When that lone outrigger cants on swells in from the Far East 
after a great journey tectonic—mountain to volcanic mountain, 
our Matafao a close cousin to their Fujisan, lenticular 
clouds replacing crisp snowcaps. Spindrift claws 
at dawn more than a graze on old lava, 
a rip and a curl before the reef 
bestows upon the crew 
a salted catechism, 
a steadfast call 								what good is 
and refrain, 				   sea spray 
a heave and ho, 					     on blistered palms 
of prayer. 

Under the Wave Off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), aka The Great Wave (color woodblock print, 1826-1836), from the series Thirty-Six Views of
Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849);
held by the Art Institute of Chicago:

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/24645/under-the-wave-off-kanagawa-kanagawa-oki-nami-ura-also-known-as-the-great-wave-from-the-series-thirty-six-views-of-mount-fuji-fugaku-sanjurokkei

Matthew Caretti

began publishing his poems in 2009, though his fascination with Eastern short-form genres began much earlier. His published collections include Ukulele Drift: Poems from a Small Island (Red Moon Press, 2023), Africa, Buddha (Red Moon Press, 2022), and Harvesting Stones (winner of the Snapshot Press eChapbook Award, 2017). His poem “Deep Water Port” received a Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun for 2023.

His prose and poems appear regularly in print and online venues including cattails, the Contemporary Haibun Anthology (multiple volumes), contemporary haibun online, Frogpond, hedgerow, Modern Haiku, and Tiny Moments (Volumes II through V), among others. He teaches high school English and leads a simple life in Pago Pago, American Samoa.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Matthew Caretti, featured poet in TRIVENI Haikai India: THE HAIBUN GALLERY (12 December 2024)

⚡ Drinking Pálinka With Attila, haibun by Caretti in MacQueen’s Quinterly (Issue 7, March 2021)