Category: Poetry

  • Haiku 19

    Haiku 19

    The following haiku was first published in the German/English haiku journal Chrysanthemum, issue 34. Download the issue to see the German translation.

    luna moth

    such a stunning green

    I can’t fall asleep

  • Senryu 15

    The following senryu was first published in the April 2025 edition of cattails:

    trimming back the chives

    the fresh scent

    of baozi stuffing

  • Senryu 11-14

    The following senryu were first published in issue 109 (March 2025) in Failed Haiku:

    woodworking

    my math gives way

    to reality

    gravestones

    with a single name—

    as if we remember

    dandelions

    to her, a medicine

    to me, a weed

    your arm

    a seat belt

    for the night

  • Haiga 2

    The following haiga was first published in the April 2025 edition of cattails:

    Image of the galaxy NGC 1300 with the words "distant galaxy I sweep sawdust swirls from the garage"

    Text reads:

    distant galaxy

    I sweep sawdust swirls

    from the garage

    The image is of the NGC 1300 galaxy, imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. Here’s a comparison of the James Webb and Hubble versions of the image.

  • Tanka 4

    The following tanka was first published in the April 2025 edition of cattails:

    waiting and working,

    rejection at every turn

    dreams unwavering

    how much more can I endure?

    the sun rises, the moon sets

  • Haiku 18

    The following haiku was first published April 4, 2025 in Asahi Haikuist Network:

    novel writing

    a surge of inspiration

    cherry blossoms

  • Haiku 17

    The following haiku was first published in Cold Moon Journal:

    sweeping prairie

    shaped by the breeze—

    the windmill 

  • Senryu 10

    The following senryu was first published in issue 42 (April 2025) in Kokako:

    maneuvering a couch

    up a stairwell

    geometry in action

  • Haiku 16

    The following haiku was first published in issue 42 (April 2025) in Kokako:

    the cold snap breaks—

    uncovered grasses

    drink the sun

  • Makemake

    This Hubble Space Telescope image from April 2015 reveals the first moon ever discovered around the dwarf planet Makemake.

    The following poem was first published in issue 20 “Change” of Consilience. Makemake (pronounced mah-key-mah-key) is a dwarf planet located in the Kuiper Belt. Discovered in 2005, Makemake takes roughly 306 Earth years to orbit the sun. Given the dwarf planet’s extreme distance from the Earth, we currently know very little about it. Makemake is probably cold, barren, rocky, and dark. In this poem, I chronicle some of the important events in human history that happened in the ‘year’ before Makemake was discovered. Time and perception are relative. While likely very little happened to Makemake between 1699 and 2005, on the human scale, society changed dramatically, from revolutions to wars to new inventions. How much will change for humans during the next ‘year’ of Makemake’s life?

    In the farthest reaches of our sun

    the Kuiper Belt in spinning motion.

    Inclining at twenty-nine degrees

    the dwarf planet Makemake.

    An orbit of 300 years

    skirting interstellar frontiers.

    History passes restlessly

    under patient Makemake.

    The year is 1699

    nations ruled by royal bloodline.

    Enlightenment for the bourgeoisie

    under watchful Makemake.

    Ships sail the ocean wide

    steady Polaris as their guide.

    Economies built on slavery

    under cosmic Makemake.

    Land is raked for furs and goods

    forests felled for choice hardwoods.

    Continents feel oh so tiny

    under open Makemake.

    Evolution, revolutions

    nations’ mores devolution.

    Debaucherous revelry

    under silent Makemake.

    War after war after war after war

    more people killed than ever before.

    People forget their history

    under rocky Makemake.

    Nations rise and nations fall

    dictators cannot hold the wall.

    The era of democracy

    under lonely Makemake.

    Slaves released when bonds are broken

    Rulers finally hear their plea

    the oppressed have firmly spoken.

    under cratered Makemake.

    Signals through the air are cast

    then into space, forever last.

    Received by those we can’t foresee

    under listening Makemake.

    Species hunted to their end

    the natural order man offends.

    Pruning branches from the tree

    under shadowed Makemake.

    Atomic bomb dropped on Japan

    the nuclear age is now at hand.

    Human beings killed ruthlessly

    under icy Makemake.

    Rockets leave Earth’s safe cocoon

    humans landed on the moon.

    From gravity’s shackles man is free

    under spinning Makemake.

    Wayward planes to towers crash

    in the desert armies clash.

    Lives disregarded casually

    under distant Makemake.

    In 2005, first discovered

    the reddish planet’s face uncovered.

    So begins another year

    what will you see, Make dear?