Featured Poet – Jeff Hoagland
beyond
our breath clouds
Geminids
stuck
in the eddy
autumn sky
first night
in her bed
wild geese
catching my eyes
the scent
of her perfume
without
a sound
killing frost
Jeff is a lifelong naturalist and environmental educator – these vocations, to some degree, inform his approach to haiku. His haiku capture his intimacy with and unique perspective of the wild and can be found throughout haiku journals and anthologies, and on large stones throughout his community. Jeff loves presenting in-the-field workshops at conferences and in June of 2026 will be hosting an event at his workplace, The Watershed Institute, “Creeksong – A Haiku Gathering”. His first book, scent of juniper, published by Red Moon Press, was honored with Honorable Mention distinction in the Haiku Society of American Merit Book Awards. He is an Associate Editor for The Heron’s Nest.
mountain retreat
a simple roof
leaking moonlight
– Robert Witmer
free fall
oak leaves choose
their own way to the lawn
– Matt Beck
one more look
before the sun sets
black butterfly
– Albert Schlaht
the drift
of harbour lights
midnight flotilla
– Gavin Austin
evening star
the sky dance
of the timberdoodle
– Jeff Hoagland
moon halo
a leatherback turtle
returns to the sea
– Stephenie Story
gnarled oak
on every branch a star —
ling
– Kathryn P. Haydon
garden wander
rose to rose
with a bumblebee
– Simon Hanson
after frost
the birdbath holds
a smaller sky
– C. X. Turner
sunset
the diamond beak
on a gliding hawk
– Ingrid Bruck
taco joint
we meet beneath
Frieda’s brow
– Scott Mason
Elm Street —
a squirrel lives
another day
– Kristen Lindquist
spring cleaning
she throws out
her husband
– Susan Yavaniski
oh boy the moon snaps the fishing line
– John Zheng
bathtime routine
I apply a face mask
to my mask
– Patricia Hawkhead
Cajun juke joint
from knot holes in the dance floor
evening mist
– Frank Higgins
twilight
catches the wedding ring
in the pawn shop
– Dave McLaughlin
All Souls’ Eve
drinking clear spirits
in the silence
– Ruth Holzer
twilight shadows
one last cast
again and again
– Kevin Valentine
the missing pocket
on a veteran’s jeans …
scud clouds
– Debbie Strange
consciousness
this cold stone
in my hand
– Agnes Eva Savich
his collection
of river rocks …
the strata of a life
– Angela Terry
winter morning
comparing myself
to myself
– Govind Joshi
helping me
get over myself
pink moon
– Cynthia Anderson
writer’s block my ink stick rubbed dry
– Mona Bedi
rhinestones on the snow
the gnomes’
Sunday best
– Dan Schwerin
dementors
casting a damper
nimbostratus
– Mohua Maulik
northern lights —
a twinkle
in the snowman’s eye
– Rick Jackofsky
trick or treat
our neighbor’s skeletons
come out of the closet
– Jay Friedenberg
for what it’s worth
still ahead of us
The Jetsons
– Millicent Bee
dim tango bar
thigh high slits
on a velvet dress
– John Budan
valentine’s day
the crotchless panties
he hasn’t seen yet
– Rowan Beckett Minor
tequila sunrise to sunset
– Edward Cody Huddleston
suddenly
she straddles my face
ambushed
– Jon Petruschke
silver anniversary
the luster
of brand-new handcuffs
– Tracy Royce
Friday to Sunday
kissing you beginning
to end
– Jon Petruschke
two halves of a hole
the sophisticated geometry
of heartbreak
– Anne Fox
sugaring season
the scent of woodsmoke
in our sheets
– Susan Yavaniski
no-spark date …
his single malt scotch
stays
– Stephanie Newbern
eep hour
the candlelit contours
of her body
– Jeff Hoagland
from the cheap seats the universe
– Alan S. Bridges
drowning in the depths
of a shallow
conversation
– Mike Fainzilber
wedding day
the couple exchanges
passwords
– Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
morning commute
this failure to achieve
escape velocity
– Jay Friedenberg
how I left the church amazing disgrace
– susan burch
perfumed air
a gathering of women
in the pocket park
– Christine Wenk-Harrison
female cardinal
the years she was
Anonymous
– Julie Schwerin
starless sky …
the unsung lullaby
of a refugee mother
– Hifsa Ashraf
patriarchy
too much
for a small poem
– Dan Schwerin
blue butterfly tea
the old vine still blooms
in the gardens of our mothers
– Rebecca Drouilhet
cigar lounge
pale faces
sending smoke signals
– Andrew Pineo
forest scrapheap
the brittle syntax
of rust
– Kathryn Liebowitz
in sepia
the last thylacine …
footprints in snow
– Lorraine Haig
a good death
in my glass of wine
the drowned gnat
– Marie Derley
Black Hills —
no country for
croquet
– Scott Mason
off trail
so many flavors
of wild banana
– Bill Cooper
nesting season
a walker pretending
not to look in
– Ella Aboutboul
zen garden —
ignoring the stone
in my shoe
– thomas david
winter walk
the guide fluent in
animal tracks
– David Green
first village trip
grandma introduces me
as my dad’s son
– Biswajit Mishra
door ajar
we hurry by
her other voice
– Pat Davis
sight
of the empty chair
Easter Eve
– Barbara Anna Gaiardoni
duplex nails
driven all the way in
second thoughts
– Eric Sundquist
pale dawn …
the seated body wrapped
in oud scent
– Artur Zieliński
sleepless again …
a seal calf stranded
on candle ice
– Jo McInerney
dog days
the slow unraveling
of catkins
– Bryan Rickert
place of many crows
the soft swish swish
of sheoaks
– Louise Hopewell
afternoon shadows
deep in the grass
the old dog’s ball
– Jennifer Sutherland
slow day
the poolman moves
a cloud
– John Hawkhead
magnolias shedding —
his decision
to finally ask her out
– Anthony Lusardi
study hall
the silence of books
being read
– Barrie Levine
adolescent love letter
even back then
too many words
– Lee Hudspeth
hot summer sun
half-a-milkshake-deep
in conversation
– Mary McCormack
wild valerian —
the shortcut never taken
in youth
– Nicoletta Ignatti
in the box of books
the dust
moves with us
– Alexander Groth
autumn chill
the flea in my ear
a drowsy wasp
– David Gale
creaking trees
a storm brewing
in my ankle
– Brendan Edward Kennedy
custody outing
at the lake his teen son
casts the first stone
– Wendy Cobourne
chemo sessions
my smile
the only weapon
– Carmela Marino
coming home
from rehab
cactus flower
– Alvin B. Cruz
mourning period
the weight of wet snow
on a pine bough
– Wonja Brucker
tossing peanuts
the crows eye
my intentions
– Leon Tefft
canned creamed corn
the long shelf life
of childhood trauma
– Kristen Lindquist
walking together …
our indefinite
half-life
– Ravi Kiran
she suggests
yet another kind of therapy —
slanted rain
– Carolyn Hall
sinking deeper …
the fate
of a hooked worm
– John Budan
turtle on a log
won’t you be
my neighbor?
– Randy Brooks
playing spy
ids-kay eak-spay
ig-pay atin-lay
– Ingrid Bruck
red wagon
a child pulling
the sunset
– Edward Cody Huddleston
second base
my little boy
steals summer
– Laurie D. Morrissey
generational roots
the boys help grandpop plant
the yearly garden
– Monty Milne
beating the system —
on the anti-homeless spikes
a mattress
– Tuyet Van Do
peace on Earth
a muskrat nibbles
pondweed
– Marianne Paul
double scotch no ICE
– Lee Hudspeth
domestic violence
a garden full of
pinwheels
– Dennis Owen Frohlich
weekend
storm threat
presidents’ day
– Jerome Berglund
camping night
by the river our wine
indigo blue
– Richa Sharma
old seesaw
again
the same argument
– Sheza T.
heat lingering
after the shower
the mirror’s I love you
– Katie Montagna
lying
inches away from her —
winter solitude
– Lev Hart
her whisper
in my ear —
mountain mist
– John Pappas
giving way
because of them
cherry petals
– Jenny Fraser
subway wait
the mural
of a murmuration
– Bob Stewart
skookumchuck
touching the waves
of scarlet salmon
– Deborah Bowman
summer
every which way
of corn
– Joanna Ashwell
clouds & cloud shadows
pattern the red African earth
window-seat
– Noreen Ash Mackay
mostly mist
this day
between rains
– Bryan Rickert
new snow at rest
the shopping mall’s
parking lot
– Gary Hotham
cold rain ends …
hello in my eyes
and in my deaf neighbor’s
– Keiko Izawa
winter recess
the playground crowded
with fresh air
– Brad Bennett
bright day
I curtain the sunshine
in pleats
– Padma Thampatty
the Muse of tragedy
glares at the camera
student bus pass
– Maxianne Berger
Ode to Joy
the time it takes
to trim her hair
– Al Williams
happy to tell me
where to go
concert usher
– Wilda Morris
hearing aid batteries
in a sealed package
elderproof
– Lynn Edge
park bench —
on the sleeping man
”do not disturb”
– Dave McLaughlin
winter solstice —
playing alice coltrane
instead
– Mark Forrester
the squirrel jumps
through late afternoon shadows
on my bedroom wall
– Miriam Borne
wind in the reeds —
the heron’s shadow
thins
– Neena Singh
aurora borealis …
we are all
believers
– sanjuktaa asopa
shifting
to the passive voice
third-quarter moon
– Joshua St. Claire
holding his gaze
for a New York minute …
ox-eye daisies
– Monica Kakkar
the dachshund’s belly
tells of it
morning dew
– Frank Hooven
skeleton leaves
I can’t undress
before you
– Dylan Stover
spring equinox
Canada geese return
to the golf course
– Nancy Brady
shakespeare in the park
the magnolia
puts on a show
– Sarah Lawhorne
dog days
a jigsaw puzzle
with no edge pieces
– MJ Mello
every time
I sit down to meditate
dust on the lamp shade
– Vandana Parashar
a leaf’s descent —
the cat’s nonchalance
– Patricia Carragon
aligned planets
the dentist
suggests braces
– Marilyn Ashbaugh
lenten moon —
the pebble in my shoe
becomes a mountain
– Adele Evershed
pregnancy test
a monsoon
of heartbeats
– Kala Ramesh
street kids
hanging tough
wild roses
– Gavin Austin
to build a life
children working hard
on a snowman
– Robert Witmer
orphanage
nasturtiums grow wild
across the fence
– Arvinder Kaur
cease fire —
two kids exchange
bullet shells
– Neha Singh Soni
mending a crack
in concrete
kintsugi dandelion
– Kim Goldberg
her first time under
in the waiting room
doomscrolling
– C. Jean Downer
room without a view
the eye surgeon
lists my options
– Meera Rehm
tea after the appointment:
one lump
or two
– Forest Meadow
post delirium —
the room suddenly
clear of ghosts
– Jo McInerney
more curious with age
counting the ridges
of sea shells
– Robyn Cairns
back of the cupboard
a half-full box
of her favorite tea
– Matt Beck
house sparrows
a piece of mum’s yarn
woven into the nest
– Ann Sullivan
sipping tea —
savouring the flavour
of idle gossip
– Paul Callus
forcing forsythia
this yearning
for spring
– Nancy Orr
laid off
the last puzzle piece
missing
– Stephen C. Curro
corn harvest
the line of cars
behind the tractor
– Dennis Owen Frohlich
in the John
of the kitschy diner
a plastic living wall
– Nathanael Tico
shelter cat —
seeking closeness with me
from a distance
– Danijela Grbelja
juice dribbles
down his chin
Father’s Day
– Elaine Wilburt
publish or perish
to use or not to use
A.I.
– Caroline Giles Banks
Memorial Day
the distant eyes
of young men
– M. R. Pelletier
Gucci and Prada
a beggar’s rags
reflected in the windows
– Cristina Povero
aptly out of focus —
selfie
at Giverny
– Millicent Bee
airing the books
of a persimmon eater —
Shiki Day
– Kanchan Chatterjee
Stephanie Zepherelli, Haiku – Che Beez Knez, Photo
