Haiku in High Places

One of my haiku has been read for Empress Michiko in Japan. This happened in August of 1998, at the English-language haiku group the Empress attended in Tokyo, thanks to haiku poet Kristen Deming, whose husband was a U.S. diplomat in Japan (she later became president of the Haiku Society of America, upon returning to the United States). Here’s the poem:

after the quake

the weathervane

pointing to earth

Another haiku of mine was read at the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York, in 2001. It was part of a paper by Edward J. Rielly, titled “Baseball Haiku: Bashō, the Babe, and the Great Japanese/American Trade,” which he delivered in a literary symposium held at the Hall of Fame.

birthday picnic—

grandma’s throw

half way to the toddler

Which was the higher honour? Discuss amongst yourselves.