The following ten poems appeared in Global Haiku: Twenty-five Poets World-wide, edited by George Swede and Randy Brooks, published in 2000 by Mosaic Press, Oakville, Ontario, pages 103 and 103. Also published in England by Iron Press, announced as a “definitive collection” of “twenty-five of the world’s best exponents of this small Japanese verse form.” +
after the quake
the weathervane
pointing to earth
after the quake
a hobo
directing traffic
after the quake
adding I love you
to a letter
toll booth lit for Christmas—
from my hand to hers
warm change
clicking off the late movie . . .
the couch cushion
reinflates
empty silo—
spring wind pops the metal
in and out
home for Christmas:
my childhood desk drawer
empty
old folks’ home—
the square of light
crosses the room
spring breeze—
the pull of her hand
as we near the pet store
nursing home lounge—
a child’s puzzle
left unfinished
Michael Dylan Welch was born in 1962 in Watford, England. He is a staff editor with IDG Books Worldwide and lives in Foster City, California. From 1991–1997 he was editor of Woodnotes, the Haiku Poets of Northern California magazine. He is currently editor of a new magazine, Tundra, and continues to publish books under his own Press Here imprint, including The Haijin’s Tweed Coat (1990).