Coffee and Haiku

Haiku (俳句)

  • spring day—
    pollination
    by landmines

    Written on March 19, 2026

    (more…)

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  • the seasons blurred global warring

    Written on March 10, 2026

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  • wild roses
    fresh off
    an argument

    Written on March 2, 2026

    Notes

    If you have seen a bunch of my haiga, you’ll notice that I prefer a reasonably close link and shift between the artwork and the haiku. I don’t enjoy pieces where there is too much gap to fill, a personal preference, because my mind goes crazy at all the open possibilities and it is not a fun state to be in.

    I realize the closeness of my linking and shortness of my shifting between the image and the poem might not clear the bar for quality from others’ perspective. But I feel this is one of the most subjective aspects of haikai techniques, so I just stick with it at my comfort level. Of course, I do evaluate my haiga critically w.r.t the link and shift because it is very easy to not do it enough and make the whole piece an image and caption pair.

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  • fresh war children camouflaged in debris

    Written on March 2, 2026

    Notes

    When you read this one-line poem, there are a couple of places where you can pause and split the poem into two images.

    #1

    fresh war / children camouflaged in debris

    Another war. The missiles hitting schools and homes have buried children, dead and alive. They are covered in debris. Camouflaged, hopefully escaping another targetted strike. But this is a land without hope. Another missile would come, the patriots on the other side just making sure they give their all for their country.

    #2

    fresh war children / camouflaged in debris

    Another war. The missiles hitting hospitals have buried pregnant women and newborns, dead and alive.

    ~

    And the fragment camouflaged in debris plays with the fact that the truth is buried.

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  • into the new year
    with flying colors—
    ballistic missiles

    Written on January 1, 2026

    (more…)

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  • croaking frog
    there’s no pleading with
    the lily harvester

    Written on November 19, 2024

    (more…)

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  • boiled corn
    half of the boy’s half
    to the dog

    Written on December 14, 2025

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  • red clovers
    a butterfly unfazed
    on the swing

    Written on February 24, 2026

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  • fledgling sparrow—
    scavenging for
    a thick enough scarf

    Written on January 2, 2026

    Featured in Triya magazine, Basant edition, 2026.

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  • two numb legs
    first leg
    of the trek

    Written on January 27, 2025

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  • the algorithm
    finally delivers
    snow on Mt. Fuji

    Written on December 7, 2024

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  • driftwood
    tugging at the hem
    of the river

    Selected in Golden Haiku Competition 2025

    Displayed as a poster in Golden Triangle area, Washington D.C., U.S.A.

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  • plant nursery …
    a couple of butterflies
    “just browsing”

    Published in haikuKATHA, Issue #30, 2024

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  • just short
    of alchemy …
    moonlit jasmines

    Written on January 12, 2026

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  • lungs full
    of first light warmth …
    sparrow hatchlings

    Written on January 12, 2026

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