A Room of My Own: Late Night Shift Haiku

late night shift done

a stray’s barks lengthen

the way home

Added:

thunder and lightning

what's left between us 

half-spoken

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCIII: "trapped echo"

the sound of drones 

in an armless boy's head

like a trapped echo

his mother's last scream 

drowns in the smoky dark

FYI: "Israel's oldest daily, Haaretz," which was was sanctioned by the Israeli government on Nov. 24, 2024

Opinion, April 24, 2026: Israelis' Thunderous Silence Enables Daily Atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank

In the Gaza Strip, the dead and wounded aren't "casualties," they are "collateral damage" – a dry technical term backed by artificial intelligence and legal permits. They aren't casualties, they are damage. Language itself has been recruited to cloud what happened, as if by swapping the terms, we could also swap our reality...

But the most chilling sound of all is silence. Israelis' thunderous silence was what enabled and continues to enable the atrocities we committed in Gaza and the ones we commit every day in the West Bank. 

This tanka could be read as a sequel to the following:

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCII: "P/Crime Minister"

written on Israel's Independence Day

behind the shroud

of "our hero warriors"

the P/Crime Minister

spills the Castro-length 

blah, blah, blah on victory

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCIV: "fighter jets' trails"

Gazan sky tinged gray

fighter jets’ trails underline

a crescent moon

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCV: "bullets and blasts"

a hum

thickens into a roar ...

bullets and blasts

tear through mud walls and flesh

as dust and blood fill the air

Reading More and Writing Better: Violet Haiku by Joshua St. Claire

Huckleberry Finn

a violet pressed inside

when I was someone else

Joshua St. Claire

FYI: L1 of the haiku, "Huckleberry Finn," alludes to the protagonist of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by American writer, Mark Twain. This reference immediately evokes themes of escape, moral conflict, and the formation of identity.

There is a poignant imaginative leap between this literary figure in L1 and the image in Ls 2&3: “a violet pressed inside / when I was someone else.” The pressed violet—often associated with modesty, secrecy, or memory—suggests something delicate and preserved, yet removed from the vitality of lived experience. Like a flower flattened between pages, the speaker’s former self is intact but no longer alive in the present. The book becomes both a literal and symbolic container of memory.

This connection gains depth when considered alongside Huck’s journey. In the novel, Huck flees his abusive father and fakes his own death in order to seek freedom along the Mississippi River. Traveling with Jim, an enslaved man, he wrestles with what he calls a “deformed conscience,” torn between the values imposed by society and his own emerging sense of empathy and justice. This inner conflict produces a fractured identity, as Huck must decide who he is apart from what he has been taught to be.

Read through this lens, the pressed violet becomes a subtle analogue for these earlier selves—whether Huck’s or the speaker’s—preserved but outgrown. Just as Huck ultimately rejects the “civilizing” forces that seek to define him, the speaker recognizes a distance between their present identity and the person who once encountered this story. The haiku thus captures the bittersweet realization that revisiting a formative text is also a confrontation with one’s own past self, now fixed in memory like a flower between pages.

Butterfly Dream: Mountain Pass Haiku by Ernest J. Berry

English Original

mountain pass

headlights on the edge

of a thunderhead

                    

First Prize, 2006 Porad Award   

Ernest J. Berry

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

山隘

車頭燈照射

在雷雨雲邊緣

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

山隘

车头灯照射

在雷雨云边缘

Bio Sketch

Ernest J. Berry was born in 1929 in Christchurch, New Zealand. After a decade of shepherding, he spent several years in business before retiring to a beach in Mexico where he rediscovered his boyhood love of poetry. He un-retired in 1993 and settled in Picton. After founding Picton Poets in 1994, he started teaching haiku in workshops, secondary schools  and haiku meetings. Two of his haiku books were honoured with Merit Book Awards from The Haiku Society of America. 

One Man's Maple Moon: Road Tanka by Jane Reichhold

English Original

unreal again

the road I walked today

thick fog

whispers in the grass

for the moon to appear

Ardea, 5, 2015

Jane Reichhold

 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

沿著我今天走過的路

又一次感覺不真實

一陣濃霧

草叢中低語

等待月亮的出現

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

沿着我今天走过的路

又一次感觉不真实

一阵浓雾

草丛中低语

等待月亮的出现

 

Bio Sketch 

 

Jane Reichhold (1937–2016) was born Janet Styer in Lima, Ohio. A prolific poet and translator, she published over forty books of haiku, renga, and tanka. Her translation of Basho: The Complete Haiku (Kodansha International) remains her most celebrated work, while her recent tanka collection, Taking Tanka Home, was translated into Japanese by Aya Yuhki.

As the founder of AHA Books, Jane edited Mirrors: International Haiku Forum and Geppo (for the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society). Alongside her husband, Werner Reichhold, she co-edited Lynx starting in 1992, transition it to an online format in 2000 via her website, AHApoetry.com. From 2006 until her passing, she also moderated the AHAforum, a vibrant global community for poets.

Butterfly Dream: Animal Day Haiku by Dimitar Anakiev

English Original

Animal Day

lop-ears of a rabbit

full of jumping light

Rustic, 2010

Dimitar Anakiev

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

動物日

兔子的垂耳充滿

跳躍的光芒

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

动物日

兔子的垂耳充满

跳跃的光芒

Bio sketch

Dimitar Anakiev (aka Kamesan 亀さん, b. 1960 in Belgrade) poet, writer and filmmaker, began to write and publish poetry at the age of 13, and began writing haiku in 1985. He is the “father“ of many Balkan haiku projects such as Haiku Novine (Serbia) and Prijatelj and Apokalipsa haiku edition (Slovenia). He is a co-founder of World Haiku Association and co-editor of Knots: An Anthology of Southeatern European Haiku Poetry. His awards include the European Award: The Medal of Franz Kafka, The Museum of Haiku Literature Award, Haiku Society of America annual Merit Book Award and prizes from Mainichi Daily News, Daily Yomiuri (both Tokyo) and Azami (Osaka). He has also won several film awards, including the National Slovenian Award for best documentary film.

Hot News: Two of My Haiku Included in "How to Write Haiku"

My Dear Readers:

I’m delighted to share that two of my early haiku below will be featured in How to Write Haiku, part of the Bloomsbury Academic Creative Writing series. Authored by Dr. Owen Bullock (Discipline Lead, Creative Writing and Literary Studies, University of Canberra), this scholarly collection celebrates the form by showcasing poets from around the world.

single married single again a rushing river

these piles

of falling plum petals

no new messages

New Resonance 7: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku, 2011

FYI: My haiku below is also included in Kumamoto University's textbook 

im-mi-grant . . .

the way English tastes

on my tongue

2nd Prize, 7th Kokako Haiku Competition

A Room of My Own: Past and Present, Then Ever

cherry blossoms 

always the same, and yet

ever new with you

pink blossom rain

the space where you used to be

pink blossom rain

Added: 

a riverside stroll

pink blossom rain on my face

on a homeless man

FYI: This could be read as a counter poem to my award-winning haiku below:

blossom rain

between earth and sky

somehow, us

Grand Prize, Sharpening the Green Pencil Haiku Contest, 2026

Added:

midnight crescent

in a Beirut boy's eyes

buzzing drones

Added:

repeat after me

Trum pi no cchi o ...

the clown taps his nose

Added: Politics of Distraction, IX:

blocking the blockade

to break the strait blockade ...

in gathering dark

a gin-soaked flight to nowhere

through the un/truth of this war

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, XCII

            Donald Trump

                 $20,28 per gallon

             America First

the MAGA-hatted man’s stare

bores holes through his lawn sign

FYI: This tanka could be read as a sequel to mine below:

Law is the King

Trump Empire, Inc, XC

written for No Kings protests

just a dream, and yet ...

the mountain lion roars

to grazing sheep:

once elected as your King

I'll be vegetarian

the peanut-brained man

behind the Resolute Desk

grins to cameras,

just a little excursion...

oily clouds over Tehran

how much bullshit

can come out of one ass-hole

a veteran’s refrain

cracks and booms through iron bars

at the White House gate

the Capitol fence

shadowed against the sky

in twilight chill

lineups snake at the pumps

and at food banks too

chant after chant

of eggflation, fried truth

scrambled justice ...

a mutt's neck sign: I can poop

a better president

FYI: The title alludes to the famous quote from Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense: In America, THE LAW IS KING.

NeverEnding Story, March 28 2026

Added:

on the road to work  

I push through the white drift—  

cold snap pressing in

Added:

to T.S. Eliot

curtains part

snow-wet roofs mirroring

April twilight

FYI: This could be read as a sequel my gembun below:

April is the cruelest month, I murmur to myself

drinking alone

the sound of snowfall

deepens

NeverEnding Story, April 6 2026

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCII: "P/Crime Minister"

written on Israel's Independence Day

behind the shroud

of "our hero warriors"

the P/Crime Minister

spills the Castro-length 

blah, blah, blah on victory

Added: No More Fairy Tales, LIII

written on War-Ravaged Earth Day

Hormuz twilight

one pond of oily black

after another

Poetic Musings: Shelter Tanka by Marion Alice Poirier

under the shelter

of a weeping willow tree

she sleeps at last

on damp earth and newspapers --

a haven, for one night

NeverEnding Story, February 23, 2026

Marion Alice Poirier

Commentary: The weeping willow, a traditional emblem of grief and consolation, in Ls 1&2 is set against the starkly modern, gritty detail of “newspapers” in L4. This juxtaposition is both thematically significant and visually and emotionally poignant. This grounded, contemporary image transforms the tanka from a simple nature vignette into a poignant social meditation on homelessness and displacement.

The comma in L5, “a haven, for one night,” functions as a "terminal caesura, a deliberate pause that shapes the reader’s experience of the tanka’s conclusion." That "brief hesitation" underscores the fragility of the refuge described in Ls 1-4, sharpening the quiet irony at the heart of the scene.

For more examples about the use of terminal caesura, see "To the Lighthouse: Terminal Caesura"

Butterfly Dream: Fan Dance Haiku by Hazel Hall

English Original

fan dance

two wattlebirds

catch the breeze   

Kokako, 32, 2020. 

Hazel Hall

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

扇舞

兩隻垂耳鴉

乘風而行

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

扇舞

两只垂耳鸦

乘风而行

Bio Sketch

Hazel Hall is a widely published Australian poet and musicologist. Her haiku collections are Eggshell Sky (HD Press, 2017), Step by Step (Picaro Poets 2019) and Severed Web (Picaro Poets, 2020). She has also published a tanka collection Moonlight Over the Siding (Interactive Press, 2019).

One Man's Maple Moon: Lonely Color Tanka by Aya Yuhki

English Original

a lonely color is

rain on roofs reflecting

evening twilight

this train

has a destination

White Flowers in the Sky, 2005

Aya Yuhki 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

孤獨的顏色

是雨水落在屋頂上映照

傍晚的暮色

這列火車

有一個目的地

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

孤独的颜色

是雨水落在屋顶上映照

傍晚的暮色

这列火车

有一个目的地

Bio Sketch

Aya Yuhki was born and now lives in Tokyo. She started writing tanka more than thirty years ago and has expanded her interests to include free verse poetry, essay writing, and literary criticism. Aya Yuhki is Editor-in-Chief of The Tanka Journal published by the Japan Poets’ Society. Her works are featured on the homepage of the Japan Pen Club’s Electronic Library.

Special Feature: Selected Poems on Donald Trump's Attacks on Pope Leo XIV

We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent, indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people.

-- Pope Leo XIV

peace talks stalled

I hold onto the long half

of a wishbone

NeverEnding Story, April 12 2026

Politics of Distraction, VI:

Make America Great Again

After the failed peace talks, leaning over the Resolute Desk toward the camera lights, the man vows with a meaty smile, "I'll block ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz."

block the blockade

to break the blockade ...

in the briefing room

silence broken only

by a buzzing fly

NeverEnding Story, April 12 2026

At a White House press conference, Donald Trump responded to a question on whether God supports U.S. actions in the war, saying, “I do because God is good, and God wants to see people taken care of"

God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs... God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.

I have no fear neither of the Trump administration, nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel... I do believe the message of the Gospel—‘blessed are the peacemakers’—is the message that the world needs to hear today

-- Pope Leo XIV

Politics of Distraction, VII:

In Broad Daylight 

Any resemblance to current events or actual locales, or to living persons, is NOT coincidental. 

a poll sign

against the White House fence: 

"Pope vs Dope" 

a mangy stray corks its leg 

marks "Dope" with a yellow stream

FYI: The Nation Magazine, April 13 2026: Trump’s Deranged, One-Way Feud With Pope Leo: He’s finally met someone he can’t bully.

To conclude today's "Special Feature" post, I would like to share with you Pope Leo's post on X, April 14:

God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies. But our Father’s heart is not with the wicked, the arrogant, or the proud. God’s heart is with the little ones and the humble, and with them He builds up His Kingdom of love and peace day by day. Wherever there is love and service, God is there.

Stand with Pope Leo XIV. End the Iran War.

Added: Politics of Distraction, VIII:

Blocking the Blockade to Break the Blockade

      Donald Trump

            $ 20,28

          per gallon

White House entrance

         No Parking 

          all     quiet

              on

        frontal lobe

FYI: The third smol, “all quiet on the frontal lobe,” playfully echoes the iconic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front, which depicts the realities of World War I. The idiom “all quiet on the Western Front” has since come to suggest that an outward sense of calm may conceal deeper, and sometimes troubling, underlying realities.

Butterfly Dream: Fireplace Haiku by Chuck Brickley

English Original

slow harmonica

the glow of the fireplace

on his closed eyes

Earthshine, 2017

Chuck Brickley

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

悠揚的口琴聲

壁爐的火光映照

在他緊閉的雙眼

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

悠扬的口琴声

壁炉的火光映照

在他紧闭的双眼

Bio Sketch

A native San Franciscan, Chuck Brickley lived in rural British Columbia for 35 years. His book of haiku, earthshine, won the THF Touchstone Award for Distinguished Books 2017; the HSA Merit Book Award 2017, Honorable Mention; and the inaugural Marianne Bluger Book Award 2020, Honourable Mention. His haibun,“Is Where The Car Is," was nominated for a Pushcart Prize 2018, and another haibun, "A Banishing," received a Sonders Best Small Fiction Award nomination, 2019

A Room of My Own: Hazy Crescent Haiku

again her smile fades...

I awaken to the silence

of a hazy crescent

FYI: My haiku below could be read as its prequel and sequel respestively 

her empty bed ...

get-well cards catching

winter sunlight

"Modern Haiku," Under the Basho, 2014

And

hazy day moon 

alone, awake with the weight

of memory

PoemHunter, February 16, 2013

Added: Politics of Distraction, VI:

Make America Great Again

After the failed peace talks, leaning over the Resolute Desk toward the camera lights, the man vows with a meaty smile, "I'll block ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz."

block the blockade

to break the blockade ...

in the briefing room

silence broken only

by a buzzing fly

FYI: Time Magazine, April 12, 2026: Trump Says U.S. Will Blockade Strait of Hormuz After Iran Peace Talks Fail

Added:

peace talks stalled

I hold onto the long half

of a wishbone

Added:

home from work

the opening door spills

darkness 

Added:

moonlit wave

after wave after wave 

the ocean 

grows louder with her 

gone a year now

Added:

coloring the morning breeze cherry blossom rain

Added: No More Fairy Tales, LII

El Niño pulses ... 

war is peace, peace is war

circled red

FYI: The New York Times, March 12 2026: Odds Rise That El Niño Will Soon Bring Weather Extremes

The climate pattern known for intense heat, floods and drought is likely to develop this summer, raising questions about disaster preparedness.

Scientists at the Climate Prediction Center, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, had raised their estimate for an El Niño event this summer from 60% to about 80%.... Forecasters now predict that the coming El Niño -- a warming of the Pacific Ocean that deeply affects global weather patterns -- is likely to be as severe as the one in 2023-2024, which triggered severe flooding and prolonged heatwaves around the world.

Added:

green-leafed breeze

my mind and lungs filled 

with skylark song

Butterfly Dream: Door to Yesterday Haiku by Fay Aoyagi

English Original

icy rain

at the bottom of the lake

a door to yesterday

Beyond the Reach of My Chopsticks, 2011

Fay Aoyagi

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

冰冷的雨

湖泊的底部通往

昨日的門

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

冰冷的雨

湖泊的底部通往

昨日的门

 

Bio Sketch

Fay Aoyagi （青柳飛）was born in Tokyo and immigrated to the U.S. in 1982. She is currently a member of Haiku Society of America and Haiku Poets of Northern California. She serves as an associate editor of The Heron's Nest.  She also writes in Japanese and belongs to two Japanese haiku groups; Ten'I (天為) and "Aki"（秋), and  she is a member of Haijin Kyokai (俳人協会).

Biting NOT Barking: Wagtail Haiku by Gareth Nurden

English Original

a wagtail

before its tail-flick

my phone screen flickers

Gareth Nurden

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

一隻鶺鴒

在它搖晃尾巴之前

我的手機螢幕閃爍了一下

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

一只鹡鸰

在它摇晃尾巴之前

我的手机萤幕闪烁了一下

Bio Sketch

Born in Newport, Wales in 1988,  Gareth Nuren has been writing poetry since his teenage years and has spent his most recent years focusing on writing senryu and haiku and has had nearly one-hundred pieces published in fourteen countries.