Category Archives: Haiku

contemporary haiku poetry

Water

Water
Horseshoe Crabs In '94 I visited Cape May, New Jersey with my sister. Every year on the full moon of May great numbers of birds converge there for the eggs of horseshoe crabs. As the sun touches the western horizon and the full moon breaks over the east, terns and red knots go into a…
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Chiyo-Ni

Chiyo-Ni
Senryu–– haiku about people  having gazed at the moon / I depart from this life  / with a blessing  ––Chiyo-Ni Chiyo-ni was the first woman haijin of contemporary fame. She opened doors to others who would follow her. As I was reading her story, real life intruded. I was reading her death poem above when…
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Bedsprings

Bedsprings
Fuga no makoto–– poetic truth “While walking across a familiar field, I noticed for the first time a set of bedsprings rusting in the grass. I pulled out my notebook and quickly jotted down two lines: bedsprings in the weeds–– / scent of sweet spring leaves Modern Haiku Vol. 34.2 “I was opening to impermanence, and…
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Ghosts and Snow

Ghosts and Snow
Whiteness–– / ghosts and snow / crossing the road Yugen–– Beauty suffused with ineffable mystery. In a world of one color all possibilities exist–– past, present, and future converge in the moments we inherit. Our breaths fly with the ghosts and the snow, blurring the distinctions between realms–– crossing our paths, filling our tracks, indifferent to…
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