Poetry rises out of one solitude to meet another in recognition and connection. It companions us.

— Edward Hirsch

“Nothing against 5-7-5, but I prefer haiku.” — Ralf Bröker

“In English, most of the best haiku are not 5-7-5 syllables, and most 5-7-5 poems are not haiku.” — David Oates 

lessons of this spring: 
the masks we wear 
can save us

— Patti Niehoff

autumn wind —
anything you see
could be a haiku

— Kyoshi Takahama

his hands full of corbiculas
(what happiness!)
calling to his chum

— Shiki

loneliness
lies within the listener —
a cuckoo’s call

— Chiyo-ni (1703-1775)

with waves secretly rolling in it has grown light

— Ozaki Hōsai

noon rain
syncopating
church bells

— Mary Ruefle

wastepaper kite —
after a quick dusting off
rising to the sky

— Issa

no sound
to this spring rain
but the rocks darken

— Anita Virgil

popping a bubble
of morning dew…
a ghost

— Issa

the sea darkens
and the voices of ducks
faintly white

— Bashō

each time she comes to dip water she disturbs willow shadow

— Ozaki Hōsai

Fly on my nose,
I’m not the Buddha,
There’s no enlightenment here.

— Allen Ginsberg

Head down I walk the town with no shadow

— Sumitaku Kenshin (1961-1987)

fallen camellias—
if I were one,
I’d throw myself into the torrent

— Shugyō Takaha

eating my bento
it too is rain-soaked

— Santoka Taneda

“He~ey” said the lonely human
“He~ey” said the lonely mountain

— Ogiwara Seisensui

Journey of self-enlightenment
Dawn on the peninsula
Striking a match

— Kaneko Tōta

spring dawn…
people may not know it,
rain through trees

— Hino Sojo