Akitsu Quarterly

I’m deeply honored to have four haiku selected for the Fall/Winter 2025 issue of Akitsu Quarterly, a remarkable publication edited by Robin White, the accomplished founder of Wild Graces Botanical Sanctuary and Hermitage in Deerfield, New Hampshire. Robin presents Akitsu Quarterly as a beautifully crafted chapbook, to which I happily subscribe. While not available online, it can be purchased through her website.

lulled into summer
then the pine cone
d
r
o
p
s

Last October, after a spell of cool weather, it warmed up again and began to feel very much like summer again. Lounging on my patio wearing shorts and a t-shirt, soaking in the warmth, a pine cone suddenly fell, landing with a thud in my backyard. It was as if Mother Nature was reminding me not to get too comfortable with the weather.

This is the first haiku I wrote that’s also a concrete poem where the shape of the words enhances the poem’s effect or meaning. In this case, the vertical word “drop” illustrates the pine cone’s fall from the tree to the lawn.

fallen oak
the last ring touching
a new mountain

After Hurricane Helene ravaged the Southeastern US last year, countless trees in my South Carolina community were uprooted or toppled, including some towering giants. The devastation prompted me to reflect on how trees can flourish in one place for centuries, only to be abruptly ended by a force of nature and forced into a stark new reality.

But then again, isn’t that often true for us all?

blueberry harvest
the hermit thrush eyes
my solitude

The seasonal term “blueberry harvest” places this haiku in autumn, when hermit thrushes feed on berries. The poem portrays a solitary walk, perhaps along a trail, where the speaker meets the gaze of a thrush, evoking a connection between “hermit” and solitude.

the white birch
now hidden
in snow

It was my hope with this haiku to capture a serene moment of quiet transformation in nature where pale white birch trees are enveloped by snow, blending into the winter landscape. The snow creates a hushed, introspective mood, inviting the reader to reflect on the ephemeral nature of things that are present yet hidden from view, both in nature and oneself.

Thank you for reading!

All images accompanying the haiku were created by me using Grok and Gemini AI.