distant lightning

NaHaiWriMo #12

2012-02-12T18:26:00.001Z

prompt: laundry

spin cycle
morning sundrops twanged
from the clothes line

I found this prompt really difficult and I have to say I'm not a fan of the result.

I think part of the reason is that I have successfully written haiku in this area before, from dead dragonflies caught in dry sheets to school dress pockets full of daisies. I think inspiration has eluded me here this time.

NaHaiWriMo #11

2012-02-11T16:34:00.001Z

Prompt: kitchen

smoke alarm
our dance around the kitchen
ends

NaHaiWriMo #10

2012-02-10T14:49:00.000Z

prompt: jam

morning rush hour
at the side of the road
wild damsons

NaHaiWriMo #9

2012-02-09T16:12:00.002Z

prompt: ice

frozen dawn
the runner recovering
in his own steam

NaHaiWriMo #8

2012-02-08T16:32:00.000Z

prompt: hat

I was going to submit

school fair
on the fireman's helmet
a faint smell of smoke

but then I realised this was too similar to an old one of mine, so here's another one:

toy museum -
in the photo she took
her bobble hat shadow

and for an explanation of that one - see this picture of me on Flickr

NaHaiWriMo #7

2012-02-07T12:23:00.002Z

prompt: grief

back home
"there's nothing we can do"
hits home

NaHaiWriMo #6

2012-02-06T13:21:00.000Z

prompt: frame

the broken panes
of the old greenhouse -
still the new shoots

Well, it's day 6 of NaHaiWriMo and I'm starting to get into it. This one was a bit tricky (though not as tricky as catfish) and my thoughts turned to my allotment.

It has been a useful exercise as I have hit a writer's block recently and this has (so far) sorted me out. I'm not disappointed with any of the haiku yet, though there are another 23 prompts on the way, of which there are bound to be a few duff ones. I look forward to the daily prompts and it helps to get me off to sleep at night, pondering them.

I have a notebook next to the bed.

For further details - if you have a Facebook account, simply search for "NaHaiWriMo" and you will find one of the multilingual pages.

NaHaiWriMo #5

2012-02-05T00:19:00.003Z

prompt: egg

home birth -
the fried egg breakfast
I cook for the midwife

NaHaiWriMo #4

2012-02-04T00:04:00.000Z

prompt: dog

two dog walkers
meet -
two conversations

NaHaiWriMo #3

2012-02-03T01:19:00.000Z

prompt: catfish

closing time
the aquarium catfish
rests on its barbels

desk haiku. My one experience of catfish that I remember was in an aquarium. It seemed to like mooching about on the bottom of the tank all day with its barbels lightly touching the gravel beneath, so I bet it was there at the end of the day, still facing the current.

NaHaiWriMo #2

2012-02-02T09:39:00.002Z

prompt: boat

every day
playing at the boating lake
the same old men

NaHaiWriMo #1

2012-02-01T14:54:00.001Z

I wasn't going to do NaHaiWriMo, but today I thought I'd give it a go. I'll probably dip in and out.

Today's prompt: apples

finding their niche
with the supermarket regulars -
Russets in season

Re-worked oldies (urban)

2012-01-17T00:20:00.000Z

Originals of the following are available online / in print elsewhere. These are the reworked versions - all on an urban theme:

lights on red
weaving through the traffic
a white butterfly

the police car slows -
suburban foxes
looting from bins

under its breath
the Northern Line train
cursing the suicide

restless -
across the summer night
siren upon siren

2012-01-12T13:20:00.001Z

"clean me"
the white van's
phallus

Happy new year everyone!

2011-12-15T13:26:00.003Z

spooked -
the tree bursts
into starlings

2011-11-29T13:52:00.002Z

still the spent firework's
cordite smell -
nest of serpents

2011-11-27T00:43:00.002Z

in and out of the clouds
Orion -
the sound of a fox through the gale

2011-11-27T00:04:00.002Z

the midnight church bells
soft then loud
gale force winds

2011-11-15T16:57:00.002Z

distant tractor
each ruck in the earth
glinting its windows

2011-10-29T22:52:00.002+01:00

Halloween disco
a witch plays air guitar
with her broom

2011-10-28T16:31:00.002+01:00

the name
I didn't want to see -
bitter coffee

tinywords - call for submissions

2011-10-14T13:23:00.000+01:00

As you may or may not know, I am on the editorial board of tinywords.

We invite you to contribute/submit to the next issue.

The theme for this issue will be "journeys." We’re looking for haiku, tanka and other tiny poems, short tanka prose and short haibun that take us somewhere — physical journeys, journeys of the spirit, life journeys.

We’re also interested in haiga and other art that combines very short poems with art. Surprise us with something exotic or let us see the familiar anew.

If you want to submit up to five pieces, you have until October 24.

Submissions can be made online at http://tinywords.com/submit/

2011-10-07T09:45:00.002+01:00

turf smoke -
the shortcut
no shorter

2011-09-23T13:28:00.002+01:00

the silence
of the house
after the airport -
I tidy away
your breakfast things

2011-09-18T11:39:00.001+01:00

daydreamer sky
the right-angle bend
in a contrail

(a re-worked oldie)

2011-09-09T13:14:00.001+01:00

airborne again -
the roadkill's
feathers

2011-08-14T22:26:00.001+01:00

road trip
at the end of the argument
a patch of blue

2011-08-02T11:50:00.001+01:00

evening's end -
the whisper
of a breeze
and my thoughts
turn to ghosts

2011-07-09T01:18:00.000+01:00

sleepover
the smallest child
snores loudest

minimalism
the gallery
loo

[both published in Blithe Spirit 21:1]

2011-07-01T14:08:00.002+01:00

glowering skies
the girl at the gate
beckons the horse

[published - Presence #43]

2011-06-26T11:25:00.001+01:00

chatter of sparrows
in the midst of it
the new neighbour's wind chimes

Postcard from NYC

2011-06-06T16:49:00.000+01:00

on the steps of St Patrick's
a cop watches over
the flock of tourists

Poem a Month

2011-05-27T13:41:00.000+01:00

I'm going to be in New York for a few days. I may post here if I feel inspired and have the time.

In the meantime, you may be interested to know that I have guest edited the June, British Haiku Society edition of Derbyshire Libraries' Poem a Month.

The June edition will be published on June 1st and you can even subscribe to have a monthly poem delivered to your inbox.

For more information, visit the Poem a Month website

2011-05-18T15:12:00.002+01:00

Occasionally I read through some of my old haiku that have been published and I come across one that nags at me and I have to sit down and rework it several times before I can let it settle. More often than not, I end up dissatisfied, but occasionally I end up happier with the new version. When this happens, it's like something has clicked into place...

the heather still in bloom -
we take Mum the long way
back to the hospice

(The original version was published in 3Lights)

2011-05-08T10:55:00.002+01:00

weaving its way
through the rush hour traffic
a white butterfly

2011-05-07T00:57:00.000+01:00

chuntering at something
the blackbird on the fence post
- election day

(for the newly elected Cllr Serjeant)

I've been listening to the music of John Barry in the car a lot recently...

2011-05-01T23:40:00.003+01:00

Bond theme -
the fly on the windscreen
loses its grip

2011-04-24T23:49:00.001+01:00

dawn mist lifting -
waking to a world
of woodpigeons

2011-04-21T16:44:00.003+01:00

listening gently to her heartbeat quicken

(for my daughter, R)

2011-04-15T23:49:00.001+01:00

for all the world
like an eagle -
mountain crow

Snapshots Haiku Calendar competition

2011-04-06T13:12:00.001+01:00

I have just found out that I am both a winner and a runner-up in the Snapshots Haiku Calendar competition.

I have been writing haiku seriously for about ten years now and this is the first proper contest that I have entered. So, as you can imagine, I am thrilled with the result.

The Snapshots 2012 Haiku Calendar can be ordered from the Snapshots website from August 2011.

A list of the results and the adjudicator's report are also available on the Snaphots site.

Presence #42 poems

2011-03-24T17:22:00.000Z

the following poems of mine appeared in Presence #42 (September 2010)

bringing only
silence
the storm cloud's weight

sub-zero dawn
distant gulls
still the sky

his dates end
where hers begin
briefly
she rests to read
the park bench epitaph

Subscribe to Presence

Blithe Spirit 20:4

2011-03-08T13:24:00.000Z

Here is a selection of my work that appeared in Blithe Spirit 20:4

Visit the British Haiku Society website for more information on how to subscribe to Blithe Spirit.

first flowers
she re-arranges
her re-arrangement

this year the meadow
ablaze with life
- the empty stable

my doctor's reaction -
he taps my knee again
just to make sure

bonfire breeze
with the last of the light
the final whistle

anniversary
of your death
raindrops
stream upwards
on the windscreen

2011-02-17T14:07:00.000Z

stargazing -
the dwindling glow
of your solar lights

2011-02-15T14:39:00.001Z

roadside memorial -
the faded plastic windmills
still racing

2011-02-08T16:15:00.002Z

every angle skewed
on the allotment shed -
the veteran's beret

2011-01-28T13:17:00.000Z

named
yet nameless
each star in the sky

2011-01-21T00:32:00.000Z

the three of us
watching the morning star
dwindle and fade
*
now only me

2011-01-04T13:15:00.002Z

quietly
the Northern Line train
cursing the suicide

2010-12-21T09:26:00.002Z

over snowy fields
the vixen's cries -
solstice moon

Tinywords

2010-12-10T23:50:00.000Z

I'm on the editorial panel again for the next edition of Tinywords.

We are currently considering submissions until December 15th, primarily on the theme of light.

For further details visit the submissions page.

2010-12-09T13:58:00.002Z

midnight snowfall
the union leader's statue
wears a white shawl

2010-11-27T00:25:00.002Z

midnight snowfall
my neighbour
coughing away

[published: Presence 37]

2010-11-25T00:31:00.000Z

commuter platform
in amongst the suits
a Charlie Brown lunchbox

(Brondesbury, London - late 90's)

2010-11-23T22:46:00.002Z

Fifty-Seven Damn Good Haiku by a Bunch of Our Friends, edited by Michael Dylan Welch and Alan Summers and published by Press Here books. Each editor selected six poets for inclusion in the book, and each of the twelve poets is represented by either four or five haiku. Not a single one is about parsnips. The poets, who live in Europe, Africa, North America, and Asia, are Susan Antolin, Timothy Collinson, Susan Constable, Karen Hoy, Keiko Izawa, Deborah P Kolodji, Dejah Léger, Tanya McDonald, Caleb Mutua, Helen Russell, David Serjeant, and Alison Williams. To order in the United States, please send $8.00 plus $2.00 postage. Make payments payable to “Michael D. Welch” and send to him at 22230 NE 28th Place, Sammamish, WA 98074-6408 USA. For orders outside the United States, please inquire for details by emailing WelchM@aol.com

2010-11-11T11:08:00.002Z

two minutes silence
the shifting light
of a windy day

2010-11-03T00:47:00.002Z

after
her dance class
cartwheels

2010-10-28T12:53:00.001+01:00

first flowers
she re-arranges
her re-arrangement

2010-10-21T09:50:00.002+01:00

rush hour...
two women embrace
then sign their goodbyes

[first published in Presence]

2010-09-30T14:48:00.003+01:00

steel city sunset
looming on the skyline
anvils

Tinywords

2010-09-21T10:14:00.002+01:00

I have joined the editorial team at Tinywords.

We are currently accepting submissions until 30 September for the next issue - see http://tinywords.com/submit/ for details.

DS

2010-09-09T23:20:00.002+01:00

in the centre
of the merry-go-round
the fair-worker's scowl

2010-09-09T11:21:00.001+01:00

in the middle of it all
- stuck -
her dodgem

2010-08-24T09:40:00.000+01:00

Hello everybody, I thought it was about time to try my hand at a haibun. The fine details are still in my head, I just wanted to see if these pieces stand up...

cupped in her hands
a fairy -
spider's web thistledown

the mare's nostrils
seek their target
rising
from the pushchair
gentle chuckles

2010-08-19T22:54:00.000+01:00

starlight
the silhouettes
of mountains

Hi! - just back from Croatia (again)

2010-08-07T23:26:00.000+01:00

lost in thought -
a breeze I can't feel
glows the embers

2010-07-30T23:22:00.001+01:00

blue skies
caught in each raindrop
an inverted cloud

2010-07-27T12:54:00.004+01:00

flower after
flower after
flower
the intermittent bumble
of a bee

The other David Serj/geant

2010-07-13T12:54:00.000+01:00

I have just found out that there is a poet by the name of David Sergeant (NB: not David Serjeant, because that's me). I have only had my name mis-printed once (amazingly) and that was in Magnapoets 5 - they spelt it with a 'g' and I thought "It'll be OK as I can't seriously be mistaken for anyone else, can I?" ...Can I?

He has a book as well.

2010-07-07T15:10:00.001+01:00

my head a mess
my thoughts a mess
my mood a mess
my legs a mess
my fingers a mess
my balance a mess
my vision a mess
my senses a mess
my sleep a mess
my strength a mess

my life: MS

author's note: no doubt I will be expanding this one

2010-07-05T12:38:00.002+01:00

the old badger
snarled in the nettles
hair and maggots

2010-06-30T16:06:00.002+01:00

cracks in the brickwork
the foundation stone
as old as me

2010-06-30T14:28:00.001+01:00

after a night ripped apart
by the quarrelling foxes
the dawn
soundless and soft
as the cockerel’s feathers

2010-06-26T01:45:00.004+01:00

It would appear that I have been translated into Hungarian:

http://www.terebess.hu/haiku/serjeant.html

Tarkovsky polaroids

2010-06-23T12:54:00.000+01:00

I recently rediscovered the polaroids by the film director Andrei Tarkovsky. I thought I'd share the link with you all because they're all so beautiful and appear somehow (along with his films) to belong to a parallel dimension (apologies for sounding pretentious).

Navigating the site isn't obvious, so click on the image to enter the site, click on an image to enlarge and the little rectangles at the top will take you from page to page.

Tarkovsky polaroids

I have just been to my daughter's school sports day...

2010-06-18T15:47:00.000+01:00

the bean bag
perfectly
perched -
the outstretched arms
of the boy in last place

2010-06-18T00:32:00.001+01:00

I recently appeared in Tinywords with the following two poems. If you missed them, here they are:

in
an old car
an old man and
an old dog

*

remission -
in the rear-view the crow
settles back on the roadkill

I get the feeling they have both appeared on this blog before, so apologies for repetition

2010-06-15T09:59:00.001+01:00

rolling across
and over
the speed of my car -
the flight of a swallow

2010-06-09T15:26:00.002+01:00

at the flip of a switch
the crane fly's shadow
capers round the room

2010-05-27T15:52:00.000+01:00

I have entered the Football Haiku World Cup with the following entry:

one-nil down -
somewhere in the noise
the away end's song

Go Serjeantina go!

2010-05-19T15:35:00.003+01:00

the watering can
takes one last plunge -
the zig-zag of bats

2010-05-14T10:28:00.000+01:00

last ones on the allotment
the blackbird and I
tidy up

2010-05-11T23:20:00.002+01:00

visiting
ex-colleagues -
the same old mugs

2010-05-06T23:43:00.000+01:00

passing information -
from the police van window
after shave

2010-05-03T23:58:00.002+01:00

retreating storms -
two blackbirds contest
the allotment

MS Awareness week 2010

2010-04-27T13:11:00.000+01:00

It is International Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week this week (April 26 to April 30).

It seems as good a time as any to remind you I have another blog entitled Dave's Magical Brain (which isn't all doom and gloom, I promise) where you can read the strange and fascinating tale of my MS history and marvel at my personal healthcare statistics.

After you have done all that, you may wish to gaze in wonder at MRI pictures of my brain, or read my haiku sequence 'Limboland' at Scribd.com which was inspired by my journey from relapse to diagnosis and beyond.

Keep posted for more info during the week.

2010-04-11T01:56:00.002+01:00

a late spring
the blackbird tries
a different tune

2010-03-30T13:58:00.002+01:00

my children
sticking and glueing -
in the drawer
the mother's day card
I never sent

2010-03-22T13:44:00.000Z

sea mist...
watching the seal
watching me

[published Presence #36]

Raasay, Manchester University geology field trip, Easter 1992.

2010-03-09T13:37:00.003Z

business park -
spring bulbs emerge
in corporate colours

2010-03-09T09:20:00.000Z

wrapped round the tracks
my shadow stands
to let the train past

(Published - Shamrock#5)

A long time ago, I lived in London. If I had been staying over at my girlfriend's flat in Kilburn, I would make the morning commute on the North London line from Brondesbury to Highbury. I would then walk through the back streets of Islington to my workplace on the edge of Hackney.

This piece was conceived on the platform of Brondesbury station, the familiar faces of the morning train, squinting through the low sunlight in a polite, wordless, side-step and shuffle to their usual spots on the platform.

Happy birthday!

2010-03-05T11:00:00.001Z

distant lightning is one year old today.

Very many thanks to everyone who has left a comment, followed or linked to this blog.

Your contributions are valued.

silence
just the wind picking up
distant lightning

('Light' - BHS anthology 2006)
not one of my best, but it gave this blog it's name.

2010-03-02T13:38:00.000Z

I have just uploaded my Limboland sequence as a pdf haiga at Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27711229

2010-03-01T13:29:00.002Z

lullaby
she reaches
to feel each word

(Published: Heron's Nest X:1)

2010-02-25T09:31:00.002Z

With my *ahem!* scientific background, the following quote resonates with me. I thought readers of this blog might also appreciate it:

"Although it is a grand achievement to have added but one jot or tittle to the sum of human knowledge it is grander still to have added a thought. It is best for a man to try to be both poet and naturalist—not to be too much of a naturalist and so overlook the beauty of things, or too much of a poet and so fail to understand them or even perceive those hidden beauties only revealed by close observation."

From the "Journal of a Disappointed Man" by W.N.P. Barbellion

2010-02-23T00:23:00.000Z

his dates end
where hers begin -
for a moment
she rests to read
the park bench epitaph

I am just wondering if memorial benches are a peculiarly British thing.

2010-02-22T14:33:00.002Z

stargazing
with my daughter -
an aircraft
joins the dots
of Orion's belt

published: Blithe Spirit 19:4 (current issue)

2010-02-04T10:22:00.001Z

my earliest memory
cradled
her hair just out of reach -
now the look on her face
as she doesn't say goodbye

like everything else on this blog - work in progress. Been thinking about my Mum a lot lately. Could do with a cup of tea and a catch-up sometimes. Ho hum... so it goes.

2010-02-03T12:07:00.001Z

flying
full volume -
the rumblestrip drumrolls

(been listening to Sonic Youth a lot on my way to/from work - tearing down long straight country roads)

2010-02-02T12:40:00.000Z

one by one
the fag breaks end -
the taxis inch forward

(NB: for overseas readers, UK slang - fag = cigarette)