Pink Roses Drooping Tanka

pink roses

drooping in a vase—

the shadow

of the psychiatrist

darkens my niece's face

hedgerow, 152, 2026

Remembering

"doctor, please

the sounds, they won''t leave"

a boy mutters …

buzzing of drones, roar of jets

screams of Gazans, living and dead

For days he lies curled in a shelter bed, staring at the pockmarked wall as if it could answer him, until the sounds lodged deep inside his head finally overwhelm him.

When the razor wire outside glints with the first light of a new day, silence enters his head … and his life, five years older than the war that claimed it.

Ribbons, 22:1, 2026

Hospice Twilight Haiku

hospice twilight

the pull of Father's voice

before his words

Leaf Haiku, 9, 2026

Hospice Twilight Haiku

hospice twilight

the girl braids her doll’s hair

just like before

tsuri-dōrō, 32, March/April 2026

Silhouetted Figure

At the edge of night, memories flare like lanterns drifting on a river.

hospice window

morning mist

ghosting the blossoms

Frogpond, 49:1, 2026

Cough Haiku

cough on cough ...

yet still

this empty room

Cold Moon Journal, January 11 2026

Eyes and Minds Tanka

we walk quietly

from the doctor’s room

into an elevator

our eyes and minds escape

into panel numbers

Quail Eggs, 3, 2025

Frost Crystals Haiku

frost crystals

on the hospital window ...

what's half spoken

The Solitary Daisy, 63, 2025

Anxiety Wolf Tanka

in the moonlit dark

its eyes gleam, jaws slather

and teeth gnash...

this anxiety wolf stares at me

while dizzy, breathing fast

Fireflies' Light, 32, October 2025

A Passage

a pause

before the doctor's reply ...

my wife's hand in mine

the day she's gone ...

her smile in the wedding photo

with brown edges

sleepless again

I hold her empty pillow

tight ... and tighter

as if my late wife's hand

caressed my wrinkled face ...

first blossom rain

Frogpond, 48:3, 2025

Psych Ward Senryu

my shadow 

left behind the door

psych ward

Failed Haiku, 110, 2025

Silver-Haired Father Haiku

silver-haired father

now my child

foggy winter night

Cold Moon Journal, April 24 2025

Hospice Garden Haiku

hospice garden

the wishing fountain fills

with fallen leaves

Ink Sweat & Tears, April 17, 2025 

Cancerland Tanka

in Cancerland

I walk this winding road

often delayed

and turned in circles ...

the farther I go the more I stiffen

Gusts, 41, Spring/Summer 2025

The Last Year of My Father's Life

A haiku sequence for my father who was born in mainland China, lived most of his adult life in Taiwan, died and was buried there in 2022

a slice of my life 

in father's foggy mind

birthday sunset

father silver-haired

now my child

foggy winter night

ventilator hiss

Father's face blurry

and blurrier...

this faded photo ...

the story father told us

as mother grinned

this weight

of the words half spoken

a stone on Father's grave

NeverEnding Story, June 16 2025

FYI: For more about my father's story, see my tanka prose below:

A Chain Smoker of Few Words

My father, who was born in mainland China, quit his studies to defend his country against the Japanese invasion. Later, he fought his fellow countrymen for the sake of unifying war-torn China. Retreating to Taiwan along with the defeated Chinese Nationalist Army, he was separated from his family in China for four decades. He spent most of his adult life in Taiwan, worked hard to support his new family, died and was buried there without ever again seeing any of his family members from China.

this dream loop:

riding on my shoulders

into the Taiwan Strait

Father cries out, Mama

wait for me, I'm coming home

Contemporary Haibun Online, 19:3, 2023

Added:

for ten days

onslaught after onslaught

of writer's block ...

I look out the window

at the moon, its fullness

Added:

white sand

slips through my fingers

a flash 

of morning sunlight

in each grain

Added:

one brown patch

after another, another

on the lawn ...

we speak less day by day

as the end of spring approaches

Waiting Room Window Haiku

the moths batter

against the waiting room window

post-op check

The Bamboo Hut, 2025

Hospice Balcony Haiku

hospice balcony

alone with the dawn chorus

on this fresh morning

5-7-5 Haiku Journal, March 21, 2025

The Prices We Pay

claim denial ...

this numbness outside

this anger inside

deny, delay, depose

etched on blood-stained shell casings

gathering dark

one less CEO ...

half awake to this Promised Land

grievance-shadowed

A haunting voice echoes in my mind, "I don't wish anyone harm, but when a CEO routinely brought in revenue of over $100 billion for a health insurance company with the highest claim-denial rate, double the industry average, it's hard to feel sad about his violent death. He spent his life making money by increasing the suffering of everyday Americans. Now, I just follow his lead of indifference."

Haiku Canada Review, 19:1, 2025

Alley Stray Haiku

this lockdown life 

the comings and goings

of an alley stray

Japanese translation by Hidenori Hiruta

ロックダウンこの生活は何だろう路地裏の犬行ったり来たり

Akita International Haiku Network, Jan. 15 2025

ECG Beeping Haiku

ECG beeping ...

her heart once beat 

against my chest

NeverEnding Story, December 29 2024

Added:

false dawn

in dreams I see her turn back

... not turn back

Added:

a shooting star 

the night we slept together

like a dream, and yet ...