Category: Haiku

we hold the door

·

we hold the door
for older people
memories of Mom

From They Gave Us Life: Celebrating Mothers, Fathers & Others in Haiku; Edited by Robert Epstein (2017, Middle Island Press).

autumn in the air
young people
open doors for me
at the library

Kiwanis Park
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
August 22, 2018
Photo by Karl

Interurban Trail, Town of Holland
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin
August 26, 2018
Photos by Karl

Ellen Grace Olinger

This Day’s Light: Poems About Birds

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this day’s light
hummingbird finds
the hosta

Wisconsin spring
sandhill cranes
in a field of snow 

“Wisconsin spring” was published in This World: Haiku Society of America 2013 Members’ Anthology, edited by Carolyn Coit Dancy.

morning prayer
water birds flying north
stay close to water

“morning prayer” was published in Take-out Window:  Haiku Society of America 2014 Members’ Anthology, edited by Gary Hotham.

This haiku was first published in SMILE, 67, 2010.

the faith of birds
trusting in seed
under snow

“the faith of birds” was also published first in SMILE, a large print journal, edited/published by Joyce M. Johnson. No longer in print, and I have copies to reread and enjoy over the years.

birds in the painting
from the thrift store
forever in flight

birds perch
in sheltering branches
a grain of mustard seed

Matthew 13: 31 – 32

“birds perch” was published in Time Of Singing (1995).

how small the song
of an unknown bird
quiet memories

Ellen Grace Olinger

fragrance of leaves

·

fragrance of leaves
in the gardens
what good friends
we became
as we grew older

From They Gave Us Life: Celebrating Mothers, Fathers & Others in Haiku; Edited by Robert Epstein (2017, Middle Island Press).

Ellen Grace Olinger

Poems and Photo

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rarely at your grave —
geranium blooms freely
on your workshop stool

Modern Haiku, Fall 1996

Ellen Olinger – Three Questions Series, 2010
Edited by Curtis Dunlap

Charlotte Digregorio’s Writer’s Blog
Daily Haiku: July 11, 2017

paintings of trees
on old pine walls
quiet music

Four Hundred and Two Snails
Haiku Society of America
Members’ Anthology 2018
Nicholas M. Sola, Editor

cross-stitch from the
grandmother I didn’t meet:
“Put the coffee on”

Parnassus Literary Journal (2004)

Ellen Olinger – Three Questions, haiku series edited by Curtis Dunlap.

My haiku was also posted on March 29, 2015, as part of the Daily Haiku series at Charlotte Digregorio’s Writer’s Blog.

willows weep and yet
how strong the branches
that hold their tears

Deep calleth unto deep . . .*
filling my heart with hope
greater than my mind

* from Psalm 42: 7 (KJV)

Poems and photo are by Ellen Grace Olinger.

early morning

·

early morning
sunflowers wait
for the sun

early morning
fragrance of carnations
in the sunroom

the word
I seem to say
most often
these days —
grateful

Poems from August 2018

Photo by Karl – August 2018