National Poetry Week - Part 2

i.
when poets are loved
as much as footballers are
they won't need "a week"

Cathy Dineen

ii.
New beginnings sprung
Homely impatience gives way
Next stop Seminyak

Jason Rostant

iii.
Hey there birthday boy
Cusp of a new age bracket
Wait for me

Ian Row

iv.
Birthday yum cha
So this is your family
You already made sense

Ian Row

National Poetry Week - Part 1

i.
A neighbour’s garden
Covet the bright magnolias
Grow pink with envy

Ian Row

ii. Ah, Spring
Post prandial walk
The jasmine’s scent envelops me
With her gentle kiss

Natalie Au

iii.
Spring’s morning rays
Charlie bakes on the deck
Love Boat pussycat

Ian Row

iv.
Like aliens from the sky
Spring blossoms twinkle, twinkle
Spin earth around

Karen McVean

v.
Over here it’s spring
Time to stop hating me
Over there… monsoon

Ian Row

Silicone ear plugs
The quiet is addictive
You're nothing to me

Ian Row

Never ending heat
Knowledge, experience, fun
The bell tolls loudly.

Megan Maley

Those layers I shed
Lie scattered here at my feet
Thank God that's over.

Cathy Dineen

"Clean Fridge Friday"
Expiry date and your name!
Jane: forever

Ian Row

Case Reference: ah/66380

'gesture of goodwill'
Metro: two dailys, just this once
Admission of nothing

Ian Row

Jung’s Shadow

Some gifts are wanted
And some gifts are unwanted
My gift is madness

Natalie Au

Tour de Force

Cadel Evans you’re
my hero. Such a great smile
easy on the eye

Natalie Au

Words with friends
I smell a word generator
Silence with friends

Ian Row

For Bear*

May the grass be sweet
And the riders not too fat
In horsey heaven

Cathy Dineen

*my favourite riding school horse, died at the ripe old age of 27.
Fearless but caring, he will be missed.

reach for my empty
pocket like a phantom limb
a wallet thieved

Ian Row

preface to mission
at some point I'd like pie
calibrate my needs

Ian Row

beneath saffron robes
a nipple peekabooed
flash enlightenment

Dawn Mok

American, saying goodbye to a friend after joint trip to Hawai'i

airport shuttle bus
early plane flies back to Aus.
Aloha, dear friend.

Carol Ruth Kimmel

on her nipple
a drip of yellow paint
sunday afternoon

Violette Rose-Jones

Ice cream disaster
An oil spill of French Vanilla
No complaints from cat

Ian Row

Friday Carlton rush
Kenton seeks island refuge
Nearly run over

Jason Rostant

Saturday inspects
Windows to domestic bliss
Will my bid suffice?

Jason Rostant

Leaves shiver in the
cold winter wind.  The ghost gum’s
bark strips as night falls.

Natalie Au

Unpicked in the night
Dangling full and liquid sweet
Ripe blood orange moon.

Kenton Miller

i.
this foggy morning
i wear your music to work
the words, the way home

ii.
the pull and the push
love me, love it all away
Friday night full moon

Ian Row

The Page Family Grave – Birdsville Track

This quiet home; a
Small and poignant warning to
Arrogant tourists.

Cathy Dineen

i.
the headline read:
public servant perspires
midday G & T

ii.
three day old cupcake
stretching out celebration
death by stale icing

Ian Row

rainy evening
while stuck in heavy traffic
a tooth aches

Ao-Suzume

carambolas sliced –
the star of the salad
tossed into the bowl

Gillena Cox

Hot Cross Haiku is Five!

Thank you to the following hot crossers for your contributions over the last 12 months.

Alan Summers
Cambosis
Cathy Dineen
Cesca Alice
Chris Gill
Clive the Camel
Dawn Mok
Ian Row
Jason Rostant
Jeff Patterson
Jodie Hawthorne
Margaret Quigley
Natalie Au
Neil Krieger
Patrick McCormick
Shawjonathan
Simon Patience
Sutekh the Destroyer
Terry the Thylacine
Violet Rose-Jones
Vitee Jampoka

Now, you do know Hot Cross Haiku has a Facebook group, don’t you?
Well, from today onwards Hot Cross Haiku will reproduce its blog content for its Facebook group. It kinda makes sense and this way, the Facebook group members will never have to go without!

Speed Round 06/11

i.
Another haiku
I'm not feeling inspired
Today...

Neil Krieger

ii.
Dog Man Star is great
Though some songs are harrowing
It still cleans your soul

Simon Patience

iii.
unsolved Sudoku
the verge of knowing: a view
when I become them

Ian Row

Spot Haiku 33 Part 3 of 3 - All seasons haiku

i.
Of your own making
The stress you've been creating
Perpetuating

Simon Patience

ii.
Peoplewatching
The passengers at gate 9
Boys I’d like to bonk

Ian Row

iii.
Darting, laughing
On crested wave competing
Dolphins surf

Margaret Quigley

iv. inspired by Emily Dickinson
backscattered
from the lunar surface
the universe my shoe

Alan Summers

v.
sound of jet engine
in my headphones, in my head
wrestles with Boz Scaggs

Ian Row

vi.
Sea sparklingly cool
Glimpsed from nursing home window...
He once drank champagne

Margaret Quigley

Spot Haiku 33 Part 2 of 3 - Winter haiku

i.
Hunched against the rain
looking down, we see the sky.
Everywhere mirrors!

Chris Gill

ii.
Cold wind breaks the soul
Warm breath on a window pane
Foggy funny face

Cathy Dineen

iii.
Far roam I drinkless
now I need not, I might just
to escape this rain!

Clive the Camel

iv.
Silly placentals
sadly out of place in my
constant forest damp.

Terry the Thylacine

Spot Haiku 33 Part 1 of 3 - Rapture haiku

i.
Feeling rapturous
Jesus freaks await years' end
Just another day

Jason Rostant

ii.
Fuck the Rapture
Everyday is my last day
Since you went away

Neil Krieger

i.
Autumn's last leaves cringe...
Winter's icy whispering
Daring them to die

ii.
Autumn's camellias
Farewelling Mother Earth
With blossomed kisses

iii.
First snowflake of winter
Gentle, cool....
Our last kiss

Margaret Quigley

Culpability
becomes liability
only if you're judged.

Chris Gill

sunrise
ebony hands
sift the grains

Jodie Hawthorne

Spot Haiku 32

Excitable kids
They're not usually like this
Parents on repeat

Jason Rostant

Why Australia Post?
The long sad weeks drag on by
My package is lost :-(

Sutekh the Destroyer

Satisfy my wants -
Excite! Deliver! - and yes,
be sure to mean it

Jeff Patterson

the word for today
is 'disproportionate'
unequal friends

Ian Row

Spot Haiku 31

i.
pristine skies reflect
summer's golden promises
new season - new dawn

Cathy Dineen

ii.
Corrupt datasets
Resistentialism reigns
"Things are against us".

Sutekh the Destroyer

iii.
In the park, shoes off
Feet basking in the sun's warmth
No more work today

Natalie Au

iv.
Praise those butterflies!
It's not the other you see -
but the Best of You

Jeff Patterson

scent of lomandra
in the dusk
we skinnydip

Violette Rose-Jones

sneakers, suspended
dealer moved out months ago
wait and see in vain

Ian Row

Speed Round September 1.5

i.
the rainbow insists,
behind nimbus cumulus,
there is always hope.

Ian Row

ii.
the weather broke and
the water on the bay shone.
the sun burned his face

Cathy Dineen

iii.
Castro cap for spring
not warmth but courage he seeks
Seasonal armour

Ian Row

Yellow beak, red comb
Loudly crowing near your home
Near the leaves of fall.

Eddie Cox

Two haiku about a bad pun about a rooster

i.
cock a doodle doo
bad pun about your cock but
it's true

Ian Row

ii.
cock a doodle do
green leaves turn yellow then fall
flat like that bad pun

Neil Krieger

Speed Round September 1.4

i.
black, white and red flags
fill the streets with footy fizz
go pies or go saints!!

Cathy Dineen

ii.
suburban beacon
station flooded in lights, snubs
tracing paper moon

Ian Row

iii.
Trains' rhythmic cycle
Like addicts' whirring, whining
Chasin' their own tracks

Jason Rostant

iv.
Handmade chocolates
Shaped by love n' stained with sweat
A li’l piece of you

I'll feed you
but first you'll have to
open wide

Dawn Mok

v.
Will you be my friend?
Look how many friends I have!
Nerdy Facebookworm.

Chris Gill

vi.
I am in class
Looking out at the big tree
Beautiful to me

Vitee Jampoka

vii.
flower pressed pansy
bookends a moment misfired
never in question

Ian Row

Speed Round September 1.3

i.
Here, where I belong
There, where I’m located
Life in absentia

Ian Row

ii.
boundaries of prose
restrict my creative flow.
limericks are fun!

Cesca Alice

iii.
However it goes,
it goes. However, it goes!
How, ever it, goes.

Chris Gill

iv.
and so time passed on
I saw the sun reflected -
shadows on the wall

Cathy Dineen

fugly mormon
how you gonna pull for God
with a mug like that

Ian Row

Me, marionette +
You, man holding strings =
One sad, fucked up show

Jeff Patterson

Ignorant US er
believes the US way
is nature

shawjonathan

Speed Round September 1.2

i.
dear ignorant oz
the spring equinox starts spring
not bloody sept 1st

Patrick McCormick

ii.
when cold winds dash 'gainst
numbed hands and feet i feel like
roast lamb with mint sauce

Cathy Dineen

iii.
you lie
gospel according to you
i close my eyes

Ian Row

i.
mother in wheelchair
'never, ever' came today
here comes tomorrow

ii.
mother in wheelchair
let's put the blame on traction
not your brittle bones

Ian Row

Speed Round September 1.1

i.
August was so cruel
Dark places can but improve
A brighter day now.

Sutekh the Destroyer

ii.
what beats beneath this
wintry darkness and windswept
city? silent hope!

Cathy Dineen

iii.
My fingers let loose
Across a new whizz bang toy
Sent from my iPhone

Cambosis

iv.
my heart is full of
spring thoughts and poppy flowers
bring on the sunshine

Cathy Dineen

v.
Climax approaches.
Pinnacle? Cataclysm?
For sure - start again.

Chris Gill

Winds keep me Alive
As invisible friends, fam
and lovers to be

Jeff Patterson

An osteopathic haiku

tingling sensation
she's in love with her osteo
her heart in his hand

Ian Row

Of my savagery
(being extinct as I am)
you can only guess.

Terry the Thylacine

Sun so far awry!
Bare branches implore pearl sky
(the ground never dry).

Chris Gill

charity chocolate.
one box, only because I
thought he could be God.

Ian Row

do the chores, she said
i need help with the laundry
that's not all, he thought

Neil Krieger

soy latte wafts through
barely masks the smell of old men
rehab session

Ian Row

that was uncool, babe
let's draw a line in sand
you stand over there

Ian Row

the cookie crumbles
time to bring out the voodoo doll
your unravelling

Ian Row

a script to ensure
i rise above, be gracious
against my nature

Ian Row

‘though I ask and ask:
Deterministic modeling?
These cats know nothing.

Sutekh The Destroyer

Sorrow deserves rest
You've such little time left here
Be kind, let her sleep

Jeff Patterson

An honest savage
leaving my rainforest home
looks on your smooth lies.

Terry the Thylacine

Struggling to wake up
Cloudy head, seductive warmth
Of my goose down quilt

Natalie Au

Hot Cross Haiku is Four!

Here’s to us!
We wouldn’t be, if not for you.
So thank you.

Alan Summers
Anonymous
Attachai Had-an
Betty Bogan
Big Koala
Bill Kenney
Bumpo
Cambosis
Cathy Dineen
Cesca Alice
Chanida Supapa
Comrade Harps
Cutler E.Wrights
Chris Gill
Dawn Mok
Deverhart2010
Doug Hamilton
Jason Rostant
Jeff Patterson
Jenny Morris
Jo Gill
Kanita Panjakul
Karen McVean
Kreangkrai (Bew)
Kulwadee Ekkaphojmethee
Leah Billeam
Lucas Ryan
Matt Ryan
Mui
Napawan Chabkangwan
Nathapon Suksawad
Nattiya Apiwat
Nawaporn Amornyut
Neil Krieger
Neve
Niparat hanhiam (aka gate)
On-among Kituam
Paetongtal (Pim)
Papawadee Salakphet
Paul Rozario
Pornthiwa Khanthasamram
Rattanaporn Thawin (aka Ann)
Salisa Thanakit (aka Bua)
Sharkbite von Herringattack
Simon Patience
Sutekh The Destroyer
Tadcha Nujuk
Terry the Thylacine
Thatphang Patsanguan
Timothy K
Walter Ego
Wanthida Sawotdimongkhon
Wattanachai Chawalitchaichan
Wibbley

A special thank you to Ian Robertson for bringing the students of
Tratratrankhun Suksa School to Hot Cross Haiku.

And shout outs to:
Damien Rundell
Hot Cross Haiku Facebook group members
and
Terry the Thylacine (when are you coming home?)

Speed Round 15 Part 5 of 5

i.
Writ large on the screen
The show mirrors your failings
Leaving you shitty

ii.
You are important
So if I leave you sometimes
It's just to come back

iii.
The need to move on
Always means sacrificing
Something that is good

iv.
That dumb old Clash song
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?'
Echoes profoundly

Simon Patience

Speed Round 15 Part 4 of 5

i.
Six days left of work
Thailand beaches beckoning,
Insurmountable

ii.
Butt towel for my butt
Crotch grabbing hunk of meat says-
Fuck you winter chill

iii.
August following
Change good as a holiday
All things up for grabs

Jason Rostant

Speed Round 15 Part 3 of 5

i.Train window
Looking out is in!
On the view and each other
passengers reflect.

Chris Gill

ii.
Something to cuddle
Burmese kitten, Kelpie cross
A winter boyfriend

Ian Row

iii.
beneath my calmness
twitching like a wounded hound -
anxiety's hand

Cathy Dineen

iv.
Low fat pork sausage
Lifts me out of the abyss
A life worth living

Ian Row

v.
those footprints I know
on this asian squat toilet
i been here to long

Walter Ego

Speed Round 15 Part 2 of 5

i.
Farewell to Kevin
That last week in politics
Was such a long time

ii.
Hello Julia
mix and match it with the best
a tough nut to crack

Leah Billeam

Speed Round 15 Part 1 of 5

i.
Behold the newborn
Ancient, infinite wisdom
Diapered and divine

ii.
Who are you, really?
Minus the memories and dreams
You're ALIVE, NOW

Jeff Patterson

spoiled brat media chick
rework your key messages
damage control

Ian Row

cyclone tracey
collapses into herself
landscape ripped apart

Ian Row

power failure
lemongrass yakitori don
brought to you by gas

Ian Row

you said, i said
in between words, between lines
between us

Ian Row

choose
in the end, ultimatum
two sides, one truth

Ian Row

Spot Haiku 30

i.
update my profile
advert neo vox populi
nobody reads

Walter Ego

ii.
frozen edges of
days that turn my nights to stone
give me doona dreams

Cathy Dineen

iii.
During a windstorm,
balance out the winds with a
cello concerto.

Chris Gill

iv.
Wet ancient city
Saw both Venus and David
Florence in summer

Matt Ryan

v.
Local laundromat
Dissed by Islander woman
Guess I’m not your bro

Ian Row

vi.
those numbers help you
see your own mortality -
run for your life, girl

Cathy Dineen

The psychedelic
reflections of sunlight give
the swimming pool soul

Jeff Patterson

today very hot
I want to go to the pond
I will swimming

Kreangkrai (Bew)

It's cold and I wait
somebody for a long time
i sad and lonely

Paetongtal (Pim)

Speed Round 14

i.
As per Ian's brief
I'm capturing the moment
Ha! It's not that hard.

Jo Gill

ii.
quick sleet downpour
I stop worrying about it
8.5 hits Chile

Alan Summers

iii.
all this killing, all
these bloody days, thom wyatt -
turn off "The Tudors".

Cathy Dineen

iv.
Strangely attractive,
any three bodies’ affair
cannot be foreseen.

Chris Gill

v.
Dinner, Diner Where?
After work drinks needs dinner
Dinner, Diner Now!

Paul Rozario

vi.
beads of warm sweat
melt between breasts
summer pleasure

Karen McVean

vii.
drowsy thoughts
in the leafy darkness
the bent necks of horses

deverhart2010

viii.
With my bedroom wall -
I saw my shadow; we kissed -
Shhh! Just between us

Jeff Patterson

ix.
Swanning around Prague
Michael Palin drives me nuts
Jealousy's a curse.

Jo Gill

x.
all inspiration
burns words clean of dross and fat -
then there's poetry

Cathy Dineen

a bucket ov fire
me endless luvv's gone bi
she's maya

Betty Bogan

Sweeter than sugar
magpies warble after rain
the earth sighs relief.

Chris Gill

In Evil 'Borders'
Where the air-conditioning
Is always PERFECT!

Simon Patience

train full of cargo
confession by the spoonful
teaspoonaholic

Jenny Morris

Three haiku about dodgy Mr Chen

i.
Dodgy Mr Chen
My favourite watch maker
You are surely timeless

ii.
In China you were
Mechanical Engineer
Oceans crushed your skill

iii.
Still you can fix all
You're surely beyond compare
Dodgy Mr Chen

Lucas Ryan

the new me attracts
animal magnetism
you're nice, you're so... me

Big Koala

trash can magazine
soap bubbles emerge from ears
i have No Idea

Jenny Morris

mobile phone charges
"usage not covered by cap"
bastards, all of you

Ian Row

Spot Haiku 29 Part 2 of 2

i.
snow blankets the earth
hiding the filth and squalor
land of make believe

Bumpo

ii.
summer silence
jesus in a manger
on the mantle

Timothy K

iii.
He wants a share house
This relationship ramps up
A whole new level

Jason Rostant

iv.
i'll sing jazz standards
in my new dress and shoes but
there won't be blue skies

Cathy Dineen

v.
New year, New System!
Alas! Worse than the old one!
Cheap student email.

Sutekh the Destroyer

vi.
a roar in the night
giant foot prints in the snow
THE YETIS ARE HERE!!!

Bumpo

vii.
slumber out of reach
a stolen chance of rest
as the fan thrums

cambosis

viii.
mystery coughing fit
perhaps i've been poisoned
non stick frying pan

Ian Row

ix.
Acknowledged greatness
in your spoken greeting style
makes it a “Hi!” coup.

Chris Gill

Spot Haiku 29 Part 1 of 2

Beneath shady beech
We walked this trail long ago,
Rocks alone the same.

Stepping over flowers,
Fallen onto a tree trunk.
We all will fall soon.

I climbed this mountain
But now I must keep climbing,
No rest ‘til the stars.

Doug Hamilton

India in three parts: Part 3

i.
overnight mail train
easy to romanticise
in first class a/c

ii.
they like strong colours
the hues and shades are what
they have problems with

iii.
papier-mâché boy
terra cotta elephant
worth their weight in gold

iv.
a dowry
the measure of a woman
gold, cash and livestock

v.
stolen rupees
from my unlocked suitcase
is a small problem

Ian Row

India in three parts: Part 2

i.
on every corner
a shrine to offer thanks, and
ask for clear passage

ii.
lost in the moment
among ten incarnations and
countless deities

iii.
did Jesus live here?
preach and pray, heal and cure?
only St. Thomas knows!

iv.
new year's eve movie
tamil flick with the locals
senses overload

v.
brotherhood - a lie
the system is a prison
where dies are cast

Ian Row

India in three parts: Part 1

i.
compare and contrast
learn your lessons and move on
and watch where you step!

ii.
rubbish bins
that's what India needs
now

iii.
kindness of strangers
"just want you to be happy"
i am your brother

vi.
killer biryani
for food this good i overlook
the filthy floor

v.
battling traffic
army of auto rickshaws
transport's foot soldiers

Ian Row

Singapore 12/09: Light and shade

i.
return to race; but
new level of graciousness.
new pecking order.

ii.
stranger in my house.
make the right gestures but i
feel the elephant.

iii.
slow bullet train.
how fast can you go in
a country so small?

iv.
my iPhone headphones
can't block out noisy child
or ugly passengers.

v.
24/7
shopping - distraction from
my dislocation.

vi.
no more Mercedes.
gone are your status symbols.
no shortage of gods.

vii.
old haunts, old habits.
points of reference give way
to memory.

Ian Row

people in a hurry
the Salvation Army bell
rings rings rings

Bill Kenney

i.
Memories surface
I offer rafts to most, but you
You I'll let drown

ii.
"Of course, we're not true.
I won't tell if you don't tell,"
Trouble said to Time.

Jeff Patterson

Oratorium -
therein pronounced these great words:
'Shut up and listen!'

Chris Gill

A haiku about proprioception

proprioception
body, i do not know you
in my mind i am

Ian Row

You saw flowers as
useless, dead - even those offered
with love, alive

Jeff Patterson