Per Diem Haiku

In May of 2012 I served as editor for the Haiku Foundation’s monthly “Per Diem” daily haiku feature, which presents a different haiku on the foundation’s website every day. My theme for the month was haiku exploring nature themes and voices of the Pacific Northwest (Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon). Here are the thirty-one haiku I featured, which you can also read on the Haiku Foundation site, and they are also slated to appear on the foundation’s iPhone haiku app.



foghorns . . .

we lower a kayak

into the sound


Christopher Herold

Port Townsend, Washington



riveredge old growth:

a towering window

of stars


Ruth M. Yarrow

Seattle, Washington



summer’s end

again the river

red with salmon


Nika

Victoria, British Columbia



fog inside and out Seattle ferry


Marian Olson

Santa Fe, New Mexico



sudden sun

snow peaks brighten

for the long drive home


Margaret D. McGee

Port Townsend, Washington



the first chip

in our windshield

northern star


Susan Constable

Nanoose Bay, British Columbia



fogged in—

sea mist fills

the foxglove bells


Michael Feinstein

Vashon, Washington



misty spring light—

every bare branch glows

moss green


John Garrett

Saanichton, British Columbia



releasing him . . .

the bull trout’s back

scarred by talons


Harriot West

Eugene, Oregon



space needle

the news helicopter’s

sun flash


Carmen Sterba

University Place, Washington



windfall apple

I relish

the wormless side


Billie Dee

San Diego, California



Juneau icefield

cocky tourist looking for

skate rentals


Patricia M. Benedict

Calgary, Alberta



slate gray glacial water

the guide

talks of blueberries


Richard Tice

Kent, Washington



salmon run—

the bridge clogged

with people


Tanya McDonald

Woodinville, Washington



Mount St. Helens

how humble and delicate

the footpath lily


Pavel Soukenik

Bellevue, Washington



moss hangs down

dripping with rain

my mother’s voice


Kerry S. Campbell

Kirkland, Washington



patchy fog in the bay

when it lifts, will the islands

still be there?


Naomi Beth Wakan

Gabriola, British Columbia



Village island

a row of totems

buried in moss


Nika

Victoria, British Columbia



minus tide

my hairline

receding


Michael Feinstein

Vashon, Washington



a pod of orcas

how blue the sky

they touch with light


Angela Terry

Lake Forest Park, Washington



one deep breath

for a moment the pine

is part of me


Harriot West

Eugene, Oregon



that whale I could have touched

surfaces again

in my mind


Billie Wilson

Juneau, Alaska



Rainier behind clouds

I take a picture

where it might be


Munira Judith Avinger

Seattle, Washington and Lac Brome, Québec



sound

of the first float plane

dividing the rain


Angelika Kolompar

Nanaimo, British Columbia



leaving—

ponderosas comb a low tone

from the wind


Ruth M. Yarrow

Seattle, Washington



end of summer

the soft touchdown

of a seaplane


Carmen Sterba

University Place, Washington



wind in the cedars . . .

sometimes I shudder

with happiness


Billie Dee

San Diego, California



top of the Space Needle

how it feels

to spot a whale


Tanya McDonald

Woodinville, Washington



the trail narrows—

every shadow

a possible bear


Billie Wilson

Juneau, Alaska



a leaf underfoot

gathers rainwater enough

to show open sky


Jill B. Andrews

Vashon Island, Washington



morning fog . . .

climbing the shell

of an old lighthouse


Richard Tice

Kent, Washington