Mann Library Daily Haiku
Poems from the month of May 2016, as featured poet at the Mann Library haiku page at Cornell University (and one on Haikuniverse). My thanks to Tom Clausen for his serendipitous selections and sequencing of the following poems, all previously published.
May 1 spring sun—
at the top of the roller coaster
she says yes
May 2 tulip festival—
the colours of all the cars
in the parking lot
May 3 reading in bed
my pulse flickering
the lightly held bookmark
May 4 morning bird song— +
my paddle slips
into its reflection
May 5 landing swallow—
the ship’s chain
dips slightly
May 6 spring breeze—
the pull of her hand
as we near the pet store
May 7 morning sun
a patch of frost
in the holstein’s shadow
May 8 mountain spring—
in my cupped hand
pine needles
May 9 meteor shower . . .
a gentle wave
wets our sandals +
May 10 after-dinner mints
passed around the table
. . . slow-falling snow
May 11 fresh snow on the mat—
the shape of welcome
still visible
May 12 crackling beach fire—
we hum in place of words
we can’t recall
May 13 empty silo—
spring wind pops the metal
in and out
May 14 summer moonlight
the potter’s wheel
slows
May 15 pulsing
in the wiper’s blade
the bee’s abdomen
May 16 spring cleaning—
dirt in the grooves
of the five iron
May 17 you squeeze my hand . . .
how still the sky
after fireworks
May 18 toll booth lit for Christmas—
from my hand to hers
warm change
May 19 under the umbrella
stormy face
May 20 taking invisible tickets
at the foot of the basement stairs—
child’s magic show
May 21 gridlock
on the freeway—
the skywriting drifts
May 22 beach parking lot—
where the car door opened
a small pile of sand
May 23 clicking off the late movie . . .
the couch cushion
reinflates
May 24 first cold night—
the farmhouse linoleum
worn at the sink
May 25 moving day—
the coolness on my cheek
after your kiss
May 26 deep in shadow
three generations
counting tree rings
May 27 first on the trail—
the pull of a spider’s strand
across my face
May 28 fox on the trail—
your hand held up
to my chest
May 29 my hand on your thigh . . .
from the window seat
the curve of the earth
May 30 first day of summer
a postman delivers mail
in a safari hat
May 31 from horizon to horizon the milky way
Author Bio
Michael Dylan Welch has cultivated his sense of wonder with haiku poetry since he was a teenager. His poems have appeared in hundreds of journals and anthologies in at least twenty languages. He enjoys writing essays about haiku, which have also been widely published. Michael has served the haiku community in various ways: founding, running, and helping to run organizations such as the Haiku Society of America, Haiku North America, the American Haiku Archives, National Haiku Writing Month, Haiku Northwest, and the Tanka Society of America, directing haiku retreats, publishing books and journals, and running poetry readings. Michael hopes that others, too, will catch the haiku habit. What a wonderful world!