painting by HiroshigeThe Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition The Society June 21, 2025 Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests 369 Comments . WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate, if not involved in judging the contest. The winner, if not a U.S. resident, must have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts U.S. checks, in order to receive prize money. IMPORTANT: By submitting haiku to this contest, the contestant declares that the poems are his or her own work, and that they were written in the last twelve months and therefore are not a repeat submission from a previous year. Poems written using artificial intelligence (AI) are not allowed. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names. . PRIZE $200 . JUDGES J. Thomas Rimer, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Theatre, and Art at the University of Pittsburgh; former chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress. Margaret Coats, Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University; retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others. . WHEN Now until August 15, 2025, 6 pm EST (New York time). Results to be announced August 28, 2025. Please check back on August 28 or after to view the “Best Haiku of 2025” selected from this competition. . HOW Post your entries in the Comments below. . WHAT Each competitor may post in the comments below up to three haiku of traditional form: three lines per poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 in the third. Entrants are recommended to conform to other traditional haiku requirements outlined HERE. If you want coaching on haiku features, please read the examples and explanation before submitting your entries. Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment. This is permitted until the competition closes, but do take reasonable care to complete work to your satisfaction before you enter it. Please do not use the Comment area as your scratch pad. That is discourteous to other competitors, to interested readers, and to the judge and will disqualify you. Entries that do not meet basic traditional haiku requirements may be deleted. Anyone who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified, unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment. . PAST WINNERS 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 . . NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. ***Read Our Comments Policy Here*** 369 Responses Rousseaux June 22, 2025 With the water’s pace pilgrims slowly make their way to the warm spring’s call Life’s winding path like this curving mountain road seeking peaceful rest Path’s summit reached warm comfort in a tea cup green calm now finds you Reply John Tiong Chung Hoo June 28, 2025 summer solstice on the historic river poets, tears and dumplings on the radio — war on the table a couple’s new wedding letter Chinese New Year do In the red packet money and his love letter Reply John Tiong Chung Hoo June 28, 2025 summer solstice on the historic river poets, tears and dumplings on the radio — war on the table a couple’s new wedding letter Chinese New Year do In the red packet money and his proposal Kevin Parker July 18, 2025 Two hearts enfold each other: origami of love, union, fate, life. Joanne Gram June 28, 2025 Joanne Gram Steps in the driveway Crisp autumn oak leaf passing me at my window Reply Shofiqure Rahman July 13, 2025 stillness in the pond a dragonfly splits the light without making sound first frost on the grass the morning sun slowly lifts a veil from the earth abandoned temple moss climbs the forgotten gods green reclaiming stone. Bhupin Butaney July 1, 2025 cast from a garden as faint shadows on this earth longing to return a leaf folds and bends to the pressure of rain drops finding their way home Reply Fred McIlmoyle July 1, 2025 Sunlit dreamy days Float through golden summer haze Into memory Musky amber scents Swirl in sultry wistful air Infusing my mind White virgin snowdrops Winter’s gems whisper to me Immortality Reply Michael Shoemaker July 26, 2025 casting light tackle high into the wind above crashing sounds of surf ocean winds’ fingers trace playful shapes in the sand stirring gulls and tears Hunter’s supermoon somehow we forgot what we mean to each other Reply Ali Aldawood August 4, 2025 Birds are yet to see Through Shrubs home for pedes to be Leap of faith unsought Haze-Slogged mind and tired Of weary words, uninspired The sky cried today Sky’s elocution Moonless nights and scorching suns Found calm in your storm Aiman showkat bhat July 28, 2025 Title: The Sound I always wonder why it beated like that, now I know why it bled… Reply Wallace kaufman August 1, 2025 sixteen million years these white waves meet black cliffs. My friend lies near death Old trees, old darkness summer nap on cool mosses Trees are drinking light it’s his song, whose choice? “Video” or “Figaro” wren’s familiar voice Reply Diyora August 3, 2025 1. Late summer dusk dragonfly at dusk— its wings catch the last warm light, gone before I speak 2. First snowfall hush of first snowfall— lantern’s glow on empty road, footsteps far away 3. New moon bare branches shiver— somewhere a new moon rises, no one to see it Reply Amie August 3, 2025 Bare trees do not speak. The sky forgets your first name. Even crows have gone. Snow swallows the path the one you once walked with hope, now lost in the drift. No fire, no sound here. Just your breath against the glass, clouding what once was. Reply Michelle Visser August 5, 2025 summer thunderstorm jumping in new puddles then footprints to the door chickadees return five spotted eggs in the nest until the jays come waves erase the beach starting anew highlighting a single starfish Reply Bela Janostikova August 6, 2025 Bela J. August 6, 2025 the old Turkish rug – footprints over its patterns lead far off this world autumn cherry trees mist veiling the bare twigs the coolness of touch Reply Randy Brooks June 22, 2025 warm campfire coffee one end of the wooden bench covered with wet moss • fingertips over scales of a fossil lizard who remembers me? • Labor Day picnic a checkered tablecloth spread under a parked jet • Reply Eric O Owen June 22, 2025 Eric Owen Never have I been where hot springs peep through the soil Even in winter Verdant rolling hills Geothermal salty ash I wish I were there I made my peace with steely shapeless wandering Hot spring under foot Reply Jackie Chou June 22, 2025 summer butterfly an automated email from classmates dot com spotted rose petals discovering acne scars on his school photo the fading glitter around an unread poem a snail’s silver slime Reply Haim Schlesinger June 23, 2025 Today’s not like old In each era we’re told The truth? Now is gold! — Aged, father time In future still far will chime Meanwhile, you’re fine — I just don’t know how It has all vanished somehow And when was it now? Reply fred schueler June 23, 2025 I’m working on translating all my March poems about birds into haiku, and here are three of them: Lank-winged as Ravens Snow-flurried pairs of Crows Claim their landscape share. Sunny and springlike, Snow almost gone from the fields – Starlings’ sudden song. A springtime Redtail Upright on a flat-topped pole Scans Cattails for prey. Reply Muralidharan Parthasarathy June 23, 2025 She was narcissist I was chauvinist for her storm in the tea cup He is playing guitar strings vibrate his notations feathers play thin air “Goodbye”, she exited “I am not your care giver” Umbrella nodded Reply Boryana Boteva June 23, 2025 yellow tulips among the bomb survivors stains of blue blooming chestnuts white and pink mixture forgetting myself storks kissed by frogs a never ending story at the old lake Reply Subir Ningthouja June 23, 2025 monsoon evening a bulbul flutters its wings to the breeze’s rhythm —– first monsoon rainfall the river and clouds unite in throes of passion —– autumn evening the candle sheds waxy tears a flame on its head —– Reply Paul Chambers June 23, 2025 hiss of meadow grass a water strider drifting across the horse trough the scent of diesel where the tractor crossed the lane drifting willow seed derelict farmhouse a cloud of bats emptying into the half-light Reply Alan Summers June 23, 2025 to err is divine as if a wink in its eye an elm tree squirrel Reply Barbara Anna Gaiardoni June 23, 2025 unceasing rustling of leaves in the autumn breeze . . . our search for housing a rainbow appears – in touch with expatriates all over the world golden eagle nest a small miracle on top of that mountain there Reply Ram Krishna Singh June 23, 2025 vultures waiting for the remains of sacrifice on the temple tree knocking emptiness I cross the valleys within now stand at stone gate on the river’s bank his soul is lighted for peace- lantern in the sky Reply Beata E. Olszewska June 23, 2025 Truth is uncovered Wolves have gone away to feast Men are abandoned Sad dandelion Met his certain destiny Be gone with the wind Sometime long ago When birds were first in this world People still had dreams Reply Alan Peat June 23, 2025 facing an ocean alone on the promenade grief comes on in waves sheep in pouring rain hard against a drystone wall huddling together Reply Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Beautifully done. Reply Paul A. Freeman June 23, 2025 A lone oasis, beckoning parched travellers. Water wrought from sand. Carved by millennia. Under the Saharan sand a desert rose blooms. Above the yellow of undulating sand dunes – infinite blueness. Reply Katy B Cook June 23, 2025 Before time began Water formed a thought of life We bob in the waves Before time began Ripples in a Spring puddle An ancient mirror Before time began Not in galaxies far off I meditate still Reply Michael Pappafava June 23, 2025 meeting the in-laws — the magpies in the yard at their best behaviour the silent treatment — brooding thunder rolling in on june beetle wings making a big fuss about the smallest of things — singing cicadas Reply Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Humorous haiku are always fun to read. There are poignant, deeply spiritual haiku and then there are the everyday simple life haiku. For me, they both have a place. Good job. Here is a haiku I wrote about Cicadas: Evening cicadas quiet rest before next song- Good, good vibrations Good luck on the competition. Reply Micutiu Sorin June 23, 2025 still pond at twilight a small frog contemplates on a drifting leaf * sunlight and shadow white lily gently drifting across mirrored calm * warm June afternoon beneath the golden sunlight a frog claims its throne Reply Anne-Marie Labelle June 23, 2025 heatwave on the land if I am the main problem how can I help her? Reply Srija Chakraborty June 23, 2025 Approaching twilight The dust from the cattle hooves Beckoning banshee Glistening like pearls Adorned with water droplets Purple lotuses A wood-fired oven Pepperoni and four cheese Gossip aplenty Reply Oliver Mackie June 23, 2025 Storm clouds glowering Dark foreboding shadows loom Cut by bright rainbow Reply Monika Cooper June 23, 2025 you forget they’re there – the sacred spaces among the inspired words a raw green rainfall and in the yellow kitchen the chicken sizzles myriad flowers for one tablespoon honey! but she likes her work Reply Monika Cooper August 1, 2025 I am withdrawing these haiku from the contest and will post three new ones below. Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience. Reply Adele Robins June 23, 2025 Like a beard of ice Preparing for a sun shave Frost begins to weep Reply Adele Robins June 23, 2025 Solstice signals change The seasonal shift complete Shadow and light play Reply Jack McAuley June 24, 2025 The steep cost of life Even while the world burns down The birds sing in spring God makes no mistakes A spring bird with a clipped wing Plans hidden in song She opens her eyes To forests once out of sight Gentleness of life Reply Jack McAuley June 24, 2025 First green leaves unfold— eyes awaken to the wood, soft hum of spring rain. Beneath plum blossoms— a swallow, one wing broken, hides dreams in its song. Ash falls like petals— while wildfire scorches the earth, the nightingale sings. Reply Jack McAuley June 24, 2025 Spring light in her hands, yet she saw only the dusk— gold in a pine box. Ash falls like petals— while wildfire scorches the earth, the nightingale sings. Beneath plum blossoms— a swallow, one wing broken, hides dreams in its song. Reply Eric O Owen June 24, 2025 Hello poets. If I may? My name is Eric. I have been reading and silently critiquing haiku by some aspiring poets on this site, and while I enjoy their imagination and various ways of expressing their surroundings in the most difficult task of fitting it all into three lines and seventeen syllables, I have noticed that a dependence on definite articles (mainly “the”) to deliver the cutaway line often breaks from the poem’s rhythm and loses its intended effect. Please keep trying to deliver those lines differently without the definite article, and sometimes a splicing comma that also tends to break from a poem’s rhythm. I hope this helps. You may respond if you have questions, and I will answer. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson June 24, 2025 Capital letter or lower case to begin? Reply Peter C Free July 4, 2025 Hi Roy Most often haiku start each line with a lower case letter Peter James Sale June 24, 2025 I am so sorry: I don’t write haikus, ever; Please stop all this, now! Reply ABB July 1, 2025 Though you have zero chance of winning, James, this is a very funny anti-haiku. Reply James Sale July 2, 2025 Damn, ABB!!! I’d set my sights on winning this one: is it really so bad? I’ll have to stick to terza rima then! James A. Tweedie June 24, 2025 Softly falling snow Makes my back lawn disappear. Abracadabra! Wintry wisps of fog Skim the surface of the lake Lifetimes passing by End of life draws near. Winter sunset, final breath. Will there be a spring? Reply Jeffrey Ferrara June 24, 2025 a small kettle pond left behind by the glacier blinking in the dawn — a raft of otters tied together in the kelp we watch holding hands — the lone erratic so much softer than bedrock a cloud on the ridge Reply David R. Solheim June 24, 2025 Mercury below Zero, chimney smoke stripes sky Heeling sundogs flare. Near my feet hoppers Spring out of the grass buzzing Like a rattlesnake. Red-capped cranes stroll Trilling each other like two Baritone crickets. Reply Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Thank you, David. These three stand as your entries for the contest, and I believe the moderator has removed the others. Reply Kathabela Wilson June 24, 2025 in dawn’s early light our boat makes it into shore now swept out again astro poetry a haiku fit between words the world opens wide 25 years in this garden together bright orange poppies Reply M.D. Skeen June 24, 2025 cold water rises tree roots grasp at sifting soil the bank collapses ripening peaches partially covered by leaves basking in sunshine a pretty spring dress essential equipment for twirling in the rain Reply M.D. Skeen June 24, 2025 cold water rises tree roots grasp at shifting soil the bank collapses Reply Marilyn Ashbaugh June 24, 2025 sheets off the clothesline . . . carrying the scented breeze inside for a nap autumn solitude a dark-roasted chicken rests in the dutch oven calling us all home a flock of birds moves as one deepening autumn Reply Adele Robins June 24, 2025 Frozen winter light Sparkling like diamond gems Priceless until spring Reply Tom Shaw June 25, 2025 A ghastly gale slams Against a crumbled castle… Still no surrender. Sifting ashen soils, Between the black, wild-fired wood, Grows a wry green wisp. Fallen from its grace, Blossom gathers in the drains— Flooding closes roads. Reply Joseph Mason June 25, 2025 midnight sale review: monkeys take over our zoo drinking from the loo cuckoos build haiku wire – duck tape – crazy glue jimmy sing da blues lawsuit – windfall – sue yellow snow has soaked his shoes booger in the stew Reply Mitra Javadpour June 25, 2025 ‘Are you lost?’ He asks ‘No,’ head shakes, moves through the mist She is very lost Golden leaf drifts down I could catch it but instead Let it fall and rot Moth caught in a web I could save it but tread on To the flower field Reply Diane Descoteaux June 25, 2025 only phlox and me – suddenly an honeybee buzzes between us an old Texan died of hemorrhagic fever – last October moon long live the shower! the koi fish on my left calf with its open mouth Reply Joe Kleponis June 25, 2025 wind through a cornfield a sighing across the land a scarecrow dances a raging storm of leaves on a windy afternoon- an endless cycle a flowered chalice offering this spring morning – a golden tulip Reply Adam Sedia June 26, 2025 Humid night swelters. Distant lightning flashes white. No sound of thunder. Darkness of storm clouds; A gust shakes blooming pear trees. White petals rain down. Snow blankets the path, Silent beneath clear starlight. Crunch! I leave footprints. Reply Helen Saleyi June 26, 2025 My darling Sunny. Sunshine that warms up my world. Oh, I love you so. My baby so sweet. My sun, so tender, so warm. So much love to give. Gentle summer breeze. Birds sing and vibrant blooms sway. With each breath you take. Reply Joan Enoch June 26, 2025 Color mandalas Rest for your weary being Enjoy life again Nature everywhere In the heart of the colors Purity unleashed Mandala is the Geometric universe A Buddhist symbol Reply Joan Leotta June 26, 2025 morning dewdrops dry as sun sizzles…petals glisten with my sweat asphalt on my street melts in afternoon strong heat sticks to tires, shoes, feet water trickles from our hose after watering robin stops to drink Reply Harvey Jenkins June 26, 2025 sun dog fills the sky our pet’s let outside to play with his own shadow Creeping Bellflower the slow spread of decaying yellow aspen leaves slung like a hammock the heavy farmyard’s clothesline kisses the hard ground Reply Mari Felices June 26, 2025 on the gloomy night the moon is hiding its light crickets sing with pride a lonesome sparrow severe rain ruptures her nest quivering with fear on the way back home smells rotten egg in the train man raises his hand Reply Eloise Pengelly June 26, 2025 Through the window, birds Red apple skins shrivelled old Unpicked tree, birds eat Reply Eloise Pengelly June 27, 2025 heat wobbles off roof two girls bounce up red balloon rising rising pop Reply Barrie Levine June 26, 2025 scent of summer rain rolling up all the windows in dad’s jalopy Reply Jack McAuley June 27, 2025 Spring light in her palms, yet she sees only the dusk— a coffin’s gilt edge. Ash falls like petals— wildfire splits the old oak’s spine; the nightingale sings. Beneath plum blossoms, a swallow with one wing limp hides its dreams in song. Reply Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Thanks, Jack McAuley, for the haiku you’ve posted. In order for any of them to be considered for recognition in judging, you will need to select the three you want to be competition entries, and withdraw the others in a further comment. Reply Jack McAuley July 22, 2025 I would like this one to be my official entry and would like to withdraw the other ones. How do I withdraw the others? Margaret Coats July 26, 2025 Thanks, Jack, you’ve done what’s necessary. Sorry I didn’t notice for a few days, but you can be sure now that your competition entries are the three above, the first one beginning, “Spring light in her palms.” Fortunato Salazar June 27, 2025 Poor Aegisthus. One job & done. Had it in his grasp; dude lost the axe. Reply John Rux-Burton June 27, 2025 When the whale leapt I saw stars twinkle answers Though the splash was gone Reply Greg Nelson June 27, 2025 Very vocative. A thoughtful look at something ordinary. Excellent! Reply Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Thank you, David R. Solheim, for your haiku. If you wish any of the six to be considered as competition entries, please select no more than three for that purpose, and clearly state that you withdraw the others. Reply David R. Solheim June 28, 2025 I would like the three haiku I posted on 24 June to continue to be entered in the competition and withdraw the three posted on 27 June. Thank you for the clarifying note. Reply Tushar Gandhi June 28, 2025 spring foraging course they say Dandelion flowers do not attract bees a squirrel’s new home my unused table drawer first monsoon showers I follow a dog to a panoramic view Snowshoeing at dawn Reply beryl June 28, 2025 Hello, I still don’t understand whether haikus should be related to Hiroshige’s print. Could you please clarify this for me? Reply Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Hello, Beryl. Your haiku does NOT need to be related to the Hiroshige print. All you need is any 5-7-5 haiku of your own composition during the past twelve months. You may submit three to be considered for the prize. Please use first and last name on the comment where you submit. Thanks! Reply Christine Beryl June 28, 2025 Thank you Margaret for these clarifications. John Hawkhead June 28, 2025 in a church ruin where the roof has given way snow as a blessing periwinkle dusk I loiter in the garden my parents tended stumble-step pebbles a horizon-skimming moon ripples the neap-tide Reply Rupa Anand June 29, 2025 garden stone Buddha — the compassion in his eyes salty tears in mine Reply Oliver Mackie June 29, 2025 thunder rolls its bass hot summer days give thier way to evening rain dark speck in the sky red kite soaring on thermals looking for her lunch Reply Daniela Misso June 29, 2025 sleet on the window on his ninetieth birthday flickering candles * din of cicadas curtains blowing to and fro in the evening breeze * a pregnant woman holds her belly with her hands snow on the gutters Daniela Misso Reply Tomislav Maretic June 29, 2025 emu in the Milky Way always in the same place – the longest night Reply Snigdha Agrawal June 30, 2025 bow-tie neatly pinned his love pre-tied and fastened all through the season’s —- broken hornet’s nest sting in his words failed to upset used to deeper pain —- monsoon bonanza through the screen of fogginess a haiku took shape Reply Harrison Heng June 30, 2025 Winter has arrived The lake starts icing over Intrusive thoughts win I open the door Heat envelops me quickly I like air con more colourful rainbow it’s not the same anymore why is it a flag Reply Sydney Liu June 30, 2025 The snow sprinkles down The slipp-ery ice is covered I fall to the ground Serene, quiet, night The moon exposes the dark “Crack!” What was that sound? The clouds float away The bright sun dries the old trees Disaster awaits Reply Donal Wu June 30, 2025 Canadian goose Honking uncontrollably My new alarm clock The lake is frozen The trees bare and without leaves Where did the fish go? The green grass rustles The river beside gurgles Tiny rabbits appear Reply Venus Mayhew June 30, 2025 Jesus came to us, Teaching of rebirth and love. We crucified him. Hot night, college ground, No one here to make a sound. Cicadas screaming. They tell us of hope, Just let the ancient trees rot. That hope is not mine. Reply Darrell Lindsey June 30, 2025 lazy afternoon… whistling through a blade of grass on my umpteenth try Reply David R. Solheim June 30, 2025 Goldfinches gather On the weeping willow crown Enchanting their charms. At sunrise a flock of Of geese fly into my dreams Rude drivers wheeling. Roadside chunk of tread Shining the ditch like raven’s Wings ready to fly. Reply Scharlie Meeuws July 1, 2025 Lilies scent the air A hidden birdsong echoes The truth of summer The plum tree bares fruit Sweetness and Color unite In constant prayers My eighty two years Sailing still in calm waters Breathe among the frogs Reply Linda Arnott July 1, 2025 a pink lotus pond in solitary beauty as the sun rises headless camellia darkness thunder lightning rain a samurai wind the sunflowers smile through a window of blue skies a sip of sunshine Reply Sara Wenger July 1, 2025 fall mountains ablaze apples hang like bells from trees a farmer looks up crescent moon, your squint tilts in the night sky eking out eternal light a finite number of stars, an impossible string of pearls to count Reply Eric O Owen July 1, 2025 Hello again, poets. It’s Eric, still reading your work. And again, if you will allow, I wish to share an observation with you and hopefully provide an additional layer for using your wonderful talents in poetry. Every haiku that I have read has included a form of “cutaway line” as its ending. Some were successful and some not so much. Perhaps the following will help: Try approaching the “cutaway line” using one of its synonyms, namely the “epiphany,” as your last line to accomplish the same goal. Thanks for letting me share. Reply Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 I am new, so please excuse my ignorance. I am not familiar with “cutaway line”. Are you referring to the Kireji? Reply Kristy Marett August 6, 2025 Thank you for the sound advice! Reply wendy lee klenetsky July 1, 2025 Met at a party “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!” neither one wanted to go that’s what all of the books say Wed 51 years Then I guess I’m “NUTS!” Reply Don Reese July 1, 2025 vaulting young squirrels, flapping bats, and gliding birds— we soar by watching a soft, late spring rain, four red umbrellas waiting for the light to change teeth bared, spine exposed, umber fur in the gutter shocks me walking past Reply Vasile Moldovan July 1, 2025 New wedding season – even the full moon is wearing a veil of bride The moon behind clouds – the dog sniffles all around for the lost shadow The old clock tower – a flock of crows fighting for a place on the cross Reply Emily Meng July 1, 2025 1. Pink little blossom, swaying in the gentle breeze, tells of fruit to come. 2. Old and enduring, white light shines on dusty road – pilgrims and the moon. 3. White bobber plunges, Hook floats among rock and weed; red fishes dart – hide. Reply Murray Eiland July 1, 2025 Childhood’s vibrant spark, Shifts like shadows on the wall, Springing of the soul. Bird songs in morning, Death’s mourning interrupted— Selfish hearts in grief. In shadows we walk, Finding joy in fractured light— Life’s dark jest unfolds. Reply Wieslaw Karlinski July 2, 2025 just after the storm a sound of water drowns out late evening church bell on the way to school in the pocket there’s still left— grandma’s apple pie another full moon brightens all the countryside lushy cotton field Reply Alan Summers July 2, 2025 day of utmost blue clouds drift across each other to figure things out Reply Jenna Tedesco July 2, 2025 June Surprise Move, darling daughter. Swim to the sound of my voice Singing you lovesongs. My Daughter, Baby My daughter, baby: My longing, mother-hunger for you Has made you so sweet. Ripening The tree ripened to Autumn as my baby Ripened into real. Reply Ian Richardson July 2, 2025 afternoon shower suddenly chokes the warm sun umbrella closeness ahh spring ohh my spring how great is a new spring day! Mmm, etcetera grey winter drizzle draining the houses of life an unwelcome guest Reply Lakshman Bulusu July 2, 2025 early morning dew welcoming rays woo the pearls my daydreams melt warm Mt.Everest thoughts chase away my winter blues solitude’s splendor yonder distant hills setting sun meets rising moon evening rendezvous Reply Isabel Chenot July 3, 2025 1. Fog We bulge out of half- viscous day. Fade on its blear iris. Scale to grey. 2. hoary mustard A bright weed by the road, its moth snare netting dark — and breath snags, star-meshed. 3. roadside mustard Mind, tangled on the nodes of nebulae — moth weed that lures remembrance. Reply oliver July 9, 2025 YES! both thumbs up oliver July 9, 2025 YES! and again YES! Reply oliver July 9, 2025 YES! Reply Dave Earnhardt July 3, 2025 Crickets still chanting on Thanksgiving blind with hope— joy in the sorrows! * An eagle fallen weather-worn along this road— just a newspaper. * Trout kisses rise up across the pond reflecting sky of puckered clouds. Reply oliver July 9, 2025 YES! you get it!! Reply Zvonko Jurcevic July 3, 2025 summer afternoon – resting on the sea surface seagulls and the sun little night music – Mozart in the canopy cricket on the leaf an old octopuss slides down the rock to the sea – a morning sunrise Reply Itay Felker July 3, 2025 bodacious goddess dew in sun’s glittering gaze Spring flows to the drain deserts myrrh rises above the crust of a dune Mary in a spoon Haiku is a sham Unlike Epic’s fertile ford A seasonal brook Reply oliver July 9, 2025 the last of the three – reflection on poetry . . . yeah! it REALLY works!! Reply Barrie Levine July 3, 2025 joining in prayer for my grandmother’s long life her grieving village Reply Joanna Raja Sekar July 4, 2025 cardinal returns, hops along the picket fence, little blur of fire – coarse beneath my hands splintering bark, bustling leaves truth, an oak with roots – petals in the grass these lazy lilacs, spilling their cursive secrets Reply Peter C Free July 4, 2025 spring wind song playing the time between you and us stick :: stick insect dance a distant laughter handfuls of childhood moss takes the rest of the tree two parallel skies stomping at the edge of the storm toddlers rainbow splash Reply John Savoie July 4, 2025 the pine I planted thirty seven years ago whispers me to sleep Reply Edward Fisher July 5, 2025 Enigma of earth— Archetype & miracle Playing in the sun Over the eons Imprinted in fossil rock The dream of a bird Under the vegetable eye Of the winter moon An orchard of snow Reply Wim Meeuws July 5, 2025 the oak tree grows on my son helped me planting it fifty years have passed Reply Ron C. Moss July 5, 2025 reincarnation . . . the late gardner’s seed packets ready for planting the armchair hero he turns down the TV sound to stop the missiles captured red starfish in a little boy’s bucket— the distant static Reply Goran Gatalica July 5, 2025 hunting the pheasants. . . intimate relationship with the food I eat treasured memories— becoming vermilion-tinged the closest cranes fragile ceasefire— a battlefield becoming an ice skating rink Reply Siniša Avramov July 5, 2025 Morning wind – a scar on my knee, no memory of the game A dog without leash sniffs a trail beside the road – utterly still A torn sugar sack – grains spill into stillness, one by one by one Reply Guy Graybill July 5, 2025 Hello: I’m confused. I sent three haiku entries by this comment section; but they only place anything appears is in some other section, not associated with the contest? I’ll send this, then try to come into this comment section elsewhere and send my haiku section once more. Yes, I’m utterly confused. GUY GRAYBILL Reply Mike Bryant, Moderator July 5, 2025 Judges, Mr. Graybill placed his haiku on the “examples” post… Here are his entries: My three haiku selections: Love stories abound, ‘Tho destined to end sadly, As all loves must end! We are ever lost…. We’ll never find the river! Ahhh! There’s the fog bank! Poem rejected. An invalid count was found. Seppuku’s my fate! Reply Margaret Coats July 6, 2025 Thank you, Guy Graybill, for these haiku. Hope you are no longer confused, thanks to Mike Bryant’s explanation. And thank you, Mike, for scanning comments, noticing entries posted in the wrong place, and setting things right! Reply William Winslow July 5, 2025 shuffling ankle-deep through the fallen prophets of a maple grove the end of summer – a toy pail and shovel left behind in the dunes in a fallow field waiting for familiar hands – father’s wheelbarrow Reply Jessica Tommasi July 5, 2025 on the cusp of spring – the return of the osprey forsythia blooms gliding through the reeds a water beetle pauses – stillness in the flow tinkling in the breeze crystal bell whispers coolness – summer’s gentle song Reply Terrie Henrich July 5, 2025 let’s pick blueberries then call Oma for the streusel recipe from ashes you rise ignore the trolls, lacy Queen who call you a weed but your deadly roots i’d love you purple lythrum summer’s femme fatale Reply Mike Johansson July 5, 2025 Home beneath the clouds, Silver ferns sway in the breeze Tui calls me home Mist lifts from the sea The pohutukawa burns On a salt-kissed shore I miss moana I pine for the whenua Aotearoa Reply Irene Andersen July 5, 2025 A red garden bench Is dotted with windfall limes Colours in Winter Reply Chris Lipscombe July 5, 2025 Autumn nights grow cold While travellers sip their tea — Red moon, aeroplane. Red-hot pokers stand Proud against the horizon — The winter hills wait. Tulips push their tips Past their earthen carapace — Spring is here to stay. Reply Carl Bellerose July 6, 2025 morning reflection joining her hands in prayer a moth rests its wings Reply Ashley Horton July 6, 2025 Warning sirens blare Continuing to look down As birds fly away Earlier this time Branches against the window Calmness with the storm Ducklings cross the road Beauty meets fragility Slippery wet leaves Reply John Savoie July 6, 2025 nicely done, Carl well lineated, natural, uncluttered, spare Reply Diane Smither July 6, 2025 On my window-sill a cycladic figurine. reveals existential knowledge with threads of connection. 5,000 years ago as i wash my dishes. Reply Judith McNeil July 6, 2025 Pohutukawa Water like paint in relief Framed in a Landscape Reply David Marriott July 7, 2025 I remember you Sunlight formica kitchen Brown knitted tie, shorts Ionisation Elevates mundanity On a solar wind Post apocalypse Amongst devastation ruins The cat enjoys the sun Reply David Nickless July 7, 2025 Before the sunrise, the waking world bares itself with a warming face. Stars in the cold night; lights shining across dark tides from so far away. A flight of starlings dances on the swirling winds like dry autumn leaves. Reply Howard Osborne July 7, 2025 BREEZE The breeze passes by Unnoticed, except by some Yet is still a voice LUNAR VIEW A blue horizon As seen from the darker side And still there are tides AUTUMN THOUGHTS Leaves fall and settle All in red and golden brown Yet in peaceful rest Reply BDW July 7, 2025 Learn about the pines from the pines, and from the spine, learn about the spine. On the paved concrete, the screech of the cicadas sinks into my head. In Kyoto too, cuckoos long for Kyoto, kyoo-kyoo, and cuckoos. Reply JOHN PAPIA July 7, 2025 from winter to spring velvet snow turns to water flowers on the hill old men laughing loud speak of times long long ago mind over matter a river flows free at the end the ocean waits I will not forget Reply Alison Ivey July 7, 2025 Grey skies in July Garden waterlogged and drab Then a daffodil. Melancholy day Wistfully recollecting Fragrance of daphne. Reply Kyle Brogmus July 7, 2025 Haiku 0 for my Rose (11012024) by Kyle Brogmus In crunchy leaves jump surrounded by death we laugh within the Fall grace Reply Mahathier Dama July 7, 2025 rain’s deafening din. scorching sun, dry wind, abate. drip, again it comes. dark clouds horizon. ants scavenge, stash, shelter, wait. pale lilac shrouds land. sky darkens, wind howls. volcano spews, earth devours. sky lightens, wind calms. Reply Julie Davey July 8, 2025 The Crunch of the Frost A Girl is flushed with Cold The Horse waits for Day Reply Sheila Barksdale July 8, 2025 this winter acre of deep furrows, hare-hurtle heart-hurtle, faster clumsy hash of oars watching riverbank whiskers halt their dainty dip scrabbling musty air a porch mosquito inspects old Sears catalogues Reply Dylan Stover July 8, 2025 Dendrobium white bedside in the filtered light a cup of ice chips reasons I stay here… the geography of blood in a rabbit’s ears Ozymandias! rising from the horse’s dung freshly sprouted grass Reply Sophia Meindl July 8, 2025 A silent whisper A voice lost in the deep sea Deafening silence. Reply Jill Garrett July 8, 2025 Veridian splendor In the wilds, turquoise the sea Face up to the sun Drizzle, pour and pelt Winter rain – a bleak outlook We are warm inside Paradise, this view of gentle slopes and hues, I know not all is lost Reply Sonia Grant July 8, 2025 Pregnant ewes grazing Grass shivers, southerly breeze Spring biding her time Stones grind underfoot Driftwood litters onyx sand Muddy sea claims all Coriander sprawls Pluck slender stems, pick a bunch Gardener’s delight Reply Bogdana July 9, 2025 1. outburst of my pain lava of such volcano in an overdose 2. pasive fugitive blocked in body , free in mind mixture of beings 3. blurred channel of view bad signal from the critics any dream time stopped Bogdana Găgeanu Reply Alizetta Dawson July 9, 2025 Mess on the clean floor, a breeze moves crumbs in sunlight- things I’m not sorry for! Reply Alvin Cruz July 10, 2025 the first day of spring I also dance to the tune of the snake charmer familiar sadness somewhere I hear the echo of yesterday’s rain trying to fathom what goes on under the sun drooping sunflowers Reply Barrie Levine July 10, 2025 open air café . . . watching lovers hand-in-hand on Champs-Élysées Reply H.M.Elsenpeter July 10, 2025 rose petals fall down my sense is to still smell them knowing there is some blue sky and white clouds beauty I see from below imagine the view up high my spring has sprung now I am more than done to go dance into eternity Reply Michael Henry Lee July 11, 2025 raging winter wind turning one frost bitten cheek and then the other Reply Michael Henry Lee July 11, 2025 fast approaching storm squeezing a thunder shirt over the dog’s head Reply Michael Henry Lee July 11, 2025 first day of the year twenty twenty six fills up with appointments Reply Sherri Ali July 11, 2025 Tiny, crushed sparrow Her wings still trying to fly On wind from cruel cars Reply Vera Kochanowsky July 11, 2025 after the rainstorm ant armies, in single file, march into my house red leaves and yellow falling on the woodland path slow me on my way ripened heads of wheat nod in the late summer sun heavy with wisdom Reply Carl Brennan July 11, 2025 Spring light composing sonnets on blond fur, my cat beheads a March hare My cat dines neatly on dragonfly al fresco– earthly Paradise My young cat riding on my shoulders through autumn– cooler than a Muse Reply Rick Johnson July 12, 2025 A fading gold finch Ravages the coneflower. She trusts the outcome. Reply Tim Huff July 12, 2025 Quietly peeks out Little creature of the night Shy bashful gecko ***** Perfect crescent moon Big swing hanging in night sky Stars dance around it ***** Top of old pine tree Mocking bird announces day Sweet song of new hope Reply Ravi Kiran July 12, 2025 long after she’s gone the memories mother left in her cabinet lending their fragrance to the wind in a desert notes of an old flute coloring the space between the concrete towers all the shades of spring Reply Rita Pomade July 12, 2025 in sweltering heat the sudden screech of sirens stilled streets jolt alive smiling on my walk a passing stranger asks me have we met before? loud gospel singing coming from the Baptist Church outside looking in Reply Bennett Chatigny July 12, 2025 Flame consumes the trees. Ashes leave black pocks below, staining the fresh snow. Reply Stefanie Bucifal July 13, 2025 the red maple leaf that you brought home from a walk I treasure it, still in everyone’s life should be a time of kissing under lilac trees to the autumn wind: I am yours, breathe me, turn me into grass and trees Reply Adrian Fillion July 13, 2025 the gray tabby cat curls up under the sunlight — a perfect circle Reply Timothy Wheatly July 15, 2025 mom’s summer cleaning the one time of the year where my clothes cannot fit boy helps neighbor plant rusted, red shovel-neighbor shows boy a weed’s root Reply Lev Hart July 15, 2025 pomp and circumstance the host hanging a fly strip on my arrival Reply Darrell Lindsey July 15, 2025 one river rising so many lost in the flow of what could have been Reply Nathan Osabel July 16, 2025 Dog haiku I. Dog’s POV This man gives me food Same old shirt—rugged, dirty Richest man I know II. Man’s POV A heart that struggles Felt inside, hidden outward Surely this paw knows — Passion haiku Plucked a shriveled rose markings of beauty arose a withered passion Reply Timothy Osabel July 16, 2025 Fireworks symbols life Soars, reaches a peak, gives awe Then slips into hush. Things I need to do Piled up incoming deadlines So I took a nap A dog is barking I barked back to make it stop Two fools at midnight Reply John Savoie July 16, 2025 #2 pausing at the fork on the horse’s braided mane three snowflakes linger Reply Paulette Calasibetta July 16, 2025 hurtful words spoken slipping from an angry tongue ~ echo eternal ~~~~ luminaries rise circling a congregation ~ catching falling stars ~~~~ before the leaves turn gold before the gray frosts our hair ~ we will remember Reply Caroline Burrows July 16, 2025 Hopeless romantics Sketch initials in warm sand, Waves wipe the beach clean. Reply James Jenkinson July 16, 2025 Blossoms drift sideways a scarecrow dances gently when no wind passes Cicadas crackle a hammock folds with laughter as sunlight stretches Footprints fade softly a mailbox leans in silence beneath silver hush Reply Philippa Taylor July 16, 2025 snowflakes are soft, yet the gentlest words cut like blades and melt in the sun Reply Spencer Hammar-Campbell July 16, 2025 Snowstorms ravaging along the west cars sheltered in snow unmoving Reply Robert H. Rogers (Pen Name "Sinclair") July 17, 2025 Hurt, Abandoned Fawn (Haiku) Hurt, abandoned fawn, Searching the frozen white wood… Does not find the dawn. -Sinclair- Reply Joydip Dutt July 17, 2025 cherry blossom buds are slowly opening up a new found buddy *** sipping orange juice the tangerine sun slips down the sea horizon Reply Joydip Dutt July 18, 2025 Hello Judges, Making a small change in my first haiku. Forgot to put a hyphen in the word “new-found”. cherry blossom buds are slowly opening up a new-found buddy *** sipping orange juice the tangerine sun slips down the sea horizon Reply Katherine E Winnick July 17, 2025 bare branches waving twisting to heavens above – a lightening bolt strikes nestling amongst reeds ducklings finding a way through the shadows grow tall some loquat flowers… steeped in boiling water exuding fragrance Reply Z. S Han July 18, 2025 Embrace the dreamer Coming back through memory Bridges of belonging. Beauty in green light Calm flows like wind in silence Wonders drift through stars. In a perfect city Twilight dances on still hope Breathing for a chance. Reply Edward Cody Huddleston July 18, 2025 dusk meditation— where the light meets the shadow a pine needle falls open chrysalis the butterfly emerges into present tense Reply deborah jones July 18, 2025 through the bars of grief uncontained by tomorrow the laughter of children beneath the rubble voices of the not yet dead already memories the waiting willow aglow with guilty secrets cradles the spent sun Reply Raewyn Hutchinson July 18, 2025 Birds dart like arrows Shot from tree to tree to tree Bullets of bird fire Stop Mum wait keep right Newborn snail travelling north My daughters keen eye Venus rises bright Curving into the dawn sky Seen from a pillow Reply Erin Zampaglione July 18, 2025 avocado tree wide and low, heavy with fruit invites small climbers red rose petals fall do I mourn lost youth or love these child-bearing hips cloudless night eclipse stars appear and fade away hiding in plain sight Reply Deborah A. Bennett July 19, 2025 an autumn evening wild geese in the melon sky my only anthem though now past midnight voices of the mountain wind acorns falling down through the open door the beginning of autumn in the sweet gum tree Reply Twila Brase July 19, 2025 tiny seeds set low in soil furrows full of hope wait for water’s flow hands of cherries ripe dripping balls of red delight picking time is here full moon slips below no curtain call to applaud just the hand of God Reply Dale Bailes July 19, 2025 Cut-eared yard cat Claims poolside swap shop chaise lounge Grooms itself regal Reply Michaelyn L July 19, 2025 Night Heron perches Watching over GhostTown’s streets The summer fog lifts Reply Margaret Coats July 25, 2025 Thanks for your haiku, Michaelyn. Please provide your full surname as the competition instructions request. Reply Coleman Davis July 19, 2025 The birds sharp whispers Lift you from your nights journey Bring you back to me What could this mountain Clear, green, and cast in dawn’s light Have in store this day Pebbles smoothed by time live, moving on down. Clatter as songs in the creeks. Reply Kahren Morris-Denby July 19, 2025 Kahren Morris-Denby mud squelches through toes houses swirl through rising flood tears flow forever cumulus clouds float across snowy mountain tops immortality raindrop on a wing sunlight glimmers on puddles sparrow ablution Reply Ngo Binh Anh Khoa July 19, 2025 life in perspectives the golden hour flashing in a mayfly’s eyes still turning toward the light beyond the darkness sunflowers in bloom the end of summer a leaf moves through hopscotch squares at the wind’s nudging Reply Dan C. Iulian July 20, 2025 starry night silence – in this cosmic indulgence just a cricket’s song after summer rain my kiddy explores the sky from every puddle lotus flourishes – the remainder of the day becomes thinkable Reply Anne Curran July 20, 2025 the gentile hostess prepares tea ceremony weary travelers a flock of swallows emerges from drifting cloud a happy omen village revelers celebrate in spring sunshine talk of a wedding Reply Parker Sterling July 20, 2025 The sound of a frog Jumping into an old pond: The haiku is born. The lawn mowers and The leaf blowers fall silent: The birds sing again. Bright clouds at night float Behind the ash tree: a kiss: And the dreamer wakes. Reply Paula Rogers July 20, 2025 Father watches me The old man watches me close Sees who I will be I will be him now His time is done mine begins He thinks I will fail But I prove him wrong He smiles and nods at me The family is safe Reply Trina Layne July 20, 2025 1. Garden Party sun stretches itself over our grand carnival On withering grass 2. Summer Pests citronella cream mosquitoes multiplying… voracious vampires 3. Idols of Summer lips crumpling in heat summer wind scorching sundress who will seek for rain? Reply Sherri Ali July 20, 2025 When all creatures die Those of feather, scale, and fur, We’ll eat each other Reply Ashley Houston July 21, 2025 About Losing My Dearest Aunt A chaotic storm Rumbling in the distance Echoing our grief A funeral shroud Gathering dewy flowers Panicked breathing—grief Moonlit grief scrolling Digital images dance Flowering remembrance Reply Lynn CaroleBrown July 21, 2025 Outside my window the night air carries music, and I sing along. What we can not see does not mean it isn’t real faith has its own breath. Have you ever felt— that ocean of emptiness surrounding your shores? Lynn Carole Brown Reply Sunita Keyser July 21, 2025 sliver of silver a rill that snakes through the drift I pluck the grey hair Reply Deborah Karl-Brandt July 21, 2025 shaped by water stones emerge from the deep burned by the sun the melancholy of family pictures first days of winter the smell of green grass lingering on my dogs feet before I must part Reply Mike Rogers July 21, 2025 bare trees show clear moon my thought-moon growth gone shines white inside leaves still grow Reply Carl Bellerose July 21, 2025 fading wildflower resting in the church doorway unties her worn boots Reply Meera Rehm July 21, 2025 early morning mist rising from the undergrowth steam-birth of a fawn frost-bitten blossom — one by one I pack away the nursery room old age wanderlust — a slug stretches its eyestalks into summer sun Reply Stephen Anderson July 21, 2025 Amsterdam Anne Frank Museum Behind bookshelves, no one talks Everyone listens. Reply Lee Eager July 21, 2025 soft suburban ache no great shake, wait, slow words fall happy birthday mum Reply Dan Ward July 22, 2025 Sliding in rhythm Bathtub waves strike Tokyo Godzilla spanks hard Reply Dan Ward July 22, 2025 Snow-melt waterfalls Fill a crystal lake below Peace transcending storms Reply Urmi Chakravorty July 22, 2025 Potter’s toil and tears, Clay clings to clammy fingers, Fortune’s wheel spins lives! *** Pebbled river beds – Trouts, tourists, shingles, selfies, A cairn for the dead *** Dusk rustles through pines Sylvan symphony unfolds Tempest in my heart Reply Adam King July 22, 2025 Hello there stranger I’ve never seen you before Good, now we are friends Reply Eddie Park July 22, 2025 Small leaves fall softly A fox emerges from his home Rusty clouds fading Bright Sunlight dances The tide comes over the sand A seagull dosing chilly breezes blow Water now turned into ice I put on my coat Reply Mia Wilkins July 22, 2025 My Garden blooming Fruit buds appearing on trees Air warming the day Thirsty sun shining Deep blue cool water shimmers Boats dancing on lakes Leaves float gracefully Branches becoming naked More seasons ahead Reply Lucia Thorne July 22, 2025 Crisp air cools my face Ice frozen over a lake The swoosh of my skates Morning dew drops down A leaf falls slowly into my hands The horn beeps, its time The heat makes me sweat I throw my body in the water My skin begins to cool Reply Ethan Zhao July 22, 2025 Orange leaves fall quietly An owl come out to hunt As it turns to night The bare trees stand tall The fox gently slinks around While others sleep The sun shines brightly Reflecting off the water As the children play Reply Alice Glover July 22, 2025 Smell of salt water White sand hot under my feet A shinning pink shell The sky is so blue The sun is so warm up high Summer is here now Lambs spring happily Through the luscious and green fields Now springtime is here Reply Darrell Lindsey July 22, 2025 falling plum blossoms a Chinese woman’s dou li catches most of them Reply Amelia Li July 22, 2025 Light snow drifts slowly Cold breaths fill the frosty air Soft breeze tickles me Vibrant falling leaves Floating down from the bare trees Autumn’s gentle touch Pink cherry blossoms Glistening in the sunshine Mystical landscape Reply Tasmin Wingfield July 23, 2025 Red leaves hold my hand As I take the path toward Far colder places Mists of cloudy breath Lips stung by the freezing frost Eyes blink away cold Blossoms dance with nymphs Pollen swirls like magic dust Enchanted summer Reply Liliana Mendes Schneebeli July 23, 2025 Summer’s thirsty tongues Clear cold raindrops start to fall Kissing under leaves Forked leafy branches A black widow’s rumbling fades Folded behind back Day’s sharp blade of light Darting voices raised in heat Lovers’ ties are cut Reply Erica Hannah July 23, 2025 Blood. Blood everywhere. On the grass. On the tree barks. And he sits there. Calm. Unfazed. Unbothered. Even he is surprised by this. Pretty sight, at least. He holds his love close. Comforts her. Reassures her. For now, she needs this. Reply Sarah Schexnayder July 23, 2025 What life is Spring? Small breaths newly awaken From the sleep of death. ~ Bittersweet is Fall! Vibrant colors dance in swirls! Nature slowly dies. ~ Quiet is Winter. Nature’s death is stark silence. Hushed, it rests in hope. Reply Larry W. Richardson July 24, 2025 cold pink-faced macaques soak in hot spring’s steamy mist cooing to their young a brief glow flickers winter firefly phantom light red fox prints snow path millions of starlings surging, swinging, swooping autumn’s fluid flight Reply Amitava Dasgupta July 24, 2025 she is light years away but I still smell her fragrance in wild spring flowers dipping in Ganges winter mist hugs equally both sinners and saints autumn sea at dusk dad is no longer with me to show infinity Reply Krikmöklet Egelanaard July 25, 2025 dying cherry tree; copper sundial shows time: dog days-spent in green hot winds slow the mind raining needles of white pine, grapes firm on the vine a peach is pulled from the shading branch—so grasps the mother’s loving hand Reply Martin Soudek July 26, 2025 Haze over green hills, Northern forests smouldering— FREE two-day shipping! Reply Martin Soudek July 26, 2025 On April’s mirror, Whirligigs dance in the sun Between her teardrops. Reply Linda Marie Hilton July 26, 2025 below are my three offerings, the first was inspired by the painting by Hiroshige shown at the top of this page: Humans trudge upwards Gay water foams, rushing down, Fog eaten by trees. Swallow perches high Seeking swarming insects fly Mouth open: dinner! Volcanoes heat the Ocean deeps warming an earth Humans do not own. Reply George Hubbard July 27, 2025 The gracious oak tree Standing on carpet of leaves Making an angel Warmth is with us now Daffodils now watching us Lambs in the field Snow everywhere Squirrels scutter round the streets Christmas trees inside Reply Ernesto Santiago July 28, 2025 alone in his thoughts – the water curls around rocks – a welcome escape – where a river bends little eddies of water misplaced fantasy – wedding butterfly why would I need a motive when I have power Ernesto Santiago Reply K. F. Gruta July 28, 2025 Agua de Mayo children splash in the puddles… sunken paper boats _ Autumn night busking the singer’s fedora falls — a whole rest symbol _ Phosphorescent stars each on the ceiling outshines all of my neck pain Reply Laura Nicola July 28, 2025 First shy rays of light The old relentless river Guides my way to work Early spring cleaning Old items packed in boxes Your memory too A blanket of stars The whispering sleepless waves Bow under the moon Reply Lily Malcolm July 28, 2025 Handfuls of blossoms Floating on the riverbank Taking precious time The sun beaming bright On the bright green, glistening leaves It feels like summer I’m a little fox Camouflaging in the snow Im brave as can be Reply Cynthia Yu July 28, 2025 Hot summer days Ocean breeze cold rush Memories fulfilled Reply Amelia Yu July 28, 2025 Snow collapsing Covering up the ground Stroking my cat’s ears Cherry petals fly Spreading pollen around bees The smell of grass Waves crash around Hitting my brother’s sandcastle Beach balls everywhere Reply Shannon Jade July 28, 2025 sunbeams, soft, golden, fracture midnight’s starry skies, glowing hope of dawn. *** impossible things: the heavy weight of mudbanks, wildflowers blooming. *** summer is the sound of waves whoosh, crashing to shore, you laughing at me Reply Helena Shinn July 28, 2025 Cicadas wail fire— child’s laughter breaks through the storm, hope drenched in warm rain. *** Frost veils the cold night, candle’s trembling breath reaches— loneliness in light. Reply Jan Hadfield July 29, 2025 a frosty morning in the song of the blackbird my husband Martin blossom in the square bells ring from the Cathedral the Godwits return early morning fog a man appears from nowhere then disappears Reply Denisa Hanšutová July 29, 2025 old cemetery on loudest days the sound of dead leaves whispering squirrel in the park burying and looking for my scattering thoughts post-spring mountain creek letting my quickening thoughts meandre freely Reply Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Lela Northcross Wakely Stillness over pond Phlox gives its last perfume-sigh No one to notice Silence and singing? Young bamboo shelters frogs while Buddha meditates. Strawberry moon tryst Love nips skinny dippers- NO Watch out for those Carp! Reply Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 May I please withdraw the last haiku about the “Strawberry moon tryst/” I am concerned it is more a Senryu than an actual Haiku. I will submit another one in its place. Thank you. Reply Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Snowbound solitude Evergreen bough holds…surprise! One blooming sunrise Reply Andy Moody July 29, 2025 The Spring breeze whispers, Such deep stillness in the trees – The Creator speaks. The river flows full, Two Grebes ritually dance – Creation’s beauty. In the high azure, Courting Buzzards are circling- Wings touching heaven. Reply Jacob Schultz July 29, 2025 The July sun crowns Tops of regal tulip trees – Passing clouds douse fire. Autumn leaves sweep way Those windy tokens of love. I watch alone still. Poppies and tulips Peek out from their gray foxholes – Winter sends them back. Reply Tammy Iralu July 29, 2025 snapdragons explode kimonos strung on a line– swallowtail sails on morning foragers skunk tracks among strawberries– my fingers stained pink quail young traverse road reach shoulder fast as wildfire– foot eases off brake Reply Eduard TARA July 29, 2025 one by one falling the chestnut leaves making room for the milky way Reply Catherine Bittle July 29, 2025 Between, stands the gate. Green vines twine round man’s estate. Hands reach through to bait. Strangers’ sleeves brush past. Autumn leaves fall in the breeze. Someone leaves too fast. Blizzard blows around. Footprints show on snowy ground Found, heart starts to glow. | Reply R. Bremner July 29, 2025 Chilly was the morn I kissed the lips of the sun afternoon smoldered Autumn fog teases, kisses me in dawn’s shadow, steals my heart away. An omen of light snuggles in the breast of night before dawn wakes her. Reply Simar Sodhi July 29, 2025 Night swallows the light Stars whisper secrets untold Each unique and gold — The fire departs But still a lone flame remains Bringing hope in pain — Sleep slowly dances On a frosty windowsill Inviting the night Reply MarthaMaggie Miller July 29, 2025 pregnant pouring rain music on a metal roof flowers’ wakeup call arid waterhole under an African sky hungry lioness sweetly singing birds on an early Spring morning funeral chorale Reply Sebastian Chrobak July 30, 2025 first family trip walk along a narrow path ducklings with their mom Reply Eduard TARA July 30, 2025 one by one falling the chestnut leaves making way for the shooting stars Reply Eduard TARA July 30, 2025 one by one falling the chestnut leaves making room for more emptiness Reply Laila Amado July 30, 2025 A quiet morning In the garden, young kitten Catches butterflies Walks by the river Old man with an Irish hound Geese call for winter Wind rolls red petals In the shade of a temple wall Old robots tell tales Reply Jane McCarthy July 30, 2025 park bench in shadow a boy sings to a sparrow braiding sun through leaves first frost on the stoop a girl with torn shoelaces waits for the school bus spring rain on gravestones a man rereads the same note until it blurs ink Reply Parisa Majumdar July 30, 2025 Why it hurts this bad I wish we could just re-start As strangers in school —— Close your eyes and dream A world filled with happiness And good memories —— A doubtful mother Tries having faith in her child Is that much to ask Reply Aureus Nova Solis July 30, 2025 Wintergreen upon A crimson spilled abandon Reclaiming blossoms Vermillion shards Overcast the mountainside Amongst the Moon’s tears Fields of petals lie O’er my tired body now Never two allowed Reply Jennifer Doherty July 31, 2025 Tempest arguments Dad firm, mum with deluge cheeks Children’s howling screech. Reply Anthony Shannon July 31, 2025 Fingers trace my spine. “I’m in Arcadia, too,” Death whispers, hollow-eyed. photographing ghosts as they drift by unnoticed carefree of life once lived two doors, but one choice: above, blissful ignorance; below, truth and strife. Reply Vishal Prabhu July 31, 2025 peeling back the year every step on the mountain autumn wind and I accompanying me one last time down the mountain farewell autumn winds not the autumn wind that wound me up to the lake breathless campsite night Reply Maria Tellez-Vazquez July 31, 2025 Leaves flutter around In the dewy spring morning For another day Reply Nancy Brady July 31, 2025 night sky fill with stars… a silent predator flies with prey in talons at a florist shop she practices ikebana –an orchid corsage a complaining crow at the top of an ash tree –rainy afternoon Reply Harper Lewis July 31, 2025 Metaphor for death: One soul abandoned in a Vacant furnished room Jealous verdigris thoughts enter my brain and play in my dead effigy Synopsis of faith: I believe in the unseen and things I can’t feel. My dad made nectar, fermented for hummingbirds to buzz when they fly An iris opens Frilly white edges surround the deep purple base The gossip of priests is deliciously naughty, delectable sin The establishment Insists that you refrain from Showing compassion Reply Margaret Coats July 31, 2025 Harper, thanks for these haiku! Please let us know which THREE of them you would like as your entries in the competition. That’s easy to do; you can reply here. Reply Delaney Shiono July 31, 2025 Amber orbs aglow Beneath frostbitten fingers Playing with fire Summer sunlight shines Upon sky blue waves of change Paradise on earth Crystal shards conceal My deepest, darkest secrets For your eyes only Reply Jessica Allyson July 31, 2025 out before sunrise the stars keep me company until their bedtime worn-down path outlined by lilies-of-the-valley poet’s grave marker birches intertwined creaking, clinging together against winter winds Reply John Savoie August 1, 2025 #3 who can remember when the stars first sang for joy? the sound still carries Reply Lloyd Jacobs August 1, 2025 The yellow leaves were dervishes at my window till the rain started Footpaths and tire tracks obliterated by parachuting flakes Snowmelt discloses a winterkilled fawn still in geometric spots Reply Monika Cooper August 1, 2025 parade floats idle in stopped traffic—clusters of crab apples pinken . crystal interlock of water’s piscine quills: each little wave, a leap . sun on the surface: silent Roman candles in rapid explosion Reply Emory D. Jones August 1, 2025 Here is my submission– Yellow butterflies Flitting above green meadows Like dancing sunshine. Reply Maria Panayi August 1, 2025 you’re not a body with a soul, you’re a soul in a sacred garden Reply Maria Panayi August 1, 2025 haiku 2 homeless hermit crab takes shelter in empty shell, gulls squawk overhead Reply Maria Panayi August 1, 2025 haiku 3 wistful willow tree unique forgotten fortress weeps with gratitude Rebecca Trifari August 1, 2025 1) Halfway, then again she chases what flees the mind, dust rising in spring. 2) Snow melts as she runs. Each step closer is farther, the world holds its breath. 3) All race toward stillness. He counts motion with a blade— leaves fall, unmeasured. Reply Martina Matijević August 1, 2025 july thunderstorm her funeral procession finishes faster watering roses they slowly lower their heads unrequited love the smell of caught fish a hungry cat creeps closer mom scares off burglar Reply Sheri Knauth August 1, 2025 Three submissions read separately or together: To be read shelf. Infinite years divide books. Will I finish them? Words comfort my years Shelter in safe hard cover Writer and reader Find grace in pages. Solace with pens and journals. Heartache soothed silently. Reply Joanna Ashwell August 1, 2025 these spring showers again with the softness of blossom edging our footsteps the musk of a deer already belonging back in the forest’s crisp ochre rowanberry dusk where the deepest clouds drift by with every lost dream Reply Daril B. Bentley August 1, 2025 Yellow crab spider on a beach of greenery– mayflies the seagulls. Reply Morrison Handley-Schachler August 1, 2025 Calm in her stony Hermitage, the mason bee Mocks the rowdy swarm. Dreaming of nine days’ Majesty, the dragonfly Bides three years his time. Butterfly’s shadow, Borne away on morning’s wings, But so beautiful. Reply Patricia Carragon August 1, 2025 from a leafless limb the empty swing remembers the long, hot summer ~Patricia Carragon after the tempest the silence of fallen trees roots severed from hope ~Patricia Carragon storm clouds overhead hurricane winds travel north no relief in sight ~Patricia Carragon as temperatures soar slumber shuts the feral’s eyes solace from the sun ~Patricia Carragon with eyes half open the cat curls up for a nap feet and tail at ease ~Patricia Carragon Reply Patricia Carragon August 1, 2025 Please disregard my earlier comment. I’m submitting these three here: from a leafless limb the empty swing remembers the long, hot summer ~Patricia Carragon as temperatures soar slumber shuts the feral’s eyes solace from the sun ~Patricia Carragon after the tempest the silence of fallen trees roots severed from hope ~Patricia Carragon Reply Patricia Carragon August 1, 2025 Please disregard my earlier comment. I’m submitting these three here: from a leafless limb the empty swing remembers the long, hot summer ~Patricia Carragon as temperatures soar slumber shuts the feral’s eyes solace from the sun ~Patricia Carragon after the tempest the silence of fallen trees roots severed from hope ~Patricia Carragon Reply Meliana Alejandro August 1, 2025 The new era starts No hugs, kisses behind masks, Six feet difference please! Empty streets, doors shut, chaos over empty shelves, Unease filled the air Big nation big mess, Long lines, thin change, days await, I awe how it ends COVID-19 yes, Once it starts it never leave, Leaving scars for sure Reply Margaret Coats August 1, 2025 Appreciate your contributions, Meliana, but please choose only THREE haiku as your contest entries. It’s simple to do by telling me which one of your four to leave out. Thanks! Reply Wania Sajjad August 1, 2025 Name: Wania Sajjad Country: Pakistan Unpicked Flower I tore myself open for your hands— but you walked past like I was dirt. Still, I bloomed into the silence you left behind. Petal Ghost You grazed me like wind— no blood, but every inch of me feels haunted. False Spring You arrived like a false thaw— all heat-laced breath and lying light. I cracked open, thinking you’d stay through the storm. But you were winter in a stolen spring disguise. You kissed me with frost, and I shattered. Reply Nolo Segundo August 1, 2025 reluctant leaves fall from the old tree showering the old man walking old cemetery abandoned by the living waits eternity alone, the young deer ate the holly tree’s berries soon dying under its leaves Reply Sherri Dadey August 1, 2025 Small, feathered body still, on the side of the road, your death will feed life Reply Madeline Nugent August 1, 2025 firefly dance and burn jive resolutely down paths! lead me homeward bound far out open sea tender faces stranger now—- gentle crash of wave bugs bite tender flesh red blooms and swells a garden—- blackbird song soothing Reply Jerry A. Kirk August 1, 2025 Water is shapeless So how can it be defined A frog dreams of air Reply Asha Bajaj August 1, 2025 striped pollinator rave, roam, romp, be(e) rife, don’t sting don’t waste what is sweet Reply Asha Bajaj August 1, 2025 O radiant sky are you wounded or merely temperamental? blanket of snow, erase this paved landscape, then erase yourself melt into nothing Reply Asha Bajaj August 1, 2025 Apologies, updated version of #2 snow blanket, erase paved landscape, erase yourself melt into nothing Reply Tyler Oldershaw August 2, 2025 Just like Icarus, And so we fall, endlessly; Freedom tastes like wind. The wounds of the sky Open. Today, tomorrow. Bloodlike life rains down. So alienated In this body; distorted. Trapped briefly in skin. Reply Chinmay Khare August 2, 2025 Crimson maple sighs, its branches bare to the dusk— One flame drifting down Reply brett brady August 2, 2025 how shallow the shoals . . . alone, upon reflection we’re both pelican midnight snow flurries, a raindeer fawn’s long lashes gathering stardust oak tree canopy– that old tattered fedora atop her coffin Reply Eshini Hasithri Meegaskumbura August 2, 2025 Hi, these are my three entries for the haiku competition. 1 Summer never wanes In the glowing Pearl of the Indian Ocean 2 The snow falls gently Mimicking the glow of the Twinkling stars above 3 Warm summer rain of Dancing love soon lost in the Slow fall of autumn Reply Thompson Emate August 2, 2025 Showers of first rain The aroma of coffee Papa’s favourite Alone on the porch Forlorn wind heralds deadness My muse awakens Summer homecoming Children play in the river Childhood memories Reply andrew shimield August 2, 2025 at 7.00am the bees in the lavender already at work bank holiday beach barely room for flesh to tan between the tattoos Reply Justin Tipton August 2, 2025 The Earth wears a coat The snow and ice pack her wounds She rests safe and warm Reply Twila Brase August 2, 2025 Very nice imagery. Reply Ava Mitchell August 2, 2025 The rain sings and sings The thunder replies, screaming Never satisfied Kind mornings, soft nights, They are whole with your smile Comfortably happy Gray fog blankets the Deep valleys and green forests Stunning opposites Reply Beauregard Tuck August 2, 2025 Leaves lull light’s looming; shadows shower sundered souls. Winter wakes what waned. Reply Thomas J Strong August 2, 2025 recess doors open a gust of schoolyard children swirling autumn leaves heard without thinking understood without saying a walk through the woods the bud that seeks the bloom doesn’t need to search the garden to find it Reply Michael Chaplin August 2, 2025 Michael Chaplin As I wash my clothes My Yiddish momma still sings Songs of Yahweh’s praise Death in the river Souls coffined inside of mud The LORD my Shepherd In my green garden Surrounded by its beauty I hear sounds of war Reply Alex McBean August 2, 2025 atop lilac blooms butterflies rest in the sun Jupiter’s faeries pork chop fat sizzles ripe millet sway in the breeze its all gravy now summers juicy yield bathed in the kitchens warm light the frog and I feast Reply Addison Clem August 2, 2025 Laugh; stitch in my side Trap springs in hippocampus Splayed game on snow— you. Reply Bipasha Dutt August 3, 2025 breathing in the soft smell of night-blooming jasmine moonlight sonata Reply Amanda Robinson August 3, 2025 the water is still the mind is racing constant flow is the challenge is it possible to love, to eat, to birth him my husband’s logic there is a shadow light’s brightness is a falsehood dark blots infiltrate Reply Bipasha Dutt August 3, 2025 view of white landscape evergreens are lacking hue on a new year’s day Reply Venessa Lee-Estevez August 3, 2025 fragrant whispers gently cascade from branches carpet of blossoms ruby red hibiscus sweet pistil tongue emerges hummingbird kisses gossamer storm clouds weave a cape for Apollo Helios’ revenge Reply Prae Pathanasethpong August 3, 2025 Golden sky shines We set off a new journey Swallow flies back home Reply Leslie Hendrickson-Baral August 3, 2025 Hands held through the storm Unite in diversity Winning with purpose Turning to Nature Baby bunnies, ducks and goats Earth holds the best Tails Each posture holds peace Matching breath with intentions Paid ticket to this moment Reply Katherine Davies August 3, 2025 Title: Wash Away The waves rise and fall Cleansing souls who entrust it Yet my worries stay. Reply Sreeja Mohandas August 3, 2025 Wrapped in pashmina Half awake yet half asleep A hungover dawn Sparkling fiery eyes Trapped in a dying embrace Should have let you go. A sharp stilleto, Into my soul your words carve A crimson ravine. Reply Prashant Rawal August 3, 2025 Spring river unwinds— two hands, interlaced, drift on. Nothing holds or halts. Autumn wind pulls loose— layers of masks on my face scatter with the leaves. Spring rain on still pond— ripples rise and disappear. A frog waits beneath. Reply Garima Obrah August 3, 2025 Dear Society of Classical Poets Please find below my 3 entries for the 2025 Haiku Competition Entry 1 Old stone retaining wall— a line of ants carries off the morning glory. Entry 2 The scent of cut grass. A yellow kite is tangled in the power lines. Entry 3 The password reset asks for my first pet’s name. I close the laptop. Reply Bipasha Dutt August 3, 2025 Hello judges, This is my 3rd and final submission – spirit animals drifting clouds shift forms in an autumn afternoon Reply Nuala Carr August 4, 2025 Lord! I’ll pursue you as the swift wave does the shore breaking as I go Reply Leah Hong August 4, 2025 Galloping horses leaving icy hoofprints the coldest is me Summer ocean a huge container ship blows my rocking mind In the wind my puppy happily runs to Mt Fuji Reply Kuldeep Singh Bisht August 4, 2025 The sun briefly peeks From behind the cloud curtains— It will rain again. Pink reflections dance as the flamingoes wade through the quiet waters. The reflection of the arched bridge on the still lake makes a full circle Reply Maria Tosti August 4, 2025 Sorry, this is the second time I publish my comment. Last night there may have been problems. 1. a lotus flower always searching for the sky – that is what i am 2. pink cherry blossoms painted on her baby bump – just a new springtime 3. still shining roses – the white brocade dress my mom could never finished Reply Cheryl Corey August 4, 2025 tuft of cumulus running rills and daffodils Spring, springing on us high tide moving out an empty shell washed ashore someone picks it up at the water’s edge polliwogs among the weeds children swinging pails Reply Robert Fawcett August 4, 2025 Merganser mother guides her flock:sisters,brothers Fewer swim today. Reply Gordan Lovrić August 4, 2025 Flag waves in the wind, may tomorrow shine brighter, homeland glows with pride. Stone house stands calmly, Siveric calls out softly, wind carries the voice. Zagorje mornings, cattle graze so peacefully, earth softly births new dreams. Reply Joshua Kepfer August 4, 2025 In Maslow’s thesis The hierarchy of needs Safety’s above love I don’t think Maslow Was ever really in love Or knew who we were Reply Joshua Kepfer August 4, 2025 Stars in the water Algae is green in the sky Reflections in streams Reply Joseph Karr August 4, 2025 Are they who they say They are not there, they’re their own. We are what we do Reply Joseph Karr August 4, 2025 Never who they are Always who they want to be Wonderful liars Reply Joshua Kepfer August 4, 2025 Are they who they say They are not there, they’re their own. We are what we do Never who they are Always who they want to be Wonderful liars Stars in the water Algae is green in the sky Reflections in streams Reply Carter Quintero August 4, 2025 Made myself a hell With no blueprints for Heaven And a lust to build My mind hurts itself It’s always fighting the same Demons they invite Parents with binkies Try to cope with the hands of Clocks doing cartwheels Reply Silma Pamela Smith August 4, 2025 For haiku contest: lichen mosaic rivulet of waterfall… which is lovelier? Reply Thomas Hamil August 4, 2025 Good afternoon. Thank you for your consideration. Below are my three Haiku. 1.) A drink sits idly The whiteness gasps on the page Autumn burns away 2.) A tortoise plods on Summer asphalt shifts below Noon traffic backs up 3.) Egyptian sun glows Into deep-sanded oranges Summer gold, squeezed out Reply Annabelle Hadfield-Madl August 4, 2025 Spring Whispers whispers in spring air maple leaves begin to bud, secrets bloom in light. maple leaves whisper, soft murmurs in the hot breeze, summer hums alive.. ice on the maple branches, Breathless light shining through the unspoken trees, Silence quakes in the endless wood Reply Annabelle Hadfield-Madl August 4, 2025 Sorry first line wasn’t meant to be there this is how it is meant to be: whispers in spring air maple leaves begin to bud, secrets bloom in light. maple leaves whisper, soft murmurs in the hot breeze, summer hums alive.. ice on the maple branches, Breathless light shining through the unspoken trees, Silence quakes in the endless wood Reply Sienna Mcmillan August 4, 2025 Golden sand Smell of salty water Sandy sea shells Leaves dancing Green to red orange yellow One by one falling to the ground Snow falls Every snowflake different to another Sun shimmering reflecting Reply David Quinn August 5, 2025 The first breath of spring A leaf can still fall away Not only in fall Reply Mia Zhang August 5, 2025 geese soar above clouds flying to a warmer home where the lilacs sing ————- early spring morning the fantail in the bird bath her sweet song lingers ————- a grasshopper sings her newest composition blossoms twirl in time Reply Loriana Apahidean August 5, 2025 1. Petals falling down, Death in reverse, life in bloom, Cycle without end. 2. Winter freezes thoughts, Ice words crawl out of my mouth, Fragile proof of self. 3. August heat clutching, Suffocating memories, Sticky grief clinging. Reply David Quinn August 5, 2025 a cold winters night smoke rises defiantly extinguished at dawn Reply Sara Kate Egan August 5, 2025 chartreuse grass rustles August height hides maybe beast cinnamon bunny muggy midsummer murky dusk, mellow meadow flashing fireflies float twisted forest stirs secrets; coldest, darkest depths grand ghouls glow golden Reply Paul Lobo Portugés August 5, 2025 we open the window and the wind blowing voices of children fly in scrubbing ma’s gravestone black with soot from L.A’s air and winter’s regret when a child dies it’s something you keep inside you heart like a bomb Reply Theresa Andrews August 5, 2025 apple crisp morning smatterings of orange, red, browns falling quietly early morning chill shimmering icy waters reminiscent blues peonies blossom delicate fragrant pedals sweet heaven on earth Reply Teresa Padilla August 5, 2025 From dark spring slumber Awake, sobbing – not knowing Bulbs burst underground ——————– Winter, sun – sets free Deep, dazzling drifts of jewels Wealth of common men ——————— Summer sky’s mirror Blinding – shining stretch of mud Tale of the glacier Reply Scott Ennis August 5, 2025 Fallen leaves whisper not an end, but painted breath waiting for the spring. Steam curls from my cup words rise like birds in cold light, morning warms their flight. Footsteps fall in sync two hearts pacing time and road, parting, still they run. Reply Chizorom Ifezie August 5, 2025 Fleeting; haunting is the silence stained in crimson autumn’s moonlight weeps The shadows lengthen leaves succumb to gravity crisp air on my skin Reply Kristy Marett August 5, 2025 Blossoms dangle down. Warm breeze makes them dance and sway. Now comes yellow bee! Sparkling snowflakes Suddenly turn into rain. Raindrops sparkle too! Leaf drifts slowly down. Butterfly, shadows entwine! Now, which one is which? Reply Nathaniel Sexton August 5, 2025 Nathaniel Sexton Title : To Nineveh “Go to Nineveh.” “From Sheol you heard, my Lord.” “God bless Nineveh.” Reply MEERA S NAIR August 6, 2025 Falls a drop unknown, On the silent sands of earth. quenching the soul’s thirst. Reply David Quinn August 6, 2025 frost stills every blade the snow, a final white veil spring comes now too late Reply Madelyn Graziano August 6, 2025 Oh look a brown duck! Oh look a guy with a gun! Oh look a dead duck! So many places You can go that I cannot Flying with your wings The gardens are teeming With life: apples, peaches, pears The hope that spring brings Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ
Rousseaux June 22, 2025 With the water’s pace pilgrims slowly make their way to the warm spring’s call Life’s winding path like this curving mountain road seeking peaceful rest Path’s summit reached warm comfort in a tea cup green calm now finds you Reply
John Tiong Chung Hoo June 28, 2025 summer solstice on the historic river poets, tears and dumplings on the radio — war on the table a couple’s new wedding letter Chinese New Year do In the red packet money and his love letter Reply
John Tiong Chung Hoo June 28, 2025 summer solstice on the historic river poets, tears and dumplings on the radio — war on the table a couple’s new wedding letter Chinese New Year do In the red packet money and his proposal
Joanne Gram June 28, 2025 Joanne Gram Steps in the driveway Crisp autumn oak leaf passing me at my window Reply
Shofiqure Rahman July 13, 2025 stillness in the pond a dragonfly splits the light without making sound first frost on the grass the morning sun slowly lifts a veil from the earth abandoned temple moss climbs the forgotten gods green reclaiming stone.
Bhupin Butaney July 1, 2025 cast from a garden as faint shadows on this earth longing to return a leaf folds and bends to the pressure of rain drops finding their way home Reply
Fred McIlmoyle July 1, 2025 Sunlit dreamy days Float through golden summer haze Into memory Musky amber scents Swirl in sultry wistful air Infusing my mind White virgin snowdrops Winter’s gems whisper to me Immortality Reply
Michael Shoemaker July 26, 2025 casting light tackle high into the wind above crashing sounds of surf ocean winds’ fingers trace playful shapes in the sand stirring gulls and tears Hunter’s supermoon somehow we forgot what we mean to each other Reply
Ali Aldawood August 4, 2025 Birds are yet to see Through Shrubs home for pedes to be Leap of faith unsought Haze-Slogged mind and tired Of weary words, uninspired The sky cried today Sky’s elocution Moonless nights and scorching suns Found calm in your storm
Aiman showkat bhat July 28, 2025 Title: The Sound I always wonder why it beated like that, now I know why it bled… Reply
Wallace kaufman August 1, 2025 sixteen million years these white waves meet black cliffs. My friend lies near death Old trees, old darkness summer nap on cool mosses Trees are drinking light it’s his song, whose choice? “Video” or “Figaro” wren’s familiar voice Reply
Diyora August 3, 2025 1. Late summer dusk dragonfly at dusk— its wings catch the last warm light, gone before I speak 2. First snowfall hush of first snowfall— lantern’s glow on empty road, footsteps far away 3. New moon bare branches shiver— somewhere a new moon rises, no one to see it Reply
Amie August 3, 2025 Bare trees do not speak. The sky forgets your first name. Even crows have gone. Snow swallows the path the one you once walked with hope, now lost in the drift. No fire, no sound here. Just your breath against the glass, clouding what once was. Reply
Michelle Visser August 5, 2025 summer thunderstorm jumping in new puddles then footprints to the door chickadees return five spotted eggs in the nest until the jays come waves erase the beach starting anew highlighting a single starfish Reply
Bela Janostikova August 6, 2025 Bela J. August 6, 2025 the old Turkish rug – footprints over its patterns lead far off this world autumn cherry trees mist veiling the bare twigs the coolness of touch Reply
Randy Brooks June 22, 2025 warm campfire coffee one end of the wooden bench covered with wet moss • fingertips over scales of a fossil lizard who remembers me? • Labor Day picnic a checkered tablecloth spread under a parked jet • Reply
Eric O Owen June 22, 2025 Eric Owen Never have I been where hot springs peep through the soil Even in winter Verdant rolling hills Geothermal salty ash I wish I were there I made my peace with steely shapeless wandering Hot spring under foot Reply
Jackie Chou June 22, 2025 summer butterfly an automated email from classmates dot com spotted rose petals discovering acne scars on his school photo the fading glitter around an unread poem a snail’s silver slime Reply
Haim Schlesinger June 23, 2025 Today’s not like old In each era we’re told The truth? Now is gold! — Aged, father time In future still far will chime Meanwhile, you’re fine — I just don’t know how It has all vanished somehow And when was it now? Reply
fred schueler June 23, 2025 I’m working on translating all my March poems about birds into haiku, and here are three of them: Lank-winged as Ravens Snow-flurried pairs of Crows Claim their landscape share. Sunny and springlike, Snow almost gone from the fields – Starlings’ sudden song. A springtime Redtail Upright on a flat-topped pole Scans Cattails for prey. Reply
Muralidharan Parthasarathy June 23, 2025 She was narcissist I was chauvinist for her storm in the tea cup He is playing guitar strings vibrate his notations feathers play thin air “Goodbye”, she exited “I am not your care giver” Umbrella nodded Reply
Boryana Boteva June 23, 2025 yellow tulips among the bomb survivors stains of blue blooming chestnuts white and pink mixture forgetting myself storks kissed by frogs a never ending story at the old lake Reply
Subir Ningthouja June 23, 2025 monsoon evening a bulbul flutters its wings to the breeze’s rhythm —– first monsoon rainfall the river and clouds unite in throes of passion —– autumn evening the candle sheds waxy tears a flame on its head —– Reply
Paul Chambers June 23, 2025 hiss of meadow grass a water strider drifting across the horse trough the scent of diesel where the tractor crossed the lane drifting willow seed derelict farmhouse a cloud of bats emptying into the half-light Reply
Barbara Anna Gaiardoni June 23, 2025 unceasing rustling of leaves in the autumn breeze . . . our search for housing a rainbow appears – in touch with expatriates all over the world golden eagle nest a small miracle on top of that mountain there Reply
Ram Krishna Singh June 23, 2025 vultures waiting for the remains of sacrifice on the temple tree knocking emptiness I cross the valleys within now stand at stone gate on the river’s bank his soul is lighted for peace- lantern in the sky Reply
Beata E. Olszewska June 23, 2025 Truth is uncovered Wolves have gone away to feast Men are abandoned Sad dandelion Met his certain destiny Be gone with the wind Sometime long ago When birds were first in this world People still had dreams Reply
Alan Peat June 23, 2025 facing an ocean alone on the promenade grief comes on in waves sheep in pouring rain hard against a drystone wall huddling together Reply
Paul A. Freeman June 23, 2025 A lone oasis, beckoning parched travellers. Water wrought from sand. Carved by millennia. Under the Saharan sand a desert rose blooms. Above the yellow of undulating sand dunes – infinite blueness. Reply
Katy B Cook June 23, 2025 Before time began Water formed a thought of life We bob in the waves Before time began Ripples in a Spring puddle An ancient mirror Before time began Not in galaxies far off I meditate still Reply
Michael Pappafava June 23, 2025 meeting the in-laws — the magpies in the yard at their best behaviour the silent treatment — brooding thunder rolling in on june beetle wings making a big fuss about the smallest of things — singing cicadas Reply
Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Humorous haiku are always fun to read. There are poignant, deeply spiritual haiku and then there are the everyday simple life haiku. For me, they both have a place. Good job. Here is a haiku I wrote about Cicadas: Evening cicadas quiet rest before next song- Good, good vibrations Good luck on the competition. Reply
Micutiu Sorin June 23, 2025 still pond at twilight a small frog contemplates on a drifting leaf * sunlight and shadow white lily gently drifting across mirrored calm * warm June afternoon beneath the golden sunlight a frog claims its throne Reply
Anne-Marie Labelle June 23, 2025 heatwave on the land if I am the main problem how can I help her? Reply
Srija Chakraborty June 23, 2025 Approaching twilight The dust from the cattle hooves Beckoning banshee Glistening like pearls Adorned with water droplets Purple lotuses A wood-fired oven Pepperoni and four cheese Gossip aplenty Reply
Oliver Mackie June 23, 2025 Storm clouds glowering Dark foreboding shadows loom Cut by bright rainbow Reply
Monika Cooper June 23, 2025 you forget they’re there – the sacred spaces among the inspired words a raw green rainfall and in the yellow kitchen the chicken sizzles myriad flowers for one tablespoon honey! but she likes her work Reply
Monika Cooper August 1, 2025 I am withdrawing these haiku from the contest and will post three new ones below. Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience. Reply
Adele Robins June 23, 2025 Solstice signals change The seasonal shift complete Shadow and light play Reply
Jack McAuley June 24, 2025 The steep cost of life Even while the world burns down The birds sing in spring God makes no mistakes A spring bird with a clipped wing Plans hidden in song She opens her eyes To forests once out of sight Gentleness of life Reply
Jack McAuley June 24, 2025 First green leaves unfold— eyes awaken to the wood, soft hum of spring rain. Beneath plum blossoms— a swallow, one wing broken, hides dreams in its song. Ash falls like petals— while wildfire scorches the earth, the nightingale sings. Reply
Jack McAuley June 24, 2025 Spring light in her hands, yet she saw only the dusk— gold in a pine box. Ash falls like petals— while wildfire scorches the earth, the nightingale sings. Beneath plum blossoms— a swallow, one wing broken, hides dreams in its song. Reply
Eric O Owen June 24, 2025 Hello poets. If I may? My name is Eric. I have been reading and silently critiquing haiku by some aspiring poets on this site, and while I enjoy their imagination and various ways of expressing their surroundings in the most difficult task of fitting it all into three lines and seventeen syllables, I have noticed that a dependence on definite articles (mainly “the”) to deliver the cutaway line often breaks from the poem’s rhythm and loses its intended effect. Please keep trying to deliver those lines differently without the definite article, and sometimes a splicing comma that also tends to break from a poem’s rhythm. I hope this helps. You may respond if you have questions, and I will answer. Reply
ABB July 1, 2025 Though you have zero chance of winning, James, this is a very funny anti-haiku. Reply
James Sale July 2, 2025 Damn, ABB!!! I’d set my sights on winning this one: is it really so bad? I’ll have to stick to terza rima then!
James A. Tweedie June 24, 2025 Softly falling snow Makes my back lawn disappear. Abracadabra! Wintry wisps of fog Skim the surface of the lake Lifetimes passing by End of life draws near. Winter sunset, final breath. Will there be a spring? Reply
Jeffrey Ferrara June 24, 2025 a small kettle pond left behind by the glacier blinking in the dawn — a raft of otters tied together in the kelp we watch holding hands — the lone erratic so much softer than bedrock a cloud on the ridge Reply
David R. Solheim June 24, 2025 Mercury below Zero, chimney smoke stripes sky Heeling sundogs flare. Near my feet hoppers Spring out of the grass buzzing Like a rattlesnake. Red-capped cranes stroll Trilling each other like two Baritone crickets. Reply
Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Thank you, David. These three stand as your entries for the contest, and I believe the moderator has removed the others. Reply
Kathabela Wilson June 24, 2025 in dawn’s early light our boat makes it into shore now swept out again astro poetry a haiku fit between words the world opens wide 25 years in this garden together bright orange poppies Reply
M.D. Skeen June 24, 2025 cold water rises tree roots grasp at sifting soil the bank collapses ripening peaches partially covered by leaves basking in sunshine a pretty spring dress essential equipment for twirling in the rain Reply
Marilyn Ashbaugh June 24, 2025 sheets off the clothesline . . . carrying the scented breeze inside for a nap autumn solitude a dark-roasted chicken rests in the dutch oven calling us all home a flock of birds moves as one deepening autumn Reply
Adele Robins June 24, 2025 Frozen winter light Sparkling like diamond gems Priceless until spring Reply
Tom Shaw June 25, 2025 A ghastly gale slams Against a crumbled castle… Still no surrender. Sifting ashen soils, Between the black, wild-fired wood, Grows a wry green wisp. Fallen from its grace, Blossom gathers in the drains— Flooding closes roads. Reply
Joseph Mason June 25, 2025 midnight sale review: monkeys take over our zoo drinking from the loo cuckoos build haiku wire – duck tape – crazy glue jimmy sing da blues lawsuit – windfall – sue yellow snow has soaked his shoes booger in the stew Reply
Mitra Javadpour June 25, 2025 ‘Are you lost?’ He asks ‘No,’ head shakes, moves through the mist She is very lost Golden leaf drifts down I could catch it but instead Let it fall and rot Moth caught in a web I could save it but tread on To the flower field Reply
Diane Descoteaux June 25, 2025 only phlox and me – suddenly an honeybee buzzes between us an old Texan died of hemorrhagic fever – last October moon long live the shower! the koi fish on my left calf with its open mouth Reply
Joe Kleponis June 25, 2025 wind through a cornfield a sighing across the land a scarecrow dances a raging storm of leaves on a windy afternoon- an endless cycle a flowered chalice offering this spring morning – a golden tulip Reply
Adam Sedia June 26, 2025 Humid night swelters. Distant lightning flashes white. No sound of thunder. Darkness of storm clouds; A gust shakes blooming pear trees. White petals rain down. Snow blankets the path, Silent beneath clear starlight. Crunch! I leave footprints. Reply
Helen Saleyi June 26, 2025 My darling Sunny. Sunshine that warms up my world. Oh, I love you so. My baby so sweet. My sun, so tender, so warm. So much love to give. Gentle summer breeze. Birds sing and vibrant blooms sway. With each breath you take. Reply
Joan Enoch June 26, 2025 Color mandalas Rest for your weary being Enjoy life again Nature everywhere In the heart of the colors Purity unleashed Mandala is the Geometric universe A Buddhist symbol Reply
Joan Leotta June 26, 2025 morning dewdrops dry as sun sizzles…petals glisten with my sweat asphalt on my street melts in afternoon strong heat sticks to tires, shoes, feet water trickles from our hose after watering robin stops to drink Reply
Harvey Jenkins June 26, 2025 sun dog fills the sky our pet’s let outside to play with his own shadow Creeping Bellflower the slow spread of decaying yellow aspen leaves slung like a hammock the heavy farmyard’s clothesline kisses the hard ground Reply
Mari Felices June 26, 2025 on the gloomy night the moon is hiding its light crickets sing with pride a lonesome sparrow severe rain ruptures her nest quivering with fear on the way back home smells rotten egg in the train man raises his hand Reply
Eloise Pengelly June 26, 2025 Through the window, birds Red apple skins shrivelled old Unpicked tree, birds eat Reply
Eloise Pengelly June 27, 2025 heat wobbles off roof two girls bounce up red balloon rising rising pop Reply
Jack McAuley June 27, 2025 Spring light in her palms, yet she sees only the dusk— a coffin’s gilt edge. Ash falls like petals— wildfire splits the old oak’s spine; the nightingale sings. Beneath plum blossoms, a swallow with one wing limp hides its dreams in song. Reply
Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Thanks, Jack McAuley, for the haiku you’ve posted. In order for any of them to be considered for recognition in judging, you will need to select the three you want to be competition entries, and withdraw the others in a further comment. Reply
Jack McAuley July 22, 2025 I would like this one to be my official entry and would like to withdraw the other ones. How do I withdraw the others?
Margaret Coats July 26, 2025 Thanks, Jack, you’ve done what’s necessary. Sorry I didn’t notice for a few days, but you can be sure now that your competition entries are the three above, the first one beginning, “Spring light in her palms.”
Fortunato Salazar June 27, 2025 Poor Aegisthus. One job & done. Had it in his grasp; dude lost the axe. Reply
John Rux-Burton June 27, 2025 When the whale leapt I saw stars twinkle answers Though the splash was gone Reply
Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Thank you, David R. Solheim, for your haiku. If you wish any of the six to be considered as competition entries, please select no more than three for that purpose, and clearly state that you withdraw the others. Reply
David R. Solheim June 28, 2025 I would like the three haiku I posted on 24 June to continue to be entered in the competition and withdraw the three posted on 27 June. Thank you for the clarifying note. Reply
Tushar Gandhi June 28, 2025 spring foraging course they say Dandelion flowers do not attract bees a squirrel’s new home my unused table drawer first monsoon showers I follow a dog to a panoramic view Snowshoeing at dawn Reply
beryl June 28, 2025 Hello, I still don’t understand whether haikus should be related to Hiroshige’s print. Could you please clarify this for me? Reply
Margaret Coats June 28, 2025 Hello, Beryl. Your haiku does NOT need to be related to the Hiroshige print. All you need is any 5-7-5 haiku of your own composition during the past twelve months. You may submit three to be considered for the prize. Please use first and last name on the comment where you submit. Thanks! Reply
John Hawkhead June 28, 2025 in a church ruin where the roof has given way snow as a blessing periwinkle dusk I loiter in the garden my parents tended stumble-step pebbles a horizon-skimming moon ripples the neap-tide Reply
Oliver Mackie June 29, 2025 thunder rolls its bass hot summer days give thier way to evening rain dark speck in the sky red kite soaring on thermals looking for her lunch Reply
Daniela Misso June 29, 2025 sleet on the window on his ninetieth birthday flickering candles * din of cicadas curtains blowing to and fro in the evening breeze * a pregnant woman holds her belly with her hands snow on the gutters Daniela Misso Reply
Tomislav Maretic June 29, 2025 emu in the Milky Way always in the same place – the longest night Reply
Snigdha Agrawal June 30, 2025 bow-tie neatly pinned his love pre-tied and fastened all through the season’s —- broken hornet’s nest sting in his words failed to upset used to deeper pain —- monsoon bonanza through the screen of fogginess a haiku took shape Reply
Harrison Heng June 30, 2025 Winter has arrived The lake starts icing over Intrusive thoughts win I open the door Heat envelops me quickly I like air con more colourful rainbow it’s not the same anymore why is it a flag Reply
Sydney Liu June 30, 2025 The snow sprinkles down The slipp-ery ice is covered I fall to the ground Serene, quiet, night The moon exposes the dark “Crack!” What was that sound? The clouds float away The bright sun dries the old trees Disaster awaits Reply
Donal Wu June 30, 2025 Canadian goose Honking uncontrollably My new alarm clock The lake is frozen The trees bare and without leaves Where did the fish go? The green grass rustles The river beside gurgles Tiny rabbits appear Reply
Venus Mayhew June 30, 2025 Jesus came to us, Teaching of rebirth and love. We crucified him. Hot night, college ground, No one here to make a sound. Cicadas screaming. They tell us of hope, Just let the ancient trees rot. That hope is not mine. Reply
Darrell Lindsey June 30, 2025 lazy afternoon… whistling through a blade of grass on my umpteenth try Reply
David R. Solheim June 30, 2025 Goldfinches gather On the weeping willow crown Enchanting their charms. At sunrise a flock of Of geese fly into my dreams Rude drivers wheeling. Roadside chunk of tread Shining the ditch like raven’s Wings ready to fly. Reply
Scharlie Meeuws July 1, 2025 Lilies scent the air A hidden birdsong echoes The truth of summer The plum tree bares fruit Sweetness and Color unite In constant prayers My eighty two years Sailing still in calm waters Breathe among the frogs Reply
Linda Arnott July 1, 2025 a pink lotus pond in solitary beauty as the sun rises headless camellia darkness thunder lightning rain a samurai wind the sunflowers smile through a window of blue skies a sip of sunshine Reply
Sara Wenger July 1, 2025 fall mountains ablaze apples hang like bells from trees a farmer looks up crescent moon, your squint tilts in the night sky eking out eternal light a finite number of stars, an impossible string of pearls to count Reply
Eric O Owen July 1, 2025 Hello again, poets. It’s Eric, still reading your work. And again, if you will allow, I wish to share an observation with you and hopefully provide an additional layer for using your wonderful talents in poetry. Every haiku that I have read has included a form of “cutaway line” as its ending. Some were successful and some not so much. Perhaps the following will help: Try approaching the “cutaway line” using one of its synonyms, namely the “epiphany,” as your last line to accomplish the same goal. Thanks for letting me share. Reply
Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 I am new, so please excuse my ignorance. I am not familiar with “cutaway line”. Are you referring to the Kireji? Reply
wendy lee klenetsky July 1, 2025 Met at a party “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!” neither one wanted to go that’s what all of the books say Wed 51 years Then I guess I’m “NUTS!” Reply
Don Reese July 1, 2025 vaulting young squirrels, flapping bats, and gliding birds— we soar by watching a soft, late spring rain, four red umbrellas waiting for the light to change teeth bared, spine exposed, umber fur in the gutter shocks me walking past Reply
Vasile Moldovan July 1, 2025 New wedding season – even the full moon is wearing a veil of bride The moon behind clouds – the dog sniffles all around for the lost shadow The old clock tower – a flock of crows fighting for a place on the cross Reply
Emily Meng July 1, 2025 1. Pink little blossom, swaying in the gentle breeze, tells of fruit to come. 2. Old and enduring, white light shines on dusty road – pilgrims and the moon. 3. White bobber plunges, Hook floats among rock and weed; red fishes dart – hide. Reply
Murray Eiland July 1, 2025 Childhood’s vibrant spark, Shifts like shadows on the wall, Springing of the soul. Bird songs in morning, Death’s mourning interrupted— Selfish hearts in grief. In shadows we walk, Finding joy in fractured light— Life’s dark jest unfolds. Reply
Wieslaw Karlinski July 2, 2025 just after the storm a sound of water drowns out late evening church bell on the way to school in the pocket there’s still left— grandma’s apple pie another full moon brightens all the countryside lushy cotton field Reply
Alan Summers July 2, 2025 day of utmost blue clouds drift across each other to figure things out Reply
Jenna Tedesco July 2, 2025 June Surprise Move, darling daughter. Swim to the sound of my voice Singing you lovesongs. My Daughter, Baby My daughter, baby: My longing, mother-hunger for you Has made you so sweet. Ripening The tree ripened to Autumn as my baby Ripened into real. Reply
Ian Richardson July 2, 2025 afternoon shower suddenly chokes the warm sun umbrella closeness ahh spring ohh my spring how great is a new spring day! Mmm, etcetera grey winter drizzle draining the houses of life an unwelcome guest Reply
Lakshman Bulusu July 2, 2025 early morning dew welcoming rays woo the pearls my daydreams melt warm Mt.Everest thoughts chase away my winter blues solitude’s splendor yonder distant hills setting sun meets rising moon evening rendezvous Reply
Isabel Chenot July 3, 2025 1. Fog We bulge out of half- viscous day. Fade on its blear iris. Scale to grey. 2. hoary mustard A bright weed by the road, its moth snare netting dark — and breath snags, star-meshed. 3. roadside mustard Mind, tangled on the nodes of nebulae — moth weed that lures remembrance. Reply
Dave Earnhardt July 3, 2025 Crickets still chanting on Thanksgiving blind with hope— joy in the sorrows! * An eagle fallen weather-worn along this road— just a newspaper. * Trout kisses rise up across the pond reflecting sky of puckered clouds. Reply
Zvonko Jurcevic July 3, 2025 summer afternoon – resting on the sea surface seagulls and the sun little night music – Mozart in the canopy cricket on the leaf an old octopuss slides down the rock to the sea – a morning sunrise Reply
Itay Felker July 3, 2025 bodacious goddess dew in sun’s glittering gaze Spring flows to the drain deserts myrrh rises above the crust of a dune Mary in a spoon Haiku is a sham Unlike Epic’s fertile ford A seasonal brook Reply
Barrie Levine July 3, 2025 joining in prayer for my grandmother’s long life her grieving village Reply
Joanna Raja Sekar July 4, 2025 cardinal returns, hops along the picket fence, little blur of fire – coarse beneath my hands splintering bark, bustling leaves truth, an oak with roots – petals in the grass these lazy lilacs, spilling their cursive secrets Reply
Peter C Free July 4, 2025 spring wind song playing the time between you and us stick :: stick insect dance a distant laughter handfuls of childhood moss takes the rest of the tree two parallel skies stomping at the edge of the storm toddlers rainbow splash Reply
Edward Fisher July 5, 2025 Enigma of earth— Archetype & miracle Playing in the sun Over the eons Imprinted in fossil rock The dream of a bird Under the vegetable eye Of the winter moon An orchard of snow Reply
Wim Meeuws July 5, 2025 the oak tree grows on my son helped me planting it fifty years have passed Reply
Ron C. Moss July 5, 2025 reincarnation . . . the late gardner’s seed packets ready for planting the armchair hero he turns down the TV sound to stop the missiles captured red starfish in a little boy’s bucket— the distant static Reply
Goran Gatalica July 5, 2025 hunting the pheasants. . . intimate relationship with the food I eat treasured memories— becoming vermilion-tinged the closest cranes fragile ceasefire— a battlefield becoming an ice skating rink Reply
Siniša Avramov July 5, 2025 Morning wind – a scar on my knee, no memory of the game A dog without leash sniffs a trail beside the road – utterly still A torn sugar sack – grains spill into stillness, one by one by one Reply
Guy Graybill July 5, 2025 Hello: I’m confused. I sent three haiku entries by this comment section; but they only place anything appears is in some other section, not associated with the contest? I’ll send this, then try to come into this comment section elsewhere and send my haiku section once more. Yes, I’m utterly confused. GUY GRAYBILL Reply
Mike Bryant, Moderator July 5, 2025 Judges, Mr. Graybill placed his haiku on the “examples” post… Here are his entries: My three haiku selections: Love stories abound, ‘Tho destined to end sadly, As all loves must end! We are ever lost…. We’ll never find the river! Ahhh! There’s the fog bank! Poem rejected. An invalid count was found. Seppuku’s my fate! Reply
Margaret Coats July 6, 2025 Thank you, Guy Graybill, for these haiku. Hope you are no longer confused, thanks to Mike Bryant’s explanation. And thank you, Mike, for scanning comments, noticing entries posted in the wrong place, and setting things right! Reply
William Winslow July 5, 2025 shuffling ankle-deep through the fallen prophets of a maple grove the end of summer – a toy pail and shovel left behind in the dunes in a fallow field waiting for familiar hands – father’s wheelbarrow Reply
Jessica Tommasi July 5, 2025 on the cusp of spring – the return of the osprey forsythia blooms gliding through the reeds a water beetle pauses – stillness in the flow tinkling in the breeze crystal bell whispers coolness – summer’s gentle song Reply
Terrie Henrich July 5, 2025 let’s pick blueberries then call Oma for the streusel recipe from ashes you rise ignore the trolls, lacy Queen who call you a weed but your deadly roots i’d love you purple lythrum summer’s femme fatale Reply
Mike Johansson July 5, 2025 Home beneath the clouds, Silver ferns sway in the breeze Tui calls me home Mist lifts from the sea The pohutukawa burns On a salt-kissed shore I miss moana I pine for the whenua Aotearoa Reply
Chris Lipscombe July 5, 2025 Autumn nights grow cold While travellers sip their tea — Red moon, aeroplane. Red-hot pokers stand Proud against the horizon — The winter hills wait. Tulips push their tips Past their earthen carapace — Spring is here to stay. Reply
Carl Bellerose July 6, 2025 morning reflection joining her hands in prayer a moth rests its wings Reply
Ashley Horton July 6, 2025 Warning sirens blare Continuing to look down As birds fly away Earlier this time Branches against the window Calmness with the storm Ducklings cross the road Beauty meets fragility Slippery wet leaves Reply
Diane Smither July 6, 2025 On my window-sill a cycladic figurine. reveals existential knowledge with threads of connection. 5,000 years ago as i wash my dishes. Reply
David Marriott July 7, 2025 I remember you Sunlight formica kitchen Brown knitted tie, shorts Ionisation Elevates mundanity On a solar wind Post apocalypse Amongst devastation ruins The cat enjoys the sun Reply
David Nickless July 7, 2025 Before the sunrise, the waking world bares itself with a warming face. Stars in the cold night; lights shining across dark tides from so far away. A flight of starlings dances on the swirling winds like dry autumn leaves. Reply
Howard Osborne July 7, 2025 BREEZE The breeze passes by Unnoticed, except by some Yet is still a voice LUNAR VIEW A blue horizon As seen from the darker side And still there are tides AUTUMN THOUGHTS Leaves fall and settle All in red and golden brown Yet in peaceful rest Reply
BDW July 7, 2025 Learn about the pines from the pines, and from the spine, learn about the spine. On the paved concrete, the screech of the cicadas sinks into my head. In Kyoto too, cuckoos long for Kyoto, kyoo-kyoo, and cuckoos. Reply
JOHN PAPIA July 7, 2025 from winter to spring velvet snow turns to water flowers on the hill old men laughing loud speak of times long long ago mind over matter a river flows free at the end the ocean waits I will not forget Reply
Alison Ivey July 7, 2025 Grey skies in July Garden waterlogged and drab Then a daffodil. Melancholy day Wistfully recollecting Fragrance of daphne. Reply
Kyle Brogmus July 7, 2025 Haiku 0 for my Rose (11012024) by Kyle Brogmus In crunchy leaves jump surrounded by death we laugh within the Fall grace Reply
Mahathier Dama July 7, 2025 rain’s deafening din. scorching sun, dry wind, abate. drip, again it comes. dark clouds horizon. ants scavenge, stash, shelter, wait. pale lilac shrouds land. sky darkens, wind howls. volcano spews, earth devours. sky lightens, wind calms. Reply
Julie Davey July 8, 2025 The Crunch of the Frost A Girl is flushed with Cold The Horse waits for Day Reply
Sheila Barksdale July 8, 2025 this winter acre of deep furrows, hare-hurtle heart-hurtle, faster clumsy hash of oars watching riverbank whiskers halt their dainty dip scrabbling musty air a porch mosquito inspects old Sears catalogues Reply
Dylan Stover July 8, 2025 Dendrobium white bedside in the filtered light a cup of ice chips reasons I stay here… the geography of blood in a rabbit’s ears Ozymandias! rising from the horse’s dung freshly sprouted grass Reply
Jill Garrett July 8, 2025 Veridian splendor In the wilds, turquoise the sea Face up to the sun Drizzle, pour and pelt Winter rain – a bleak outlook We are warm inside Paradise, this view of gentle slopes and hues, I know not all is lost Reply
Sonia Grant July 8, 2025 Pregnant ewes grazing Grass shivers, southerly breeze Spring biding her time Stones grind underfoot Driftwood litters onyx sand Muddy sea claims all Coriander sprawls Pluck slender stems, pick a bunch Gardener’s delight Reply
Bogdana July 9, 2025 1. outburst of my pain lava of such volcano in an overdose 2. pasive fugitive blocked in body , free in mind mixture of beings 3. blurred channel of view bad signal from the critics any dream time stopped Bogdana Găgeanu Reply
Alizetta Dawson July 9, 2025 Mess on the clean floor, a breeze moves crumbs in sunlight- things I’m not sorry for! Reply
Alvin Cruz July 10, 2025 the first day of spring I also dance to the tune of the snake charmer familiar sadness somewhere I hear the echo of yesterday’s rain trying to fathom what goes on under the sun drooping sunflowers Reply
H.M.Elsenpeter July 10, 2025 rose petals fall down my sense is to still smell them knowing there is some blue sky and white clouds beauty I see from below imagine the view up high my spring has sprung now I am more than done to go dance into eternity Reply
Michael Henry Lee July 11, 2025 raging winter wind turning one frost bitten cheek and then the other Reply
Michael Henry Lee July 11, 2025 fast approaching storm squeezing a thunder shirt over the dog’s head Reply
Michael Henry Lee July 11, 2025 first day of the year twenty twenty six fills up with appointments Reply
Sherri Ali July 11, 2025 Tiny, crushed sparrow Her wings still trying to fly On wind from cruel cars Reply
Vera Kochanowsky July 11, 2025 after the rainstorm ant armies, in single file, march into my house red leaves and yellow falling on the woodland path slow me on my way ripened heads of wheat nod in the late summer sun heavy with wisdom Reply
Carl Brennan July 11, 2025 Spring light composing sonnets on blond fur, my cat beheads a March hare My cat dines neatly on dragonfly al fresco– earthly Paradise My young cat riding on my shoulders through autumn– cooler than a Muse Reply
Tim Huff July 12, 2025 Quietly peeks out Little creature of the night Shy bashful gecko ***** Perfect crescent moon Big swing hanging in night sky Stars dance around it ***** Top of old pine tree Mocking bird announces day Sweet song of new hope Reply
Ravi Kiran July 12, 2025 long after she’s gone the memories mother left in her cabinet lending their fragrance to the wind in a desert notes of an old flute coloring the space between the concrete towers all the shades of spring Reply
Rita Pomade July 12, 2025 in sweltering heat the sudden screech of sirens stilled streets jolt alive smiling on my walk a passing stranger asks me have we met before? loud gospel singing coming from the Baptist Church outside looking in Reply
Bennett Chatigny July 12, 2025 Flame consumes the trees. Ashes leave black pocks below, staining the fresh snow. Reply
Stefanie Bucifal July 13, 2025 the red maple leaf that you brought home from a walk I treasure it, still in everyone’s life should be a time of kissing under lilac trees to the autumn wind: I am yours, breathe me, turn me into grass and trees Reply
Timothy Wheatly July 15, 2025 mom’s summer cleaning the one time of the year where my clothes cannot fit boy helps neighbor plant rusted, red shovel-neighbor shows boy a weed’s root Reply
Darrell Lindsey July 15, 2025 one river rising so many lost in the flow of what could have been Reply
Nathan Osabel July 16, 2025 Dog haiku I. Dog’s POV This man gives me food Same old shirt—rugged, dirty Richest man I know II. Man’s POV A heart that struggles Felt inside, hidden outward Surely this paw knows — Passion haiku Plucked a shriveled rose markings of beauty arose a withered passion Reply
Timothy Osabel July 16, 2025 Fireworks symbols life Soars, reaches a peak, gives awe Then slips into hush. Things I need to do Piled up incoming deadlines So I took a nap A dog is barking I barked back to make it stop Two fools at midnight Reply
John Savoie July 16, 2025 #2 pausing at the fork on the horse’s braided mane three snowflakes linger Reply
Paulette Calasibetta July 16, 2025 hurtful words spoken slipping from an angry tongue ~ echo eternal ~~~~ luminaries rise circling a congregation ~ catching falling stars ~~~~ before the leaves turn gold before the gray frosts our hair ~ we will remember Reply
Caroline Burrows July 16, 2025 Hopeless romantics Sketch initials in warm sand, Waves wipe the beach clean. Reply
James Jenkinson July 16, 2025 Blossoms drift sideways a scarecrow dances gently when no wind passes Cicadas crackle a hammock folds with laughter as sunlight stretches Footprints fade softly a mailbox leans in silence beneath silver hush Reply
Philippa Taylor July 16, 2025 snowflakes are soft, yet the gentlest words cut like blades and melt in the sun Reply
Spencer Hammar-Campbell July 16, 2025 Snowstorms ravaging along the west cars sheltered in snow unmoving Reply
Robert H. Rogers (Pen Name "Sinclair") July 17, 2025 Hurt, Abandoned Fawn (Haiku) Hurt, abandoned fawn, Searching the frozen white wood… Does not find the dawn. -Sinclair- Reply
Joydip Dutt July 17, 2025 cherry blossom buds are slowly opening up a new found buddy *** sipping orange juice the tangerine sun slips down the sea horizon Reply
Joydip Dutt July 18, 2025 Hello Judges, Making a small change in my first haiku. Forgot to put a hyphen in the word “new-found”. cherry blossom buds are slowly opening up a new-found buddy *** sipping orange juice the tangerine sun slips down the sea horizon Reply
Katherine E Winnick July 17, 2025 bare branches waving twisting to heavens above – a lightening bolt strikes nestling amongst reeds ducklings finding a way through the shadows grow tall some loquat flowers… steeped in boiling water exuding fragrance Reply
Z. S Han July 18, 2025 Embrace the dreamer Coming back through memory Bridges of belonging. Beauty in green light Calm flows like wind in silence Wonders drift through stars. In a perfect city Twilight dances on still hope Breathing for a chance. Reply
Edward Cody Huddleston July 18, 2025 dusk meditation— where the light meets the shadow a pine needle falls open chrysalis the butterfly emerges into present tense Reply
deborah jones July 18, 2025 through the bars of grief uncontained by tomorrow the laughter of children beneath the rubble voices of the not yet dead already memories the waiting willow aglow with guilty secrets cradles the spent sun Reply
Raewyn Hutchinson July 18, 2025 Birds dart like arrows Shot from tree to tree to tree Bullets of bird fire Stop Mum wait keep right Newborn snail travelling north My daughters keen eye Venus rises bright Curving into the dawn sky Seen from a pillow Reply
Erin Zampaglione July 18, 2025 avocado tree wide and low, heavy with fruit invites small climbers red rose petals fall do I mourn lost youth or love these child-bearing hips cloudless night eclipse stars appear and fade away hiding in plain sight Reply
Deborah A. Bennett July 19, 2025 an autumn evening wild geese in the melon sky my only anthem though now past midnight voices of the mountain wind acorns falling down through the open door the beginning of autumn in the sweet gum tree Reply
Twila Brase July 19, 2025 tiny seeds set low in soil furrows full of hope wait for water’s flow hands of cherries ripe dripping balls of red delight picking time is here full moon slips below no curtain call to applaud just the hand of God Reply
Dale Bailes July 19, 2025 Cut-eared yard cat Claims poolside swap shop chaise lounge Grooms itself regal Reply
Michaelyn L July 19, 2025 Night Heron perches Watching over GhostTown’s streets The summer fog lifts Reply
Margaret Coats July 25, 2025 Thanks for your haiku, Michaelyn. Please provide your full surname as the competition instructions request. Reply
Coleman Davis July 19, 2025 The birds sharp whispers Lift you from your nights journey Bring you back to me What could this mountain Clear, green, and cast in dawn’s light Have in store this day Pebbles smoothed by time live, moving on down. Clatter as songs in the creeks. Reply
Kahren Morris-Denby July 19, 2025 Kahren Morris-Denby mud squelches through toes houses swirl through rising flood tears flow forever cumulus clouds float across snowy mountain tops immortality raindrop on a wing sunlight glimmers on puddles sparrow ablution Reply
Ngo Binh Anh Khoa July 19, 2025 life in perspectives the golden hour flashing in a mayfly’s eyes still turning toward the light beyond the darkness sunflowers in bloom the end of summer a leaf moves through hopscotch squares at the wind’s nudging Reply
Dan C. Iulian July 20, 2025 starry night silence – in this cosmic indulgence just a cricket’s song after summer rain my kiddy explores the sky from every puddle lotus flourishes – the remainder of the day becomes thinkable Reply
Anne Curran July 20, 2025 the gentile hostess prepares tea ceremony weary travelers a flock of swallows emerges from drifting cloud a happy omen village revelers celebrate in spring sunshine talk of a wedding Reply
Parker Sterling July 20, 2025 The sound of a frog Jumping into an old pond: The haiku is born. The lawn mowers and The leaf blowers fall silent: The birds sing again. Bright clouds at night float Behind the ash tree: a kiss: And the dreamer wakes. Reply
Paula Rogers July 20, 2025 Father watches me The old man watches me close Sees who I will be I will be him now His time is done mine begins He thinks I will fail But I prove him wrong He smiles and nods at me The family is safe Reply
Trina Layne July 20, 2025 1. Garden Party sun stretches itself over our grand carnival On withering grass 2. Summer Pests citronella cream mosquitoes multiplying… voracious vampires 3. Idols of Summer lips crumpling in heat summer wind scorching sundress who will seek for rain? Reply
Sherri Ali July 20, 2025 When all creatures die Those of feather, scale, and fur, We’ll eat each other Reply
Ashley Houston July 21, 2025 About Losing My Dearest Aunt A chaotic storm Rumbling in the distance Echoing our grief A funeral shroud Gathering dewy flowers Panicked breathing—grief Moonlit grief scrolling Digital images dance Flowering remembrance Reply
Lynn CaroleBrown July 21, 2025 Outside my window the night air carries music, and I sing along. What we can not see does not mean it isn’t real faith has its own breath. Have you ever felt— that ocean of emptiness surrounding your shores? Lynn Carole Brown Reply
Sunita Keyser July 21, 2025 sliver of silver a rill that snakes through the drift I pluck the grey hair Reply
Deborah Karl-Brandt July 21, 2025 shaped by water stones emerge from the deep burned by the sun the melancholy of family pictures first days of winter the smell of green grass lingering on my dogs feet before I must part Reply
Mike Rogers July 21, 2025 bare trees show clear moon my thought-moon growth gone shines white inside leaves still grow Reply
Carl Bellerose July 21, 2025 fading wildflower resting in the church doorway unties her worn boots Reply
Meera Rehm July 21, 2025 early morning mist rising from the undergrowth steam-birth of a fawn frost-bitten blossom — one by one I pack away the nursery room old age wanderlust — a slug stretches its eyestalks into summer sun Reply
Stephen Anderson July 21, 2025 Amsterdam Anne Frank Museum Behind bookshelves, no one talks Everyone listens. Reply
Lee Eager July 21, 2025 soft suburban ache no great shake, wait, slow words fall happy birthday mum Reply
Dan Ward July 22, 2025 Snow-melt waterfalls Fill a crystal lake below Peace transcending storms Reply
Urmi Chakravorty July 22, 2025 Potter’s toil and tears, Clay clings to clammy fingers, Fortune’s wheel spins lives! *** Pebbled river beds – Trouts, tourists, shingles, selfies, A cairn for the dead *** Dusk rustles through pines Sylvan symphony unfolds Tempest in my heart Reply
Adam King July 22, 2025 Hello there stranger I’ve never seen you before Good, now we are friends Reply
Eddie Park July 22, 2025 Small leaves fall softly A fox emerges from his home Rusty clouds fading Bright Sunlight dances The tide comes over the sand A seagull dosing chilly breezes blow Water now turned into ice I put on my coat Reply
Mia Wilkins July 22, 2025 My Garden blooming Fruit buds appearing on trees Air warming the day Thirsty sun shining Deep blue cool water shimmers Boats dancing on lakes Leaves float gracefully Branches becoming naked More seasons ahead Reply
Lucia Thorne July 22, 2025 Crisp air cools my face Ice frozen over a lake The swoosh of my skates Morning dew drops down A leaf falls slowly into my hands The horn beeps, its time The heat makes me sweat I throw my body in the water My skin begins to cool Reply
Ethan Zhao July 22, 2025 Orange leaves fall quietly An owl come out to hunt As it turns to night The bare trees stand tall The fox gently slinks around While others sleep The sun shines brightly Reflecting off the water As the children play Reply
Alice Glover July 22, 2025 Smell of salt water White sand hot under my feet A shinning pink shell The sky is so blue The sun is so warm up high Summer is here now Lambs spring happily Through the luscious and green fields Now springtime is here Reply
Darrell Lindsey July 22, 2025 falling plum blossoms a Chinese woman’s dou li catches most of them Reply
Amelia Li July 22, 2025 Light snow drifts slowly Cold breaths fill the frosty air Soft breeze tickles me Vibrant falling leaves Floating down from the bare trees Autumn’s gentle touch Pink cherry blossoms Glistening in the sunshine Mystical landscape Reply
Tasmin Wingfield July 23, 2025 Red leaves hold my hand As I take the path toward Far colder places Mists of cloudy breath Lips stung by the freezing frost Eyes blink away cold Blossoms dance with nymphs Pollen swirls like magic dust Enchanted summer Reply
Liliana Mendes Schneebeli July 23, 2025 Summer’s thirsty tongues Clear cold raindrops start to fall Kissing under leaves Forked leafy branches A black widow’s rumbling fades Folded behind back Day’s sharp blade of light Darting voices raised in heat Lovers’ ties are cut Reply
Erica Hannah July 23, 2025 Blood. Blood everywhere. On the grass. On the tree barks. And he sits there. Calm. Unfazed. Unbothered. Even he is surprised by this. Pretty sight, at least. He holds his love close. Comforts her. Reassures her. For now, she needs this. Reply
Sarah Schexnayder July 23, 2025 What life is Spring? Small breaths newly awaken From the sleep of death. ~ Bittersweet is Fall! Vibrant colors dance in swirls! Nature slowly dies. ~ Quiet is Winter. Nature’s death is stark silence. Hushed, it rests in hope. Reply
Larry W. Richardson July 24, 2025 cold pink-faced macaques soak in hot spring’s steamy mist cooing to their young a brief glow flickers winter firefly phantom light red fox prints snow path millions of starlings surging, swinging, swooping autumn’s fluid flight Reply
Amitava Dasgupta July 24, 2025 she is light years away but I still smell her fragrance in wild spring flowers dipping in Ganges winter mist hugs equally both sinners and saints autumn sea at dusk dad is no longer with me to show infinity Reply
Krikmöklet Egelanaard July 25, 2025 dying cherry tree; copper sundial shows time: dog days-spent in green hot winds slow the mind raining needles of white pine, grapes firm on the vine a peach is pulled from the shading branch—so grasps the mother’s loving hand Reply
Martin Soudek July 26, 2025 Haze over green hills, Northern forests smouldering— FREE two-day shipping! Reply
Martin Soudek July 26, 2025 On April’s mirror, Whirligigs dance in the sun Between her teardrops. Reply
Linda Marie Hilton July 26, 2025 below are my three offerings, the first was inspired by the painting by Hiroshige shown at the top of this page: Humans trudge upwards Gay water foams, rushing down, Fog eaten by trees. Swallow perches high Seeking swarming insects fly Mouth open: dinner! Volcanoes heat the Ocean deeps warming an earth Humans do not own. Reply
George Hubbard July 27, 2025 The gracious oak tree Standing on carpet of leaves Making an angel Warmth is with us now Daffodils now watching us Lambs in the field Snow everywhere Squirrels scutter round the streets Christmas trees inside Reply
Ernesto Santiago July 28, 2025 alone in his thoughts – the water curls around rocks – a welcome escape – where a river bends little eddies of water misplaced fantasy – wedding butterfly why would I need a motive when I have power Ernesto Santiago Reply
K. F. Gruta July 28, 2025 Agua de Mayo children splash in the puddles… sunken paper boats _ Autumn night busking the singer’s fedora falls — a whole rest symbol _ Phosphorescent stars each on the ceiling outshines all of my neck pain Reply
Laura Nicola July 28, 2025 First shy rays of light The old relentless river Guides my way to work Early spring cleaning Old items packed in boxes Your memory too A blanket of stars The whispering sleepless waves Bow under the moon Reply
Lily Malcolm July 28, 2025 Handfuls of blossoms Floating on the riverbank Taking precious time The sun beaming bright On the bright green, glistening leaves It feels like summer I’m a little fox Camouflaging in the snow Im brave as can be Reply
Amelia Yu July 28, 2025 Snow collapsing Covering up the ground Stroking my cat’s ears Cherry petals fly Spreading pollen around bees The smell of grass Waves crash around Hitting my brother’s sandcastle Beach balls everywhere Reply
Shannon Jade July 28, 2025 sunbeams, soft, golden, fracture midnight’s starry skies, glowing hope of dawn. *** impossible things: the heavy weight of mudbanks, wildflowers blooming. *** summer is the sound of waves whoosh, crashing to shore, you laughing at me Reply
Helena Shinn July 28, 2025 Cicadas wail fire— child’s laughter breaks through the storm, hope drenched in warm rain. *** Frost veils the cold night, candle’s trembling breath reaches— loneliness in light. Reply
Jan Hadfield July 29, 2025 a frosty morning in the song of the blackbird my husband Martin blossom in the square bells ring from the Cathedral the Godwits return early morning fog a man appears from nowhere then disappears Reply
Denisa Hanšutová July 29, 2025 old cemetery on loudest days the sound of dead leaves whispering squirrel in the park burying and looking for my scattering thoughts post-spring mountain creek letting my quickening thoughts meandre freely Reply
Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Lela Northcross Wakely Stillness over pond Phlox gives its last perfume-sigh No one to notice Silence and singing? Young bamboo shelters frogs while Buddha meditates. Strawberry moon tryst Love nips skinny dippers- NO Watch out for those Carp! Reply
Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 May I please withdraw the last haiku about the “Strawberry moon tryst/” I am concerned it is more a Senryu than an actual Haiku. I will submit another one in its place. Thank you. Reply
Leila Northcross Wakely July 29, 2025 Snowbound solitude Evergreen bough holds…surprise! One blooming sunrise Reply
Andy Moody July 29, 2025 The Spring breeze whispers, Such deep stillness in the trees – The Creator speaks. The river flows full, Two Grebes ritually dance – Creation’s beauty. In the high azure, Courting Buzzards are circling- Wings touching heaven. Reply
Jacob Schultz July 29, 2025 The July sun crowns Tops of regal tulip trees – Passing clouds douse fire. Autumn leaves sweep way Those windy tokens of love. I watch alone still. Poppies and tulips Peek out from their gray foxholes – Winter sends them back. Reply
Tammy Iralu July 29, 2025 snapdragons explode kimonos strung on a line– swallowtail sails on morning foragers skunk tracks among strawberries– my fingers stained pink quail young traverse road reach shoulder fast as wildfire– foot eases off brake Reply
Catherine Bittle July 29, 2025 Between, stands the gate. Green vines twine round man’s estate. Hands reach through to bait. Strangers’ sleeves brush past. Autumn leaves fall in the breeze. Someone leaves too fast. Blizzard blows around. Footprints show on snowy ground Found, heart starts to glow. | Reply
R. Bremner July 29, 2025 Chilly was the morn I kissed the lips of the sun afternoon smoldered Autumn fog teases, kisses me in dawn’s shadow, steals my heart away. An omen of light snuggles in the breast of night before dawn wakes her. Reply
Simar Sodhi July 29, 2025 Night swallows the light Stars whisper secrets untold Each unique and gold — The fire departs But still a lone flame remains Bringing hope in pain — Sleep slowly dances On a frosty windowsill Inviting the night Reply
MarthaMaggie Miller July 29, 2025 pregnant pouring rain music on a metal roof flowers’ wakeup call arid waterhole under an African sky hungry lioness sweetly singing birds on an early Spring morning funeral chorale Reply
Sebastian Chrobak July 30, 2025 first family trip walk along a narrow path ducklings with their mom Reply
Eduard TARA July 30, 2025 one by one falling the chestnut leaves making way for the shooting stars Reply
Eduard TARA July 30, 2025 one by one falling the chestnut leaves making room for more emptiness Reply
Laila Amado July 30, 2025 A quiet morning In the garden, young kitten Catches butterflies Walks by the river Old man with an Irish hound Geese call for winter Wind rolls red petals In the shade of a temple wall Old robots tell tales Reply
Jane McCarthy July 30, 2025 park bench in shadow a boy sings to a sparrow braiding sun through leaves first frost on the stoop a girl with torn shoelaces waits for the school bus spring rain on gravestones a man rereads the same note until it blurs ink Reply
Parisa Majumdar July 30, 2025 Why it hurts this bad I wish we could just re-start As strangers in school —— Close your eyes and dream A world filled with happiness And good memories —— A doubtful mother Tries having faith in her child Is that much to ask Reply
Aureus Nova Solis July 30, 2025 Wintergreen upon A crimson spilled abandon Reclaiming blossoms Vermillion shards Overcast the mountainside Amongst the Moon’s tears Fields of petals lie O’er my tired body now Never two allowed Reply
Jennifer Doherty July 31, 2025 Tempest arguments Dad firm, mum with deluge cheeks Children’s howling screech. Reply
Anthony Shannon July 31, 2025 Fingers trace my spine. “I’m in Arcadia, too,” Death whispers, hollow-eyed. photographing ghosts as they drift by unnoticed carefree of life once lived two doors, but one choice: above, blissful ignorance; below, truth and strife. Reply
Vishal Prabhu July 31, 2025 peeling back the year every step on the mountain autumn wind and I accompanying me one last time down the mountain farewell autumn winds not the autumn wind that wound me up to the lake breathless campsite night Reply
Maria Tellez-Vazquez July 31, 2025 Leaves flutter around In the dewy spring morning For another day Reply
Nancy Brady July 31, 2025 night sky fill with stars… a silent predator flies with prey in talons at a florist shop she practices ikebana –an orchid corsage a complaining crow at the top of an ash tree –rainy afternoon Reply
Harper Lewis July 31, 2025 Metaphor for death: One soul abandoned in a Vacant furnished room Jealous verdigris thoughts enter my brain and play in my dead effigy Synopsis of faith: I believe in the unseen and things I can’t feel. My dad made nectar, fermented for hummingbirds to buzz when they fly An iris opens Frilly white edges surround the deep purple base The gossip of priests is deliciously naughty, delectable sin The establishment Insists that you refrain from Showing compassion Reply
Margaret Coats July 31, 2025 Harper, thanks for these haiku! Please let us know which THREE of them you would like as your entries in the competition. That’s easy to do; you can reply here. Reply
Delaney Shiono July 31, 2025 Amber orbs aglow Beneath frostbitten fingers Playing with fire Summer sunlight shines Upon sky blue waves of change Paradise on earth Crystal shards conceal My deepest, darkest secrets For your eyes only Reply
Jessica Allyson July 31, 2025 out before sunrise the stars keep me company until their bedtime worn-down path outlined by lilies-of-the-valley poet’s grave marker birches intertwined creaking, clinging together against winter winds Reply
John Savoie August 1, 2025 #3 who can remember when the stars first sang for joy? the sound still carries Reply
Lloyd Jacobs August 1, 2025 The yellow leaves were dervishes at my window till the rain started Footpaths and tire tracks obliterated by parachuting flakes Snowmelt discloses a winterkilled fawn still in geometric spots Reply
Monika Cooper August 1, 2025 parade floats idle in stopped traffic—clusters of crab apples pinken . crystal interlock of water’s piscine quills: each little wave, a leap . sun on the surface: silent Roman candles in rapid explosion Reply
Emory D. Jones August 1, 2025 Here is my submission– Yellow butterflies Flitting above green meadows Like dancing sunshine. Reply
Maria Panayi August 1, 2025 haiku 2 homeless hermit crab takes shelter in empty shell, gulls squawk overhead Reply
Maria Panayi August 1, 2025 haiku 3 wistful willow tree unique forgotten fortress weeps with gratitude
Rebecca Trifari August 1, 2025 1) Halfway, then again she chases what flees the mind, dust rising in spring. 2) Snow melts as she runs. Each step closer is farther, the world holds its breath. 3) All race toward stillness. He counts motion with a blade— leaves fall, unmeasured. Reply
Martina Matijević August 1, 2025 july thunderstorm her funeral procession finishes faster watering roses they slowly lower their heads unrequited love the smell of caught fish a hungry cat creeps closer mom scares off burglar Reply
Sheri Knauth August 1, 2025 Three submissions read separately or together: To be read shelf. Infinite years divide books. Will I finish them? Words comfort my years Shelter in safe hard cover Writer and reader Find grace in pages. Solace with pens and journals. Heartache soothed silently. Reply
Joanna Ashwell August 1, 2025 these spring showers again with the softness of blossom edging our footsteps the musk of a deer already belonging back in the forest’s crisp ochre rowanberry dusk where the deepest clouds drift by with every lost dream Reply
Daril B. Bentley August 1, 2025 Yellow crab spider on a beach of greenery– mayflies the seagulls. Reply
Morrison Handley-Schachler August 1, 2025 Calm in her stony Hermitage, the mason bee Mocks the rowdy swarm. Dreaming of nine days’ Majesty, the dragonfly Bides three years his time. Butterfly’s shadow, Borne away on morning’s wings, But so beautiful. Reply
Patricia Carragon August 1, 2025 from a leafless limb the empty swing remembers the long, hot summer ~Patricia Carragon after the tempest the silence of fallen trees roots severed from hope ~Patricia Carragon storm clouds overhead hurricane winds travel north no relief in sight ~Patricia Carragon as temperatures soar slumber shuts the feral’s eyes solace from the sun ~Patricia Carragon with eyes half open the cat curls up for a nap feet and tail at ease ~Patricia Carragon Reply
Patricia Carragon August 1, 2025 Please disregard my earlier comment. I’m submitting these three here: from a leafless limb the empty swing remembers the long, hot summer ~Patricia Carragon as temperatures soar slumber shuts the feral’s eyes solace from the sun ~Patricia Carragon after the tempest the silence of fallen trees roots severed from hope ~Patricia Carragon Reply
Patricia Carragon August 1, 2025 Please disregard my earlier comment. I’m submitting these three here: from a leafless limb the empty swing remembers the long, hot summer ~Patricia Carragon as temperatures soar slumber shuts the feral’s eyes solace from the sun ~Patricia Carragon after the tempest the silence of fallen trees roots severed from hope ~Patricia Carragon Reply
Meliana Alejandro August 1, 2025 The new era starts No hugs, kisses behind masks, Six feet difference please! Empty streets, doors shut, chaos over empty shelves, Unease filled the air Big nation big mess, Long lines, thin change, days await, I awe how it ends COVID-19 yes, Once it starts it never leave, Leaving scars for sure Reply
Margaret Coats August 1, 2025 Appreciate your contributions, Meliana, but please choose only THREE haiku as your contest entries. It’s simple to do by telling me which one of your four to leave out. Thanks! Reply
Wania Sajjad August 1, 2025 Name: Wania Sajjad Country: Pakistan Unpicked Flower I tore myself open for your hands— but you walked past like I was dirt. Still, I bloomed into the silence you left behind. Petal Ghost You grazed me like wind— no blood, but every inch of me feels haunted. False Spring You arrived like a false thaw— all heat-laced breath and lying light. I cracked open, thinking you’d stay through the storm. But you were winter in a stolen spring disguise. You kissed me with frost, and I shattered. Reply
Nolo Segundo August 1, 2025 reluctant leaves fall from the old tree showering the old man walking old cemetery abandoned by the living waits eternity alone, the young deer ate the holly tree’s berries soon dying under its leaves Reply
Sherri Dadey August 1, 2025 Small, feathered body still, on the side of the road, your death will feed life Reply
Madeline Nugent August 1, 2025 firefly dance and burn jive resolutely down paths! lead me homeward bound far out open sea tender faces stranger now—- gentle crash of wave bugs bite tender flesh red blooms and swells a garden—- blackbird song soothing Reply
Asha Bajaj August 1, 2025 striped pollinator rave, roam, romp, be(e) rife, don’t sting don’t waste what is sweet Reply
Asha Bajaj August 1, 2025 O radiant sky are you wounded or merely temperamental? blanket of snow, erase this paved landscape, then erase yourself melt into nothing Reply
Asha Bajaj August 1, 2025 Apologies, updated version of #2 snow blanket, erase paved landscape, erase yourself melt into nothing Reply
Tyler Oldershaw August 2, 2025 Just like Icarus, And so we fall, endlessly; Freedom tastes like wind. The wounds of the sky Open. Today, tomorrow. Bloodlike life rains down. So alienated In this body; distorted. Trapped briefly in skin. Reply
Chinmay Khare August 2, 2025 Crimson maple sighs, its branches bare to the dusk— One flame drifting down Reply
brett brady August 2, 2025 how shallow the shoals . . . alone, upon reflection we’re both pelican midnight snow flurries, a raindeer fawn’s long lashes gathering stardust oak tree canopy– that old tattered fedora atop her coffin Reply
Eshini Hasithri Meegaskumbura August 2, 2025 Hi, these are my three entries for the haiku competition. 1 Summer never wanes In the glowing Pearl of the Indian Ocean 2 The snow falls gently Mimicking the glow of the Twinkling stars above 3 Warm summer rain of Dancing love soon lost in the Slow fall of autumn Reply
Thompson Emate August 2, 2025 Showers of first rain The aroma of coffee Papa’s favourite Alone on the porch Forlorn wind heralds deadness My muse awakens Summer homecoming Children play in the river Childhood memories Reply
andrew shimield August 2, 2025 at 7.00am the bees in the lavender already at work bank holiday beach barely room for flesh to tan between the tattoos Reply
Justin Tipton August 2, 2025 The Earth wears a coat The snow and ice pack her wounds She rests safe and warm Reply
Ava Mitchell August 2, 2025 The rain sings and sings The thunder replies, screaming Never satisfied Kind mornings, soft nights, They are whole with your smile Comfortably happy Gray fog blankets the Deep valleys and green forests Stunning opposites Reply
Beauregard Tuck August 2, 2025 Leaves lull light’s looming; shadows shower sundered souls. Winter wakes what waned. Reply
Thomas J Strong August 2, 2025 recess doors open a gust of schoolyard children swirling autumn leaves heard without thinking understood without saying a walk through the woods the bud that seeks the bloom doesn’t need to search the garden to find it Reply
Michael Chaplin August 2, 2025 Michael Chaplin As I wash my clothes My Yiddish momma still sings Songs of Yahweh’s praise Death in the river Souls coffined inside of mud The LORD my Shepherd In my green garden Surrounded by its beauty I hear sounds of war Reply
Alex McBean August 2, 2025 atop lilac blooms butterflies rest in the sun Jupiter’s faeries pork chop fat sizzles ripe millet sway in the breeze its all gravy now summers juicy yield bathed in the kitchens warm light the frog and I feast Reply
Addison Clem August 2, 2025 Laugh; stitch in my side Trap springs in hippocampus Splayed game on snow— you. Reply
Bipasha Dutt August 3, 2025 breathing in the soft smell of night-blooming jasmine moonlight sonata Reply
Amanda Robinson August 3, 2025 the water is still the mind is racing constant flow is the challenge is it possible to love, to eat, to birth him my husband’s logic there is a shadow light’s brightness is a falsehood dark blots infiltrate Reply
Bipasha Dutt August 3, 2025 view of white landscape evergreens are lacking hue on a new year’s day Reply
Venessa Lee-Estevez August 3, 2025 fragrant whispers gently cascade from branches carpet of blossoms ruby red hibiscus sweet pistil tongue emerges hummingbird kisses gossamer storm clouds weave a cape for Apollo Helios’ revenge Reply
Prae Pathanasethpong August 3, 2025 Golden sky shines We set off a new journey Swallow flies back home Reply
Leslie Hendrickson-Baral August 3, 2025 Hands held through the storm Unite in diversity Winning with purpose Turning to Nature Baby bunnies, ducks and goats Earth holds the best Tails Each posture holds peace Matching breath with intentions Paid ticket to this moment Reply
Katherine Davies August 3, 2025 Title: Wash Away The waves rise and fall Cleansing souls who entrust it Yet my worries stay. Reply
Sreeja Mohandas August 3, 2025 Wrapped in pashmina Half awake yet half asleep A hungover dawn Sparkling fiery eyes Trapped in a dying embrace Should have let you go. A sharp stilleto, Into my soul your words carve A crimson ravine. Reply
Prashant Rawal August 3, 2025 Spring river unwinds— two hands, interlaced, drift on. Nothing holds or halts. Autumn wind pulls loose— layers of masks on my face scatter with the leaves. Spring rain on still pond— ripples rise and disappear. A frog waits beneath. Reply
Garima Obrah August 3, 2025 Dear Society of Classical Poets Please find below my 3 entries for the 2025 Haiku Competition Entry 1 Old stone retaining wall— a line of ants carries off the morning glory. Entry 2 The scent of cut grass. A yellow kite is tangled in the power lines. Entry 3 The password reset asks for my first pet’s name. I close the laptop. Reply
Bipasha Dutt August 3, 2025 Hello judges, This is my 3rd and final submission – spirit animals drifting clouds shift forms in an autumn afternoon Reply
Nuala Carr August 4, 2025 Lord! I’ll pursue you as the swift wave does the shore breaking as I go Reply
Leah Hong August 4, 2025 Galloping horses leaving icy hoofprints the coldest is me Summer ocean a huge container ship blows my rocking mind In the wind my puppy happily runs to Mt Fuji Reply
Kuldeep Singh Bisht August 4, 2025 The sun briefly peeks From behind the cloud curtains— It will rain again. Pink reflections dance as the flamingoes wade through the quiet waters. The reflection of the arched bridge on the still lake makes a full circle Reply
Maria Tosti August 4, 2025 Sorry, this is the second time I publish my comment. Last night there may have been problems. 1. a lotus flower always searching for the sky – that is what i am 2. pink cherry blossoms painted on her baby bump – just a new springtime 3. still shining roses – the white brocade dress my mom could never finished Reply
Cheryl Corey August 4, 2025 tuft of cumulus running rills and daffodils Spring, springing on us high tide moving out an empty shell washed ashore someone picks it up at the water’s edge polliwogs among the weeds children swinging pails Reply
Robert Fawcett August 4, 2025 Merganser mother guides her flock:sisters,brothers Fewer swim today. Reply
Gordan Lovrić August 4, 2025 Flag waves in the wind, may tomorrow shine brighter, homeland glows with pride. Stone house stands calmly, Siveric calls out softly, wind carries the voice. Zagorje mornings, cattle graze so peacefully, earth softly births new dreams. Reply
Joshua Kepfer August 4, 2025 In Maslow’s thesis The hierarchy of needs Safety’s above love I don’t think Maslow Was ever really in love Or knew who we were Reply
Joshua Kepfer August 4, 2025 Stars in the water Algae is green in the sky Reflections in streams Reply
Joseph Karr August 4, 2025 Are they who they say They are not there, they’re their own. We are what we do Reply
Joshua Kepfer August 4, 2025 Are they who they say They are not there, they’re their own. We are what we do Never who they are Always who they want to be Wonderful liars Stars in the water Algae is green in the sky Reflections in streams Reply
Carter Quintero August 4, 2025 Made myself a hell With no blueprints for Heaven And a lust to build My mind hurts itself It’s always fighting the same Demons they invite Parents with binkies Try to cope with the hands of Clocks doing cartwheels Reply
Silma Pamela Smith August 4, 2025 For haiku contest: lichen mosaic rivulet of waterfall… which is lovelier? Reply
Thomas Hamil August 4, 2025 Good afternoon. Thank you for your consideration. Below are my three Haiku. 1.) A drink sits idly The whiteness gasps on the page Autumn burns away 2.) A tortoise plods on Summer asphalt shifts below Noon traffic backs up 3.) Egyptian sun glows Into deep-sanded oranges Summer gold, squeezed out Reply
Annabelle Hadfield-Madl August 4, 2025 Spring Whispers whispers in spring air maple leaves begin to bud, secrets bloom in light. maple leaves whisper, soft murmurs in the hot breeze, summer hums alive.. ice on the maple branches, Breathless light shining through the unspoken trees, Silence quakes in the endless wood Reply
Annabelle Hadfield-Madl August 4, 2025 Sorry first line wasn’t meant to be there this is how it is meant to be: whispers in spring air maple leaves begin to bud, secrets bloom in light. maple leaves whisper, soft murmurs in the hot breeze, summer hums alive.. ice on the maple branches, Breathless light shining through the unspoken trees, Silence quakes in the endless wood Reply
Sienna Mcmillan August 4, 2025 Golden sand Smell of salty water Sandy sea shells Leaves dancing Green to red orange yellow One by one falling to the ground Snow falls Every snowflake different to another Sun shimmering reflecting Reply
David Quinn August 5, 2025 The first breath of spring A leaf can still fall away Not only in fall Reply
Mia Zhang August 5, 2025 geese soar above clouds flying to a warmer home where the lilacs sing ————- early spring morning the fantail in the bird bath her sweet song lingers ————- a grasshopper sings her newest composition blossoms twirl in time Reply
Loriana Apahidean August 5, 2025 1. Petals falling down, Death in reverse, life in bloom, Cycle without end. 2. Winter freezes thoughts, Ice words crawl out of my mouth, Fragile proof of self. 3. August heat clutching, Suffocating memories, Sticky grief clinging. Reply
Sara Kate Egan August 5, 2025 chartreuse grass rustles August height hides maybe beast cinnamon bunny muggy midsummer murky dusk, mellow meadow flashing fireflies float twisted forest stirs secrets; coldest, darkest depths grand ghouls glow golden Reply
Paul Lobo Portugés August 5, 2025 we open the window and the wind blowing voices of children fly in scrubbing ma’s gravestone black with soot from L.A’s air and winter’s regret when a child dies it’s something you keep inside you heart like a bomb Reply
Theresa Andrews August 5, 2025 apple crisp morning smatterings of orange, red, browns falling quietly early morning chill shimmering icy waters reminiscent blues peonies blossom delicate fragrant pedals sweet heaven on earth Reply
Teresa Padilla August 5, 2025 From dark spring slumber Awake, sobbing – not knowing Bulbs burst underground ——————– Winter, sun – sets free Deep, dazzling drifts of jewels Wealth of common men ——————— Summer sky’s mirror Blinding – shining stretch of mud Tale of the glacier Reply
Scott Ennis August 5, 2025 Fallen leaves whisper not an end, but painted breath waiting for the spring. Steam curls from my cup words rise like birds in cold light, morning warms their flight. Footsteps fall in sync two hearts pacing time and road, parting, still they run. Reply
Chizorom Ifezie August 5, 2025 Fleeting; haunting is the silence stained in crimson autumn’s moonlight weeps The shadows lengthen leaves succumb to gravity crisp air on my skin Reply
Kristy Marett August 5, 2025 Blossoms dangle down. Warm breeze makes them dance and sway. Now comes yellow bee! Sparkling snowflakes Suddenly turn into rain. Raindrops sparkle too! Leaf drifts slowly down. Butterfly, shadows entwine! Now, which one is which? Reply
Nathaniel Sexton August 5, 2025 Nathaniel Sexton Title : To Nineveh “Go to Nineveh.” “From Sheol you heard, my Lord.” “God bless Nineveh.” Reply
MEERA S NAIR August 6, 2025 Falls a drop unknown, On the silent sands of earth. quenching the soul’s thirst. Reply
David Quinn August 6, 2025 frost stills every blade the snow, a final white veil spring comes now too late Reply
Madelyn Graziano August 6, 2025 Oh look a brown duck! Oh look a guy with a gun! Oh look a dead duck! So many places You can go that I cannot Flying with your wings The gardens are teeming With life: apples, peaches, pears The hope that spring brings Reply
