From The San Francisco Haiku Anthology, Volume Two
The following twelve poems appeared in The San Francisco Haiku Anthology, Volume Two (Walnut Creek, California: Spare Poems Press, 2024), edited by Susan Antolin, Garry Gay, and Carolyn Hall, pages 203–205 (bio from page 242). Nearly all poems have been published in numerous places, but each one appears only with its first publication credit, except for “the moon blurred,” which was previously unpublished. See also “From The San Francisco Haiku Anthology” (with seven of my poems from volume one).
first star—
a seashell held
to my baby’s ear
Grand Prize, Bashō 360th Anniversary Contest, 2004, Mie Times, Japan
meteor shower . . .
a gentle wave
wets our sandals
First Place, 2000 Henderson Haiku Contest; HSA Newsletter XV:4, Autumn 2000
beach parking lot—
where the car door opened
a small pile of sand
Frogpond XXI:2, October 1998
scattered petals . . .
the thud of my books
in the book drop
Frogpond XXII:2, Summer 1999
spring breeze—
the pull of her hand
as we near the pet store
Woodnotes #19, Winter 1993
after the quake
the weathervane
pointing to earth
Frogpond XIII:1, February 1990
the moon blurred
by forest-fire haze—
tracks of a fox
Previously unpublished
first snow . . .
the children’s hangers
clatter in the closet
Woodnotes #23, Winter 1994
toll booth lit for Christmas—
from my hand to hers
warm change
Second Place, 1995 Henderson Haiku Contest; Frogpond XVIII:4, Winter 1995
Valentine’s Day—
she reminds me
to fasten my seatbelt
Honorable Mention, 2000 Brady Senryu Contest; HSA Newsletter XV:4, Autumn 2000
hospital waiting room—
the drinking fountain
stops humming
Mayfly #38, Winter 2004
a show of hands
in the jury room . . .
winter light
Haijinx IV:1, March 2011 (online)
Michael Dylan Welch
I have been investigating haiku since 1976. I joined the Haiku Society of America in 1987 and the Haiku Poets of Northern California in 1989. I founded my press, Press Here, in 1989, edited Woodnotes from 1989 to 1997, and Tundra from 1998 to 2001, and I'm now coediting First Frost. I cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founded the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008 and National Haiku Writing Month (www.nahaiwrimo.com) in 2010. I was keynote speaker for the 2012 Haiku International Association conference in Japan. I have served two terms as poet laureate for Redmond, Washington, where I also curate SoulFood Poetry Night and am president of the Redmond Association of Spokenword. I have won first place in the Henderson, Brady, Drevniok, and Tokutomi haiku contests, among others, and my writing has appeared in hundreds of journals in more than twenty languages. My websites include www.rengay.com and www.graceguts.com. I am grateful to still be investigating haiku.
