brown leaves
a dog plays fetch
alone

Shannon Williams (4)

close to the day
his cold hand
inside mine

squeaky shoes
nurse enters
with a long needle

Annie Jones (2)

This haiku makes me think of the hospital or doctors office. As a child, I can vividly remember being in the doctors office and hear the sound of the nurse coming down the hall in her white uniform, making that squeaking noise with her shoes right before she enters the room to give me a shot with that sword of a needle she is barring. Jerry

bitterly cold
the warm touch
of the cup

Jerry Bobbett (3)

down the local
sledding hill
snow day

winter
she came back
only to leave again

Shannon Williams (3)

When I met and fell in love with a man in Virginia several years ago, I used to love to fly out to see him, especially in the fall when the colors of the trees in the Blue Ridge Mountains were at their peak. Tony often compared my departure after an autumnal visit to the onset of winter. He said that when I came to visit, I brought all the colors and the sunshine with me, but when I left it was gray again. We both commented that the anticipation of those visits was bittersweet. While there was the excitement and anxiety of getting to see each other again after having been apart so long, we knew it came with having to say good-bye one more time. We also had the realization that it would usually be around 6 months minimum before we might see each other again. This haiku describes that feeling of how good it was to see each other again but how empty it felt once we parted. There is a feeling of loneliness and the lingering memory of how happy the visit was. Kara

warm summer night
on a country road
gazing at the stars

Just this past summer, my boyfriend and I took his oldest daughter and her friend out to look at a meteor shower that was occurring. We waited until about 9:30 when it was really dark (and his other two daughters were finally asleep at his mothers) before driving out to a spot near Allerton Park. We pulled off to the side of the road and climbed up on top of the car’s hood to lean back and watch the show in the sky above up. Crickets and cicadas sang in the summer night and mixed with the sound of ooos, ahs, and the laughter of two eight year-old little girls as the meteors raced across the sky. The cool of the night air caused me to shiver and the girls to pull the blankets we’d packed close around them. We drank sodas and snacked on candy and chips we had stopped to buy at the local grocery store until the girls started getting sleepy. Finally, we got back in the car and drove through the country with the windows down and the girls asleep in the back seat. Kara

page by page
the diary of her life
burned

shortly after class
a star
appears

Eskimo kisses
my daughter’s cheeks
blush from the cold

spring morning
a new love blossoms
beneath the cherry tree

abandoned ballpark
green fence
hawk eye

quiet chatter
hands that tell a story
clapping

down by the pond
dripping wet
squish squash

Jerry Bobbett (4)

I like this haiku because it reminds of my younger days down by the pond. There were many times I went fishing down by the pong only to come home empty handed and soaking wet. This haiku says it all for me, down by the pond and dripping wet. I can remember walking home with soaked shoes, and all the way home it was squish squash.

one fat cardinal
ice covered limbs
of the walnut tree

Kara Manning (2)

heart pounding
fresh powder
skis pointed down

Kathy Carter (3)

I am taken to the top of a large hill at a ski resort where an individual is about to go down for the first time. Their heart is pounding with excitement and fear, but nothing is going to stop them. There was a heavy snow fall the night before and there is plenty of fresh powder of the slop. The ski lift is crowded and the colors are bright and everyone is smiling and having a terrific time. Shannon

In this haiku my inspiration was a memory of a ski weekend in Utah several years ago. When it comes to skiing, I am a beginner. One of my first few days on the slopes, I decided to go up the ski lift and try to go down a ski run that looked to have a nice gentle slope, appropriate for a beginner. The higher the lift took me up the more I realized I had made a mistake. Once I got off of the lift, I made my way slowly over to the slope. I could see many miles from this point on the mountain. It was a cold February day and it had snowed several inches the night before. However, the sun was shining, and I was glad to have goggles to protect my eyes from the blinding brightness of the snow. There weren’t many other skiers that day, so I stood there for a few minutes to enjoy the view and think of a strategy for my downhill descent. I could only hear the blowing of the wind as it whipped crystals of snow into swirls around me. It was a dry snow so it did look like fresh powder. I felt excited and confident I could make it down the mountain if I took my time, but I was also scared. My heart was pounding as I pointed my skis down the mountain. I felt compelled to prove to myself that I could make it to the lodge. That evening as stories of the day were shared with friends, there was no mention of the fear I felt on top of that mountain, and I wondered if anyone else also was leaving that part out of their story. Kathy

picture window leaves
swirl
in my hot chocolate

icicles drip
sun across the bed
long afternoon nap

one stray snowflake
upon my nose
a lover’s kiss

glasses on her nose
TV on
softly snores

summer drought
ballpark infield
still green

Shannon Williams (4)

among the red roses
the red bud
still blooms

orphan (2)

running stars
a quiet night
for a wish

the shovel and I
out for the day
snowfall overnight

snow drifts rise and fall
deep inside
my red boots

Kathy Carter (2)

This haiku reminds me of childhood when you wake up and discover it has snowed several inches. You peer out your bedroom windows to see perfectly curved drifts piled high where the wind has whipped snow against objects in the yard. You prepare for an adventure as you put on layers of clothing, two pairs of socks, coat, hat, hood, gloves, a scarf tied around your face, and the vinyl red boots with the button on the side. As you open the back door you can feel the tingling of icy air around your eyes. As you venture out into the yard it looks like a wonderland where no one has been. Slowly you trudge through the heavy snow. You purposely fall in snow drifts and roll around and make snow angels in the glistening snow. Other children in the neighborhood join you to build snow forts and to have snowball fights. Tunnels are made to hide from the enemy. After several hours, you head for the house to warm your wet hands and cold feet and share stories of adventure with mom. As the boots come off, snow is caked deep around your wet socks. Kathy

mosquito
takes a taste
no more

orphan (5)

I picture being outside simply trying to enjoy nature. The setting is early evening at a remote location near a creek. We’re sitting along the shore, in a lawn chair, with a fishing pole at our feet. I can’t imagine being more relaxed and comfortable, until a mosquito begins to take an interest in me. His first attack took me by surprise, starling me and awaking me from the short nap that I had fallen into. He managed to scramble away as I swatted at the location of his dig into my arm. There was silence for a while as I began to drift off again, and again he hit. This time he begins to anger me. This is my time and I do not like the interruption at all. I missed the second time as well, but I am watching for him this time. Sure enough he returns. I hear him, soon I feel him, and then I see him… smack! He is no more. I hope he enjoyed what he got, because it was his last drink. Wayne

cinders on the road
the spinning of wheels
cold winter day

pickup truck
snow
bumper sky-high

lonesome highway
snowflakes melt
against the windshield

Kara Manning

ice silenced town
the trees
broken

Shannon Williams (4)

I see a night that is dark and wet. There is a slow rain falling outside and the temperature is dropping. As it gets colder the rain starts to freeze to the tree limbs and the wires. The walkways and roads are also becoming slick. The rain continues, and the ice thickens. Later that evening the sounds outside become eerie. It is for the most part silent outside, without the typical noise from the daytime, and the atmosphere is filled with the sounds of branches creaking and cracking. As the rain continues to fall, and the ice continues to build, the sounds become louder and more frequent. Later in the night the limbs begin to fall. You can hear the crashing, even through the insulated walls of the house. There is a scary, uneasy feeling that you get when you listen. Finally it is morning, and oh, the devastation outside. Limbs and whole trees are lying on the ground everywhere. Electrical lines are down and power is out to thousands of houses. It appears as if a tornado had gone through the area. The damage is everywhere in the cleanup will take months. Wayne

the wind on the lake
before the storm
we're back now

Wayne Longwill (2)

light snowflakes
a bluebird crouches
under the evergreen

the light of the sky
at night
camping together

Wayne Longwill

I am taken to a camp site where two lovers are lying together snuggling up around a camp fire. It is not late at night, but the sun is no longer up and the sky is dark. The bright moon is shining down upon there camp site through the trees. The sky is clear and all of the stars are shining bright. Both of them are happy to be together alone in the wilderness to enjoy this nice and quiet evening. Shannon

cold & windy
the snowman still standing
silence all around

the leafless tree
covered with ice a cardinal
cries for his mate

air blowing in my face
a flock of geese
forty more miles

Annie Jones (2)