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