PHOTO HAIKUS

My practice of taking a photo and writing an accompanying haiku began in early 2015 when I awoke at 6 a.m. to work on Yellow Ribbon Homes' waterfront project house that was an hour drive from home. I'm not a morning person, yet, with our (then) eastern facing view of Puget Sound and Seattle in the distance, I witnessed the sunrise and started to anticipate the beauty and inspiration each day would bring. I've continued the practice off and on.
Hover over the image to read the haiku.

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Haiku for Rain Clouds-- Cloudy gray morning / the dark sky begins to cry / so I don't have to

Haiku for Skywriting-- Cloud circles the sky / writing a message: Welcome / we all belong here

Demolition Haiku-- Tear down to build new / sounds of shattering sheet / rock smiles on our crew

Holy Saturday Haiku-- Keep vigil today / shrouded like mountains we wait / for love's arising

Easter Haiku-- Birds trill Easter morn / Branches wet with tears now gone / Resurrection song

Haiku for Home-- Each day these vistas / beckon for notice—Look up / stumble on glory

Haiku for the Sunbreak-- Within tow'ring clouds / golden lining -- a promise / brighter than silver

Haiku for the Coming Storm-- Glory in the sky / before gray blankets the view / life's cloudy, obscure

Haiku for the Coming Day (this morning's sunrise)-- The sun joins the moon / no either/or, but both now / balance in all things

Armadillo Haiku-- Brave and battle scarred / we wear our tender armor / knowing love heals all

Sunset over the Olympic Mtns-- This piercing glory / how can we look upon it / and not cry Holy?

Sunset over the Olympic Mtns-- This piercing glory / how can we look upon it / and not cry Holy?

Haiku for the Common Creature-- From a certain stance / even a lowly moth soars / grand like the eagle

Lenten Haiku for Healing-- We of dust and ash / limp and lunge t'ward light, life, truth / miraculous yes

New year Haiku-- Sweet the snow fell down / melting as it kissed the ground / life's lived in the now

Sunday Morning Haiku-- Eagles borne skyward / God's breath guiding graceful flight / My heart soars with them

Mid November Haiku-- Our vibrant masks fall / the scaffold of self revealed / Holy surrender

Haiku for Modern Transportation-- Riding planes, trains, cars / behind glass I watch the world / Am I safe, or trapped?

Haiku for Stepping Off the Well-Worn Path-- Curiosity / spurs us from familiar fare / to untrod terrain

Haiku for All Saints Day-- Reach through this thin veil / embracing memory's mist / belov'd dead still live

Haiku because real estate isn't very poetic, but on my mind-- Agency, title, / liens, mortgage, math, contracts, rules... / good thing I love homes

Haiku for Euonymus Alatus (common name "winged spindle or burning bush")-- Five burning bushes / line the length of my driveway / God has much to say

Haiku for the Western Dogwood-- Not to be outdone / by the burning bush phalanx / the dogwood barks red

Foggy Wednesday Haiku-- Morning shrouded white / foggy metaphor for life / trust, though we can't see

South Sound Haiku-- On the sea of life / we can all use a strong push / into mystery

Haiku at Dawn-- Flame fringed morning kiss / sparks ignite this fresh wrought day / that we might burn bright

Haiku on the morning after the storm-- Life is hard, it's true / and the future lies unclear / soak up beauty now

Sunrise Haiku, inspired by the hymn with this first line: "When Morning Gilds the skies"-- First light gilds the skies / this glory awakes my eyes / for this gift I praise

Haiku for the night visiting tree frog-- Windowpane surprise / it's all about perspective / here in life's belly

Haiku for the Carlisle II-- Walk on history / Sinclair Inlet foot ferry / what a way to ride

Haiku for the Humble Chair-- Consider the chairs / in bright sturdy communion / just waiting for us

Sleepless near Seattle Haiku 2:15 am-- City glows all night / I'm wide awake mind alight / but I crave bright dreams

Haiku for the Sound this morning-- Labyrinthine sea / I'd like to walk on water / follow where you lead

Thursday morning Haiku-- Landscape floats in fog / much like my mind each morning / we wait for clear skies

Hump Day Haiku-- Here's the happy swing / climb in and cast your worries / up, out and away

Haiku for the Butler Amusement drivers-- Carnival trucks park / at The Goodwill, drivers sleep / shades of charity

Haiku for Helicopters-- The sky is abuzz / squadron of copters in flight / who doesn't need rescue?

Haiku for the girl on the playground (me)-- May your skirts be short / your legs be long, your grip strong / live life in full swing

Haiku for this morning's sea fog-- Fog slides past silent / shrouding supply ships at dock / so much I can't see

Haiku for the house we'd like to make our next live in project while waiting for the bank's response to our offer-- "Revive me," it calls / Conjuring visions and hopes / Will they come to pass?

Haiku for hand surgery recovery at 8 weeks post-op-- I'm still not myself / hand stiff, stuck, cupped -- like prayer / straighten me out God

Haiku for another glorious day in the Pacific Northwest-- Some days are like this: / out of the blue Mount Rainier / witness to wonder

Monday Morning Haiku-- Today comes on plain / no dazzling sunrise greets me / just a quiet grace.

Haiku for the storm brewing in my front yard on May 5-- Clouds obscure the sun / Flowers kiss the sky and fall / how fleeting our bloom

An Insomniac's 5 a.m. Haiku-- Bright-mooned night fades pink / out of circadian sync / a looong day I think

Haiku for Impending Rain-- The sky of two minds / mirrors my indecision / thunderclaps welcome

Cloudy Monday Haiku-- Dawn climbs up to clouds / what once was clear now obscured / life's familiar fog

Haiku for Neka on the deck at sunrise-- Closer to my heart / companions watch the world wake / whose tales bear telling

Haiku for This Morning-- On the horizon / dawn offers its glowing coal / our lives fringed in flame

Haiku for this surprising Monday-- Gray sky grows brilliant / Earth displays God's handiwork / Preserve this beauty

Haiku for the house fires burning in West Seattle-- Wreckage looms high there / home safe here I pray through tears / God in your mercy...

Wednesday Haiku-- The new day greets us / shirred with possibilities / What will we become?

Haiku at Sherwin Williams-- Life stands at the door / rainbow arrayed before you / grab a brush and dance

Cloudy Haiku-- Steel day shot through gray / Rain and thunderstorms forewarn / God's drama, not mine

Haiku for the Samish ferry's sea trials-- Empty new ferry / sails round four times; its message: / trust and do the work.

Collaborative Haiku for Morning with Kevin Warner-- A haiku a day / Helps keep the grumbles away / I'm very happy

Another Haiku-- This scene brings to mind / doves descending from heaven / I long for God's voice

Tuesday Morning Haiku-- This morning sings pink / Chirped melodies rise in praise / Grace freely given

Monday Morning Haiku / City silhouette / sun sliding over the Sound / gratitude spilling

Dumpster Haiku-- Day unfolds like so / junk and jewels juxtaposed / in metaphors -- gold

Haiku for My Soul Sister She wings cross bright skies / brings wisdom, laughter, surprise / friends are paradise

Haiku for Mt St Helens Sun's last rays slip east / Mt St Helens' stunning feast / savor times like these

Cloudy Sunrise Haiku Here's how glory dawns / in the skies and through our eyes / fills the world with light

Sunset Haiku / Pink light paints the peak / as day fades soft to night / Rainier, my delight

Rainbow Haiku-- Drops pour from clouds gray / Full rainbow Henderson Bay / Lovely end, this day

Hood Canal Haiku-- Hood Canal's Great Bend / Meets Skokomish River mouth / I float and reflect

Haiku For Our Fixer Upper-- No well, failed septic / Foundation rot—in this place / I see perfection

October Morning Haiku / Dawning fills the skies / in harmony we arise / O, peace, flame our eyes

Overcast Haiku / Above all is gray / On the horizon, grandeur / beyond that, who knows?

Haiku for the changing morning / A sea of sky waves / as fog rises toward the sun / silent these wonders

Sunset Haiku / Slivers of fuchsia / burn brilliant through charcoal sky / clouds flame this good night

Snowy morning haiku / Gentle wakes the day / blanketed in white down light / love is sweet as this

Hood Canal Haiku / Sunbeams slip through clouds / Terns skim the silver seas—dive / headlong into life

Sunrise Haiku / Sun brushed mountaintop / Wakens possibilities / Light the world today

Haiku for Sunset with Loved Ones / Under downy clouds / mountains pulse, sea shimmers gold / and you light the world

Power Line Haiku / Electric, this life / Chance coursing cross our circuits / Choose transformation

Haiku for Apparitions / Angel wings brushed by / heavenly trail cross the sky / with God let us fly

Haiku at Low Tide / Zig-zag, water streams / etching fluid lines in sand / our lives follow suit

Another Mt Rainier Haiku / The mountain beckons / though much is obscured from view— / look and imagine

Haiku Upon Waking / Day dawns with drama / The sky blazing before me / Who can sleep through this?

Haiku from Camp Casey / From oasis carved / Our creative gifts affirmed / We depart renewed

Dawn Haiku / This morning's herald / Silhouetted in the sky / To glory we rise

Haiku for the Lenticular Cloud / Wreathed in clouds Rainier / wears its weather like a hat / tipped in our favor

Surf Scoter Haiku / The tide may sweep us / to places unexpected / let's swim together

Spiderweb Haiku / Day-to-day life spins / Ordinary, unnoticed / Until the storm, the sun

November Sunset Haiku / Water reflects sky / Incarnation casts image / What will we mirror?

Haiku at Daybreak January 2nd / New year's second morn / From flames is so brightly born / Like love, keeps us warm

Seal Platform Haiku / Seals—sleek shiny / Slippery they slide dockside / to savor some sleep

Haiku for the Great Blue Heron / Most tranquil heron / serene in rain—your stillness / an art I envy

Sunset Haiku / In sunset's sweet glow / Our worry stills, world peace fills / God's great love we know

Weather Haiku / Sea reflects story / Poring down gray, white, blue, green / Clouds tumble close

Haiku for this Morning's Eagle on the Beach / I aim to capture / Majesty and draw it close / Breakfast forgotten

Haiku for Diving Ducks / Common merganser / Skims the shoreline each morning / Trails uncommon joy

Haiku for the first day of Spring / Gossamer fog strews / rose gold petals at your feet / embrace spring's first kiss

Haiku for the Stargazer Lily: Your headdress stamens / petal-edged curves, riotous scents / draw me into you

Great Blue Haiku / Alone not lonely / Heron's stillness invites peace / May we find it so

Bedtime Haiku / Let the clouds lead you / Where beauty floats on beauty / Rest this night in peace

Ducks ply flat water / Wing beats break this day's silence / We all need greeting

Morning Prayer Haiku / That in this crisis / Our fears shrink like low hung clouds / Love's true peace fill us

Monday Morning Haiku in the Time of Corona Virus Restrictions / Seals stacked sans distance / weather sunrise together / alpenglow warms us

High Tide Haiku / For this minute -- breathe / In rhythm with breaking waves / You're carried by love

Photo Haiku for the Sibilant Sunset / quacking clouds above / duck darkened waters proclaim / this slivered glory

Sandpiper in surf / watery impressions float / among oyster beds

Haiku at Sunset / Solomon's splendor pales in lilac reflection / fragrant goodnight kiss

Sunrise Haiku / Monday morning alpenglow / peaks of pink, reflected snow / offer thanks here below

Fat flakes falling fast / How long will winter last? / Summer will you come?

October Sunrise Haiku / Day breaks in beauty / trailing glowing cloak of clouds / to behold is bliss