Last Rays Haiku

a drifting red leaf

vein-side to the sky

last rays of sunset

Sense & Sensibility, September 2026

Tourist Attraction Haiku

tourist attraction

sunlit quarters rattle and clink

in a paper cup

Asahi Haikuist Network, August 21 2026

Great War Haiku

camera clicks ...

this great war will end

all wars

NeverEnding Story, November 11 2026

Added:

War Is Peace

A bruised girl’s hand clutches a slice of bread in pixels, while a news ticker flashes past: "This war to end all wars." 

Remembrance Day

the parade lengthened

by armless vets

FYI: This could be read as a prequel to the following haiku:

afterwards

nothing else matters

white poppy

Blithe Spirit, 34:2, 2024

Brendon Kent 

FYI: First introduced by British pacifists in 1926, the white poppy is used as a symbol of peace and worn as an alternative to (or complement to) the red poppy for Remembrance Day.

Added:

the day

after Armistice parade

at long last

my ear and my heart drawn

to a mourning dove's call

River Trail Haiku

snowmelt river trail

a duck shepherds ducklings

through puddled light

Sense & Sensibility, March 2026

Other Shore Tanka

Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XLV

the north wind

carries my daydream

to the other shore

of this promised land ...

together alone with shadows

NeverEnding Story, November 9 2026

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

Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XXXVIII

in this promised land

my immigrant life compressed

to hard working 

and light sleeping between jobs ... 

fresh morning in my broken world 

NeverEnding Story, April 16 2025 

Added:

the seashore lashed 

with winds, rain, high-walled surf ...

this stalled life

FYI: This could be read as a prequel to my haiku below:

eye of the hurricane

alone in the dark I look

into my life

Plum Tree Tavern, September 22, 2023

Added:

years ago

a stranger, now I know you

through poetry --

flowing between us

the Milky Way of words

Added:

alone again

on the bench we once shared ...

rain of yellow leaves

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXVII: "drone after drone"

drone after drone --

a stream of mud and waste

winds through ripped tents

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXVIII: "girl's scream"

buzzing overhead

a girl's scream lengthens

this Gazan night

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXIX: "dripping blood"

farmhouse in flame

an olive tree 

dripping blood

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXX: "patchwork tents"

one lightning flash

after one lightning flash ...

Gazan patchworked tents

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXXI: "ripped Gazan tent"

last embers

beside a ripped Gazan tent

starlight

Humanoid Senryu

email all in CAPS

cubicle glass between me 

and the humanoid

THF's Haiku Dialogue, July 8, 2026, 2026

Dead Dog Haiku

sunlight drapes over ...

my dog who died days ago

licking me awake

Asahi Haikuist Network, August  7, 2026

Oriole Song and Ringtone Haiku

dappled trail

an oriole song answers

my phone's ringtone

Haiku in Action, "Our Song," July 1st -- 5th  2026

Deadline Haiku

deadline past

I turn off the lights

let moonbeams in

Haiku in Action, "Only Up From Here," June 18th -- 22nd  2026

Tree House Haiku

a broken ladder 

to the moonlit tree house

mind, then feet skyward

Haiku in Action, "Only Up From Here," June 10th -- 14th  2026

Sunshine and Shadow Haiku

shobo-ji temple

between sunshine and shadow

a hum of chanting

Haiku Journal, 69, 2026

AI and Redundant Souls Tanka

the AI 

lists redundant souls

no one speaks

while packing cardboard boxes 

under unblinking lights

NeverEnding Story, November 3 2026

FYI: This could be read as a prequel to my haiku sequence below:

Disemployed?

laid off

the autumn gust changes

its direction

unemployed

all these shapes

of winter clouds

job hunting

I step on the spring sun

in a puddle

summer heat

the AI greeter makes out

my fake smile

(note: AI stands for Artificial Intelligence)

Haiku Canada Review, 12:2, October 2018

Added: Trump Empire, Inc.: CI

in dim light

midterm elections news

on mute—

we make love, alone together

in this Trump-noisy world

FYI: The Daily Beast, October 23, 2026: Trump’s Weird Rally Moment Gets Brutal X-Rated Roast

It’s like a burp, a hiccup, and a dry-heave all in one... Sounds like Melania on their wedding night...Trump’s been in so many MRI machines, he now sounds like one. -- Jimmy Fallon

And Irish Stars, October 29 2026: Trump's strange noises during speeches are 'neurological dysfunction,' psychologist claims

Forensic psychologist Dr. John Paul Garrison suggested that the strange noises Donald Trump has been making at his rallies could be a result of 'neurological dysfunction.'

Added: Trump Empire, Inc.: CII

droning nonstop

with the neighbor's tv

broadcasting

midterm elections news:

the new data center

FYI: NPR, September 21 2026: The data center backlash is reshaping American politics

With striking speed, the widespread debate around data centers has become a fault line in American communities, cutting across political parties, splitting constituencies and forging unexpected alliances.

In city halls and county commission chambers, east to west and north to south, people are squaring off against their local representatives.

November 1 2026: Data centers are on everyone's minds going into Election Day

Added: Trump Empire, Inc.: CIII

crow after crow

on the White House rooftop

Donald Trumped

Added: Trump Empire, Inc.: CIV

Bluenami

a kyoka-inflected tanka set for the MAGA diehards

on the White House lawn

this golfball-brained man blares

Triumphal Arch

and Reflecting Pool ...

state after state turning blue

in fading light

cameras click, click, click --

with a meaty smile

this golfball-brained man wears

a red-lettered VETO hat

Added:

shop windows

reflecting the other side

of the street:

a silver-haired man

and his paper cup

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXV: "nowhere, everywhere"

nowhere

village homes

everywhere 

smoky fog

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXXVI: Gazan girl's scream

lost at last

among smoky rubble

a Gazan girl's scream

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

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCXX: "witnessing"

roaring attack drones

drown out midnight screams --

surrounded by fire

a Gazan girl in red

witnessing her mother ...

NeverEnding Story, October 7 2026

Wet warmth Tanka

alone in bed …

this sultry night arrived

then slipped away

yet its wet warmth still clings

to my wrinkled skin

Romanian Translation by Editor Steliana Cristina Voicu

singur în pat...

această noapte înăbușitoare a sosit

apoi a trecut

dar căldura ei umedă încă se agață

de pielea mea ridată

Enchanted Garden, 16, 2026

Brushed in Time

Her studio in SoHo perches two floors above the lines of tourists snaking past Prada and Chanel. The radio hums as she steps to the canvas.

Six hours a day, she paints her nude body: strands of silver hair, wrinkles on her face, one sagging breast, slender arms and feet, thinning pubic hair.

She paints all or parts of her body in black and white or in rainbow hues, shifting with the day—sunlight, drizzle, heat, snow.

sky turns to rust 

her silhouette 

dripping colors 

MacQueens Quinterly, 32, 2026

Grim Reapers Haiku

twilit sky

one grim reaper, two, three

forged of drones

NeverEnding Story October 31 2026

Added:

howling wind

the Grim Reaper

headless

Added:

night mist

taillights fading into

Halloween screams

Added:

twilight wind

a black skeleton rattling

against my door

Added:

my bulldog

growls at a Grim Reaper 

the scythe falls first

Added:

All Saints' Day

drop by drop by drop

yesterday's blood

Vampire Fans Haiku

night deepens

vampire fangs dripping

chocolate

Featured Haiku, Zen PeaceMakers, October 2026 

The Weight of the Unknown

The shift from "is" to "was" hangs in the air. On the table, the tea cools, untouched.

anniversary

ice crystals on the window

of her son's room

Cattails, April 2026

Stadium’s Thunder Gembun

Ears ringing with  "Y.M.C.A.," a sea of red-hatted supporters carry the stadium’s thunder out into the streets.

a soup kitchen line

under slate-gray clouds

pigeons pick crumbs

NeverEnding Story, October 28 2026

FYI: Democracy Now, October 26, 2026: Number of People on Food Stamps Falls by 13% After One Big Beautiful Bill

The number of people on food stamps in the U.S. has fallen by 13% from 41.6 million people in July 2025, before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect, to 36.5 million in June 2026. Advocates say more people are seeking help from food banks or going hungry. Currently, 47 million people, including one in five children, are living in food-insecure households nationwide.

And this poem could be read as a prequel to my tanka below

a MAGA pin

on this old man's breast pocket ...

his patience 

stretched to the limit

by a breadline blocks ahead

NeverEnding Story, July 13 2023

FYI: MAGA stands for "Make America Great Again." And Democracy Now, June 28, 2023: Poverty 4th Leading Cause of Death in U.S. as Calls Grow for Third Reconstruction.

Added:

thud, thud, thud

of his butcher knife

cutting red meat --

on the wall-mounted tv

war after war blaring

Added:

A wrong call: a drunk mumbling secrets intended for an old, dead flame.

sleepless again

I write emails trying

to get emails 

Added:

eyes on the phone

I wait for confirmation ...

my hamster

on the wheel to catch up

something yet nothing

FYI: This could be read as a prequel to my tanka below:

alone

holding a cup of tea

I look out the window

at new year's snow ...

this life on a hamster wheel

Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, January 22 2023

Self-Discovery

Each poem I write begins with a jolt — words that strike like warning thunder. Writing with serious intent feels like stepping over a threshold: every line opens a door I’ve kept closed.

As I write, I remain a seeker, following the faintest glimmer of truth through the darkness. The stars now blur into distance; the only compass is the low, steady throb beneath my ribs.

I look up

after a night of writing

to the full moon …

each poem a silver trail

deeper into what’s hidden

Cattails, April 2026

Casino Entrance Senryu

Casino entrance

Laughing Buddha's feet darkened

from the touch of hands

Cattails, April 2026