HAIKU
Explore this genre of sparely crafted poetry which offers endless depth. Haiku is wonderful for poets and readers of any age!
(Scroll down for resources for writers, teachers, and students, and for examples of my published haiku.)
Click HERE for a recap of our Haiku Society of America SE Region Earth Day Meeting and Workshop, "Honoring the Earth," April 21-23, 2017, in beautiful St. Simon's Island, Georgia.
Haiku Society of America
2016 Harold G. Henderson Memorial Haiku Awards
~ Third Honorable Mention ~
wedding invitations
the press and release
of the nib
Robyn Hood Black, Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.A.
[Judges: Cor van den Heuvel & Scott Mason]
This poem also appears in the 2016 Red Moon Anthology, dust devils.
Robyn's haiku appear in David G. Lanoue's Write Like Issa, and in several anthologies, including Every Chicken, Cow, Fish and Frog - Animal Rights Haiku, edited by Robert Epstein and Miriam Wald, in Robert Epstein's They Gave Us Life - Celebrating Mothers, Fathers & Others in Haiku, The Helping Hand Haiku Anthhology, and The Signature Haiku Anthology, in Window Seats: A Contemporary Anthology of Cat Haiku & Senryu edited by Stanford Forrester (bottle rockets press). Her poems appear in several Haiku Society of America member anthologies, as well as in dust devils, the 2016 Red Moon Anthology, and in jar of rain, the 2020 Red Moon Anthology.
Her haiku also appear in Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Acorn, The Heron's Nest, A Hundred Gourds, Prune Juice, Chrysanthemum,bottle rockets, and Notes from the Gean (no longer publishing).
Robyn was assistant editor for a former online children's haiku magazine, Berry Blue Haiku, and served as the Haiku Society of America's Southeast Regional coordinator in 2016-17.
FOR WRITERS:
FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS:
Examples of Robyn's published haiku:
All poems ©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.
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just beyond
memory's reach
soft rain in the woods
bottle rockets, #48, February 2023
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new mother's whisper
the strength
of spider silk
Frogpond, Vol. 45, No. 3 Autumn 2022
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resurrection fern
my long list
of shortcomings
bottle rockets, #47, August 2022
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estate sale
soup cans still
on the shelf
Modern Haiku, Vol. 53:1, Winter-Spring 2022
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one blue feather
then another
then the pile
bottle rockets Vol. 22, No. 2 (Issue #44) February 2021
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late fall
grief notes
in the old song
Modern Haiku, Vol. 52.1, Winter-Spring 2021
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blue mask she smiles with her eyes
The Helping Hand Haiku Anthology, edited by Robert Epstein, Middle Island Press, 2020
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gentle rain the wren sings through it
Frogpond, Vol. 43:3, Fall 2020
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nothing
on the line
the fisherman wades back
Haiku Society of America's 2020 Membership Anthology, Bundled Wildflowers, Bryan Rickert, Ed.
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decisions, decisions
the weight of ink
on paper
Frogpond, Vol 43:2, Spring/Summer 2020
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solitary walk
the rhyming couplets
of a brown thrasher
bottle rockets #43, August 2020
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cold house
the children in the pictures
divide the pictures
bottle rockets #42, February 2020
also appears in jar of rain, The Red Moon Anthology of English Language Haiku, Red Moon Press, 2021
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high tide it comes and goes
Frogpond, Vol. 43:1, Winter 2020
All poems ©Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved.
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plastic bracelet
the bar code
under my name
Acorn, Fall 2019
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hatchlings -
beyond orange tape
the sea
Frogpond, Vol. 42.3, Fall 2019
also appears in The Helping Hand Haiku Anthology, edited by Robert Epstein, Middle Island Press, 2020
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sorting darks and lights
my love note
in his pocket
Haiku Society of America's Membership Anthology, A Moment's Longing, 2019
also appears in The Helping Hand Haiku Anthology, edited by Robert Epstein, Middle Island Press, 2020
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between
rounds of rain
rounds of treefrogs
bottle rockets #41, 2019
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cold snap
the lost cat sign
shudders
Modern Haiku, Vol. 50, No. 2, Summer 2019
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waning crescent
each day she slips
farther away
Frogpond, Vol. 42:2, Spring/Summer 2019
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Scottish rain
tourists storm
the castle
Modern Haiku, Vol. 50, No. 1, Winter-Spring 2019
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first frost
today she misplaced
our names
Frogpond , Vol. 42:1, Winter 2019
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open gate
the way
my mind wanders
Frogpond, Vol. 41:3, Fall 2018
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a penny saved verdigris
Modern Haiku, Vol. 49.2, Summer 2018
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drips of melting ice my resolutions
thrift store bookshelf
the copy I signed
for a friend
Frogpond, Vol. 41:2, Spring 2018
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winter's end
clusters of blossoms
on the half-dead tree
Acorn, No. 40, Spring 2018
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bone tired
the maze
of hospital halls
graduation cords our empty nest
Frogpond, Vol. 41:1, Winter 2018
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one door closes morning glories
after the hurricane leaf blowers
Modern Haiku, Vol. 49.1, Winter-Spring 2018
("after the hurricane" also appears in the 2018 HSA Members Anthology.)
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bus stop
the hard places
where she sleeps
bottle rockets, No. 38, Feb. 2018
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anoles
in brown and green
the story changes...
Biscuit Crumbs, HSA SE Anthology, 2018
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empty street -
she stoops to pocket
a half-cigarette
Acorn, No. 39, Fall 2017
also featured on Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog
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longest day
she spells out the words
in the diagnosis
Modern Haiku, Vol. 48.3, Autumn 2017
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empty window
the last of her fur
in the lint trap
Frogpond 40:3, Autumn 2017
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sea fog
the ghost story
I almost remember
on down the road, HSA 2017 Members' Anthology, Leroy Gorman, Editor.
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years later
my Achilles heel
still just that
bottle rockets, #37 (Vol. 19, No. 1,) , August 2017
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morning meditation
the cat in my lap
purrs in, purrs out
The Heron's Nest, Vol. XIX, No. 2, June 2017
also featured on Charlotte Degregorio's Writer's Blog, 2018
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our different truths
the rusty underside
of a bluebird
Frogpond 40.1, Winter 2017
also featured on Charlotte Degregorio's Writer's Blog
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shorter days
the orb weaver gone
from her web
Modern Haiku, Vol. 48.1, Winter-Spring 2017
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wedding invitations
the press and release
of the nib
Third Honorable Mention, Harold G. Henderson Haiku Awards, Frogpond, Volume 39 Number 3, Autumn 2016
dust devils - THE RED MOON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH-LANGUAGE HAIKU 2016, edited by Jim Kacian & The Red Moon Editorial Staff, Red Moon Press, 2017
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Thanksgiving
plenty of room
for dessert
cruelty free
eye shadow weightless
on each lid
closet floor
the balance of
man-made materials
following me
eyes of the ones
I didn’t stop for
spring dusk each crooning frog sentient
Every Chicken, Cow, Fish and Frog - Animal Rights Haiku, edited by Rober Epstein and Miriam Wald, Middle Island Press, 2016
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summer storm
pavement steam rises
to meet rain
Acorn, #37, Fall 2016
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wedding shower
their fine china
before the first chip
Acorn, #36, Spring 2016
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dressing room
the weight of the wedding gown
she steps into
Modern Haiku 47.1, Winter/Spring 2016
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outgoing tide
the losses I keep
to myself
Acorn #35, Fall 2015
Biscuit Crumbs, HSA SE Anthology, 2018
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spring light
jasmine’s heavy scent
from every fence
spring breeze
the sailboat
pixilated
A Hundred Gourds, 4:4, Sept. 2015
(Also in Full of Moonlight, Haiku Society of America 2016 Members' Anthology, David Grayson, Editor.)
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spring equinox
an egret one
with the marsh
The Heron's Nest XVII.3, Sept. 2015
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downsized —
the whole house vacuumed
from one outlet
Prune Juice, Issue 16 : July, 2015
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contrail
in the sunset sky
what I left behind
Acorn, #34, Spring 2015
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Parris Island
clouds turn the marsh
gunmetal gray
Frogpond 38.1, Winter 2015
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tin roof rain
I forget
what I came for
Frogpond, Volume 37.3, Autumn 2014
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december fog my to do to do to do list
Modern Haiku, Volume 45.3, Autumn 2014
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lingering afternoon
the ebb and flow
of birdsong
This World - Haiku Society of America 2013 Members' Anthology
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new year
the twitter of a hundred robins
in the oak
Modern Haiku, Volume 45.1, Winter/Spring 2014
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firelight -
old friends meet
for the first time
gazing at flowers - Haiku Society of America Southeast Region 2013 Anthology
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lapping waves finding a you or a me
Modern Haiku, Vol. 44.3, Fall 2013
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telling it slant
a ghost crab slips into
a hole
Acorn, No. 31, Fall 2013
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temple gift shop
no one minds
the register
Frogpond, Vol 36:2, Spring/Summer 2013
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night thunder
shaking the house
and the dog
Prune Juice, Journal of Senryu, Kyoka & Haiga, Issue 10, July 2013
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spring winds
a shift
of circumstance
Modern Haiku, Vol 44.2, Summer 2013
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June heat
a catbird's call
hangs in the air
Acorn, No. 30: Spring 2013
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Memorial Day
a flag flutters above
its shadow
Frogpond Volume 36:1, Winter 2013
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my small insights
a hummingbird
at the trumpet flower
Modern Haiku, Winter-Spring 2013
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gathering dusk
the unanswered call
of a dove
tornado watch
something to talk about
at the viewing
Frogpond Volume 35:3, Autumn 2012
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robin's egg blue
how my father would have loved
my son
Acorn No. 29, Fall 2012
also featured in Write Like Issa by David G. Lanoue
and They Gave Us Life by Robert Epstein
and on Charlotte Degregorio's Writer's Blog
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robin's egg blue an empty shell
Modern Haiku 43:3, Autumn 2012
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new year's eve
the thump
of the old dog's tail
Frogpond 35:2, Summer 2012
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reunion
his furtive glance
at my nametag
Modern Haiku, Summer 2012
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winter chill
turkey vultures circling
one of their own
The Heron's Nest, June 2012
also featured on Charlotte Degregorio's Writer's Blog
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winter rain
the fine print
smaller each year
Chrysanthemum, April 2012
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home again
twists and turns
of the live oak
Acorn, Spring 2012
Biscuit Crumbs, HSA SE Anthology, 2018
The Signature Haiku Anthology: Including Senryu and Tanka, Robert Epstein, Editor, 2020.
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cold front –
an urgent wind
at my back
Modern Haiku,Winter/Spring 2012
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om
the distant hum
of a leafblower
back to school
nip in the air
of my teenager
Prune Juice, Journal of Senryu, Kyoka & Haiga, Spring 2012
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cicada song
Spanish moss
dipped in sunlight
The Heron's Nest, March 2012
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rush of wind my imperfect t'ai chi
A Hundred Gourds March 2012
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autumn breeze
escorted to the mailbox
by an acorn
same blue
as ten years ago
empty sky
Notes from the Gean, Dec. 2011
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WHAT WONDERFUL GATHERINGS! The Southeast Region of the Haiku Society of America has had some lively and inspiring meetings the last few years - in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2013 and in Orlando, Florida in 2015. Terri French coordinated these terrific weekends. See our events page and the Facebook Haikufest page. My 2013 Poetry Friday blog series "We Haiku Here" features some of our talented poets in attendance in Atlanta.
photo by Raymond French
photo by Paula B. Puckett
"4 Kids 2 Do" and "Press Kit" pages.