Edition 4 of Catchment: Poetry of Place was released in June 2025. The online journal publishes tanka and longer forms of poetry relating to locations within Australia and elsewhere. Edition 4 included a poem of mine about Central Park in New York City.
Central Park needs no introduction, having featured in countless movies including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Ghostbusters, When Harry Met Sally, the Devil Wears Prada and Night at the Museum. First completed in 1876, it’s a large urban park featuring lakes, wooded sections, lawns, meadows, playgrounds and a zoo. The park is popular all year round, with some areas taking on an almost other-worldly atmosphere in the depths of winter.
My poem is a haiku shuffle which draws on the immediacy of haiku to create a longer poem with a contemporary feel. I’ve written about this form in previous posts such as here. Thanks to the team at Catchment for publishing this ‘poem of place’.
Central Park, New York City
empty trees
not a blackbird
to be seen
shimmering ice
a few fallen leaves
gathered by the lake
the pavilion
amid a ghostly vista
empty trees
a few fallen leaves
the remains of autumn
figure skating
swirl of the breeze
evening shadows
circle and pirouette
in pale sunshine
the remains of autumn
figure skating
How To Haiku Shuffle
There’s been some interest in the poems I’ve published using the haiku shuffle format, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain my thinking about this format a little more clearly. I’ve written on this topic in two previous posts (see links below). The first of these explained how the idea grew out of…
Haiku Trailblazer Contest
The organisers of the Trailblazer Contest have challenged writers to use haiku, or tanka, in new and unusual ways. They’ve challenged writers to incorporate the essence of these Japanese forms into contemporary poetry that is fresh and innovative. You can visit the Trailblazer Contest website here. I was fortunate to have one of my haiku…
Gregory Piko 