Alan Watts wrote “Haiku frequently concerns itself with simple, seemingly trivial material of everyday life with things, however significant on the surface, which are precious treasures and inexhaustible riches to those who learn not only to look, but also to see.” This is accomplished by awakening to the inner nature of mind. The haiku poet develops, perhaps gradually, a higher state of consciousness. The intent of many philosophies and religions is transcendence, rising above the simple drudgery that concerns the non-spiritual individual. Transcendence is the craft of the haiku poet.

 

The mind sees the world as sacred. But adventitious occurrences mask the sacred nature of our world, they dull the mind. Writing haiku is similar to meditating. Both can lead to a degree of perfect awakening. Become a Light in the world. See the essence of the ordinary, the thing-in-itself — and reveal it.

 

White caterpillar,

Undulates down trash bin:

Cawing of a crow.

 

Kevin McLaughlin

 

 

 

Corine Timmer is an artist, publisher, and award-winning poet living in the south of Portugal, between the sea and the Algarvean hills.

 

ebb and flow . . .

the ever-changing shape

of the sandbarrier

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First published in Gratitude in the Time of COVID-19: The Haiku Hecameron.

 

leaf-strewn street —

my reflection

in a passing hearse

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First published in Iris International Haiku Magazine, No. 5, 2019 

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feuillemorte —

the color

of his voice

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First published in Frogpond.

 

Corine Timmer

 

 

 

Mona Bedi catches the flow of life in a poem that would speak to an archeologist.

 

spring thaw

inside the icicle

a frozen bee

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(Despite the extreme brevity, this haiku conveys the essence of nature beyond any Wordsworth poem.)

 

Mona Bedi

 

 

 

Paweł Markiewicz is never totally separated from the haiku mind. He is a frequent BTS contributer.

 

under an old oak

at dawn the chalice was dug

by ancient druids

 

Paweł Markiewicz

 

 

 

Nicholas Gentile is retired and lives in York, South Carolina.

 

joining the goldfish

a croaking frog

dawn’s silence broken

​

(The sheer beauty of a frog barking.)

 

Nicholas Gentile

 

 

 

Minal Sarosh of India brings the mundane to a higher dimension.

 

midday sun

the herder snoring

the neem tree awake

 

long walk

a frog hopping in

the rain puddle

 

hospice window

twirling with the kite’s tail

mother’s breath

​

(Haiku can be very powerful. This is one such verse.)

 

Minal Sarosh

 

 

 

Francesca Leader won the first prize in the Society of Classical Poets’ 2021 translation competition with her translation of “Iroha,” an iconic Japanese poem.

 

Clouds billow and spread,

Soaking up the emptiness,

Mopping up the sky.

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First published in Issue 67 of The Haiku Journal.

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The shudder of life;

Wet anxiety to be;

Sharp shoots pierce the earth.

 

Grass vibrates with sound.

Wind or crickets — who can say?

They share the field’s harp.

 

Today a kestrel

Paused in your garden to drink

And you never knew

 

Francesca Leader

 

 

 

Noel King hails from Tralee, Ireland. His poetry collections have been published by Salmon Poetry. A short story collection, The Key Signature & Other Stories, was published by Liberties Press.

 

the skin of the sun

shadows

my pet rat

 

trains brushing edges

of trees reaching to embrace

across the tracks

​

(Inspired integration of man’s machines with nature.)

 

Noel King

 

 

 

Ram Krishna Singh, raised and educated in Varanasi, India, is a widely published poet whose work has been translated into many languages.

 

awake, cross legged

till witching hour —

no means no

 

lonely hours

restlessness of night

breathe satyr

 

dark fears —

loping in the street

mantra on lips

 

miles away

stars cease to twinkle:

no new moon

 

Ram Krishna Singh

 

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Padmini Krishnan is an Indian national. She currently resides in the United Arab Emirates.

 

another winter morning

the monotonous song

of a robin

​

(Monotonous, but beautiful in this verse.)

 

Padmini Krishnan

 

 

 

Debbie Strange is an internationally published poet and haiga artist whose creative passions connect her more closely to the world and to herself. She lives in Manitoba, Canada.

 

transience . . .

petal by petal

we let go

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Winning Haiku, 2017 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational.

 

fog deepens

the sound of rabbits

nibbling night

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Grand Prize, 2016 World Haiku Competition.

 

stone cairns

a faded cap drifts

downriver

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First Place, 2015 Haiku Society of America Harold G. Henderson Awards.

 

Debbie Strange