Ekphrastic Haiku after Hedy Habra, by Saad Ali

​Ekphrastic Haiku

after Hedy Habra (Chinese Ink Brush & Watercolours on Rice Paper)

Fiery Blossoms Over Bridge, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2018

 
snow-capped rakaposhi
oyamazakura envelop 
the shangrila, hunza
 
*
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Rakaposhi (Burushaski): Shining Wall. Rakaposhi (aka Dumani: Mother of Mist) is a mountain situated in the middle of the Nagar and Bagrote Valleys, Himalayas, Pakistan.

Rooster on One Leg, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2018

 
a.m. alpenglow …
cock-a-doodle-doo
ceases r.e.m.

Dancing Egret, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2018

petrichor …
night heron trances to
psithurism through pines

Fishermen and Reeds, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2018

 
kitaura-gyofu …
medaka evade hobikiami
concealed among tsunoyoshi
 
*
​
Kitaura-gyofu (Japanese): Fishermen of Lake Kitaura, Japan. Medaka (Japanese): Japanese Rice Fish. Hobikiami (Japanese): Renowned Japanese fishing technique. Tsunoyoshi (Japanese): Japanese Reed.

Egrets and Lotus, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2018

 
shrimpless stream--
chusagi lodge gravamen
with buddha hasu
 
*
​
Chusagi (Japanese): White egrets (w/ black-tipped bill). Hasu (Japanese): Lotus.

Sunset and Crane, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2018

p.m. civil twilight--
tanchōzuru closes game,
retires to reedmace su

​*
 
Tanchōzuru (Japanese): Red-crowned crane. Su (Japanese): Nest.

Monkey Chasing Moon Reflection, by Hedy Habra (USA, b. Egypt) 2017

 
nyctophilia – 
himalayan langur schemes
to steal suigetsu

​*
 
Suigetsu (Japanese): Moon’s reflection.

Blue Blossoms, by Hedy Habra (USA b. Egypt) 2018

 
ai-zakura--
amrita of kamigami,
of furō fushi
 
*
​
Ai-zakura (Japanese): Indigo Sakura. Kamigami (Japanese): The gods. Furō fushi (Japanese): Eternal youth.

Saad Ali

Saad Ali is a poet-philosopher, literary translator, and author from the UK and Pakistan. He has translated Lorette C. Luzajic’s selected ekphrases into Urdu. His poems & micro/flash fictions appear in an array of multidimensional literary journals/magazines and anthologies, including The Ekphrastic Review, The Mackinaw, Jackdaw Review, The Haiku Shack Magazine, among others. His poetry has been translated into Arabic. His work has been nominated for the Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, and Best Small Fictions. His ekphrases have been showcased at art exhibitions in Alberta (Canada), Queensland (Australia), and Seattle (USA). Visit him at: https://linktr.ee/owlofpines.

Hedy Habra is a poet, artist, and essayist. Her latest poetry collection, Or Did You Ever See The Other Side?, won International Poetry Book Awards and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer and USA Best Book Awards. The Taste of the Earth won the Silver Nautilus Book Award and Honorable Mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. Tea in Heliopolis won the Best Book Award, and Under Brushstrokes was a finalist for the International Book Award. Her story collection, Flying Carpets, won the Arab American Book Award’s Honorable Mention and was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award. Her book of criticism is Mundos alternos y artísticos en Vargas Llosa. She is a twenty-five-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and a recipient of the Nazim Hikmet Award. https://www.hedyhabra.com/