At the end of last year, I picked up a Traveler’s Company regular-sized undated planner. It turned out not to meet my needs — I just don’t write small enough to make my to-dos fit in that small box.
But you know what would fit? I thought. Haiku.
Thus began my daily practice of writing a haiku a day. While I tried to follow the example set by Jason McBride of Weirdo Poetry and find inspiration in nature each day, it didn’t always work out. More often than not, the only nature time I had was walking the dog, which is why there are of lot of verses about sunrise and the moon. Usually they are just a reflection, capturing some detail of the day I wrote it.
And you know what? I don’t hate them. Even the ones that are just “wow, it is hard to write a haiku sometimes.” (Maybe especially those ones.)
They are a little like a diary, capturing the essence of the month in a few words and phrases that are sometimes mundane, sometimes poetic. It’s a small creative practice, but an easy one to commit to, and I plan to continue as 2026 proceeds.
As a side project, since the planner spread for each week also includes a full blank page, I decided I would use it to copy down one poem I’ve read each week, in hopes of encouraging myself to actually read more poetry regularly.1 Three of the poems I recorded this month were in response to the murders of innocent people in Minnesota. So that’s another kind of diary keeping. Here are the links to those poems if you’d like to read them:
- The day a poet is murdered by ICE by Hannah Levy
- A fatal ICE storm by Jason McBride
- As From a Wandering Jonny by Jonathan Potter
I am sure there are many more poetic responses to these horrifying events. Please share any you know of in the comments — I don’t know how to process my own reactions, but reading others trying to do so helps.
And here are my own haiku for the month. Thanks for reading!
one rainy new year
a promise to make poems
every single day
rain outside all day
clearing just in time for walks
the dog is happy
busy vacation
days slip into the new year
the rain keeps coming
moon hides in the clouds
but stars know where to find her
in midnight’s playground
words like white peacocks
flittering around the page,
strutting in stories
moon fuzzy with clouds
waiting for the sun to rise
the birds still asleep
one haiku daily
it should not be hard to do
except when tired
again no haiku
sometimes my brain just won’t work
to make poetry
the midwinter sun
sears cosmos into eyelids
on morning commute
patient cat watching
blue eyes, white paws, perky ears
time to go to sleep
forgotten verses
scribbled on the page in haste
it’s been a long week
orange horizon
herald of the rising day
plane track cuts the sky
writers group tonight
our words zipping through the air
many stories shared
hot day, hotter night
winter weather up and down
like my energy
distant rooster’s song
lulls the waning moon to bed
winter morning dawns
writing down the words
learning how my story goes
long way to the end
ink spills on the page
puddles of swirling colors
blotting out my words
cats wrestle on bed
ears back, claws out, tails lashing
feline fun and games
some days wonder seems
very far away
like haiku not in order
cat purrs in pleasure
and the doggy wags its tail
happy that I’m home
fog wraps the morning
the birds are not yet awake
grass bends under dew
a day spent indoors
while pretending to be sick
cold rain glooms the mood
rose too late to see
the glory of the sunrise
maybe tomorrow
unicorns adorn
the surfaces of my desk
my own magic herd
what does the bee think
when a strong wind blows her far
from where flowers bloom
lost my job today
hurts more than I thought it would
the future is here
one day and counting
I’m off to an OK start
building a future
new dresses today
just enough glamour for me
to feel magical
sazerac goes down
smooth with old friends bitching
about stupid jobs
a pile of new books
spines ready to be broken
spill out fresh ideas
Full moon overhead
bright guardian watching me
forever shining