rainstorm approaching
chipmunks forage in dark mulch
mourning doves take flight
chipmunks forage in dark mulch
mourning doves take flight
Loss & Grief Haiku Poems
Haiku confronting absence, farewell, mourning, heartbreak, and remembrance.
240 published haiku
drowning in a flood
salty tears burn eyes rimmed red
torrential downpour
salty tears burn eyes rimmed red
torrential downpour
The woodpecker drums
On the aging maple tree
A long lost message?
On the aging maple tree
A long lost message?
Weeping for the lost
Mourning for those who have passed
Life is so precious
Mourning for those who have passed
Life is so precious
A flag in the wind,
Half mast for dead soldiers still
Singing battle hymns
Half mast for dead soldiers still
Singing battle hymns
Breathless leaves curling
stolen from the bending bough
no time for goodbye
stolen from the bending bough
no time for goodbye
deer season predawn
I pray the skill to bring death
and win forgiveness
I pray the skill to bring death
and win forgiveness
Unwritten thoughts run
Away and vanish like birds-
They lose their feathers
Away and vanish like birds-
They lose their feathers
lost in my daydreams
I catch my breath at your touch
eternities fade
I catch my breath at your touch
eternities fade
I am lost ashore
Waiting to return to sea
Heavy, sallow, raw.
Waiting to return to sea
Heavy, sallow, raw.
A fading flower,
losing color, vibrancy.
Youth's passion grows dim
losing color, vibrancy.
Youth's passion grows dim
afternoon mourning
coffin lowered in the ground
dishes fill the sink
coffin lowered in the ground
dishes fill the sink
overgrown garden -
your wife's cookbook unopened
since her early death
your wife's cookbook unopened
since her early death
A chill wind brings tears
Nothing brings light to the heart
Like a happy dog
Nothing brings light to the heart
Like a happy dog
The wind wakes up life
Captured in a white bone cage
In the wake of death
Captured in a white bone cage
In the wake of death
Orion guides me
And though I'm not often lost
Tonight is overcast
And though I'm not often lost
Tonight is overcast
Lost in confusion
Enlightenment is within
You just have to feel
Enlightenment is within
You just have to feel
The Steller's Jay cries
harshly through the Douglas Firs
only it knows why
harshly through the Douglas Firs
only it knows why
moving the wet planks
pale calluses shred in palms
death is washed away
pale calluses shred in palms
death is washed away
The silence shatters
As gulls cry out to the dawn,
Signaling first light.
As gulls cry out to the dawn,
Signaling first light.
My heart, like dead leaves
downfallen, trampled afoot
broken troth of spring
downfallen, trampled afoot
broken troth of spring
Weeping blood red sun
Hangs low in the evening sky,
Dreams of long-lost loves.
Hangs low in the evening sky,
Dreams of long-lost loves.
The wind smells like death,
I think of you breathing it--
The sound at low tide.
I think of you breathing it--
The sound at low tide.
Heads hung in sorrow
knowing summer has ended
row of sunflowers
knowing summer has ended
row of sunflowers
Memories fallen
into the grate of lost days
best left forgotten
into the grate of lost days
best left forgotten
The time passes by.
The coo of a mourning dove.
As everything lost.
The coo of a mourning dove.
As everything lost.
Branches gently sway
waving goodbye to the past
stirring memories
waving goodbye to the past
stirring memories
forsythia bloom
in the old cemetery
solace of flowers
in the old cemetery
solace of flowers
Eating nuns? orchids
make black crickets turn yellow.
Wings wilt before death.
make black crickets turn yellow.
Wings wilt before death.
Winter melts away
Like a song lost in the wind
Birds come soaring home
Like a song lost in the wind
Birds come soaring home
Daffodils in bloom.
Earth renews; spring has begun.
Miss you all the time.
Earth renews; spring has begun.
Miss you all the time.
ostensible love
specious, without exception
obstinate sorrow
specious, without exception
obstinate sorrow
night birds cry warning
beneath these moon-dancing waves
Leviathan sleeps
beneath these moon-dancing waves
Leviathan sleeps
first snow of winter:
I lace up my father's boots
and my mother cries
I lace up my father's boots
and my mother cries
Ice suddenly bloomed
on the wide river, spreading
Autumn's death rumor.
on the wide river, spreading
Autumn's death rumor.
Gentle erosion
Preservation of the lost
Truths in aging soils
Preservation of the lost
Truths in aging soils