Lean Stray Haiku

a lean stray scratches

at its frosted shadow ...

end of the year

Leaf Haiku, 9, 2026

Silhouette Haiku

silhouette

across storefront ATM glow

moths circling

NeverEnding Story, July 9, 2026

FYI: This haiku approaches yūgen through a stark, modern cityscape... for more about yūgen and deailted comments, see "To the Lighthouse: Yūgen (幽玄)"

Added:

beneath the billboard

a shopping cart of blankets

frost in the moonlight

Spring Thaw Haiku

the shadow

of a viagra billboard

spring thaw

hedgerow, 151, 2026

Moonlit Shadows Tanka

box after box

of my immigrant life

in moonlit shadows

those I can't part with

those I can (but will I?)

Cold Moon Journal, September 18, 2025

Another Winter Tanka

alone

in the shadow

of her man ...

another winter

together alone

Cold Moon Journal, September 18, 2025

Psych Ward Senryu

my shadow 

left behind the door

psych ward

Failed Haiku, 110, 2025

Wrinkled Paris Mail Haiku

twilit shadows fall

on my wrinkled Paris mail

signed Yours forever

NeverEnding Story, December 2 2025

Added:

the dark side

of a winter moon ... 

between us, the hush

Added:

the full moon

blurred through winter fog

a vow not kept

Added:

this snowy night

alone at the Gold Mountain ...

owner, me and rice balls

Added:

snowonsnow ...

in a world of one color

the sound of coughing 

FYI: This haiku alludes to Basho's:

winter solitude 

in a world of one colour 

the sound of the wind 

Added: 

rain-beaded wire fence 

a child migrant's long stare

at southbound geese

Nail Holes Tanka

slanted moonlight

on nail holes in the wall ...

box after box

of my immigrant life

wrapped in shadows

Cold Moon Journal, May 29, 2025

Exile Haiku

tenth year in exile ...

wave after wave rinsing

my shadow

Fourth Prize, New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition 2025

Comment by the Judge, Scott Mason: The persistent “otherness” commonly felt by an exile finds a poignant natural correlate in this poem. As the years come and go, the beach waves continually advance and recede; yet they can never wash away the protagonist’s physical shadow, nor the felt sense of a shadow existence when separated from one’s “true” home—perhaps a home located on the other side of the ocean from where he or she now stands. [I’m reminded here of Dante: “You shall find out how salt is the taste of another man’s bread” (Paradiso XVII)]

Clown Tanka

street theatre improv:

in gathering dusk a clown

marches back and forth

jumps up and down, sways left and right

to cast off his shadow

German Translation

Stegreifstraßentheater:

in aufkommender Dämmerung stapft

ein Clown vor und zurück

springt auf und ab, schwingt nach links und rechts

um seinen Schatten loszuwerden 

Chrysanthemum, 34, 2025

Bent Woman Haiku

churchyard shadows

a bent woman speaking

in tongues

Ink Sweat & Tears, April 17, 2025 

Lone Cry Tanka

the lone cry

of a goose out of the flock ...

my drunken shadow

and I slow-dance to the sound

of our migrant memory

Ribbons, 21:1, 2025

The Poet Inside Tanka

I killed the poet

inside of me years ago ...

in shadow he takes

a long drag on his Lucky Strike

as our night shift is over

Laurels, 3, 2025

God, Rid Me of God

slanted sunlight

through stained glass windows

as I pray hard ...

finally tired of me

Time leaves me alone

jab by jab

right hook after left hook

at its head

I shadowbox with God

in my last Bible study

unshackled

from my childhood beliefs

I'm a passing thought

in the mind of God

who forsook his son on the cross

tired and alone

in the sunlit pew in a church

by the roadside ...

for hours my heart-to-heart

with the Angel of Silence

NeverEnding Story, February 21 2025

FYI: The title is a paraphrase of German theologian, philosopher and mystic Meister Eckhart's prayer.

Added:

I find church boring ...

my Christian friend responds

in dappled shadow

his tough-as-nails-on-the-Cross

account of fighting cancer

Added: On the Brink of Trumperica, XV

Living in the Land of Promise

just a dream, and yet ...

the mountain lion roaring

to flocks of sheep,

once elected as your King

I'll be vegetarian

a dictator

on his "first day only" ...

in misty dark

the ghost of tomorrow whispers

Trump Forever, Trump Forever

the people of Trump

                  by the people of Musk

                  for the people of the SuperRich ...

sun-bleached stars and stripes

atop the Capitol fencing

surge after surge

of woke mind virus ...

wearing a crown

the Convicted Felon alone

in an Oval Office window

FYI: The Telegraph, Feb., 7: Let’s celebrate: Donald Trump is vaccinating the West against the woke mind virus

Whether it’s gender ideology or border control, the president has torn through years of bizarre, divisive groupthink in a matter of weeks

Rolling Stone, Feb. 19: Trump on Himself: 'LONG LIVE THE KING'

The White House’s official X account also shared an image of a fake cover of Time magazine depicting Trump in a golden crown, with the headline “LONG LIVE THE KING.” 

And ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people...We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable. We must find ways to project an inspiring vision of the future

Jane Fonda, Feb. 23, 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards speech

Added:

one inch less 

of sunlight

winter solitude

Winding Journey Tanka

the winding

journey to meet love

at each turn

on this mountain road

my shadow ahead of me

外国語短歌佳作 (Honorable Mention), 2024 Fujisan Tanka Contest

Japanese Translation:

曲折の旅まがる度愛に逢ふこの山道に吾の影先をゆく

Reprinted in Shot Glass Journal, 45, 2025

FYI: I wasn't notified last year of the results of the 2024 Fujisan Tanka Contest, but found out them yesterday via the Tanka Society of America's (@OfTanka's) Feb. 10 post on X.

Years-Old Game Tanka

night walk

from drizzle to sleet to snow --

this years-old game

of would have, could have, should have

with my drunken shadow

NeverEnding Story, January 27 2025

Added:

talk of divorce

on the long way home

for an hour

her silence speaks louder

than the sound of a blizzard

Added:

Glimpses of Light

burnt houses

the fruit of a charred citrus tree 

clings to its branches 

smoldering ruins

an etched mural stands alone

at the temple 

FYI: This is a sequel to the following haiku:

No More Fairy Tales, XLIII

a stairway

what remains of a burned house ...

Pacific Coast sunset

Added: On the Brink of Trumperica, IX

the White House

pronounces, only two sexes...

trans youth trapped

between black-and-white Kansas

and rainbow-colored Oz

FYI: In 2021, President Joe Biden issued the first presidential proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. And the first International Transgender Day of Visibility was held on March 31, 2009.

America. Is. Back

On the Brink of Trumperica, I

America. Is. Back

southern magnolias

filtering the day's last light 

the White House in shadow

the winter sun falls

from a darkening sky

the Truman Balcony

one old man walks out

another moves in with Money

Arctic blast

NeverEnding Story, January 19 2025 

FYI: Among the [symbolically rich] trees on the White House Grounds, the oldest ones, southern magnolias, were planted by Andrew Jackson in 1829. And another southern magnolia was planted by Joe Biden in 2022.

Wikipedia, Truman Balcony: The Truman Balcony is the second-floor balcony of the Executive Residence of the White House, which overlooks the South Lawn. It was completed in March 1948, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman...In a September 2012 interview in Vanity Fair, President Barack Obama listed the balcony as his and his wife Michelle Obama's favorite spot in the White House.

And The New York Times, Jan. 20: A Trump Oligarchy Is Moving to Washington, and Buying Up Prime Addresses: Billionaires and multimillionaires are flocking to a city where power has been more important than money, but is now deeply intertwined with it.

This is a sequel to the following entries of Between Heaven and Hell:

Between Heaven and Hell, III

first visual magical realist tanka

USADecides:

TheSecondDumbing 

theredhotheadline

morphsintomarching

phalanxafterphalanx

(FYI: For more examples, see "To the Lighthouse: Magical Realism in Times of Crises")

Between Heaven and Hell, XVII

Tanka Two of "Making America Trump Again"

once blood-stained

the Capitol's arched portal ...

in one day

the Convicted Felon will take

(the oath and) the Power

Between Heaven and Hell, XXI

the downward tilt

of his chin and forehead

and the knitted eyebrows ...

Convicted Felon's official portrait

[l]awfully like his mugshot

And This haiku sequence is the first entry of my new writing project, "On the Brink of Trumperica," a sequel to "Between Heaven and Hell"

All art has its share in truth insofar as it serves as a transcript of human suffering.

-- Theodor Adorno

And

A poem after a poem after a poem is POWER!

-- paraphrasing Margaret Atwood

Added:  I just added one more fun haiku about this viral "air kiss" today:

Inauguration kiss

the distance between Trump

and Melania's lips

Toy Soldiers and Tanks Haiku

death anniversary

her son's toy soldiers and tanks

boxed in shadows

Asahi Haikuist Network , Dec. 20 2024

Foodbank Closed Haiku

foodbank closed

a stray dog scratching

at its shadow

Fireflies' Light, 30, 2024

Alone Together Senryu

a  l o n e togethermemyolddogdrunkshadow

Failed Haiku, 9:103, 2024