In 2019, I began writing haiku and senryu (which have the same form as haiku but are more about human nature than Mother Nature). After decades of writing, editing, and teaching the personal essay, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn, in my own creative work, to moments as opposed to narrative.
Contemporary haiku don't tend to adhere to the 5-7-5 syllable structure that most of us were taught. (The prevailing guideline is simply 17 syllables or fewer.) More important is a one-line "fragment" followed by a two-line "phrase," or vice versa, to capture the essence of a moment, typically unadorned by literary enhancements such as metaphor, personification, or alliteration. It's in the juxtaposition of these images that the poem occurs.
Contemporary haiku don't tend to adhere to the 5-7-5 syllable structure that most of us were taught. (The prevailing guideline is simply 17 syllables or fewer.) More important is a one-line "fragment" followed by a two-line "phrase," or vice versa, to capture the essence of a moment, typically unadorned by literary enhancements such as metaphor, personification, or alliteration. It's in the juxtaposition of these images that the poem occurs.
Hauling the Tide: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2024
memory care
an orange
pieced with cloves
memory care
an orange
pieced with cloves
Wales Haiku Journal
Autumn 2024
warm boule
a dusting of snow
overnight
Single-line haiku:
raking leaves my dead mother’s diaries
Autumn 2024
warm boule
a dusting of snow
overnight
Single-line haiku:
raking leaves my dead mother’s diaries
Golden Haiku Poetry Competition
Spring 2024
Republished in Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 109, May 2025
class reunion
the dogwoods
looking good for their age
Spring 2024
Republished in Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 109, May 2025
class reunion
the dogwoods
looking good for their age
Failed Haiku
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 87, February 2023
Reprinted in Fractured by Cattails: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2023
one more layer
on the cast iron skillet . . .
gloaming walk
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 87, February 2023
Reprinted in Fractured by Cattails: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2023
one more layer
on the cast iron skillet . . .
gloaming walk
Poetry Pea Podcast (first poem) Series 5, episode 22
Poetry Pea Journal (both poems)
Issue 3:22
morning glories
down the handrail--
the night ahead
*
fluttering memories
the steel gray
of her french twist
Poetry Pea Journal (both poems)
Issue 3:22
morning glories
down the handrail--
the night ahead
*
fluttering memories
the steel gray
of her french twist
Frogpond
The Journal of the Haiku Society of America
Autumn 2022
away message . . .
chasing buttercups
up the coast
The Journal of the Haiku Society of America
Autumn 2022
away message . . .
chasing buttercups
up the coast
Dawn Returns: Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2022
Reprint from Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, October 2021
counting the leaves
on every tree
mother's walk
Reprint from Failed Haiku: A Journal of English Senryu, October 2021
counting the leaves
on every tree
mother's walk
Failed Haiku
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 81, September 2022
dutch door
the half of me
I used to show
*
rubbing lotion
into my mother’s arms
lullaby
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 81, September 2022
dutch door
the half of me
I used to show
*
rubbing lotion
into my mother’s arms
lullaby
Presence
Issue 73, July 2022
Selected for inclusion in Skipping Stones: The Red Moon Anthology of English Language Haiku (Red Moon Press, 2023)
lilies of the valley . . .
giving prayer
one more try
Issue 73, July 2022
Selected for inclusion in Skipping Stones: The Red Moon Anthology of English Language Haiku (Red Moon Press, 2023)
lilies of the valley . . .
giving prayer
one more try
Visiting the Wind: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2021
Single-line senryu:
night before leaving the slap of solitaire
Single-line senryu:
night before leaving the slap of solitaire
Failed Haiku
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 70, October 2021
shared crossword
interlocking
coffee rings
*
counting the leaves
on every tree
mother’s walk
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 70, October 2021
shared crossword
interlocking
coffee rings
*
counting the leaves
on every tree
mother’s walk
Presence
Issue 69, March 2021
morning darkness
the screech
of the sock drawer
*
Single-line haiku:
funeral suit the pins in the tailor’s mouth
Issue 69, March 2021
morning darkness
the screech
of the sock drawer
*
Single-line haiku:
funeral suit the pins in the tailor’s mouth
Blōō Outlier Journal
Winter 2020 (inaugural issue)
guttered candle
reminding the neighbor
again of my name
Winter 2020 (inaugural issue)
guttered candle
reminding the neighbor
again of my name
Human/Kind
December 2020
condolence note
an orphan envelope’s
rippled flap
December 2020
condolence note
an orphan envelope’s
rippled flap
Presence
"Britain's leading independent haiku journal"
Issue 68, November 2020
zoom call with college friends
the ancient grain
of vhs
"Britain's leading independent haiku journal"
Issue 68, November 2020
zoom call with college friends
the ancient grain
of vhs
Bundled Wildflowers: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2020
gated garden
half of one bench
now warm
gated garden
half of one bench
now warm
Failed Haiku
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 56, August 2020
day off
from working from home
the animals rest
*
memorial day
the sudden buzz
of the tattoo gun
*
gratitude
my parents died
too soon to die of this
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 56, August 2020
day off
from working from home
the animals rest
*
memorial day
the sudden buzz
of the tattoo gun
*
gratitude
my parents died
too soon to die of this
Poetry Pea Podcast
Series 3, episode 14, “Voyages”
July 2020
sunday night train
stowing the weekend
in the overhead
Series 3, episode 14, “Voyages”
July 2020
sunday night train
stowing the weekend
in the overhead
Frogpond
The Journal of the Haiku Society of America
Vol. 43:2, Spring/Summer 2020
quarantine stories
the last time
they hugged
The Journal of the Haiku Society of America
Vol. 43:2, Spring/Summer 2020
quarantine stories
the last time
they hugged
Presence
"Britain's leading independent haiku journal"
Issue 66, March 2020
eve of
new year’s eve
the drip of rain
"Britain's leading independent haiku journal"
Issue 66, March 2020
eve of
new year’s eve
the drip of rain
Masters of Japanese Prints: Haiku
A project of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (England) and Call of the Page
My haiku inspired by Hiroshige’s “Sparrows and Camellia in Snow”
winter sparrows
how unremarkable
the snow-laden bloom
A project of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (England) and Call of the Page
My haiku inspired by Hiroshige’s “Sparrows and Camellia in Snow”
winter sparrows
how unremarkable
the snow-laden bloom
Failed Haiku
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 51, March 2020
marathon run
the lives we’ve lived
since we were friends
*
my mother’s name
inside the mug
tea with milk
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 51, March 2020
marathon run
the lives we’ve lived
since we were friends
*
my mother’s name
inside the mug
tea with milk
Poetry Pea Podcast
Series 3, Episode 2, “Animals”
January 2020
two a.m.
the dog wakes to pee
but first eats the snow
Series 3, Episode 2, “Animals”
January 2020
two a.m.
the dog wakes to pee
but first eats the snow
Presence
"Britain's leading independent haiku journal"
Issue 65, November 2019
office happy hour
sidewalk tables
lifted by the breeze
"Britain's leading independent haiku journal"
Issue 65, November 2019
office happy hour
sidewalk tables
lifted by the breeze
Poetry Pea Podcast
Series 2, Episode 20, "Spirits"
October 2019
remembrance book
write a message
then turn the page
*
cemetery walk
their location the only thing
I forget
Series 2, Episode 20, "Spirits"
October 2019
remembrance book
write a message
then turn the page
*
cemetery walk
their location the only thing
I forget
Frogpond
The Journal of the Haiku Society of America
Volume 42:3, Fall 2019
deleting e-mails
we’re all on this earth
till we’re not
The Journal of the Haiku Society of America
Volume 42:3, Fall 2019
deleting e-mails
we’re all on this earth
till we’re not
Failed Haiku
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 45, September 2019
double take
on an august night
forearm tattoo
*
in the pool
splitting the lane
with my mother’s memory
*
hotel room
the tv as big
as a window
A Journal of English Senryu
Issue 45, September 2019
double take
on an august night
forearm tattoo
*
in the pool
splitting the lane
with my mother’s memory
*
hotel room
the tv as big
as a window
Poetry Pea Podcast
Series 2, Episode 14, "Trees"
July 2019
stream crossing
grabbing the spiny tree
that won’t always be there
Series 2, Episode 14, "Trees"
July 2019
stream crossing
grabbing the spiny tree
that won’t always be there
Anam Cara Haiku/Senryu Competition
In Honor of Poetry Day Ireland 2019
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
last orchid flower
fallen
a child’s winter jacket
*
COMMENDED:
new year's eve harbor
silence
inside the wind
In Honor of Poetry Day Ireland 2019
HIGHLY COMMENDED:
last orchid flower
fallen
a child’s winter jacket
*
COMMENDED:
new year's eve harbor
silence
inside the wind