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HAIKU

photo © Robyn Hood Black

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.)

Yay Images




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:

Haiku Resources List (27.8 KB)

CLICK HERE for a list of resources - books, websites, journals - to keep you busy on your haiku journey!

RHB - Thoughts on Haiku for All Kinds of Writers (5 pages) (31.2 KB)

Why Haiku? Originally a guest blog post, this 5-page essay describes how reading and writing haiku enriches writers of any genre, with examples. (Note: This is the longer road with a couple of scenic overlooks. See following attachments for shorter routes.)

FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS:

HAIKU HOW-TO for Students- 10 Steps to Writing a Haiku (18.8 KB)

CLICK HERE for 10 Steps to Writing a Haiku - a Two-Page Worksheet for Students

Haiku Workshop - General Ideas for Grades 3 and up (16.7 KB)

CLICK HERE for Haiku How-To Gerneral Ideas for Grades 3 and up

Haiku How-To for Teachers of Grades K- 2 (15.8 KB)

CLICK HERE for Guidelines for Teachers Grades K- 2 (Group Activity)

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.

Robyn served on a panel with Curtis Dunlap at the Haiku Society of America Southeast Region Haikufest in Atlanta, October 2013
photo by Raymond French
Georgia Children's Literature Conference, 2012
photo by Paula B. Puckett
photo by Donna H. Bowman

Copyright ©2005-2018 Robyn Hood Black. All rights reserved. Please ask permission before using any text or images on this website, except for these haiku resource handouts and reproducible
"4 Kids 2 Do" and "Press Kit" pages.