The Scent

The following “Haiku from Index Cards” all have a scent to them.

the scent of autumn

drawing us out once again

the rusty porch swing

             (written 2005, published 2005; see “Tokutomi Contest Commentary”)

the scent of cedar

on a rusting chisel—

waning moon

             (written 2017, published 2020)

the scent of snow . . .

a forever stamp

on your breakup letter

             (written 2012, published 2012)

the scent of snow—

a workman pulls a leaf

from fresh cement

             (written 2001, published 2003; I left a copy of this poem at Natsume Sōseki’s “House of the Cat” at Meiji Mura, Japan on 17 October 2002)