(m46)

the smoke
from next door's barbecue
dog sniffs and wags

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 14th May 2000

Unpublished

(m44)

starless heaven
only the moon
brighter than the city

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 28th April 2000

Publication

2011 Shamrock (Internet)

(m43)

outside the dentist's
amidst the cherry-blossom
a lone blackbird sings

© Gerald England

Composed: Hyde, 28th April 2000

Publication

2011 Blithe Spirit (UK)

(m40)

after Mother's Day
daffodills left unpicked
in the fields

© Gerald England

Composed: St Mary's, 4th April 2000

Unpublished

(m41)

on the island
moonless night
how bright the stars

© Gerald England

Composed: St Mary's, 5th April 2000

Publication

2001 Time Haiku (UK)

(m39)

Haiga © copyright Kuniharu Shimizu, 2000
blown in by the gale
butterfly settles
on cut flowers

© Gerald England

Composed: St Mary's, 3rd April 2000

Publication

2000 Kuni's Haiga Gallery (Internet)

tanka 30

we don't pass the sign
Methodist coffee morning
a welcome break
before leaving on our way
they pray for our safety

© Gerald England

Composed: Weston super Mare, 1st April 2000

Publication

2005 Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society (Internet)

(m37)

accepted for a forthcoming publication

Composed: Thornsett, 1st April 2000

Unpublished

(m35)

ninety-four years
-- at her funeral
grey hair is in vogue

© Gerald England

Composed: Rochdale, 8th March 2000

Publication

2011 Blithe Spirit (UK)

(m34)

behind the jet
streams of meteors --
night-time landings

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 7th March 2000

Publications

2000 ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY ASTROPOETRY 1999 (Dambovita, Societatea Astronomica Romana de Meteori)
2003 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL METEOR CONFERENCE FROMBORK, POLAND 26-29 SEPTEMBER 2002 (International Meteor Organization)

Eating Crow

EATING CROW

first catch your crow
pickled salt flung from a
size nine catapult

pick, gut and clean
decapitation is optional

baste with fresh butter
and crumbs from a loaf
of wholemeal bread

roast on a anthracite fire
but only in November

when cooked
serve on a bed
of aubergines and salad

eat your lover's crow
until the earth moves

if she does not come
throw the roasted bird
to the dogs

the cat will lick butter

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th February 2000

Publications

2000 Worm (Internet)
2003 Blackbird (USA)

(m30)

on moulting mare's back
jackdaws picking at loose hairs
lining for their nests

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th January 2000

Publication

2002 ANTHOLOGY HAIKU COMPETITION AN4-2001 (Novi Sad, Haiku Club)

*****
Kobila se linja
cavke joj cupkaju dlake
oblozice svoja snjezda

Serbian translation by Vladislava Felbabov

tanka 29

in distant Tonga
the millennium rises
from silence erupts
the Hallalujah chorus
and the fireworks begin

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 31st December 1999

Publications

2000 Zimmerzine (Internet)
2000 Poetry Monthly (UK)

Avalon

AVALON

Beyond the deep channel
the sides of two dark cliffs
loom above the fog

approaching nearer
we see a jewel set
within the bedrock

reflected from cream and white
buildings the sun reveals
Avalon rising from the sea

© Gerald England

Composed: Catalina Flyer, 13th November 1999

Unpublished

Rent a Bench

RENT A BENCH

rent a bench

can i put it anywhere?
sit down whenever my feet
go on strike?

can i choose between wood
and iron?
plain or ornate?
what colours can i paint it?

can i share it with
wannabe sweethearts?

can i eat my lunchtime sandwiches
in the cool of a grove?

can i take an option to renew
in the spring?



what!

i cannot move it
use it
alter it?

only advertise on it!

i’ve half a mind
to sue you
for misrepresentation

do you know the number
of a good bench solicitor?

© Gerald England

Composed: Los Angeles, 12th November 1999

Publications

2001 Green's Magazine (Canada)
2006 Other Voices (Internet)

California Bound

CALIFORNIA BOUND

thinks he’ll get up
in about half an hour or so
— the alarm bell rings

turning the taxi around
to go back for her front teeth

sparking an alert
camera left in pocket
by first-time flyer

moved to an earlier flight
due to fog in Amsterdam

sun shines on snow-scape
we are flying
above the clouds

spreading wobbly marmalade
at 29,000 feet

Schiphol Airport
miles and miles of walkways
between the gates

frisked by a security man
for the second time today

hot hand towels
crossing over Scotland
heading towards Iceland

over the top of Greenland
filling in a green form

the whole way across
the Atlantic — still
only halfway there

high above Manitoba
his feet have fallen asleep

inflight movie?
videotape is corrupt
millennium bug?

homebound Emily age four
cheers us with her chattering

after the last meal
long queues
for the toilets

unaccustomed to the heat
we sweat in the Customs Hall

catching a "shuttle"
it encircles the airport
for twenty minutes

afternoon rush-hour freeway
back home it is past bedtime

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester - Los Angeles, 10th November 1999

Publications

2002 WEBBED SKYLIGHT OF TALL OAKS (York, Fighting Cock Press)
2004 The Same (USA)

The New Rose

(Poem still under consideration)

Composed: Gee Cross, 4th October 1999

Unpublished

(m27)

on a web twixt door
and wing-mirror - a spider
riding the highway

Composed: Manchester, 8th September 1999

Publication

2008 Ackworth born, gone West (Internet)

Survivors

SURVIVORS

the ex-gamekeeper
an octogenarian
with gray-less black hair
recalls the ball of lightning
hover outside his window

never reaching ground
it suddenly exploded
masses of water
his wife is on the toilet
the bang nearly frightens her

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 31st July 1999

Publication Panda (UK)

(m26)

in the morning breeze
a hawk hovers over trees
the dog runs full length

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Unpublished

(m25)

grasshoppers at dusk
but to my city-tuned ears
they could be crickets

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)

(m24)

evening meadow
are they moths or butterflies
flitting past by eyes?

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)

(m23)

Photograph © Gerald England

on the muddy bank
the black decaying boat-hulk
pointing up-river

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)