MITSUAKI KOJIMA

　Ali Miyazawa says he is struggling with the poetic concept of leaving enough room in haiku for readers to reflect on his words.

Early morn
dogs puffing white mist
their lady

　Sosuke Kanda recently retired from a work routine that took him around the world. He says he looks forward to writing internationally minded haiku every day from his home in Saitama like the one that follows. J.D. Heskin also recently retired in Minnesota.

Bright spring day
led by three Shih Tzu dogs
Parisienne

And I wondered
what I would do this winter_
four feet so far

　In February, heavy snowstorms also invaded Japan, notes Tatsuko Toshima in Aomori and Satoru Kanematsu in Nagoya, who personify the weather as an army officer.

Ice flowers
drawn by the General
frozen night

Defying
General Winter
my dyed hair

　It even snowed on the southern tip of Kyushu, where Jan O'Loughlin was surprised to discover a daffodil bloom peering from the snow. The sudden appearance of flowers in a winter garden in Kagoshima could be a metaphor for new love. For Satoru Kanematsu, perhaps seeing flowers in a Nagoya hair salon, reveals his great expectations.

Daffodil
in my cold garden
unexpected

Barbershop_
blooming in mirrors
cyclamens

　Although the heavy snowfall was an unexpected event, it is a common enough occurrence. These haikuists create beauty from everyday experiences. Contrary to the principle that haiku should be written in the language the poet uses every day, these Japan-based poets ably share their poetry with a wide international audience. Composed in Nagoya, this next haiku by Michael Corr defines a good model for an international haikuist's penmanship.

Evocative
islander's brush concept
man and nature

Want to try composing haiku ?

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