Nowhere Else

夏の空暑しといえど立秋来たる

natsu no sora atsushi to iedo risshū kitaru

autumn has started

in the lunar calendar

―hot summer sky

Akemi Hinoki

Kobe, Japan

modern art gallery

my eyes drawn

to an electrical outlet

Alan S. Bridges

Sudden Valley, Washington

Dr. Seuss turnip—

first this quick sketch

then into the pot

Alison Woolpert

Santa Cruz, California

deep winter

I loosen my scarf

in the sudden sun

Allyson Whipple

St. Louis, Missouri

spring now every puddle a square to hopscotch

Beverly Acuff Momoi

Mountain View, California

afternoon heat

a mother tern drips water

on each egg

Bill Cooper

Naples, Florida

Union Square

the iridescent bobbing

of pigeons

Billie Dee

San Miguel, New Mexico

doors locked

to the building where we met

autumn drizzle

Carolyn Hall

Santa Rosa, California

marsh wind

grasses bend

in the beaver’s mouth

Ce Rosenow

Eugene, Oregon

hometown

the day I become

a visitor

Christine Wenk-Harrison

McKinney, Texas

morning skylight

a book left open

on the stairs

Chuck Brickley

Daly City, California

record pollen

a bouquet offering

after the reading

Crystal Simone Smith

Durham, North Carolina

funeral flight

still moved

by the insides of clouds

Daniel Shank Cruz

Jersey City, New Jersey

old cookbook

the page it naturally opens to

Mother’s Day

David Grayson

Alameda, California

Silent movie

paused until further notice

organ failure

David Lasky

Seattle, Washington

pounding surf

the seagull’s delicate

skull

D. F. Tweney

San Mateo, California

summer dusk

the monkey bars

at rest

Fay Aoyagi

San Francisco, California

sunset swifts

a child’s voice calling

olly olly oxen free

Francine Banwarth

Dubuque, Iowa

heirloom tomatoes

canning

our last summer

Jacob Blumner

Flint, Michigan

fireflies reading under the covers

Jeff Hoagland

Hopewell, New Jersey

drought vigil

the night train’s whistle

full of rust

Jennifer Hambrick

Columbus, Ohio

the shadow of a sweat shop in the folded t-shirt

Jennifer Sutherland

Victoria, Australia

the neighbors’

             trees

                  my shade

John Stevenson

Nassau, New York

don’t worry spiders

I married for love

and have little else to recommend me

Judy Halebsky

Berkeley, California

cutting their heads off grandma’s snapshots

Julie Bloss Kelsey

Germantown, Maryland

backroads diner

the dollar everyone needs

pushed back and forth

Kat Lehmann

Guilford, Connecticut

pending prognosis—

at the back of the closet

unwrapped gifts

kjmunro

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

パレットの少し乾びて秋立ちぬ

paretto no sukoshi karabite akitachinu

autumn begins

from a palette

slightly dried

Kyoko Uchimura

Tokyo, Japan

aspen leaves . . .

the scent of patchouli

on old bead curtains

Lew Watts

Chicago, Illinois

twilight deepens

the last of the dog walkers

heads home from the park

Linda Papanicolaou

Palo Alto, California

rain turned to snow . . .

my hand on the back

of the just-finished novel

Michael Dylan Welch

Sammamish, Washington

黄泉路いま飛雪にまみれてはゐぬか

yomiji ima hiyuki ni mamirete wa inu ka

road to the nether world

is it now obscured

with flurrying snowflakes?

Mitsue Nikaido

Morioka, Japan

places pop took me—

    water under the bridge

        at the tea garden

Nathanael Tico

San Francisco, California

maybe a bit

sentimental maybe a bit wild

violets

Patricia J. Machmiller

San Jose, California

haiku retreat

I confer quietly

with the conifer

Richard L. Matta

San Diego, California

Chorus in the icy air:

crows caw,

      ravens croak

Robert Hass

Berkeley, California

emptier emptiness—

     the day after

              cherry blossoms

Robin Palley

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

hometown heat—

someone else’s shape

in the mattress

Sandra Simpson

Tauranga, New Zealand

母むきし蜜柑の薄皮母にむく

haha mukishi mikan no usukawa haha ni muku

peeling the skin

of tangerines as Mom did

. . . for Mom now

Shinko Fushimi

Mito, Japan

North Beach café

a passerby scolds a dog

with our son’s name

Susan Antolin

Walnut Creek, California

conch shell

sound of waves fading

from my ocean visit

Terri Thorfinnson

West Sacramento, California

花の宴君の代はりに夜が来て

hana no en kimi no kawari ni yoru ga kite

cherry blossom viewing

the night came

instead of you

Yukari Saisho

Tokyo, Japan