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Riverside Park—Labor Day

An ambling river.
Just a wheeze of gentle breeze.
My soul aquiver.

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Desert

Only sand and dread.
Sunset looms in bloody red.
Buzzards overhead.

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Chatter

Throngs of chirping birds
Flit above the lowing herds.
Who discerns the words?

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Benjamin Cannicott Shavitz received his PhD in linguistics from the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. He lives in Manhattan, NYC, where he was born and raised. He has published two collections of his own poetry (Levities and Gravities), as well as an anthology of public domain poems by New York City poets (Songs of Excelsior). His work has also been published in The Lyric. He runs two online businesses: one that teaches innovative, linguistically informed classes on language skills, including poetry writing, and one that offers dialect coaching for actors. See www.kingsfieldendeavors.com for an overview of his activities and www.kingsfieldlinguistics.com for his businesses.

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9 Responses

  2. Cynthia Erlandson

    I really like these, Benjamin! And that’s saying something, because until now I’ve been unable to develop an interest in haiku. The rhymes seem (to me) to give them more reason to be. They are all very visual and palpable, too.

    Reply
    • Paul A. Freeman

      A haiku that rhymes.
      I’ve tried it several times.
      The results are crimes.

      Reply
  5. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    These three rhyming haiku are mellifluous marvels. I especially like “Chatter” with its insightful summary – what a superb question. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Margaret Coats

    Your first haiku here, Benjamin, has a unique rhyming strategy I don’t remember seeing before. That is, the short lines rhyme and the long central one carries an internal rhyme. Impressive–as is its emotional tremble.

    I recall “Desert” as an entry by you in the 2024 haiku contest, and I can assure you the judges discussed it as a good one.

    In the judge’s remarks after the “Best Haiku of 2022,” I wrote briefly on rhyming haiku in Japanese tradition, naming a number of recognized masters who use the technique at least occasionally. I think that was before your appearance at SCP. Take a look if you’re interested, and keep up the good work!

    Reply
  7. C.B. Anderson

    An interesting idea, Benjamin, which you pulled off perfectly. Richard Wilbur would approve.

    Reply

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