{"id":1464,"date":"2026-08-01T19:08:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T13:38:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/?p=1464"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:54:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:24:44","slug":"page-5-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/01\/page-5-2\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">sultry air<br>swifts catching<br>the invisible<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Tim Dwyer, Northern Ireland\/USA<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:72px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-524f8de7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">humid day<br>our hammock limp<br>until the bear<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Debbie Strange, Canada<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:77px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2b4002ad wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2b4002ad wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">sultry afternoon<br>a queue of birds<br>at the birdbath<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Tony Williams, Scotland, UK<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:77px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-df7bfe9b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">August sparkles . . .<br>a little girl\u2019s bike<br>outside the library<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Mark Gilbert, UK<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:85px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">over there her tiny finger shushes hummingbird<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Suzanne Leaf-Brock, United States<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:72px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2b4002ad wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">tiptoe reach<br>the best cherries<br>on the highest branch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Leon Tefft, USA<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:89px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">south wind \u2014<br>grandpa\u2019s newspaper<br>on page one<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Martina Matijevi\u0107, Croatia<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:92px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-524f8de7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">rowing<br>through ripples of light<br>summer river<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><sub>\u2014Ruth Holzer, USA<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:90px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-9af08085c9f58fe358c08ceb52ef11c6 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\">About<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d97403b33fce0bdc1b5d77be0bf6bfdc wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Tim Dwyer\u2019<\/strong>s Accepting The Call (<a href=\"https:\/\/templarpoetry.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"templarpoetry.com\">templarpoetry.com<\/a>), won the Straid Collection Award. In 2025 he was among the Europe Top 100 Haiku Authors. His poetry appears in Irish, UK and international journals. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, he lives in Bangor, Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-87229194e78546a7a433464373137fd3 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Debbie Strange<\/strong> (Canada) is a chronically ill short-form poet and artist whose creative passions connect her more closely to the world. Her recent collection, \u201cRandom Blue Sparks\u201d (Snapshot Press, 2024), placed first in Haiku Canada\u2019s 2026 Marianne Bluger Book Awards and third in the Haiku Society of America\u2019s 2025 Merit Book Awards. Please visit a publications\/awards archive at <a href=\"https:\/\/debbiemstrange.blogspot.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"debbiemstrange.blogspot.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">debbiemstrange.blogspot.com<\/a> for further information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-429df1bb8f681bf71d4f7e479ac601cc wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Tony<\/strong> lives in Scotland, UK and has been writing and being published for nearly six years. He has retired to spend more time in Nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5a7b7df88817354317052c43fa61051a wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Mark Gilbert<\/strong> enjoys writing short poetry and prose. He has recently published Variations on the Planets, a split-sequence sci-fi poetry chapbook with Eavonka Ettinger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4a7ab96430a4f8908d6a25b4b28132c1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Suzanne Leaf-Brock<\/strong> writes prose and poetry and has had her haiku published in several journals. She lives with her husband and cocker spaniel on a farm near Ames, Iowa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e34cc87ff4baf1420b8eb2d2b1324e00 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Leon Tefft<\/strong> is a poet and author of Wild Orchids, Haiku Evolution and Haiku Traditions from Greenville, South Carolina. He is a member of the Haiku Society of America and the Tanka Society of America. You can see more of Leon\u2019s work and connect with him at <a href=\"https:\/\/leontefft.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"leontefft.com\">leontefft.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-87ac8cd2b7c805344797d00dd2531dc4 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Martina Matijevi\u0107<\/strong> is a writer from Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-gray-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-432baf6a4d94712838ec6a0f4e6ed392 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:15px\"><strong>Ruth Holzer&#8217;s<\/strong> haiku, tanka and haibun have appeared in many journals and anthologies. She lives in Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-gray-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-9ff71b223685035ab9d41a27c58cbd97 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#caa0db2b\">\u2190 <a href=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/01\/page-4-2\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/?p=1453&amp;preview=true\">Previous<\/a>\u2003|\u2003<a href=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/index.php\/issue-2\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/?page_id=1651&amp;preview=true\"><a href=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/index.php\/issue-2\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/index.php\/issue-2\/\">Back to Issue<\/a><\/a>\u2003|\u2003<a href=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/01\/page-6-2\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/aswordsfly.com\/?p=1456&amp;preview=true\">Next \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>sultry airswifts catchingthe invisible \u2014Tim Dwyer, Northern Ireland\/USA humid dayour hammock limpuntil the bear \u2014Debbie Strange, Canada sultry afternoona queue of birdsat the birdbath \u2014Tony Williams, Scotland, UK August sparkles . . .a little girl\u2019s bikeoutside the library \u2014Mark Gilbert, UK over there her tiny finger shushes hummingbird \u2014Suzanne Leaf-Brock, United States tiptoe reachthe best [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-02","post-preview"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>- as words 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