Red Tip of a Cigarette Haiku

the red tip
of my cigarette
starless night

Wales Haiku Journal, Autumn 2018

End of Summer Haiku

end of summer
a boy's skipping stone sinks
with the sun

Wales Haiku Journal, Autumn 2018

Selected Haibun: Any Difference?

leaves falling

one begging bowl

and a dog

on Progress Avenue at noon men and women in suits walk at a quick pace thus the indifference to the homeless John Doe can’t remember the human faces moving past thus the indifference toward humanity and yet ...

Chrysanthemum 17, April 2015

German Translation by Chrysanthemum Editorial Team

Irgendein Unterschied?

Blätter fallen

eine Bettelschale

und ein Hund

auf der Fortschritt-Allee zur Mittagszeit Männer und Frauen in Anzügen mit schnellem Schritt deshalb die Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber dem Obdachlosen Otto Namenlos erinnert sich nicht an die schnell vorbeiziehenden Gesichter und deshalb die Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber der Menschlichkeit und doch …

Motel Night Haiku

motel night
alone with the moans
of winter wind

NeverEnding Story, November 15

Selected Haibun: What’s Past Is Prologue

Sitting alone by the window, I look out at the maple branches swaying in the breeze. Out of nowhere, I feel the stab of a memory -- she waving me goodbye at the airport. I hold on to that memory, the universe hanging on the branches.

winter moonlight

breaking between branches

the sound of my voice

Cattails, May, 2015

Stall Talk Senryu

stall talk
his mouth filthy
with shithole countries

Seashores, 1, October 2018

Debate Replay Senryu

debate replay --
street kids sling mudballs
at each other

Seashores, 1, October 2018

Selected Haibun: An Unofficial Story

for Oskar

ink-black:

smoke trails a life

from the north tower

Another sleepless night. Winter moonlight on the empty side of her bed. From the bedside table, she picks up A Place of Remembrance: The Official Photo Book of 9/11. She stares at the book for a moment. The tears roll down her face as she rips out some of the pages. With a sigh, she puts the torn-out pages in reverse order. When she flips through them, dozens of people are flying through the windows back into the building.

Editor's Choice Haibun,Cattails, May, 2015

Comment by Cattails Haibun Editor Sonam Chhoki: The power of Chen-ou Liu’s haibun, An Unofficial Story for Oskar lies in its closing sentence: “When she flips through them, dozens of people are flying through the windows back into the building.” It is amazingly evocative image that has echoes of redemption and freedom from the tyranny of time.

Mount Fuji and Her Smile Tanka

the dimples
the curve of her smile ...
snow-capped
Mount Fuji in a corner
of her hospital window

Honorable Mention, 2018 Mt. Fuji Tanka Grand Prix Contest

Coins and Pellets Haiku

few coins
into his paper cup
snow pellets, too

Seashores, 1, October 2018

Bumper Sticker Senryu

don't hit me
I love you forever
bumper sticker

Seashores, 1, October 2018

Selected Tanka: Lingering Scent Tanka

I bury my face
in the curve
of her breasts
the lingering scent
after spring rain

German Translation by Chrysanthemum Editorial Team

ich vergrabe mein Gesicht
in der Beuge
ihrer Brüste
der anhaltende Duft
nach dem Frühlingsregen

Chrysanthemum 17, April 2015

Selected Haiku: Starless Night Haiku

alone
this starless night
tasting black

German Translation by Chrysanthemum Editorial Team

einsam
diese sternlose Nacht
schmeckt schwarz

Chrysanthemum 17, April 2015

Selected Tanka Prose: The Pain from an Old Wound

standing still
on the opposite shores
of the Pacific
in a dream ...
youthful Mother and aging me

When I was young, homesickness was a long cable line:
me on one end, Mother on the other.
When I grew up, homesickness was a three-sheet letter:
an hour’s labor, written and folded with care.
But later on, homesickness was reduced to $3 plus tax:
a seasonal greeting card.
Now, homesickness is a surging sea:
me in this Promised Land, Mother on a crowded island.

drifting in a dream
turned into a bird
flying over the Pacific --
I open my eyes
upon darkness again

Kokako, 22 April, 2015

Selected Haiku: Winter Mist Haiku

I  stretch  the  language  as     far     as  the  eye  can  see  wintermist

Revision, NeverEnding Story, March 15, 2015

Rose Garden Haiku

rose garden
her heart patient's new  
to-do-list

Seashores, 1, October 2018

Selected Tanka: Shroud of Words Tanka

this winter mist ...
like Penelope I weave
and unweave
a shroud of words
to ward off loneliness

Special feature: Myths and the Creative Imagination, Atals Poetica, 2015

Snowy Silence Haiku

snowy silence
between my only son and me
his young wife

Seashores, 1, October 2018

Then and Now Tanka Set

The feeling of love is [not] something that is transient or can be tarnished by the works of time -- paraphrasing Sreoshi Sengupta

strawberry juice
drips from a corner
of her mouth
on this sultry night
the taste of my first love

barefoot
in the cherry blossom rain
with heart abandoned
my first taste
of a passing love

NeverEnding Story, November 9, 2018

Forked Lightning Haiku

my ex and I walk
out of the divorce court ...
forked lightning

Seashores, 1, October 2018