Cicadas and Bean Pods Ju Roku

cicadas drone ...

the snap, snap, snapping

of bean pods

Ju Roku Issue, The Bamboo Hut, October 2025

River's Edge Ju Roku

river's edge ...

drowning the self

in myself

Ju Roku Issue, The Bamboo Hut, October 2025

Rope Bridge Ju Roku

a rope bridge

sways in the winter wind ...

this life on the go

Ju Roku Issue, The Bamboo Hut, October 2025

Snail Track Ju Roku

snail track

the meander of thoughts

on life

Ju Roku Issue, The Bamboo Hut, October 2025

Apple Peel Ju Roku

a spiral of apple peel

(this longing)

Ju Roku Issue, The Bamboo Hut, October 2025

FYI: Ju Roku is an invented form that Steve Wilkinson, editor of The Bamboo Hut, developed a few years ago. "It is a succinct form limited to 16 syllables or less with no restriction on subject matter or line length. The only restriction is the limited number of syllables. It can reflect the characteristics of haiku, senryu, tanka, ryuka, doditsu or aphorism." The October, 2025 issue was a special feature of Ju Roku only.

Abused Body and Mind Haiku

her abused body

inside

the inside of her mind

The Bamboo Hut, 2025

Sigh Haiku

the length

of an old migrant's sigh

feathers on barbed wire

The Bamboo Hut, 2025

In and Out Haiku

in and out

I breathe the silence

milky way

The Bamboo Hut, 2025

Waiting Room Window Haiku

the moths batter

against the waiting room window

post-op check

The Bamboo Hut, 2025

Empty Beer Bottle Haiku

setting sun flickers

in an empty beer bottle ...

summer's end

The Bamboo Hut, September 2024

Skylight Haiku

skylight

my baby’s laughter

rises to the stars

The Bamboo Hut, September 2024

Midnight Wander Haiku

midnight wander

my drunk shadow and old dog

set their own paces

The Bamboo Hut, September 2024

Land of the Free

early leaf fall ...

I drift where the thoughts

of my exile life

take me today [ten years

and an ocean apart]

in dim light

I'm just a temp in the attic

waiting alone

for another gig ...

chants from afar of USA!

The Bamboo Hut, September 2024

Mother and Father

the urge to look at

and to look away from him

scolding his boy

near the candy shelf ... this flushed face

of my six-year-old self

calling from Taiwan

my mother cries, laughs and cries ...

peeling back

layers of memories

about my stubborn childhood

waking yet not quite ...

in the dawnlight through the gap

between curtains

mother holds my six-year-old self

as father fades into darkness

The Bamboo Hut,1, 2024

The Smell of Home

I stop father 

from taking the sixth bun

for breakfast--

their scent like the ones

his mother made long ago

Dad, I'm Chen-ou ...

he runs his fingers again

through his white hair

as though puzzled

by an ungraspable thought

what kind of life

is our father living now?

my brother replies,

last Sunday after eating buns

Father said, Mmm, boy! Good!

The Bamboo Hut,1, 2024

This Winter of Discontent

my blind date mutters

before eating anything

oh, you're a writer ...

a flotilla of sushi boats

floating round and round

half asleep

I listen to the beating sound

inside my chest

and yet the voice in my head

whispers, you're a failed writer

what if I were rich?

her parting words linger

in the cold air,

my mind was in love

but not my body

The Bamboo Hut,1, 2024

FYI: Wooden sushi boats, shaped like Japanese wasens, are a traditional and elegant way to serve sushi in a Japanese-owned, upscale restaurant.  

One Day at a Time

test results

this carrousel

of thoughts

early leaffall

the silence between me

and the cancer doctor 

hospital garden

the evening breeze carries

my prayer

The Bamboo Hut, 2, 2023

Life as a Chinese Temp

restructuring...

my cubicle shrinks

my salary, too

look of this cashier

I set aside chips, eggs, milk...

even the rice

finding new gigs ...

in my mind's eye these faces

of landlord after landlord 

you're let go ...

this twist to the boss's mouth

in my midnight dream

The Bamboo Hut, 2, 2023

Moonlit Ripples Tanka

a leatherback surfaces 

with its head through a hole

in driftwood ...

I gaze beyond moonlit ripples

to the homeland I left behind

The Bamboo Hut, 2, 2023

Note: The leatherback turtle can travel 16,000 km (10,000 miles) or more each year, crossing the entire Pacific Ocean in search of jellyfish.

Couch Surfing Haiku

couch surfing ...

each snow-covered house 

smells different

The Bamboo Hut, 1 2023