Smoke and Jazz 102021

Smoke and jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in the pines

Smokey jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in the pines

Smoking hot jazz
with a stand-up bass
Wind in those pines

The Sea 101321

Rowing
toward shore
The wind

Rising
and falling waves
The sea

Silence 100521

Silence
Wind blows
this flat land dry

Silence
Eel wrapped around
the eagle’s beak

Silence
The child
and a gobstopper

Hands Pause 100421

Hands pause
on the keyboard
Birdsong

Hands pause
on the keyboard
A footstep

Harvest Moon 092921

Harvest moon
Fall
to the ground

Harvest moon
Too big
to fall

Harvest moon
Too big
to fail

Harvest moon
Picking corn
from the ground

Paper Boat 090721

Paper boat
glides on the lake
The young boy wonders

Tugboat
pushes into harbor
The old man wishes

Rooftop Garden 090121

Rooftop garden
Organic herbs grown
on the roof of a shack

Rooftop garden
Fair-skinned Herbert groans,
“The sunburn on my back!” 

Footprints 082921

Footprints
in the wet sand
Children splash in the sun

Footprints
in the wet cement
Teens scatter in the night

Climbing 082421

Climbing
the mast in the sun
The breeze

Climbing
the trail on the shore
The waves

Climbing
the trellis in the yard
The rose

Climbing
the wall in the dark
The thief

Wet Dog 080921

Wet dog shakes
in the sun – A crescendo
of scattering children

Ostriches 080721

Ostriches and lions
lounge on the grassland
Too hot today to run

Chewing 073121

Chewing
and listening
Rabbits

Chewing
and sniffing
Bears

Chewing
and spitting
Uncle James

Spanish Moss 072921

Spanish moss
in the darkening swamp
Water in my shoes

Spanish moss
Water in my shoes
in a darkening swamp

Three Bears 072721

Bear in a tree on Main Street
Nowhere to go
but down

Boughs that bend
A bear ascends
the young poplar tree

Travelers wait
A bear on the road
leaving town

Waiting 072321

Water flows
under the bridge
The fisherman waits

Sweat flows
under my shirt
The policeman waits

Ants flow
over the lawn
My ham sandwich waits

Bird Songs 072221

HummingBirdSong

Hummingbird
song

Humming
birdsong

Humming
bird
songs

Humming
Songbird

Humming
song –
Bird!

Red Poppies 071621

Field of red
poppies, our sandals warm
in the sun

Field of red
poppies, our faces warm
in the sun

Gently Tethered 071521

Water lilies
float upon the pond
Gently tethered

Crowded pier
stands above the surf
Gently tethered

One Boy 071021

One boy
and his pail
The ocean

One boy
and his kite
The sky

One man
and a shovel
His grave

Summer Lightning 070921

Summer lightning
The smell of idling
boat engines

Summer lightning
Children running
to the ice cream truck

Summer lightning
Your fingers spreading
on my back

Amalfi Coast 070621

Amalfi coast,
sipping limoncello
on the water

Amalfi coast,
smelling petrol fumes
on the water

The Garden 070521

Tending the garden
on Independence Day
The caw caw of crows

Tending the garden
on Bastille Day
The caw caw of crows

Tending the garden
A muffler backfires
in the distance

Young Buck 062421

Young buck vanished
in the morning light – Startled
to read my bathroom scale

The Cows 062321

Dilapidated
fence, even the cows
step over it

The warblers
pass over, the cows
stand still

Deer Chews 062021

A deer chews
the flowers in my garden
My back stiffens

A deer chews
the flowers in my garden
His tail swats gnats

A deer chews
The garden
flowers

Lover’s Padlock 061220

Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Empty building

Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Broken glass

Lover’s padlock
on a chain link fence
Smoke is rising

Air Force 060920

Air Force
flyover
The crowd waves

Air Force
flyover
The crowd scatters

Smashed Glass 060820

Smashed glass
Gathering wildflowers
in a vacant lot

Smashed glass
Gathering wildflowers
in a sunny field

Flickering Light 060720

Flickering light
Tiger painted
on a city wall

Flickering light
Tiger waiting
in a forest tree

Twister Cuts 060420

Twister cuts
through the open field
The sparrows

Humpback breaks
through the swelling sea
The gulls

Wooden Fence 060320

Wooden fence
in the shifting dunes
The wave breaks

Wooden fence
in the shifting dunes
The wave recedes

Night Sky 053120

Turn out
all the lights
Night sky

Drive
until we can see
Night sky

Give me back
the stars
Night sky

Still Life 052420

Still life
Warbler
on the hot tile roof

Still life
Sparrow
on the barbed wire fence

Hand Washing 051820

Coronavirus
left no fingerprints
Deceptive politics

Coronavirus
left no fingerprints
Obsessive hand washing

The Deluge 050820

The deluge
Empty church
in the valley

The deluge
Empty home
on the prairie

Each Raindrop 042720

Each raindrop
returns again –
Labored breathing

Each raindrop –
Labored breathing
returns again

My Mask 041120

Adulthood
My disposable face
mask

Adulthood
My fashionable face
mask

Adulthood
My medical face
mask

Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits

Good Friends 040920

Scattered stones
All the good friends
I’ve left behind

Scattered socks
All the good friends
I’ve left behind

Scattered lilies
All the good friends
I’ve left behind

Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits

No Paper 031920

No paper
How will we pay
our bills?

No paper
How will we wipe
our bums?

No paper
How will we get
our news?

No paper
We will chart
our course by the stars

Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits

My City 021420

My city
Steel trees that stand
but never bend

My city
Glass eyes that stare
but never tear

Ten Years Gone 123119

That deep spring snow
ten years ago

We stumble and fall
pushing through
the deep snow

Two trees that bend
then descend
into white drifts

I rise and push on

Slow thaw,
sunrise after sunrise,
snow on patches of grass

Spring sprouts here
sprouts there

Doorway swings
the shack; I’m gone
and yet I’m back

Offering
knock-knock jokes
to the thunder and sky

Waiting
for some reply

Ken Wagner on Haiku Habits

Three Kisses 022610

A kiss
Before the ice
thawed

A kiss
Before the wind
warmed

A kiss
before the
sun

To Be An Original

My hope? To be an original. Derivative, to be sure, but a new combination, an impossible individual. Will you be an original, too?

Practicing Haiku Poems

How can Haiku Habits change your life?

I am new to writing haiku poems. I don’t pretend to post great haiku. I want to get better at haiku and through haiku. I want to pay attention, capture the moment, and share. This seems a good remedy for my human condition.

Life in seventeen syllables (or less). At a time.

What do you haiku? Critique, reflect, trash, enjoy! We get better – together.