Seven Flowers of Autumn

First published in Modern Haiku 51:3, Autumn 2020, page 117. This sequence also appeared in This Morning's Tides: Commencement Bay Haiku 10-Year Anniversary Anthology (Tacoma, Washington: Commencement Bay Haiku, 2022), page 82. Originally written in September 2015 and April 2017.

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七花の節句

Nanahana no sekku

萩 scent of bush clover—

hagi the toddler’s toe prints

drying first

尾花 rising moon—

susuki the sway of silver grass

over the lost softball

撫子 surgery day—

nadeshiko a pot of maiden pink

on the car seat

女郎花 Japanese alps—

ominaeshi patrinia in clumps

of sunshine

葛 overtaking

kuzu on the woodland path

kudzu vines

藤袴 the crushed leaves

fujibakama smell of lavender—

boneset oil

桔梗 with pudgy fingers

kikyo / asagao my daughter twirls

a morning glory