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