The Pan Haiku Review issue four, ed. Alan Summers (#Winter2024) haibun and #tanka-bun special is out!

What a power-packed issue it is—kudos to Alan for all the hard work in putting it all together for us to learn more about these forms. 💐👌

Grateful to Alan for the publication of two of my #haibun in the awesome 176 page edition:

Not Quite Renunciation

Four-year-old Duke lingers by our gate, his gait slow. His mistress passed away last month, and their house at the end of our lane—once full of life—now stands locked up. The caretaker, living in the annex, takes care of him. The children live far away and send money for his upkeep.

The old caretaker tells how Duke’s mistress loved him like a mother. I kneel feeling the weight of grief. His tail wags, though when I offer a biscuit, his head turns away.

yellow swallowtail
so suddenly it flies
from a leaf

*

Freehold

As I unlock the main gate in the morning, I see a black dog, he wags his tail and tries to enter. I shut the gate and come outside. He looks at me and sits outside the gate again. There are five stray dogs in the lane who come for their daily treats—this is a new visitor. He doesn’t look like a stray, most probably an abandoned labrador looking for a home.

missing my pet
I feed her treats
to street dogs

I offer him a biscuit. Soon three strays arrive barking, and attack the newcomer. The dog bares his wolf incisors and leaps. They back off, I also try to distract them with biscuits.

Leaving home for my morning walk, I look back, Blackie is ensconced at the gate, his tail spread out like a fern.

No Trespassing across the barbed wire I fall among wildflowers

*

Congratulations to all featured #poets and to Reid Hepworth for her book review by Kelly Barnes Sargent. Can’t wait to read the full issue!