don't blow out my candles before sleep. What dreams? A gray ghost whispered, "Mirrors always lie." Not that kind of lie. Where do you sleep? In an abandoned steeple. Do you get it now? Sure, like a kid wading into the sea. stone Buddha— in his lap, the glint of mica 2. First response by Richard Krawiec Penny, Do you see the italicized parts as another voice, or in her mind? Love the haiku. I do think "Sure, like a kid wading into the sea." lacks the poetry of the rest of your haibun. Are you sure you even need that line and it's question? Do you ever play around with your line order? Visually if you began with 'Where do you sleep" then followed with 'A night light?' and 'What dreams?' you'd have a nice lengthening flow that could represent both stairs and the sea.