We all remember first learning about haiku in grade school with the familiar pattern of three phrases written in five, seven, and five syllables. As I developed this year’s Words in Bloom: A Year of Haiku program, I learned that the world of haiku is an expansive one with many forms. Designed to be “one breath” poems with a focus on nature, haiku has the power to strike an emotional chord.
Collaborating with the Midwest Region of the Haiku Society of America, the Chicago Botanic Garden put out a call for submissions for haiku poems. After careful review of hundreds of submissions, we’re excited to share our selected poems from Garden enthusiasts everywhere for National Poetry Month.
Get lost in these beautiful haiku poems paying tribute to the Helen and Richard Thomas English Walled Garden for spring and early summer.
English Walled Garden haiku
wisteria season
my teenage son
begins a conversation
Sandra Simpson, New Zealand
thyme growing
between garden bricks
I imagine you all grown
Deborah P Kolodji, Temple City, California
much ado
about everything ...
rambling rose
Cynthia Cechota, Dubuque, Iowa
early June
the elusive scent
of a rose named “Peace”
Lesley Anne Swanson, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
wedding day—
the unexpected hummingbird
through the pergola
Michael Dylan Welch, Sammamish, Washington
old cistern
the deep echo
of herstory
Roberta Beary, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland
hedge door
a sunbeam illuminates
my footprint
Deb Koen, Rochester, New York
this floating world
white dogwoods
in morning fog
Nancy Shires, Greenville, North Carolina
in a flurry
of cherry blossom pink
mother blows us a kiss
Jill Whalen, Waukesha, Wisconsin
