Haiku by Theme
Every issue of 50 Haikus holds work by a different mix of poets, so the same subjects keep coming back in new hands. We read all 898 poems across our 18 issues and sorted them by what they are about, from the seasons and the natural world to love, loss and regret.
Haiku themes have always started with nature, and many of these poems do. Plenty of others turn to daily life, from a commuter train to a suitcase by the door, because this journal only ever looked at the content of the poem. A poem can appear under up to three themes. Each one links to its page in the original issue, so you can read it in the book where it first appeared.
The seasons
AutumnLeaves, geese and harvest light, with loss always standing just off the page.62 poemsWinterCold as a condition: hunger, hard ground, borrowed warmth and the wait for spring.88 poemsSpringThaw, first purple and first green, with one daffodil poem that is secretly about loss.59 poemsSummerHeat felt in the body: panting, salt on the lip, juice on the sky.48 poems
The natural world
NatureBig land, small comparisons: prairie wind, desert dusk and canyon walls cut like cheese.43 poemsFlowersPoets name the exact bloom, then let it stand in for a face, a loss or a choice.85 poemsTrees and ForestsTrees that raise limbs, hold nests and cut the light into slats.71 poemsBirdsSwans in three moods, a call that works two ways, and herons seen from the fish’s side.78 poemsAnimalsAn old dog, caged lions, a frozen rabbit and cats on the hunt.53 poemsInsectsFireflies as ideas, dragonflies as magic wands, butterflies reborn as oak leaves.35 poems
Water and weather
Ocean and SeaA shoreline in a few lines: salt, tide, ghost crabs and a sunset that drowns.36 poemsRivers and LakesWater as a page: ice written with winter’s story, a willow flowing into a still river.45 poemsRain and StormsRain heard as a color, a flood with crocodiles, and a puddle that holds the sky.77 poemsSnow and IceSnow and ice as matter: they cover, reveal, hold footprints and melt.39 poems
Light and dark
Morning and DawnDawn as a smell, a spider, a caffeine jolt, and a daily second try.39 poemsEvening and NightSunsets seen as cream, wine, a needle and a field of windmills, then the dark itself.63 poemsMoon and StarsThe moon scooped up, plucked like a peach, turned to quicksilver and quietly kept.45 poemsPeace and StillnessPeace as a green apple on a newspaper, and as the work of silencing a loud mind.44 poems
Love and longing
LoveLove shown through hands, quarrels and firewood, seldom through the word itself.59 poemsDesireDesire by suggestion: a meteor, perfumed velvet and a longing that will not leave.35 poemsHeartbreakGoodbye told through a suitcase, a wall and overgrown years.25 poemsLonelinessCooking for one, a lone tree drifting, and a watchtower that became a temple.35 poems
Loss and looking back
Loss and GriefPoems that speak straight to the one who is gone, and the objects left in the room.43 poemsDeathA hearse passed, a bird held still, a moth on an urn, and a samurai practicing calm.40 poemsRegretRegret in a laundry basket, a daylily uneaten and a doorstep watched too long.18 poemsMemoryMemory arrives by smell, by dust and by a walk back to yesterday, and it also fades.32 poemsTime and AgingTime shown by wear: a drooping barn, an anniversary bed, a fossil and a paper smell.54 poemsIllness and the BodyOne minute that holds four years, a bedridden butterfly, and wigs that change every day.16 poems
People and places
FamilySilence on a swing, sweaters never worn, a brother with a snake and a hand on a belly.38 poemsChildren and ChildhoodChildren seen by watching adults: a lonely candle, a frozen swing, a pebble.32 poemsHomeA house with dead batteries, a hand that feels like home, a shooting star.21 poemsTravel and the RoadA bus window with rain, three days barefoot, a road kept only for dreaming.26 poemsCity LifeCommuters, vendors and neon, with the city seen at the hour the crowd goes home.26 poemsIdentity and SelfThe self seen as a reflection, a new skin, a stranger found asleep.50 poems
The wider world
Society and JusticePoverty seen without a sermon, a legislature awake while nature sleeps.47 poemsWork and MoneyA cubicle chair, a windowless office, a father’s grave and a Sunday-night prayer.21 poemsFaith and SpiritFaith that arrives by touch and light: organ pipes, an Easter candle and a garden.22 poemsHopeHope as a task: trust, a crack in the pavement, and a dog that is chosen.45 poems
Making and delight
Art and MusicArtworks that are valued for being damaged: a wrong note, a broken pot, headless statues.38 poemsWriting and PoetryA haiku called a vase and an earthquake; titles that add a line; tart syllables.22 poemsFood and DrinkTea with stars in it, plums in a basket, and a coffee poem that runs long.41 poemsHumorDeadpan comedy: a penguin in spandex, goldfish burglars, a goose on a roof.36 poems