Picking Up Your Dropped Haikus

JUNE-JULY 2014

April is National Poetry Month and this year to celebrate we asked you to create a haiku. We shared some on our social media, and had a virtual poetry slam on April 30th. Now comes the best part: seeing all your hard work in one place.

Before I present the list, I wanted to thank you all who sent us a haiku. Some of you sent more than one–how awesome is that?! Not everyone included a title, but if you did I bolded it.

I do need to disclose that a couple aren’t posted here because they did not meet the 5-7-5 syllable arrangement of a proper haiku. So if you don’t see yours here, I do apologize. Perhaps you’d consider sending us a revised haiku? I will post adjusted haikus at a later date, so please do send them in!

I made a few haikus into graphics because it’s easier to share them on social media that way. It doesn’t mean that those haikus were better than the others. It just means I had a readily available image template that fit that particular haiku theme. And when it comes to social media, the easiest path is the one most traveled.

One final note about the haikus: with the exception of the haikus I turned into graphics, which I am spreading evenly throughout this post, I am posting the rest in the order that they were received. If I had to rank them by how much I love them they would all be on one line together because they are all equally awesome.

Okay. On with the show!

There is Nothing Like a Book:
Hanging by a hook
There is nothing like a book
Nothing in the world
–Gerry Provencher

Air smells sweet

Your File:
Your file was so big
It might be very useful
But now it is gone
–Chris

Windows Crashed:
Windows Seven crashed
I am the blue screen of death
No one hears your screams
–Chris

Untitled:
Discover new worlds
In the pages of a book
Adventure awaits
–Rachel Wallis

Books:
From my books flow words.
In paragraphs and chapters
I immerse myself
–Liz Hawkins

Spring Fever:
Spring makes my blood rush
With the need to read and read
And then maybe nap.
–Kathleen Komos

Apartment Life:
Cockroaches frolic
In cubpoards filled with goodies
They touch all my stuff
–Ron Averill

100 Years After the Everett Massacre:
How I’m trespassing?
All I’m doing is sleeping?
Unlawful camping.
–Ti Burtzloff

Haiku Day is April 17

A Good Book:
The words draw me in
Time and space are forgotten
Even chores must wait
–June Carriere

May I help you?
Sitting at the desk
Ready to help you. But still
You walk by. Self serve?
–Alan

Untitled:
I want to do this
Keep calm and drop everything
And read a good book
–Leslie M.

Haiku posted to Twitter

Untitled:
The sun shines brightly
Yet I am inside today
Reading a good book
–L. M.

Untitled:
Do you like to read?
I love reading and writing.
You should ALWAYS read.
–Summer Bailey

Untitled:
Butterflies are great.
Watching them flutter around.
Butterflies are cool.
–Nicole DeSoto

View From My Window:
A Spring green sea of
Trees, accented by splashes
Of milky white blooms.
–Orion Lyonesse

skeins of cirrus clouds

ABCs:
One slim vapor trail,
Like God’s own finger, letters
Across azure skies.
–Orion Lyonesse

Above It All:
Pigeons, crows, and gulls
Wheel and bank upon the breeze,
Reaching for the clouds.
–Orion Lyonesse

Grind:
Daily grind, coffee
Only partially offsets
Daily grind, endless
–Ronnie Maier

Unrequited:
Plaintive meowing,
Desperate for attention.
My cat ignores me.
–Ronnie Maier

Untitled:
The Morrigan comes
To show more of herself through
Reading and learning
–N. Harrison

Untitled:
I like to eat pie
Pie is really delicious
Do you like pie too?
–Ava Baker Olsen

Untitled:
The news is in haikus
My personal gift to you
Thank you for the views
–Kaisen

Summer sun

Untitled:
Imagine a world
Write it down for us to read
Forever a book
–Thomas Rubatino

Haiku:
Haiku Day is fun
If you can count to seven
Haiku fabulous!
–Gloria H.

Piggy:
My love, my anguish
Miss Piggy with attitude
Green envy and pride
–Kermit Frog (Gloria H.)

Spike:
Spikel-un-feickel
Un-ween-dog-eickel, my heart
Original weens
–Gloria H.

Yoga:
Downward dog, bend stretch
Namaste, Shavasana
Pigeon pose, creek, crick
–Gloria H.

Buddy:
Farrah hair, nose job
Best rescue I got for free,
Black and tan Dachshund.
–Gloria H.

Untitled:
Among all the books
I close my eyes and whisper
A new adventure
–Susan Hile

sending all my love

I Didn’t Sign Up For This:
Enveloped in pain,
I lay limp and contorted…
Yoga, boot camp style
–Maryanne Giolitti

Tick Tock:
Writer tapping nose
No song, poetry or prose
Tick tock, writer’s block
–Maryanne Giolitti

Virtual Walk on Hoyt:
Cool, gray asphalt roads
Traffic noises would be mild
Online, indoors–dry!
–Frank T. Morgan

Untitled:
By hook or by crook
Go to the stacks and just look
To find a great book
–Chuck B.

Untitled:
Just starting this job
Tomorrow is a big day
Hope I make it through
–Regina

Untitled:
Oh my mighty moon
Let me bask in your glory
For you are divine
–Lavanya

Passage:
Green shading deeper
Blue, faint now vivid, from gray
Winter wanes, spring gains
–Ed

Untitled:
That paperback smell-
Adolescent memories
Disguised as a book
–Karin Larsen

Untitled:
All symmetrical
Legos at the library
So satisfying
–Lindsay Steele

Untitled:
Help, I can’t find it
Let me look that up for you
It won’t take me long
–Maryanne Giolitti

Untitled:
Open the blank page
Imagination fills page
Magical story
–Lauren H.

Untitled:
Writers and readers
Use books and libraries to
Keep each other sane
–Staci B.

Untitled:
Reading classic books
New releases are out now
There’s something for all
–Lydia

Untitled:
April celebrates
National Poetry Month
This is a haiku
–Leslie M.

To Read:
To read is to be
Inside the pages, I see,
Hear, touch, taste and smell.
–Liz Hawkins

Untitled:
I love a good book!
When the words come together,
Then it all makes sense
–Eden

Are they truly real-Glorious colors livingin Skagit tulips (1)

Untitled:
Wandering through shelves
Many book choices for me
Like a candy store
–Kyle Vold

Untitled:
You don’t want to know
Pottawatamie Hippo
He’s a wanna be!
–Margaret Remick

Smart Heart Start:
Reading makes you smart
Also less alone of heart
That’s just for a start…
–A. Ward

Reading:
Reading, so active
My imagination needs
A gym membership
–Tessa Borrego

Surrounded:
Surrounded by shelves
Words fill the pages of books
Lost in the story
–Lydia

My Grandmother, Elle:
Smart, classy, lady
Exceptional character
Values good coffee.
–Alicia MacDougall

The Slow (and Indeterminable) Demise of Seattle Windshield Wipers: A Tale of Friday Rush Hour:
Rubber drags on drop
-spritzed glass like teeth scraping tin.
When will your death come?
–Chelsey Slattum

For My Librarians:
Haiku just for you
Who shelve the books I adore
How can I thank you
–Larry Maass

Pacific NorthWet:
Does it ever stop
I said when I first came here
Referencing the RAIN
–Larry Maass

Banned:
The dog stands outside
Denied access to knowledge
Just for eating books
–Larry Maass

Untitled:
What do you see when
Your eyes are closed by your mind
Is open to all
–Larry Maass

Under F for Flight:
Dropsy popsy do
Read a little birdy book
Celebration flight
–Yvonne Davis

Untitled:
Do you like to read
Reading is so important
You should ALWAYS read
–Summer Bailey