These are haiku/senryu I’ve published on Threads. Each is preceded by the day’s single-word prompt by @haikufeels.


portend
October waxes —
portends haikuists’ scribblings —
full moon; an owl hoots


hex
I’m 37 —
a youth, a spring chicken in
hexadecimal


pass
The hours will pass
with my eyes closed or open
— I choose awareness


lesson
Don’t cheap out, Gramps said,
less’n that'll cost you more
over the long term


feather
Light as a feather,
the good days — and the others,
as heavy as lead


study
Study: verb or noun?
I am happiest doing
one in the other


sing
Old friend Walt Whitman
sings the body electric —
mine sputters and sparks


prickle
I like a srandwich
with prickle and tromato,
mrustard and mrayo


lather
Meetings, deadlines, Slack
have me all in a lather —
thank goodness for rain


sail
An introduction —
no ego, kindness, delight —
and hopes set sail


enforce
Diet of kindness
enforces a regimen
of kindness returned


crawl
Four-thirty Friday
Work week not yet done: email
Time slows to a crawl


diet
The corporate life
a diet of stress and strain
paycheck and no more


clasp
Putting in edgers.
Quick work? No. Just down, old roots.
Digging hands clasp time.


gouge
A glacial cleft,
a gouge in the horizon —
young iceberg is free


graze
In hindsight, their slights
only grazed me — one needn’t
be quite so wounded


slither
All eyes are on him —
they listen with rapt regard —
envy slithers in


hear
Standing stock-still — now,
an hour after parting,
hearing what he said


exit
When I sit — just sit —
for a while, watching the clouds —
ego slips away


bait
Midge on pond water,
free, fearless — alas for fish,
there’s a string attached


classify
Among other Wednesdays,
this one falls in the middle —
hump of the bell curve


summer
At Labor Day’s end —
equinox notwithstanding —
summer’s a lame duck


horseback
"O Muse, we are lost!"
I cried until hoarse, back
when I knew we’d fail


summer
At Labor Day’s end —
equinox notwithstanding —
summer is a lame duck


landscape
Each soul a landscape
of feeling: dull plains, bright peaks;
crevasses; quicksand


act
O Staff Meeting! Thou
art Shakespearean in thy
cunning treacheries


rip
Leave me high and dry —
I’m fine. Tell me I don't try —
my heart rips in two


prompt
Friday feet seek porch
and sunset, end of strife, like
soft rain weeps downhill


navigate
Life, though short, is long
No two decades are the same
River rapids; rocks


repeat
Arise. Black coffee.
Slack messages await.
Thus the rent is paid.


wear
He wears his summer
like a brown glory — nineteen
months old, triumphant


conjure
Sea, sand, family —
and work deadlines all on pause —
conjure simple peace


monsoon
Monsoon is the wind
that carries the rain — power
of metonymy


sunburn
What of Icarus
and his nose? feathers, wax, yes —
did it tan, or peel?


evict
Eve, icked out by snake’s
over-eager sales pitch,
casts doubt on apple


focus
Attention’s spotlight
drifts away from Slack, spreadsheets —
rain on windowpane


learn
Feet and time trace paths
on the rug and down the hall
— our places learn us


planet
Planet: wanderer
in Greek, dwelling at home in
no constellation


choose
Raindrop on tree branch —
debating on when to fall?
If not now, then when?


leak
Today’s roof leak —
nature’s probing fingers seek
future time’s ruins pbpaste | ./haifmt prompt


roll
A lakeside sunset —
waves roll forth, then whisper back
on into dark night


fuse
A well-used candle
and its dish, cold and solid —
fused in work well done


journal
Journal cover is
a coffee-ring palimpsest —
layered thoughts within


plummet
As lemmings to cliffs,
we charge ahead, cluelessly,
until the plummet


spread
Western setting sun
spreads orchid, rose, and amber
wide to eastern sky


leak
Today's roof leak —
nature's probing fingers seek
future time's ruins


smolder
Old hurts still smolder,
flaring into flame at the
breath of fresh contempt


vessel
Pottery shards in
dark earth — a vessel of hopes
old, maybe broken


lazy
Be not fooled — lazy
river carries along a
continent of silt


rile
Stones in the river —
seaward flow disrupted —
riled, then smoothed out


lawless
Birds at the cat dish —
no remorse, no recompense —
feline law withheld


tackle
With block and tackle,
heavy loads are lifted by
weak hands — and much rope


moment
"I am not sleepy!"
In times of such great moment,
child’s power stands tall


lug
To carry regrets
is human; to let them go
is a gift to self


lecture
Etymology
of lecture is just reading —
more peaceful that way


wise
Following Socrates,
I’m wisest when admitting,
at last, I know squat


pollen
Panspermia is
pollination, but on a
galactic scale


wine
In the wine-dark sea,
raft smashed, Ulysses was free —
“I’ll swim for it”


monarch
Death mask made of gold —
Gaze on glory, ye who see! —
tourists in flip-flops


tarry
On late autumn porch,
sun now sets earlier — dusk —-
time enough


commit
Sins tabulated:
envy, pride, sloth, crankiness —
we forgive ourselves


rebuild
Decades in I know
not all is best the first time —
we rebuild, better


lease
Life itself — to lease,
not own — borrow and return,
parents to children


reuse
Read old books with eyes
open — re-use old lessons,
make your own new ones


observe
Sparrow overhead —
silent, head tilted — watching
my every errand


subtract
Joy is added to
by random acts of kindness
— petty spites subtract


machine
Show me a machine
that makes me happier — then
I'll buy it, else no


mature
Middle-school humor,
fifty-year-old humor have
surprising overlap


layer
Sudden rages burst —
Why? Acquiescence thinly
layered on old pain


manage
How did Mom manage
job, Dad, us two kids fighting?
Too late to ask her


leap
"Pleased to meet you", smile,
and turn — no great leap to guess:
no love is lost there


collect
In my sixth decade —
regrets, joys, hopes collected —
interests compounded


sleep
To sleep, perchance to
wake not icked out by spawn of
my subconscious mind


jump
You cough behind me —
so hilariously, I
jump out of my skin


paint
While I'm awaiting
"Your call's important to us!",
paint on wall peels


squash
Microaggressions
ruin life's joys, bleed soul dry,
squash optimism


compose
The way she kissed me,
poetry composed itself —
oh so long ago


hold
Snared between bear's teeth —
salmon flips and away — scarred,
freedom is better


knit
Rain tapping on roof;
heartbeats gathered together
underneath, close knit


glitch
Noble bird spies cave —
warm, inviting, food within —
one glitch — window pane


glide
Goose, wings wide, gliding
low over river water —
I would trade places


seethe
At age seventeen
I could not wait to get out —
incessant seething


quench
Plunged hissing, steaming,
into cold water — red-hot
iron now cold, cruel


acquire
Post-breakup move-out:
not happy, yet occasion
to lighten the soul


nudge
With a nudge of oar
one is afloat on water,
unmoored from worry


canoe
Full moon glints jumbled
on inky river ripples —
paddle pulls homeward


volunteer
She planted daisies
every year, my grandma, then
— behold — hydrangea


buy
Every time you say
I'm just over-sensitive
I'm not buying it


gallop
Waiting quietly,
showing no worry — inside,
a galloping heart


stall
Unsavory task
is ready for me to work
on it ... excuses ...


evade
But how was _your_ day?
I hasten to add, hoping
you'll follow the slip


conclude
Office workday ends
Drink on porch with beloved
The sun sets; meaning


knot
In knots, I say what
I fear leaving unsaid — I
hang on your reply


whole
Four billion years old —
bruised, pockmarked, pummeled, cratered —
still a whole moon


sauce
Silent resentments,
simmering hot and red like
a sauce, bubbling


solid
Eons of waves make
sand into stone — still solid,
yet differently so


stay
It is cold outside —
no hurrying meteors —
let’s wait a bit more


connect
Stuck for long delay
side by side on the metro —
someone cracks a joke


twist
The oldest of trees
rises not straight and easy
but twisted, like pain


divide
Rocky Mountain drop
of rain lands on summit and
teeters, east, or west ...


plant
Asphalt sidewalk, once
during civilization's
peak — now broken, green


curl
Ancient paint curls
and flakes, which once lay flat — in
motion we don't see


begin
Seven years estranged —
eyes sideways, hesitating —
mouth opens to speak


relish
Workplace victory
is yours — are you happy now,
relishing your ruse?


mother
mother
This day, at my age,
no need for card or phone call —
smile; remember her


cast
Late-night cringy thoughts —
those I've ever mistreated —
a cast of thousands


eat
The center can hold —
spider cafeteria —
a web of flies


fence
A look of distaste —
your face falls as I walk up —
never mind, I'll go


zigzag
Life goals from day one?
No, I'd say I'm getting there
caroming like a pinball


lounge
Atop arm of couch,
domesticated killer
flicks tail and squints


garden
Stranger on metro,
silent — what hopes dwell within?
A garden of their own


swim
Under the kayak
swim fish unseen — tending to
errands of their own


sew
Mom reading aloud
to us when young — forever
sewn in memory


move
Lying still as mud,
in my chest a tap of pulse —
never motionless


carve
One patient river
and millions of years — just wait —
made the canyon grand


scrub
I love spring leaves — but —
car bedazzled with pollen —
it needs a good scrub


abuse
What went wrong? To start,
“you’re just imagining things”
did us no favors


recycle

Out in the forest —
no leaf rake, scooping, or bags —
a thick palimpsest


reform
Chastised, we regret
while planning next steps — to wit:
don’t get caught next time


shoot
Meteor’s demise —
billion years, silent orbits —
seconds of bright flame


nap
The job pays the bills
and I do need to eat — but
oh, to nap sometimes ...


value
White snow — no nuts seen —
but our squirrel friend
knows where each one is


turn
Beard greys as leaves turn —
mind toward knowledge ever yearns —
old passions still burn


punish
Many will shame you
for wanting their honesty —
parents, or partners


embrace
Catch-all cooking tip:
when in doubt, add more garlic —
embrace the moment


discover
Blank sky, calm water —
then, with goggles, dive below —
intricate marvels


mask
Microaggressions
leave me not angry enough
to fight — just despair


enlist
After the big scene —
truly asking, please tell me —
was I the jerk there?


unwind
Modern-day irony:
getting up to exercise —
best way to unwind


flick
The cat is now “fed”,
inasmuch as there’s a dish
of food — tail flick — bye


eclipse
My heart has broken
so many times — yet with you
all else pales behind


suspect
Weekly staff meeting —
one person is defensive —
another sits smug


permit
Saturday morning —
no to-do list, no guilts tripped —
consciousness can wait


pay
One more drink can’t hurt — ?
Except at my age, oh yes,
by morning it will


ghost
Fifty years they had —
good ones, both said — reminders
of the possible


discount
Discounting the risks,
our friend chicken crossed the road
for reasons untold


rest
Turtle on day off,
northbound geese coasting mid-flight —
rest is relative


prank (April 1 2024)
There once was a poet named Anne
who cooked up an internet plan
  to inspire haiku
  in the hearts of all you
but Fools’ Day is now here at hand


elope
Paper and scissors
have finally worked it out —
poor rock, all alone


lie
On riverbed floor
lies a stone cast in anger
eight hundred years ago


scam
Palaces and yachts;
hovels, starvation; all on
an abundant earth


dream
As cats chase mouse toys,
humans chase dream homes, cars, wealth —
ever compulsion


rinse
After desert rain,
once-dusty streets now glisten
momentarily


drive
High up and southward
geese beat their wings, veeing heads-
first into cold rain


lift
Spring pollen arrives —
much aloft — and to my nose —
another tissue


embark
Drop of melting ice
quivers on hillside tree branch:
ocean, here I come


guess
Wondering if this
will go well — already your
jaw sets — I guess not


want
For want of a nail
the shoe was lost — alas, poor
tilty three-shoed horse


have
Of all the moments
that ever were, only one,
only now, is ours


nod
Flowers nod in breeze
— cliché, I know — sorry, folks —
a long day at work


wash
Arroyo, wadi,
wash: shaped like a river, but
dry almost always


sacrifice
Green leaves without rain
All droop; seven green, three brown
How are they chosen?


drizzle
Drizzle all morning
No punctuation — and then
a crack of thunder


soak
Five days of rain now
and still counting — rivulets
wending riverward


snag
Just one more thing, sir —
before you board the airplane —
have you your passport?


tidal
Locked eternally
facing Earth’s aches — does the moon
wish for innocence?


drift
Sit, said Master Thay,
like a pebble drifting down
to rest in water


tumble
Twisting river, roar
approaching, fall of water,
down to stones below


hike
We climbed that mountain
Above the clouds, fog all around —
a different heaven


accident
It was a third date —
Mom and Dad had barely met —
and now here I am


lullaby
Gentle roof murmurs
Open-window petrichor
Night rain soothes the soul


bend
Breeze bends through curtains
as light as memory, heavy
as wistful regret


vacant
Uncircled peace signs
end abruptly in mid-beach —
shorebird has flown away


river
Long runs and rushes —
the ancient seaward river
folds, turns, flows through time


fickle
The weather, and cats —
what else is fickle? My own
creativity


cake
Baby elephant
caked with mud, small and forlorn —
Mom’s nasal shower


meditate
Still air, pond, hot sun
Dragonfly alights on stem —
waits, and longer waits


assemble
Sidewalk scattering —
O Pigeon Optimism! —
there aren’t enough seeds


pick
Seagull drops a clam
to the stony shore below —
dines on the halfshell


cut
Orchard branches pruned —
in with good, out with bad — but
who wields the knife?


need
Becalmed in mid-sea,
three side-eyeing sailors wait
for a hint of breeze


weave
Final breath — she let
loose strands of life she had so
carefully woven


question
Grey clouds hang shaggy
Like sheep’s untended belly wool
Hints of maybe rain


design
Brand-new spider web
Bead of water glints in sun
No insects fooled yet


paddle
Mallard pair: brown, green
On water, silence — before
and after rainfall


see
Always five stars: six,
one night — what solar system’s
birth or death unfolds?


exclude
Old man and the sea
spoiler alert: fish get caught
No white whale, no sale


request
Mrs. Dalloway
plot summary: rejection
comes back to party


debate
Treeful of swallows;
another dawn; cacophony
ensues, and then flight


describe
Bare, waving branches
describe hopes for the future
upon a grey sky


elicit
Two tentative buds
feeling sun, loosening bonds,
risking a late frost


include
I water my plants
almost as much as I should
green leaves, one yellow


clean
Dishwasher is full
and run. My conscience is clean.
And who needs cupboards.


vibrate
Aspen leaves in fall
A million quivering glints
Hillside ashimmer


fire
Cold ash: job well done
Unburnt wood lumps: you refused
to help out last night


subdue
People are coming
and going, all the day long
Cat squints; tail twitch


play
Hot day in summer
People seek shade and water
Petals sway in breeze


condemn
Century-old home
Now grey and splintered timbers
Sunlight peeks between


reply
Deep cavern, darkness
Water, no sun, no algae
One plink, one echo


sketch
Horizontal sunset
Green tree, black shadow on wall
Two trees side by side


code
Bird chatter fills trees
One certain distant trill — one
wide-eyed bird aroused


stab
Cringing to think of
an ineptitude of mine
thirty years ago


protest
Two cat dishes placed
One whiskered head bows to eat
One raised tail departs


cook
Desert sun’s hammer blows
left me reeling, out of state
seeking shade eastward


negotiate
Past root, bole, and fen,
the many-voiced river wends
murmuring seaward


confused
Eyes closed in the woods
Leaf, bird, bug, deer, snake, mouse sounds
A confusion of lives


retreat
Mouse tiptoes outward
Owl flies low; moon silhouette
A hungry retreat


create
Winter’s first snowfall
Asphalt creations shrouded
Silence surrounding


spend
Snowcloud burdens spent,
silent fields lie sparkling
crisp under starlight


allow
Noonday sun allows
the night storm’s icicles one
brief pendulous drop


add
Snowflakes add, glacier
ancient and ever higher
until the world changes


collapse
Melting icicle
sparkles, drips, not yet fallen —
sword of Damocles


allocate
Beet, pea, cabbage seeds,
hidden all in their rows, sleep
under winter soil


imply
Cold and rainy still
Trees yet twigged and skeletal
Squint to see bud tips


forgive
Rat-a-tat-a-tat
Door slams; woodpecker pauses
Rat-a-tat-a-tat


accept
Leaves curled, they need
water — gratefully they yield
joyful petrichor


laugh
Little icy brook
tumbles laughing over old
dead fallen branches


insist
Green tendrils wending,
like fingers prying barred doors,
up through crumbling brick


remember
Grandfather’s keys, coins,
knife, life gone — leaving only
scratches on old desk


whisper
Late, silent attic
Leafing idly through yearbooks
Memories whisper


educate
Mom and Dad fighting
He won, she lost; he smiled smug
Decades she waited


model
Airplane window seat —
all simple below — one of
my favorite places


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