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Winners announced here.

Write a haiku and post it in the comments section below. The haiku must adhere to the traditional parameters of a haiku to qualify and may be deleted if it does not. See traditional haiku requirements here. Note that a haiku is like a a painting of nature. If your 5-7-5 poem is focused solely on human nature and is more cynical or humorous, then it is technically a senryu, not a haiku. However, haiku do concern human activities in relation to nature.  The required seasonal word can refer to seasonal sports, holidays, entertainment, gardening, housekeeping, or visits to special places.  Although this contest is held in summer, haiku dealing with any season are acceptable.

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WHEN:

Now until Saturday August 28, 2021 midnight EST. Winners Announced September 5.

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WHO:

Anyone in the world, any age or background, may participate. From within the Society, anyone, including Advisory Board Members, not involved in judging the contest may participate. (If you are outside the United States, you will have to have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts U.S. checks to receive the prize money if you win.)

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WHAT:

Each entrant may submit up to three haiku. Must conform to traditional haiku rules above.

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WHERE:

Post your haiku in the comments section below.

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PRIZE:

$100.

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JUDGE:

Margaret Coats

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ENTRY FEE:

None

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EXAMPLES

See last year’s winning haiku here.

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Trending now:

807 Responses

  1. D.J.Etchell

    life and death are one
    Seasons flow through endless time
    The clouds are weeping

    • Lubabalo Tatase

      When rosey fingers dawned the day is pregnant with twins of possibilities.

      • Lubabalo Tatase

        Scattered thunderstorms sad morning shouts across the sky crying lite rain drops.

      • Martins Deep

        Cold December morn
        whispers ooze through the hairline
        in pa’s early grave

    • Charlene

      Verdant winter garden
      fragrant the wealth of overgrowth
      so full my heart.

    • Paula Hartzenberg

      The silent pond +
      a frog jumps in suddenly –
      oh, the dancing sky!

    • Hayden Oh

      August sunlight shines
      Burning my tanned bruise-kissed skin
      Ultra-violent rays

      • Hayden Oh

        Fall brings changing leaves
        He leaves me with the seasons—
        Alone by winter

    • Nina

      Whispering wafts of clouds scudding across
      the blue skies

    • M. D. Spurlock

      Quiescent waters
      She swims in summer starlight
      And bathes me in love

      A streak of lightning
      The downpour of violent rain
      A kiss to drown in

      Efflorescent spring
      She swims through fields of lilies
      and into my arms

    • Martins Deep

      After August rain,
      to sleep, cat sniffs in mum’s scent
      on the piano keys

    • Martins Deep

      a rooster’s aubade
      melts cloud onto pa’s deathbed
      …mortician’s footfalls

    • Keith A. Simmonds

      Yellow butterflies
      in the stupor of morning
      magic of autumn

    • Keith A. Simmonds

      Across the grey sky
      myriads of wild geese in flight
      zigzag of sketches

    • Keith A. Simmonds

      A host of brown leaves
      stumble into the river…
      the full moon shivers

    • Abel

      The life cycle confirms that the clouds ‘weeping’ for the dying are also feeding funeral bouquets! Brilliant!

    • Karen Kemirembe

      Fresh Ph.D graduate
      Hiring freeze
      Stay-at-home mom it is.

    • Partha Sarathi Das

      1.
      Still in the snake’s mouth
      The frog sees a fire fly on
      Gulps sticking its tongue .

      2.In the jungle grass
      Pounces on a deer the hawk
      Strikes a thunderbolt.

      3. Graceful look the swans
      On the blue waters of lake
      In pain move their feet.

    • Mari de Beer

      Perhaps the shore is
      silent before the storm strikes
      godforsaken waves

    • John Tiong Chung Hoo

      cresting with the waves
      ever lasting memories
      his ash and my heart

  2. Toni Newell

    Light
    The breaking of dawn
    When the darkness turns to light
    A new day begins

    Toni Newell 19th July, 2021. Australia

    • Arek

      Heard a crow laughing
      Shiro’s thousand goats lie dead
      Winter! She whispered in the end.

  3. Paul Freeman

    sibilant sand dunes
    sifted by millennia –
    an arid wind blows.

  4. Patricia A. Marsh

    lightning bug flashing
    right here in the Milky Way
    seeking an answer

  6. Joe Tessitore

    Fog enshrouds the night.
    Woven in the heavy mist,
    A thread of fireflies.

  7. Joe Tessitore

    Rime on the seashore.
    Snowflake on the placid lake.
    Poetry matters.

    • Joe Tessitore

      Sorry, Margaret.
      This one, I believe, works better with a title:

      Matters of Poetry

      Rime on the seashore.
      Snowflake on the frozen lake.
      Poetry matters.

  8. Patricia A. Marsh

    midnight fog hovers
    in the gap between mountains
    where old lovers dream

    • Abel

      Sitting on the porch of a mountain cabin having your coffee with your ‘old lover’. Right there with you!

  9. Patricia A. Marsh

    late May—peonies
    bloom on old family graves—
    Memorial Day

    (This is my third & final entry.)

  10. April S.

    Gathering full force
    the spray lingers in the air
    ocean and cliff bare

  11. April S.

    Snowflake forming life
    glistening on the window
    the semi jackknifes

  12. April S.

    Crickets are chirping
    grass crunching scratches at me
    a tear sets me free

  13. Stuart Jay Silverman

    hibiscus aflame
    even summer’s wet fingers
    shrivel and give up

  14. Sathyam

    whistling winds brought news
    of an impending drizzle
    the trees nodded thanks

    • Abel

      Yes! we used to ‘know’ the weather by paying attention to nature, not the weatherman!

  16. Sathyam

    the sun rays through leaves
    on puddles made by night’s rain
    diamonds on waters

  17. Sathyam

    a walk in the park
    on one dry autumn morning
    leaves enwrap my feet

  18. Paul Freeman

    Eighty decibels
    as my tinnitus worsens;
    cicada bastards.

    • Talbot

      Paul, this made me chuckle immensely. (And this from someone who loves cicadas!)

    • Abel

      did the cicadas ‘trigger’ your tinnitus or mimic it? nice!

  22. ray

    Icy ocean prinks
    in sun flick glitter twinkles.
    All smooth, time wrinkles.

  23. ray

    Rustling gold leaves fall.
    Winds move idly through them all.
    Somewhere past this wall.

  24. ray

    Rain drips from new buds
    Last year’s needles change to mud.
    One drop seeds each flood.

  25. Martin Rizley

    Furry creature purrs,
    Curled up softly by my side,
    Dreaming feline dreams.

  26. Oluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina

    covid pandemic . . .
    the Santa Claus withdrawing
    his hand for a shake

    Independence Day —
    from a patient he removes
    an oxygen mask

    after the long rains . . .
    a beggar’s lead uses stick
    to check for gutters

  27. Norma Pain

    What is a Haiku?
    Beautiful words… not many
    Alas! Not these words

  28. Aiden

    Moon

    Shining bright at night
    A silver orb in the sky
    Reflecting the sun

  29. Sasha A. Palmer

    sun on my eyelids
    the smell of line-dried laundry
    summer afternoon

    kite on a taut string—
    I unclasp my tired hand
    letting go of dreams

    grass blades left unmown
    the tender swirling patterns
    of the galaxy

  30. Steven Bates

    Three entries

    (1)
    Carolina sun
    Setting on a humid night.
    You shiver my soul

    (2)
    Dogwood trees and pink
    carnations. Why must your lure
    fade. Can you tell me?

    (3)
    Jellyfish tickle
    my leg in the warm ocean.
    We play differently

    • Abel

      I like the slight ‘unsettledness’ of your poems…like life!

  31. Ernesto Santiago

    going to the sea
    aglow with soft evening light
    a laughing river

  33. Martin Rizley

    Snow falls through the night,
    Dressing all the world in white–
    Dazzling by daylight.

    • Martin Rizley

      Revision:

      Snow falls through the night,
      Dressing farm and field in white–
      Dazzling dawn in sight!

  34. Karen

    a hand rests on rock
    her wrinkles telling stories
    endless hills surround

    • Karen Li

      Revision for seasonal word:

      a hand rests on rock
      her wrinkles telling stories
      sun-kissed hills surround

    • Abel

      I want to know more. You could write haiku after haiku about this woman!

  36. Karla

    The last apple calls,
    Can’t eat it before it falls.
    Besides, there’s a worm.

    • Abel

      My mom says…”That’s a good one as I read it to her.” Really!

  37. Karla Bowen Herman

    Hungry for sweet corn,
    Yummy, slathered with butter.
    There goes my diet!

  38. Karla Bowen Herman

    Waiting for maters,
    Impatient for red ones, sliced.
    Just have green ones, fried.

  39. Martin Rizley

    Midnight breezes blow
    Through moonlit, moss draped oak trees
    Like whispering ghosts.

    • Abel

      We have moss draped oaks in cemeteries in Georgia, nice imaginary visuals with ‘real’ ghosts!

  40. Joe Tessitore

    Blood splatters the drifts.
    Winter of their discontent.
    What matter, to me?

  41. Johan Kotze

    our winter

    winter is turning
    nature’s coat is now new
    man is not learning

  42. Roy E. Peterson

    LOST IN MY THOUGHTS

    I’m lost in my thoughts
    As I walk among roses.
    Dinner is burning.

  43. Roy E. Peterson

    BEAR CUBS

    Bear cubs watching men
    Walking through a sylvan glen.
    The forest shudders.

  44. Roy E. Peterson

    THOUGHT I HAD IT MADE

    Thought I had it made,
    Then it rained on my parade.
    Slip, sliding away.

    • Roy E. Peterson

      Please delete Thought I Had It Made, since I realized it sounded like past tense and replace with the following:

      THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
      By Roy E. Peterson (July 30, 2021)

      Thunder and lightning
      Young children are frightening.
      Flowers welcome rain.

  45. Tanja Bulovic

    The sky is falling
    The ground is screaming at us
    We remain silent

  46. Carmen

    Birds sing God’s praises
    while summer sun splashes paint
    where grey clouds hover.

  47. ben

    A balmy day now
    The clouds pass low over green
    Fear of thunder in my heart

  48. Sharon Ferrante

    I slipped on the rocks
    with firefly glow on my cheeks~
    the brook remembers

  49. Sharon Ferrante

    cabbage butterfly
    finds lavender in my hair
    her dust on my heart

  50. Sharon Ferrante

    sharing a chimney
    bats by day and birds by night
    novel stars~one sky

    • Scott Waters

      creamy poppy melts
      butter in the mouth of noon
      time to make my lunch

      • Nkgono Phoka

        Of all pests on earth
        You are the most beautiful red and black
        Ladybug you’ll never get squashed.

    • Abel

      I love the image of the bats leaving to feast at night just as the birds are coming to roost!

  51. Jeff Eardley

    I see him daily
    Spread out across the highway
    Rest in peace old Toad

  52. Sean Hickey

    Spring in the hedgerows.
    Magpies busy cancelling
    Fresh twitter accounts.

  56. Scott Waters

    darkness doesn’t fall
    it stumbles on the threshold
    of another dawn

  58. Scott Waters

    shadow of a crow
    bounces in a bobbing line
    bird itself flies true

  62. an'ya

    no two are alike—
    the children’s play park shapeshifts
    into snow angels

  63. Daniel Lessard

    Sounds of the ocean
    rolling waves over the rocks
    Lullabies for me

  64. Kurt Allen Fisher

    Death rides on the air
    Brought by an ancient half-life
    Evil grows in hearts

    • Kurt Allen Fisher

      Corrected:
      Death rides on the air
      Brought by an ancient half-life
      Evil grows in our hearts

      • Kurt Allen Fisher

        Revised to better conform to form and referring to SARS-COV2:

        Death on summer’s air
        Brought by an ancient half-life
        Glance upward in hope

      • Kurt Allen Fisher

        Another fine tune:

        Death on summer’s air
        Ancient life has awoken
        Glance upward in hope

      • Kurt Allen Fisher

        One last try to get the 5-7-5 meter:

        Death on summer’s air
        Ancient life has awoken
        Cooling rain brings hopefulness

      • Kurt Allen Fisher

        Another try:

        Death on summer air (5)
        Cooling rain brings hopefulness (7)
        Ancient life awakes (5)

      • Kurt Allen Fisher

        Revised to end on a switch in perspective relative to the first two lines.

        Death on summer air (5)
        Ancient life roams the Earth (7)
        A light rain brings hope (5)

      • Kurt Allen Fisher

        Death on summer air (5)
        Ancient life wanders the land (7)
        A light rain brings hope (5)

  67. Jordan Magrobi

    All’s well in the world
    When woken by a dogs nose
    Snuffling through my dreams

  68. Angela Petrone

    As I woke up to
    Honey on my countertop
    Bees danced like summer

    • Angela Petrone

      Revision:

      As I wake up to
      Honey on my countertop
      Bees dance like summer

  69. Angela Petrone

    The moon shines so bright
    No one can ever tell me why
    It hurts my brown eyes.

  70. Angela Petrone

    Flowers cover cars
    Spring vomited in my carport
    Cats wonder in it

    • Angela Petrone

      Revision:

      Flowers cover cars
      Spring vomits in my carport
      Cats wonder in it

      • Abel

        Cats could wonder or wander in the ‘spring vomit’ nice!

  71. Dan Galbin

    the scent of absence –
    some flowers of lilac on
    a hospital bed

    desolate alley –
    the winter moon is sneaking
    in the old street lamp

    early spring thawing –
    on the snowman’s cheek trickles
    one tear two tears three…

    • Abel

      He is crying for the end of winter of life as he knows it

  72. Maire Morrissey Cummins

    strawberries rampant
    in the old cemetery
    late summer twilight

  73. Deepthi

    The first day of Spring
    cuckoo woke up with a leap
    to start her concert.
    ————-
    migratory birds
    from West to Indian lakes
    their romantic spas.
    ————–
    first rays of the Sun
    falling between timberlines
    laying golden path.

  74. Lisa White

    Hundreds of faces
    Turning to sun and to seed
    Imperceptibly

  75. Matthew Charles White

    Wildfire razed our field
    Wildlife fled or burnt to death
    Then herons feasted

    • Matthew Charles White

      Sorry, I had not realized it was mandatory for the poem to be in the present tense, so:
      Wildfire burns the veld
      Wildlife flees or dies in pain
      Then the herons feast

      • Abel

        Haunting images…but I know herons to be water birds not scavengers, so I’m a little confused(?)

  78. Grant

    Roses are in bloom
    It’s quiet this afternoon
    You were gone too soon

  79. Grant

    The hour of fright
    Owl eyes gleaming in the night
    Field mice are in sight

  80. Grant

    In the summer breeze
    I hear your endless lament
    Pollen and sinus

  81. Zachelle

    Glorious Beauty
    Black and amber mass of grace
    Breaths bound to seasons.

  82. Mihael de la Montagnes

    Rain slides off a beak
    Fearless of Spring’s elements
    About your business!

    Beauty bathed by blue
    Chrysanthemums golden kissed
    Fall’s enframed glory

  83. Maryam Qureshi.

    The fruits of summer
    Visible before my eyes…
    Feeling glorified

  84. Maryam Qureshi.

    Departure of spring
    Flowers ready to wither
    Under barren touch

  85. Maryam Qureshi.

    Maturing wheatstalks
    Weave of hope flashes upon
    The farmer’s belief

    • Arek

      Sky laughs, Earth is sad
      Winter use to lie ahead
      Probably grimmer, now and then

    • Abel

      I love the focus on the air in the chimes and then moving on its journey!

  89. Floris van Zyl

    Tokyo in bloom
    diversity bound rainbow
    all the world shimmers

  90. Mihael de la Montagnes

    Lost unspoken words
    Hands clasping each other locked
    Sleep safeguards your thoughts

  91. C.B. Anderson

    Almost nothing here is a real Haiku. Most are Haiku wannabees.

    • Margaret Coats

      As judge of this contest, I have been reading entries every day, and I think Mr. Anderson is too severe in saying almost none of the submissions are haiku. I have found many that qualify, and some that are very good. However, I have also found many that neglect one or more of the requirements for traditional haiku. This is a contest for poets to do something new and exciting WITHIN AN ESTABLISHED TRADITION. Before submitting your entries, please read the “How to Write Haiku” article that you will find by clicking the word “here” where the contest instructions say, “See traditional haiku requirements here.” You should be able to tell why Mr. Anderson’s poem does not qualify:

      Almost nothing here
      is a real Haiku. Most are
      Haiku wannabees.

      If you need to correct entries that are already submitted, please press REPLY under your poem and make the correction there, as several poets have already done.

      • Michael Rolfe

         Now we feel foolish,
        reclassifying haiku
         that were senryu.

      • Sathyam

        Dear Coats, In response to your opinion above I would like to add:
        There are 2 more rules of haiku 1) no capital letters
        2) no anthropomorphism.

      • Richard Campbell

        What is the source that backs up your comment?

      • Francesca Leader

        Sathyam — I don’t understand how capitalization (or lack thereof) matters when writing Haiku. There is no such thing as capital/lowercase in Japanese, it’s true, but if you are going to write a Haiku in a language other than Japanese, I think you have to make allowances for linguistic or typographical features that don’t exist in Japanese.

      • Doug Wakefield

        I suggest Folk refer to the British poet, John Cooper-Clark, for “what makes a Haiku”… (He holds Basho would demand he commit Sepeku if he dared break the key rules of the form.)

        John acknowledges the difficulty some Folk face keeping to the 5/7/5 in his brilliant observation:

        “Creating One’s mood
        With seventeen syllables
        Is very diffic…”

        Dx

      • Richard Campbell

        Simple three-line poems.
        Any fool can pen haikus.
        Seventeen syllab

      • Sathyam

        Regarding capitalisation and anthropomorphism, I read these rules and many more in http://www.museindia.com where several haiku exp etta post their haiku. They gave even a list of seasonal words which is called as ‘kegu’ in Japanese.

      • Margaret Coats

        This contest is sponsored, and the rules were set before the contest opened, by the Society of Classical Poets. The rules will not be changed. There are many haiku masters and teachers in various places throughout the world, each with his own ideas on how best to present haiku. Expectations at the Society of Classical Poets accommodate a number of schools, and I am happy to say that I recognize several schools participating here. We welcome every poet who works in the traditional form of English haiku–and NO ONE is required to adopt the customs of someone else’s teacher. Contestants, please do your own best work, and do not try to instruct others.

        In particular, I will say that no one needs to use a seasonal word from a Japanese kigo list. The season of your poem can be made clear however you like, and kigo are convenient shorthand for that. But seasons where you live may not correspond to those in Japan. We leave the seasonal reference to the poet’s skill. Other items not mentioned in competition rules above are also up to each poet’s own artistic judgment.

  92. Dana Rowe

    stick nest tops tall post
    hungry chicks, new from their eggs
    fish: osprey plummets

    mackintosh hangs, ripe
    submits self for appraisal
    worm has found delight

    sweet rose of sharon
    lavender beyond window
    squirrel leaps from branch

  93. Gail Welman

    Dogs delight my heart
    Love devotion eternal
    God’s earth companion

  94. Cleve Walker

    The hoot of an owl
    And a chuck-chucking spurfowl.
    Dawn us breaking.

    • Cleve Walker

      Typo correction:
      The hoot of an owl
      And a chuck-chucking spurfowl
      Dawn is breaking

  95. Vasile Moldovan

    It is thawing time –
    The azaleea bushes
    Are ready to bloom

  96. Vasile Moldovan

    The inverse count –
    Will I have time to write
    My good bye haiku?

  97. Vasile Moldovan

    The tomb of a hero-
    his name has been delated
    by winds and tempests

  98. Murielle van Noort

    Waves roll in to shore
    Find a message in bottle
    Lesson from the sea

  99. Murielle van Noort

    A tiny seed sprouts
    Growing a green canopy
    Fills your lungs with air

  100. Murielle van Noort

    Magic carpet blooms
    Heavenly bliss for the bees
    Honey flows in streams

  101. Ernesto Santiago

    still out on the field
    enjoying the warm sunshine
    red-eyed cicada

  102. Boluwatife Emmanuel

    She found peace at death
    After six years of cancer
    The peace of the grave .

    • Boluwatife Emmanuel

      August visitor
      Death Came knocking at his door
      A grievous summer

  104. Mark Patrick

    bronze mannikins with
    their hundred eyes – watch – are like
    leaves falling upwards

    the thick-billed weaver
    marks the wetland reclaim, a
    finely woven nest

    a long splice of palm
    leaf thread is pulled between two
    weaver birds, intent

  105. Con Chapman

    Crew Haiku

    It is autumn now–
    My son sculls on the river.
    I am left behind.

  106. Richard Campbell

    Footprints in the sand.
    Holding hands, sharing our lives.
    The sun sets softly.

  107. Richard Campbell

    Waiting in your smile,
    The dawn of my tomorrow.
    Night slowly fading.

  108. Richard Campbell

    Earthrise on the moon.
    Incredibly impressive
    Insignificance.

  109. De Hollandsmith

    Sobbing, my baby—
    Oh no, Doctor, I’m pleading:
    God, spare her; take me.

  110. Ed Ahern

    ferns sere in dry heat
    withered fronds clutch each other
    awaiting new shoots

  111. Leea

    green leaf explosion
    red-rovers tree-rooted paths
    lake flies send us home

  112. Julian D. Woodruff

    Dry weeds stretch along
    Highway five-seventy-five.
    They long for water.

  113. Emory D. Jones

    Squawks from up above
    Black birds against pale blue sky
    Crow calligraphy.

  114. Emory D. Jones

    Yellow butterflies
    Flitting across green meadows
    Like dancing sunshine.

  115. Emory D. Jones

    Trees stretch twig fingers
    Tickling the underbellies
    Of the laughing clouds.

  116. Emory D. Jones

    Crepe myrtle bursts forth–
    A riot of small flowers
    In pink explosion.

  117. Emory D. Jones

    The warm spring sunshine
    Awakens the infant seeds–
    Sprouts climb out of bed.

  118. Emory D. Jones

    Daffodils spout sun
    Into robin’s egg blue sky
    Like waving sunshine.

  119. James A. Tweedie

    Fire Season

    Nature eats its own
    Hot cereal for breakfast
    Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

  120. James A. Tweedie

    Ripples on the pond
    Planted by the summer rain
    Bloom like the lotus

  121. James A. Tweedie

    Summer morning dew
    Tear-drops scattered on the lawn
    Sparkling like diamonds

  122. Lucia Haase

    blue water – white sand
    and wind upon my being…
    ah…inspiration!

  123. Lucia Haase

    In the early morn
    a cricket choir of thousands-
    Glory to the Lord!

  124. Lucia Haase

    Autumn winds rustle
    the trees in their reflection
    coloring my muse.

  131. Julie Walker

    Through the mountain tops, rocky, rugged, chilly air, picking chanterelles

  132. Robert James Liguori

    Each page is Hellboy,
    Read with warmth in my sunroom;
    Tiled floor gently glows!

  133. Kodimarakkalage (Lehansa) Fernando

    Dear my faithful friends

    Thank you for your guys’ friendship

    And for the support

  134. Kodimarakkalage (Lehansa) Fernando

    Gardens spread around
    Hidden smile on the morrow
    Light shines carefree

  135. Kodimarakkalage (Lehansa) Fernando

    Laughing of a star
    Nature’s grasp across the seas
    Tea’s brewing blissful

  137. Robert James Liguori

    Racoon should share corn,
    Yet does not know how to count…
    Seventeen ears glare.

  138. John Petraglia

    Three from me . . .

    Purple lilac bloom
    Surround me with your sweet scent
    Ah, April again.

    Think of it–the moon
    With no light of its own
    Bright as day tonight

    Winter alpine stream
    New ice sheets formed last night
    Even at the bends

  140. Cleve Walker

    The dogs are barking
    Just as the moon is rising
    Two genets prowling

    • Cleve Walker

      The dogs are barking
      A yellow moon is rising
      My glass is empty

      • Cleve Walker

        Final version:
        The dogs are barking
        A yellow moon is rising
        Two genets prowling

  141. Cleve Walker

    The birds are quiet
    Mother nature is sleeping
    My glass is empty

  142. Robert James Liguori

    Cat food on door step….
    Raccoons, possums or the like?
    Nope, frenzied seagulls!

  143. Samantha

    Crushed leaves in autumn
    And Winter’s frost forgotten
    In warm Spring blossom

  144. Kathy Bahr

    you’re cold blooded void
    why did creation make you
    beetles smother spin

  146. Tim J. Myers

    Orion glimpsed
    between my neighbor’s roof and mine:
    Winter here again
    *
    on the vast lake,
    a single egret—small white mark
    against so much blue
    *
    The ease of these clouds—
    as if summer is the only truth
    of this world

  147. Sharmon Gazaway

    click of palmettos
    in salt air–secrets hidden
    behind their splayed fans

    drenched tea leaves unfurl
    scent of rose, orange, earth, moon–
    my cup of dark stars.

    frozen and fragile
    desolation takes us when
    the ivy shatters.

  148. Rithik Duvva

    Rising from the East
    Sunlight coming out to please
    Children wanting light

    • Abel

      I love the sentiment that the sun is shining for the playing children.

    • Abel

      Speaks to the necessity of friends to travers this ‘rough terrain’ nice

      • Pavan

        hot Kenyan summer
        street vendors selling sweet fruits
        often licking lips.
        *****************

        chilly morning rain
        suddenly the sun appears
        spraying tepid beams.
        *******************
        cold winter morning
        kids of construction workers
        bathing at the well.

  153. Jake Aller

    Three Summer Haiku

    Korean summers
    Hot and humid like sauna
    With tropical nights

    California burns
    Wildfires consuming
    End of the world

    Korean summers
    Beaches welcoming me
    Sunset over west

  154. Kiara Naidoo

    a net of pinpoints
    pressing on the naked night
    maps the milky way

  156. Ernesto Santiago

    a beautiful chance—
    been floating on the water
    cute daruma doll

  157. Bridget Lamont

    Karoo

    Listen here to how
    the desert’s sibilant sands
    taunt the distant clouds.

  158. Reace Ian Roeloffze

    Oh leaves that rattle
    An orchestral melody
    Conducted by wind

  159. Joseph Mason

    Bone-chilling
    Shivering crystals greet sun
    Shimmering

    • Joseph Mason

      Note to self – pay attention, MORON!!!

      Bone-chilling frigid
      Shivering crystals greet sun
      Shimmering prism

  160. Nkgono Phoka

    Dry leaves float gracefully from autumn-laden trees to find solace on solid ground…welcome

  161. Sarah Jane Mary Hills

    This Winter I’m here
    With Spring flowers in my heart
    My tears almost dry

  162. Bruno De Oliveira

    We drunk oil today,
    Our winter is now summer,
    Brown is now the spring.

    • Bruno De Oliveira

      The carbon we breathe,
      kills the mosquitoes and bees,
      and slowly fills me.

      • Bruno De Oliveira

        Feel the last glaciers,
        the crispy of cold air,
        last winter for us.

  163. Joseph Mason

    Sweltering heat wave
    Lemon – sugar – H – 2 – O
    Parched lips – earth’s bounty.

    • Abel

      Love the sparse recipe for refreshment in the summer’s heat! Clever

    • Mihael de la Montagnes

      This does not conform to 5-7-5 syllable count of a haiku. Please try again. Thank you

    • Refika Dedić

      the cat is napping
      below the cherry petals
      mouse on a walk

  165. Mia

    In sunlit waters
    shoals of small fish swim freely,
    going in circles.

  166. Sheila A. McHugh

    *
    Mid-summer heat wave
    Hermit crabs scuttle for shade
    PRIVATE: No Access

    *
    Summer’s heady sounds
    Minuet in triple time
    Waves caress the shore

    *
    Mackerel sky-scape
    Cirrocumulus wave clouds
    Rain drops on parched earth

  167. Sybrand de Vaal

    Morning light reveals
    The winter storm’s harsh pruning
    The nest is empty

    • Sybrand de Vaal

      Revised:
      Morning light reveals
      the winter storm’s harsh pruning:
      a nest left empty

  168. JoyAnne O'Donnell

    The wave of wishes
    sparkle in the shamrocks eye
    to good lucks meadow

  169. JoyAnne O'Donnell

    I love the haiku
    words glowing new and so true
    gentle sharing reigns

  170. JoyAnne O'Donnell

    My summer fable
    maze of seashells beachcomber
    A swim till sun lives

  171. Drew Lankford

    We are winter leaves
    Shivering beneath the flesh
    Of a mystery

  172. Ihar Kazak

    Not all tweets are the same. Take for instance the digital tweets vs those of birds.
    Check out my haiku and you’ll be convinced.
    Ihar
    NB: I have three more to share…

  173. Ihar Kazak

    HAIKU ON TWEETING

    Birds’ reputation
    Shaken by digital tweets
    Indeed, some progress…

    Are all tweets alike?
    Digital rotten apple
    Bad name comes quickly.

    The real tweets from birds,
    How soothing and sweet they are!
    But digital tweets?!

  174. Ramesh Anand

    summer twilight breeze
    the coconut palm leaf swings
    the homing parrots

  175. Ramesh Anand

    a song of junco …
    everywhere the arrival
    of falling snowflakes

  176. Ramesh Anand

    constellations sky
    the fragrance of night jasmine
    deepens the stillness

  177. Sybrand de Vaal

    The pale winter dawn
    shrouds her naked silhouette
    Tree with empty nest

  178. Kahless

    The weaver is here
    Building his home for the spring
    Dry leaves intertwined

    The nest is too small
    So he builds another one
    It’s always too small

    Nights become shorter
    The air fills with light and song
    Vital warmth for all

  179. Gabriel

    whenever the trees…
    meet at the confluence forest
    the sky dare not purge

    moon frowns and withdraws
    the sun protrudes and beams forth
    dawn of a new day

    on his way to tap…
    climbing the tree with étè
    blessings of palm wine

  180. Tracy Davidson

    a wily fox leaves
    feathers floating in the pond…
    no fresh eggs today

    wearily she waves
    the white flag of surrender…
    cobwebbed butterfly

    waltzing with the wind
    peach blossom and plum blossom
    swapping dance partners

  181. Christy Bragg

    Tree-shadows grow long
    In the light of her sorrow,
    Gold-leaves are glowing.

  182. Christy Bragg

    Her hand on her womb,
    The moon rises ripe and full :
    As the sea surges.

  183. Christy Bragg

    A woman’s tears slide,
    A closed clam lies upon the sand –
    As waves froth and pull.

  184. Yunus Mohamed

    The meaning life
    Is to fit everything
    Into a song

  185. Joseph Mason

    Blackened landscape burns
    White-hot embers smoldering
    Wegeneration

  186. Hannah Crafford

    Sun comes in creeping
    Radiating energy
    Warm faces beaming

  187. susan Anawalt

    From silver silence
    Tree-netted moon releases
    Maple leaf golden

    No Cedar Waxwings
    Returned this mild winter.
    Berry seeds not sown.

    Popcorn clouds, blue sky
    Birds sing, sun hiding, seeking
    Look, Humming Bird nest!

    • Abel

      Poetic biology lesson with the waxwings…why didn’t they return?

  188. Adam S. Crafford

    smoke clogging earth’s pores
    nature wilting all the time
    ecosystems plagued

  189. James Ripley

    newly warmed flannels
    now in my laundry basket
    have begun to purr

    one lone(ly) mallard
    ignored by his own echo
    quacks again, hoping

    breath crisp one crow dreams
    feasting on roast winter squash
    salt kissed with cold toes

    • Abel

      Loved the laundry kitty and the lonely mallard. Did not quite get the third one though…

  190. Kerry

    There is a glow worm
    igniting the gentle night
    with its charming bum

    Up the window pane
    it struggles against the rain
    For what, I don’t know

    His signal is one
    that brings me hope, but perhaps
    It’s an SOS

    (I wonder, I do
    If a UFO could read
    His desperate plea)

    • Abel

      Three wonderful poems, why break the rules with a fourth?

  191. Wesley van den Berg

    Blue moon milky way
    The crush of waves change slowly
    Yet stays day by day

  193. Toni Newell

    Life

    Morning has broken
    A butterfly flaps her wings
    Life’s rumbles begin

    Toni Newell 4tth August (Australia)

    • Abel

      Nice real imagery, nature isn’t always hummingbird rainbows!

  197. Samantha

    Smoke blackened red skies
    Ebbs with the last breath of life
    And then there was peace

  198. Elsie D

    gusty southwest wind,
    with tempest of Pacific
    Yule in the offing

    a livid monsoon
    jaundiced August hex a doom
    let creatures cocoon

    in tropical night
    sweet sampaguita unfurls,
    ’til the morning blights

  200. Eric Jurien

    Women fighting in
    Cages, mandated vaccines–
    Antichrist is nigh!

    • Mihael de la Montagnes

      This has nothing to do with nature and is not a haiku. Please conform to the rules of the contest and try again. Thank you

      • Eric

        Sorry. how’s this

        Birds fighting in the
        Trees, leaves falling without choice–
        Antichrist is nigh!

  202. Marie-Sandra Trudelle

    A line not to be crossed
    From lovers to friends
    Love meets its tragic end

  203. Marie-Sandra Trudelle

    Listen to the voice of your heart
    Choose those who choose you
    No one should thirst for love

  204. Marie-Sandra Trudelle

    A midsummer night’s dream
    Moonbeams hypnotize two bewildered hearts
    Love comes unforeseen

  205. Sybrand de Vaal

    Spring rose perfume drifts
    from petals brown at the edge
    Severed stems beneath

    • Abel

      The realization of cut flowers, beautiful but slowly dying

  206. Joseph McCarroll

    Mayfly in Junecloud
    Over Marlay lake
    In a maelstrom of sunsparks
    Mayfly mill and moil

  207. CF Bernini

    Lavender’s sweet blooms
    welcome bees humming their thanks
    for summer’s harvest

  208. CF Bernini

    Patient, the sun waits
    a new birth. An unhurried
    fragrant eruption

  209. CF Bernini

    Between sea and sky
    the jagged cliffs surrender
    battered by the waves

  210. Dianne

    MIGRAINE

    Bright light, shattered sky
    Lightening flashes; mouth is dry
    Overwhelming pain

  217. Tiaan Botha

    Feel the soft raindrops
    Patter against the windows
    Of ones hopes and dreams

  218. Tiaan Botha

    Leaves clinging to trees
    Determined not to fall dead
    Reminds me of us

  219. Evita

    I
    A seagull staggers
    in awe of the rippled mate
    he has bent to kiss.

    II
    Yellow the petals
    to a waking touch, yellow
    the field to slumber

    III
    A dove wakes beside
    A dreaming fountain that loves
    A blossom’s white wings.

  220. Rachel Nel

    Like smoke rising from
    mournful funeral pyres
    grey low-slung clouds swirl.

  221. Bill Bleich

    barking dogs nearby-
    I feel the tearing teeth of
    winter’s bitter wind

  222. Bill Bleich

    I visit the grave
    of the dearly departed,
    memories of youth

  223. Elna Kruger

    Summerrain falling
    replenished thirsty nature
    with water of life.

  224. Elna Kruger

    Mogalakwena
    river of the crocodile
    once part of summer.

  225. David Bellemare Gosselin

    The city fog whirls:
    Denizens walk the dark streets—
    The lamplights flicker.

    The moon’s light descends
    Into city thoroughfares
    And floods the dank road.

    Cherry tree blossoms:
    The sight of pale-pink petals,
    Eagerly falling.

  226. Vivashan Muthan

    Gold rimmed clouds and trees
    Slink on the pink sun’s splashes
    Winter day dreaming

  227. Waliyullah Tunde Abimbola

    harnessing the sun
    natural prying spotlight
    entering my soul

    • Waliyullah Tunde Abimbola

      the green blade of grass
      laden with two grasshoppers
      defies the windflaw

  228. Janet Prinsloo

    Ancient Green Forest
    Bars with spiky cycad leaves
    The sun dapples through

  229. Waliyullah Tunde Abimbola

    november moonlight
    the crickets chorus the night’s
    deep secrets to me

  232. Dorinda Ann MacDowell

    PINK PETALS

    Pink petals falling
    with grace clothe her onward path,
    greet her tiny feet

    CRAZY DANCE

    Gusty, growling wind
    whips leaves into a frenzy,
    crazily dancing

    SOFTENING SHOWERS

    Sweet gentle April
    Your sweetly softening raindrops
    soothe my shattered soul

  234. Spencer Green

    One sip of pink clings
    To the tip of each white pitcher.
    Magnolias at sunset

  235. Spencer Green

    rain drops on dry leaves
    pitter, pick at, and play with
    their marionettes

  236. Spencer Green

    black skyscrapers scratch
    at something beyond the gray
    as white flakes drift down

  237. Hla Yin Mon

    Entry- I
    chirring cicadas
    prickly heat in symphony
    ping whilting away

    Entry-II
    pattern coloured wings
    frolicking among flowers
    a stint through summer

    Entry III

    head to head they form
    a heart pledging lasting love
    passes when one pass

    • Abel

      I can hear the women’s lament, nice nature metaphor with the umbrellas!

  243. Bentley Brock

    Heron stalks the marsh
    that steams with the summer heat;
    shimmering with life.

    • Aremu Adams Adebisi

      Pristine humbleness;
      The lofty moon in the sky
      Reflects on the sea.

  244. Bentley Brock

    Spring’s fecund warmth
    dances through the chrysalis—
    ever-shifting life.

  246. Bentley Brock

    Dried-up oasis
    water spread too thin; now just
    footprints in the sand.

  251. Andile Ecalpar Nayika

    #1

    Feathers freeze up high
    Above shores as still as stone,
    Africa we rise.

    #2

    The sun floods the air
    Yet Summer walks on water
    With her body bare.

    #3

    The pear is prickly,
    Way pass proud for picking,
    So groans the sickly.

  253. Alexia Lafoca

    The weeping flower
    Not chosen by anyone
    Not the one to pick

  254. Alexia Lafoca

    The little puppy
    Learning to howl in the wind
    Finding its own pack

  255. Alexia Lafoca

    Walking all alone
    While the rain is pouring down
    Sit alone at night

    • Larry Ketchersid

      My choices are mine
      The Path often not roses
      Are you at the end?

      • Larry Ketchersid

        Bob’s not with us now
        Many hikes are incomplete
        Trails in afterlife

  257. Toni Newell

    Sun’s low in July,
    Snails hibernate in shelter,
    Plants sigh in relief.

    Toni Newell 8th August, 2021. Australia

  258. Diane Towers

    Summerly steps reaching the bridge.
    Sighing, such relief … goals worthy and secure. Adrift along life’s embroidered detour.

  259. Sylvia Anne Telfer

    Broken wing crow hops
    As snow drops in belly growl
    Always seeds by door

  260. Sylvia Anne Telfer

    Apple blossom blooms
    Buds sprout yearning hectic skies
    Hush of old men’s sighs

  261. Sylvia Anne Telfer

    Leaves in blood-red maze
    Vibrant carpet in weak rays
    Dying soldiers’ tears

  263. Gordon Taylor

    Autumnal. Leaves fall.
    Birds fly south for the winter.
    Early frosts bite hard.

    • Gordon S Taylor

      Slight refinement as there doesn’t seem to be an edit option:

      Autumnal leaves fall.
      Birds have flown for the winter.
      Early frosts bite hard.

  265. Linda East

    the herons take flight
    hints of winter at the shore
    autumn’s final breath

  267. James

    Sky deliver rain
    River shallow needs you most
    Bright sun lights the way

  268. Peter Quo

    In solitude, snide
    A lion without its pride
    Does its life subside

    • Abel

      Do they really just lay around when not mating or eating? haha Bonus for rhyming, the first I’ve noticed.

  269. Dorothy Dyer

    The cold sea shocks me
    I dive through the soft white foam
    And see a starfish.

  270. Sonja Moorcroft

    Seasons on the go
    warm humid sunny days flow
    frosted cherry tree

  271. Sonja Moorcroft

    Autumn leaves fall
    dark and gloomy winter frost
    colour burst – Spring pops!

  272. Sonja Moorcroft

    Summer drizzling rain
    tumbling broken branches fall
    winter fires glow

    • Abel

      Nice cycle of imagery. It even made me think of the tumbling branches as next years fire!

  273. Simon John Bold

    Snow-boughs curtain-call,
    limelight white stuns frozen grace,
    winter showtime glows.

    On thermals soaring
    wingtips touch horizons wide,
    wild eyes steel the wind.

    A mollusc has gone
    now a whorled habitation
    hums hymns of the sea.

  274. Doug Wakefield

    “Me: Man, You: Woman…
    You smell nice… You in Season…
    Me… You… Mate… Yum… Cummmm…”

    “So… Composition!
    A moment to live, and then?
    Decomposition.”

  275. Camilla Dietrich

    In the library of blooms
    Hovers hummingbird
    Doesn’t need the words

    • Camilla Dietrich

      adjustment, as I cannot edit:

      Hummingbird hovers
      In the library of blooms
      Doesn’t need the words

  276. Camilla Dietrich

    Snail-eating beetle
    Scanning the dewy grasses
    For a crunchy lunch

  277. Camilla Dietrich

    Orb weaver spins silk
    Invisible till it sticks
    Prey sees the spiral

  278. Carley

    the nightingale song
    it fell silent for a while
    prayer of pious monk

  280. jd

    Colorful trickles
    splash on summer’s high-topped greens
    sound a chill alarm

  281. Pedro Corga

    1.

    mute surrounding noise,
    let silence wholly prevail—
    a cricket hotspot

    2.

    labour of beauty:
    an industrious silkworm
    weaving the future

    3.

    cold wind breezing through
    the mesmerising twilight—
    longing for summer

    Pedro Corga, Aveiro/Portugal

  282. Ngo Binh Anh Khoa

    the sounds of wind chimes
    stirred by the summer breezes
    breathing exercise

    Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam

  283. Ngo Binh Anh Khoa

    a newly hatched egg
    one half of the moon up high
    one half in the lake

    Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam

  284. Ngo Binh Anh Khoa

    a clap of thunder
    suddenly shattering the silence
    the newborn’s first cry

    Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam

    • Abel

      ahh maybe the thunder made her cry! Keeps me guessing I love it!

  285. Toshiji Kawagoe

    A minute’s silence
    for the atomic bomb-day
    The wind also dies

    • Toshiji Kawagoe

      On August 6th and 9th, a one-minute prayer is offered to the victims of the atomic bomb attacks in Japan every year. Thus, ‘the atomic bomb-day’ is considered as a seasonal word in Japanese Haiku.
      The following is the Japanese version of this haiku.
      原爆忌風も静かに黙祷す

    • Toshiji Kawagoe

      Thank you for your comments, Abel.

      As the day is usually one of the hottest days in Japan, we experience a millionth of their sufferings vicariously. Let’s pray for peace.

  286. Toni Newell

    A flower blossoms
    Heralding a new season
    Nature at her best

    The Sunflowers turn
    Their heads following the sun
    Imitating sheep

    Rugged in pyjamas,
    Sun has now finally set
    My bed is empty

    Toni Newell 8th August, 2021

  287. Toshiji Kawagoe

    A swarm of fireflies
    lights up a moonless night
    during the black out

    Japanese: 停電の闇夜に光る蛍かな

    • Toshiji Kawagoe

      Note:
      ‘Firefly’ is a seasonal word in summer. ‘The black out’ refers to the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    • Toshiji Kawagoe

      Thank you for your attention, Kathy.

      Watching fireflies in early summer was one of the fantastic events in Japan (and Asian counties), even during such a tragic situation, especially for children.

  288. Lucky Triana

    mulberries picking —
    all along the pale silkworm
    grasping my collar

  289. Talbot Hook

    Wall-enclosed garden,
    Cloudless heat; mud-sprung lotus
    Emperor’s sole guest.
    ________________________

    Light through the elm leaves
    Settles into amber sap,
    Fills cicada shells.
    ________________________

    Hiker stirs trail-dust;
    Faint breeze soughs in a white pine —
    Two shy “good morning”s.

    • Abel

      I love the lit amber of the cicada shell, what a picture!

  290. Coco

    Inverted crochets
    On a grey musical stave
    Birds on a pow’r line

  291. Mia

    Heady scent of rose,
    Fabulous floral worlds bloom,
    The solace of books.

    • Mia

      second version

      Cold winter draws near,
      The scent of dried rose petals,
      The solace of books.

  292. Toshiji Kawagoe

    A black kite calling
    echoes through the whistling sound
    A cool mountaintop

    Japanese: 山澄みてとんびの声の木霊する

    • Toshiji Kawagoe

      Note:
      Curiously, ‘black kite’ is not a seasonal word in Japanese Haiku. However, ‘cool mountain’ (山澄む) is a seasonal word in autumn.

  293. Barbara A. Taylor

    simple white splashes
    art à la Jackson Pollack
    under the old yew

    *

    another full moon
    on rustic torii gates
    shimenawa fades

    *

    winter’s icy breath…
    the far away snowy peaks
    have now disappeared

  294. Carley

    the scent of a hay
    my granddaughter’s first meeting
    with a grasshopper

  295. Nancy Marie Seaman

    Spider web on bush
    Squiggly design can be seen
    Written not for man

    By Nancy Marie

  297. James Shuman

    My Wyoming

    Summer sky so big
    You can see into next week
    Ah, my Wyoming

  298. Dave Whippman

    Footsteps on crisp snow
    Intense as soft-voiced secrets,
    Whispers of winter.

  299. Ryan Alexander Neily

    Arsenal Football,
    Hot sun kissing the green pitch,
    Boot Ball Bending – Goal!

  300. Refika Dedić

    yellow and black ants
    on the doorstep
    hands in prayer

  301. Darrell Lindsey

    back porch lemonade
    a red wasp flies through a hole
    in grandmother’s screen

    hay bales in the barn
    father and son walking home
    for their cold supper

    watermelon patch
    I let the weathered scarecrow
    try on my straw hat

  302. Philip Horky

    The fireplace glows
    Snowflakes drum the window panes
    Calm before the storm.

    White tears stain his face
    Children erupt in laughter
    Yet the clown plays on.

    Over graves adorned
    With flowers, whiskey bottles
    Mourning Doves nestle.

  303. Abundio Noel M. Libot

    Brown grass are waiting
    for some drops from gray heaven,
    soon they will be green.

  305. Linette Eloff

    Mischievous dry leaves
    and the wind from heaped piles dance –
    winter’s requiem

  306. Sangeeta Bisnath

    The spring wind waltzes,
    Draped in laundry on the line.
    I, wallflower, watch…

    • Abel

      “I hope you daaannce!” I hope you dance. Love the imagery!

  308. Stuti Sinha

    Fireflies flicker
    Glittering golden garlands
    Sweep soft sable skies

  310. Kathleen M Farrell

    full moon slows the mind
    moonlight melts away all fears
    the earth is sublime

    ***
    shadows on the path
    moonlight like smoky liquid
    strange sounds arising

  313. Bridget Lamont

    The sun, she rise up.
    She throw her shine down on us.
    She catch our shadows.

  314. Julie Walker

    Garden pond attracts
    Kingfisher, heron and a
    gaudy, angling gnome

  315. Refika Dedić

    orcid in bloom
    moonlight onthe the window
    my smallworld room

    • Refika Dedić

      orcid in bloom
      moonlight on the window
      my small room

  316. Douglas J. Lanzo

    burrowing owl chicks
    surface to golden sunset
    blind to its beauty

  317. Douglas J. Lanzo

    liquid orange sunset
    pours over San Juan Islands
    bathing orca backs

    • Abel

      I love the image of orange sunsets reflected in a black whale skin mirror! wow

  318. Douglas J. Lanzo

    verses of beauty
    give voice to unspoken pain
    evening nightingale

  319. Joan Truscott

    A tree covered in blossom
    Pink flowers mingled with young green leaves
    Spring has arrived at last

    2.Shells lying on white sand
    Waves curling endlessly crashing on shore
    Seagulls soaring crying noisily above.

    3. Daybreak the sky dawns pink
    Welcome new day ushers in renewed hope
    When nightfall comes dreams beging

  320. Moal Caroline

    last days of summer-
    nothing but a sand castle
    awaiting the tide

  321. Alya Demina

    Crystalline raindrops
    Drip off a keen spinner’s web.
    Morning in autumn.

  322. Linette Eloff

    Dark branches stripped bare
    cold and sad, quite unaware –
    stirrings down below

  323. Carley

    pebble from the sea
    with a trace of her lipstick
    … all inclusive

  324. Dani D.

    on this river bank
    we sit with the stones and wait.
    smooth edges take time.

    • Abel

      Such anticipation. A nice life lesson with the beautiful image.

  325. Taofeek Ayeyemi

    abandoned offering
    inside the temple foyer
    a fluttering morphos

    sudden July rain . . .
    on the footbridge chasing a
    windblown umbrella

    summer zoo visit
    upon the zebra crossing
    a zebra crossing

  326. Martin Elster

    A truck rumbles by;
    little by little cricket
    songs come back to me.

    • Abel

      Great revelation of the ‘mouths and ears’ of nature! I hope there are always crickets after the trucks!

  329. Verna Cole Mitchell

    I dream of swinging
    On shining rays of the sun
    To scatter gold dust.

  330. Verna Cole Mitchell

    The Sun

    I dream of swinging
    On shining rays of the sun
    To scatter gold dust.

    The sun slips through trees
    To shatter into splinters
    Of purest gold

    Thought my canopy
    Of green leaves patched together,
    The sun winks at me.

  331. Sally McKenna

    Put in songs, books, poems and prayers
    Thought in minds, conversations, and even thin air
    When right ones aren`t found, the wrong ones are there
    Can bring tears of joy, or make you not care
    Or they prompt us to “judge” and that`s not fair
    They could team up with something precious or rare
    Or team up with lies, not such a good pair..
    Even makes you bear things you can`t stand to hear
    Nothing but words – can be put anywhere!

  332. Jade Hui

    The required seasonal word can refer to seasonal sports, holidays, entertainment, gardening, housekeeping, or visits to special places. Although this contest is held in summer, haiku dealing with any season are acceptable.

    • Jade Hui

      plants are like ninjas. they are silent but alive. mischievous pranksters.

      • Jade Hui

        skateboarding to school. winds blew a leaf on my face. farewell, what’s behind.

  333. Jade Hui

    neon lights and steam. race you to the mountain top. rhythms aligning.

    • Abel

      I love the leafy moment on the skateboard blowing your past behind you.

  334. Francesca Leader

    Frozen cherry buds –
    In unfulfilled potential
    More poignant than blooms.

  335. Mia P Solomonides

    These are now my three entries;
    please ignore my previous submissions.
    Thank you for your patience.

    As winter draws near
    Fabulous floral worlds bloom,
    The solace of books.

    In sunlit waters
    Shoals of blue fish swim freely
    Going in circles.

    Sun says, ‘Peek-a -boo,
    Love you to the moon and back!
    Dancing earth blushes.

  336. Orion O'Connell

    Gently, my loved one,
    while catching night’s spilling tears,
    turn them to rainbows.

    A love evergreen,
    Stained, forest-colored secrets,
    come alive in spring.

    At winter’s coming,
    you shine like beloved moon,
    reflected on ice.

  337. Mantz Yorke

    Iridescent wings
    spread in the sun, glistening
    steel pin through the gut.

  338. Mantz M Yorke

    Chrome against blue sky,
    trembling, the last ginkgo leaf
    anticipates frost.

  339. Mantz Yorke

    A pod of drumlins
    swimming through storm-driven waves,
    making no progress.

    • Abel

      I had to look up ‘drumlins.’ The storm isn’t the only reason they made no progress. Clever

  340. Rick Johnson

    My pond, sultry dawn,
    Little green herons, a pair,
    Alone understand.

  341. Hayley Poh

    Plump waxy spades sprout
    From scarred ancient wood totems …
    Drink rain and fatten.

    Flaxen fronds swaying,
    Rhythm sung by wind’s whispers,
    Killed by swinging scythe.

    Lethal green lovely
    Bulging eyes pinning her prey …
    Off with Male Mate’s head!

  342. Adele Gregory

    Bright shore flirtation
    Waves fizz and scraunch through shell rocks
    Dancing water laughs

  343. Adele Gregory

    Day yellow in age
    Old sun and sky drift to sleep
    In evening’s slippers

  344. Adele Gregory

    A room with no bees
    Cut flowers stand blind to fate
    Pollen dust on floor

    • Abel

      Nice imagery and foreshadowing flowers that will not bloom again

  345. Greg Beatty

    wildfire smoke brings tears
    remembering a summer
    when we did not burn

  346. Sally McKenna

    I view The Blorange
    Colors invite me to see
    Smell & taste the orange

    • Sally McKenna

      I view the blorange
      colors invite me to see
      smell & taste the orange

  347. Esther IB.D

    Harmattan, must be
    the desert’s tidings that goes
    on a field trip too

  348. Claire Nuttall

    Springtime’s vertigo
    Drowns green hawks in sagebrush seas
    Icarus returns

    Spring’s ceramic homes
    Collapse on downy skulls
    Wings unfurl, unscathed

    Glass beaks open wide
    Mother gives them only worms
    They can’t help swallow

  349. Joshua

    Tranquil calm covers
    Wind wisping through a dark wood
    The night closes in

  351. Amrutha Prabhu

    childhood memories
    stomping and splashing at me
    — profound rain puddles

    ripples of wild grass
    riding on an autumn breeze
    — a conflict within

    a summer dispute —
    the flutter of mosquito
    nets over a bed

  352. Chen Xiaoou

    caught, the beetle sways
    telling the hidden spider
    your dinner’s ready

    • Abel

      Yes! I’ve been inspired by this scene too! Vivid image (but not a vivid beetle)

  353. Amrita Brahmo

    Memories ajar
    Winter seeps into my bones
    And the sun shivers

  354. Kartikeya Srivastava

    icy dawn –
    snoozing sun keeps
    harvest moon awake

    • Abel

      I like the image of a sleeping sun allowing the moon to linger!

  355. Tina Alderson

    Lovely sea of pink
    Vistas with no viewers here –
    Cherry blossoms sigh

  356. Esther IB.D

    Harmattan, must be
    the desert’s tiding that goes
    on a field trip too

  357. Sally McKenna

    my new year alone
    wish you could warm my winter
    Christmas lights still glow

  358. Stuti Sinha

    Pink cherry blossoms
    And a blackbird’s melodies
    Pervade spring skies

  359. Stuti Sinha

    Looming laden clouds
    Blanket Bombay’s bustling streets
    And storms paint the skies

  360. Daniela Misso

    wind chimes resound –
    a luminous crescent moon
    beyond the branches
    *
    without boundaries –
    the shadows of clouds wander
    over green meadows
    *
    taste of morning tea …
    the delicate ray of sun
    through an icicle

    Daniela Misso

    • Abel

      I love the simplicity of these moments.
      Isn’t that what’s it’s all about (like the hokey pokey)?

  361. kate farrell

    lazy waters lave
    like balm around the stillness
    gladden souls at dawn

  362. Claire Booth

    take me with the tide
    moonlit waters crave seekers
    of its rhythmic peace
    _____

    some shake paddle hands
    others wave their drooping arms
    but all trees love me
    _____

    we ignore its signs
    the subtle carvings of time
    but dirt never lies

  363. Joe

    lifting fog and melting dew
    have warming rays from a rising sun
    and the bird doth sing.

  364. Megan Ashe

    green leaves turn brown as
    they tailspin down dissolving
    into golden ground

  365. Megan Ashe

    winter wind whispers
    of white sparking snowflakes
    sticking to snow boots

  366. Megan Ashe

    scorching summer sun
    seeping into windowpanes
    as i am sleeping

  367. Caitlin Trammell

    divine sunlight grows
    in the shape of flowers’s kiss
    near my childhood home

    —-

    mushrooms steal fuel
    from the lost homes of the dead
    cities breathe the same

    —

    ocean’s rise then set
    the moon, the sun interrupts
    change: nature’s blessing

  368. BOllimuntha Venkata Ramana R

    1
    The lough in a dream
    A leaf falls over the tree
    The water giggles

    2

    It is rainy time
    Cool breeze with jubilation
    My nose sneezes red

    3

    Icy winter hugs
    Shivers with cold and frosty
    Freeze in woolen rug

  369. CJ Laing

    weeping winter wind
    sweep across the golden grass
    a peach blossom drops

  370. Lauren Cousin

    muse, breathe, watch the sky
    hues of purple and orange
    low fidelity

    —

    weaving through each blade
    a graceful cut, each stalk bends
    the mountain exhales

    —

    heedful of the dawn
    eyes alight with the sun’s glare
    a lemon of hope

  371. Jarred Thompson

    All day spent weaving
    grass into nests. All night
    we hang till morning.

    The weight of us, here:
    enough to make a world:
    spores on old bread.

    Wind sweeps through tunnels
    left by termites. Soft whistle
    of sleeping seashells.

  372. Peter Surtees

    Farm dam in the dip
    Horses grazing in the field
    Perfect Overberg

  373. Peter Surtees

    St Agnes’ Eve it was
    Frost crackling on dead white grass
    Hot chocolate solves all

  374. Peter Surtees

    Summer song wild child
    Autumn harvest whispering wind
    Winter shiver cold

  375. Rick J

    Porpoises surface
    Arc silently, fingers point
    Cold empty ocean

  376. Kanchan Chatterjee

    jacaranda blooms
    on top of one another . . .
    days of pandemic

    a rainbow of flags
    flutter on the gompa top . . .
    spring in Kagbeni

    end of the guide’s tale . . .
    a gush of hot wind greets us
    at the exit door

  377. Jonathan Roman

    this evening’s thick fog—
    lingering shapes outside of
    the cemetery

  378. Jonathan Roman

    autumn wood fire
    the weight of a memory—
    my father’s cologne

  379. Jonathan Roman

    the black cherry moon . . .
    now we both wear the same deep
    shade of red lipstick

  380. Charles Preston Howes

    Sparrows on the wires
    Kokopelli play on flutes,
    we’ll dance in the sun
    *
    From the Earth to Moon
    many miles exist, yet she
    lights a stolen kiss.
    *
    Winds deep in the marsh
    bend reeds like ballerinas,
    winter geese applaud

  381. Sonia Abel

    Wild grape leaves the tree
    A tendril hangs in the air
    like an open hand

    A bee hovering
    at the blossom’s doorway
    is now let inside

    In the early light
    soft rain awakens the frog
    Why do I retreat?

  382. Gregory Lanzo

    squirrel leaps
    to highest branch
    pondering twilight stars

  383. Gregory Lanzo

    school of razor fish
    pivot in quick blue current
    pushed around by sea

  384. Gregory Lanzo

    shimmering sparrows
    form waves of moving shadow
    scattered across land

  385. Alex Lanzo

    manatee floating
    in bioluminescence
    happy to be alive

  386. Alex Lanzo

    manatee floating
    in bioluminescence
    happy it’s alive

  387. Alex Lanzo

    peacefully swimming
    two vaquitas in the sea
    blue topaz water

  388. Baisali Chatterjee Dutt

    a drizzle of stars
    fall into the mountain lake
    the moon stays afloat

  389. Baisali Chatterjee Dutt

    a pool of dewdrops
    collect on the lotus leaf
    …the pond overflows

  390. Baisali Chatterjee Dutt

    fervent chanting of
    he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not
    …wilting peonies

  391. Awele Okonkwo

    Dropping with vigor
    She rains shine on her subjects
    Dreading his entrance

    Summer night is nigh
    Fireflies oppress the dark
    All is clear to see

    Winter has arrived
    As pure as the crack of dawn
    All must now shiver

  392. Vita

    Falling August stars The sky is full of beauty So many wishes

  393. R Johnson

    Mountain peaks toss the
    Thunder back and forth until
    Darkness ends the game.

  394. Steve Clarkson

    another autumn
    the blackbirds huddle closer
    and watch the leaves dance

  395. Allegra Silberstein

    Haiku submission

    Morning light opens
    the chrysanthemum petals.
    I am wet with dew.

    ……………….

    Swollen purple buds
    open on the apple tree
    like white butterflies.
    ………………..

    When lean winter leaves
    the spring of resurrection
    greens the budding words.

  396. Catherine Lee

    Haiku Submissions (3):

    Birds skim lush bamboo
    rosy sunrise kisses snow—
    Dragon Mountain wakes

    ——————-

    Multi-coloured sails
    dancing on glittering sea—
    butterfly ballet

    ——————–

    A sudden silence…
    herons erupt into flight—
    crocodile lurking

    ————————-

  397. Subir Ningthouja

    harvest ready field–/
    looking to Mars, farmers pray/
    a guard from locusts/

  398. S. D. Amara nath

    Haiku submissions:

    1. A beautiful bird
    flew away in the air
    catapult follows.

    2. The shower of hope
    became the stream of
    sadness
    the summer season.

    3. Infront of Temple
    she appeared as a goddess
    my prayers fulfilled.

    S . D . Amara nath
    INDIA.

  399. Cheryl Corey

    Clouds in pirouette,
    birds in flight — the weathervane
    twisting in the wind.

  400. Cheryl Corey

    The folded petals
    moist with dew — the roses laid
    upon the coffin.

  401. Cheryl Corey

    Summer monsoon rain —
    water like a smither’s weight …
    the village below.

  402. Geraldine Tollas

    The wind’s cooling blows
    Caress to give reminders
    To breathe life with hope

    ……………………………………………….

    The rush of water
    Which flowing sound still lingers
    Births a greener earth

    ………………………………………………….

    Bedazzling sunset
    A view that’s so picturesque
    Wows dreamy mindset

  403. Jessica Kim

    Walking in the woods
    A cute bee sits on my arm
    The stinger hits me

  404. Jessica Kim

    Cotton Candy Clouds
    What I reach for but can’t touch
    Like my furthest dreams

  405. Richelle

    Submerged in the pond
    deriving serenity–
    Countless thistles drift.

    ———–

    Colored, extensive.
    Grout amidst the rows of bricks. . .
    Comprising cities.

    ———

    Vaporous evening
    mislaid; severs the lumber–
    Forest tunes quiver.

    • Richelle

      I’d like to edit the first two haikus since both use a past tense word.

      Submerge in the pond
      deriving serenity—
      Countless thistles drift.

      —————————

      Colors, extensive.
      Grout amidst the rows of bricks. . .
      Comprising cities.

  406. Cassandra

    “Shhh,” wet leaves whisper,
    gossiping with cooled baked earth
    about summer rain.

  407. Cassandra

    Warm wind twists and twirls
    Playful with the Jasmine’s blush
    Gaining fagranced touch.

  408. Cassandra

    Crops of fire airborne
    Fireflies weave and bob shaming
    The moon on a stick.

  409. Milan Rajkumar

    ********

    endless paddy fields . . .
    dancing in the summer wind
    freshly dressed scarecrows

    *******

    nature’s life cycle . . .
    on bombarded desert roads
    scattered palm seedlings

    *******

    this autumn evening . . . 
    from a worn out bamboo brush 
    drying fallen leaves

    ********

  411. Sheila K. Barksdale

    tall cotton reeds sway
    beside a red-tiled roof, stir
    a sleeping phoenix

    balcony shadows
    cats confronting cats: jumble
    of classical urns

    the dreamy swaying
    of Conestoga wagons:
    White Cliffs of Dover

  412. Sunita Keyser

    silent world of white
    iceberg thunders, chunk in sea
    Antarctica tears

  413. CJ Laing

    Evanescent Owl

    finally the night
    succumbs to the gentle moon
    flap – evanescent owl

    ©️ CJ Laing – 20/08/2021

  414. L.S.

    Silent blooming rose
    Crying in the break of dawn
    Unafraid of thorns

    Hesitant flowers
    Burst into elegant flames
    Marking rebirth

    Lightening screeching above
    Creatures arouse with fury
    Clear sounds awaken

  415. Damian Robin

    Killing and Cooing

    High Coo, Hay Coo, Scy-
    thing Rye Crew, Millet Airy
    Coup — by crops doves fly.

    indefinite

    bees stoop hinged petals
    whose names escape me, outdoors
    as summer’s close calls

    mid day

    hot sun gold and hard
    dead weight on autumn water
    a mist off the lake

    • Fiona M Jones

      Pine-needles shedding
      slantwise through wind and rainstorm
      harsh words from a friend

    • Fiona M Jones

      Stone wall half-fallen
      greener than summers unseen
      lost in creeping moss

  421. Dr. Rubeena Anjum

    dyed in shades of sky
    the city sweating color
    falling rain is blue

    walk the bridge or sail
    in boats, the choice depends on
    where you want to go

    perched on damp branches
    birds try not to fly in rain
    they wait for sunshine

  422. Sally McKenna

    the smell of new rain
    flowers blooming once again
    clouds open up to reign

    no one on this earth
    no one that anyone knows
    no one is worthy

    just one more time
    is all he needs to Prevail
    football games r great

  423. Chanduni Paba Jayakody

    -Leaving-
    an amber leaf falls,
    the pale wind blows in the dusk,
    his sunken, still eyes.

    -She-
    rose cherry blossom
    dear little dew-drops here and there
    my mom’s tears of joy

    -Aroma-
    smell of spring flowers
    the wind brings the smell of corn
    my dad’s sweaty shirt.

  425. Judith Paul

    Cool touch of a mist
    Silky tendril hanging soft
    Olympic golden

    If I should be lucky enough to win, the prize money will go to an American charity. I am not sure if my attempt adheres to Haiku rules: it relates to the latest great sporting event, with a “nod to nature”. It is in fact an Olympic gold medal !

    • Toshiji Kawagoe

      Hello, Judith.
      Unfortunately ‘the Olympic games’ as such are not counted as seasonal words in Japanese Haiku…I don’t know the correct reason for it. Probably, as the Olympic games are held in summer and winter every four years, they are not season-specific events.

    • Margaret Coats

      Judith, your haiku describes a seasonal event in terms taken from nature, and thus it has an acceptable seasonal reference. I say this to make it clear to everyone who sees your post that a recognizable seasonal reference is the requirement, NOT the use of any kigo list. Japanese kigo are useful shorthand for seasons, but NO LIST OF THEM IS COMPREHENSIVE OR UNIVERSAL. In fact, even in Japanese lists, new kigo are sometimes added, when one or more haiku masters or associations determine they are useful. This clearly shows that the seasonal reference depends on the artistry of each poet, just as it did for the great master poets of the past.

      In this competition, we already have good entries about nature and seasonal occurrences or activities in seven continents. Of course the blog or website of any single haiku master or school is not sufficient to judge all the work we are glad to welcome at the Society of Classical Poets.

      • Toshiji Kawagoe

        Hello, Judith and Margaret,

        I did not intend to judge Judith’s haiku. I’m sorry if I offended you.

        I only wanted to share my opinion about whether or not “Olympics” per se is considered as a seasonal reference. My point is that, as Olympics are held BOTH in summer and winter, if you wanted to use it, it should be better to be more season-specific: as in Greve’s examples.

        Of course, even in Japanese Haiku, there exist groups practicing ‘haiku with no seasonal reference’ and ‘free-form haiku which has more than or less than 17 syllables,’ as you know. In this world-wide haiku contest, they all should be acceptable, but, if you want to follow the traditional haiku form, it seems to be better to treat a seasonal reference more carefully.
        (for another example, using more than two seasonal references (especially, each of them corresponding to different seasons such as ‘sakura’ [Spring] and ‘snow’ [Winter]) in a haiku is also watchfully treated in Japanese haiku.)

        Anyway, I’m also quite impressed by seeing so many fascinating haiku entries from world-wide, including Judith’s one! Thank you for everyone participating this contest.

      • Toshiji Kawagoe

        When I compose a haiku, I (and most of Japanese) always consult several reference books of seasonal words (kigo list or saijiki in Japan), sometimes a handy one, sometimes a multi-volume set because they also contain hundreds of fine examples of haiku masters, and those books are easily accessible in Japan.

        I am curious about whether or not such a kind of reference book in English is available. Mr. Greve’s blog was just found in Google search when I tried to comment to Judith’s haiku. I’m not sure whether or not it is widely used or is reliable one (it seems to be nicely done) .

        I totally understand that using a reference book is not need in this contest, but, if you share your favorite kigo list or reference book with me, it would be very helpful.

      • Margaret Coats

        Toshiji, I very much appreciate your contributions of poems and comments. It is especially kind of you to present your own haiku in both English and Japanese. I too use references to check my kigo when I am writing poems. I own many haiku books, and I recommend that everyone read more haiku, in order to understand the haiku tradition better.

        At this point of time in this competition, I will not mention any specific references. That would not be fair to poets who have already submitted their entries. But please look at what I will say when announcing the winners. I agree that it is important to give more explanation of how haiku tradition developed in English. Of course this includes recommending books where English speakers can read English translations (in traditional form) of the haiku of the great Japanese poets. Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki, and others are still the best teachers.

  426. R.D. Bailey

    1.
    first day back to school
    a piece of the Berlin wall
    deep in his pocket

    2.
    Chinese abacus:
    a murder of crows cover
    city power lines

    3.
    the fallow deer fawn
    still echoing mother’s pose
                 morning yoga class

  427. Amber Hamilton

    The sun warms the soil
    Small sprouts erupt from the earth
    Mother’s tears nourish

  428. Ravi Kiran

    Song of a cuckoo
    Rises from the bamboo grove
    Curious moon peeps

    Late summer evening
    In the gap between buildings
    The full moon appears

    Wisteria blooms
    Along a sidewalk café
    Coffee in the air

  432. Luca Pizzimbone

    unknown galaxy
    seeing through all dimensions
    silent the snow falls

    • Luca Pizzimbone

      unknown galaxy
      seeing through all dimensions
      the silent snow falls

  433. Guy Warner

    1.
    Beneath a cool moon
    Beyond a warm fiery ring
    One coyote cries

    2.
    Summer cicadas
    Sit in the shade while the trees
    Sizzle in the sun

    3.
    King spider rules here
    Soldiers march on his domain
    The queen wants his head

  434. fiyin banjo

    H===The winds of winter
    whispering against my skin
    Spring soon to return.

  435. Linda W. Owen

    1.
    ebony rumbles
    advance on war-bent wind drums
    wings and earth-feet flee

    2.
    a thousand sea-shells…
    each a gift from Triton’s hand
    speak joy to earth’s child

    3.
    torrent-tossed sea tern
    perches…stunned…far from the gale
    shivering in fog

    • Brian Cronwall

      1.
      Antarctic icebergs:
      frozen origami swans
      float, white-blue: summer.
      2.
      The yellow-brown moon
      peers in my kitchen window –
      new year approaching.
      3.
      Crescent moon pours stars
      into night’s glass: bouquet,
      body, ah, bubbles.

  437. Alex Gilles

    Glance of elegance

    Through garish fabrics
    sartorial flamboyance
    displays power’s stripes

    Gilded age

    Animated shadows
    of prosperity salesman
    withers nation’s sap

    Stock exchange

    Money tiptoes bails
    out of liberal pockets
    Cherry leaves assets

  438. Lucas Cohen-d'Arbeloff

    now, with piercing howls,
    cavorting through murky haze,
    the flies wreak havoc.

  439. Kehinde Margret Makinde

    Water my Sweet Love
    Famous sensual portal
    Love me perfectly.

  440. Kehinde Margret Makinde

    Heaven knows only
    I yearn sacred afterlife
    In my mortal case

  441. Kehinde Margret Makinde

    Light reveal your soul
    By sensual hedonism
    Revive me again.

  442. Neena Singh

    My submissions:

    starry sky beckons…
    we map known constellations
    and bid a farewell

    ***

    long after you’ve gone
    your warm hand on my shoulder…
    like autumn sunshine

    ***

    white owl on the oak
    cries for its mate, late tonight
    the creak of the door

    ***

  443. Shanmao

    solstice
    by a drying puddle
    crows are jostling

    Full moon.
    On the cooling sand
    dog footprints.

    The willow blossoms.
    At the feeder
    disheveled titmouse …

  445. Matúš Staník

    peacock dances fast
    his body pulses colors
    like Monet’s garden

    *
    first breadcrumb on square
    pigeon thanks with concrete eyes
    grey wings disappear

    *
    field of spider webs
    but every little spider
    craves the lost summer

  446. Antonio Sacco

    walnut husks –
    inside everyone hides
    brittle shields

    *

    snake skin –
    out of the wardrobe
    the old clothes

  447. Exequiel Agulto

    Owl

    The owl is roaming,
    at night, it sees everything;
    sickle come would tame.

  448. Izidor

    “You know, I don’t mean…”
    sad she said, I lift my head
    just to see her smile

    *

    The only words heard
    “I want you to be happy”
    such a nonsense talk

    *

    Distant sounds of rain
    Thirsty doe drinks from river
    thunder scares her out

  449. Linda Marie Hilton

    The sun burns grain fields
    Rising upwards, seeding, to
    Resurrect bread loaves.

  450. Sam P

    1. In the gloomy bog
    The log is moving closer
    Snap— the fawn is gone

    2. Skimming the surface
    A graceful rippling sight
    Duck feet motor on

    3. Tranquil resting blades
    Absorb, basking in the sun
    The cow feasts freshly

  451. Linda Marie Hilton

    Soldiers turn M six
    Teens into peace pens so that
    Deer may safely graze.

  452. CJ Laing

    Rain of joy

    pink sakura blooms
    fall on the snow – not a sound
    but the crane’s call

    ©️ CJ Laing – 24/08/2021

    • Sasha A. Palmer

      A beautiful haiku. It doesn’t quite meet the requirements of this particular contest, though, because of the four syllables in the last line. Adding another syllable will do the trick. I enjoyed the image, and the switch between senses, as well as the possibilities of interpreting your poem.

  453. CJ Laing

    Rain of joy

    pink sakura blooms
    fall on white snow – not a sound
    only the crane’s call

    ©️ CJ Laing – 24/08/2021

  454. Michael Pietrack

    Would you rather be
    The man in her embrace or
    The man in her mind?

  455. Michael Pietrack

    Cotton candy clouds
    Sherbet sky, I cannot reach
    Yet they can reach me

  456. Michael Pietrack

    The veins of a leaf
    Are the same veins in my wrist
    To pluck, I resist

  457. Katrina Dybzynska

    meteor shower
    confidence in direction
    falling with no fear

    tender map of ants
    bringing borders back to scale
    collecting crumbles

  458. Loyala

    A hawk yaws through sky
    Young rabbits bound from the brush
    All of spring’s missings

  459. Loyala

    Young red-winged blackbirds
    Command the morning with song
    Stirring our longings

  460. Loyala

    Back-to-school mornings
    The busses, the memories
    Dread of September

  461. Jo-Lynne Gold

    spring’s tender embrace
    fog layers over pear green
    marshmallow shapes graze

    springtime seduction
    blush petals swirl and caress
    billowy kisses

    bees busy busy
    honey cakes on golden plates
    sweet embezzlement

  464. Toni Leigh Turner-Wong

    reaching for sunshine
    flowers growing petals bloom
    spring is in full swing

    (c) Toni Leigh Turner-Wong 2021

    • Donald Peter McCRORY

      Ships surf frozen seas.
      Spring rains feed fresh-furrowed fields;
      birds watch, wait, then feast.

      Spring brings spiders´ webs;
      trawlers trail deep-hidden nets.
      Covid can be caught.

  466. Ronald Degler

    walking along paths
    the ocean kisses the shore
    blue moon overhead

  467. Ronald Degler

    sand between our toes
    the ocean kisses the shore
    blue moon overhead

  468. Ronald Degler

    foghorn and lighthouse
    beacons along rocky shores
    blue moon overhead

  469. Benjamin Bläsi

    autumn evening
    the darkening city air
    fills with hunting bats

    shivering willows
    the river breeze brings snowflakes
    an owl’s bitter call

    fleeting meteor
    a northerly wind whooshes
    through cherry blossoms

  470. Constance Williams

    Butterflies fly high
    Colors shining in the sky
    Bye bye butterfly

  471. Jen

    Deep in the blue sea,
    the waves they whisper to me,
    secrets of the sea.

    They both made it and,
    had everything in the end,
    but not each other.

    Repeating life’s cycle,
    waking up in the morning,
    tired and alone.

  472. Tashfia Ahmed

    1.
    Caged in my own mind,
    I wait for the Autumn birds
    Just to see them fly.

    2.
    Peaches and cream on
    Hot and heaving Summer dreams
    Playing make-believe.

    3.
    Warbled tones from mouths
    Of flightly beaks breathe life back
    In dead winter streets.

  473. George Yonemori

    s(mother)ed

    sun’s solipsism
    her children boiling in love
    cry for them just once?

    (dad)aism

    moon’s calm rebellion
    seen under the veil of sleep
    make things right with mom?

    ba(star)d

    a million children
    invisible in the night
    the birds left their nest

  474. Jack DesBois

    Three Backyard Haiku

    —

    a chipmunk dangles
    stretching for green chokecherries
    just beyond my reach

    —

    a white cottontail
    bobbing in lush undergrowth:
    camouflage spoiled

    —

    a flash of goldfinch
    plays like light on the green leaves
    (one burns early red)

  475. Jane

    Leaves fall to the ground
    grey skeletons stand exposed
    desolate till spring

  477. Shiksha Dheda

    The first rains or monsoon

    Azure skies painted
    With wild splattered hues of grey
    Earth’s endless thirst: quenched

  480. Tyler Ryder

    Autumn smells of death
    and it is so beautiful.
    Life is changing. Leaves.

    Gorgeous gardens bloom.
    After months of delicate tending.
    Oh no! A Hailstorm!

    Crispy frost layers
    every li’l nook and cranny.
    Ice is in the air.

  482. Ronald Degler

    cool breeze august night
    multitude of clouds consume
    unwitting blue moon

  483. alana sherman

    branches bare of leaves,
    tight quince buds are rimed with frost.
    dawn—one streak of red.

  485. alana sherman

    strawberry’s blossoms
    disguise themselves as clover
    patient birds wait for fruit

  487. Daniel Simon

    Inspired by Jindabyne, NSW at various seasons.

    I.
    Rain falls on a pond
    Distorts a soft, serene face
    Cleanses winter tears

    II.
    Silver-lined clouds fade
    Shimmer in lengthening dusk
    On lonely lakefront

    III.
    Soft, lonely footfalls
    Echo silent through white hills
    And wandering soul

  488. Tatyana Vinogradova

    The shooting stars light
    Rarefy darkness of night,
    Granting the wishes.

    O swift shooting star!
    Carry the light of my wish
    Through dreary darkness.

  489. Cynthia Rowe

    1. sun-drenched estuary
    the double-banded plover
    settles on a dune

    2. greenhouse emissions
    a puffer fish tries to hide
    in the bleached sea grass

    3. the old man’s shelter
    a canopy of branches
    dusted with snowdrift

  490. Tatyana Vinogradova

    Oh marvelous night!
    The light of August shooting star
    Warms the cockles of heart.