Short-Form Poetry by Patrick Sweeney

He told me there was a pumpkin the size of a city block,
and I saw the hooked stem above the rooftops of my mind's eye

An Esoteriku by Sharon Ferrante

wise witch . . .
chew the wasp
conquer the fear

~

Sharon Ferrante is a Scottish Witch, who practices magick daily. She's also been seen, now and then, writing some poetry.

An Esoteriku by John Hawkhead

crow shadows at the brink of infinity

~

John Hawkhead has been writing short-form poetry for over 30 years, publishing three books of haiku & senryu in that time. He lives in the South West of England.

An Esoteriku by Chad Lee Robinson

made of bones
for bones
wheelbarrow

~

Chad Lee Robinson has been writing haiku and related poetry for more than twenty years. He is the author of five award-winning haiku collections, including Pop Bottles (True Vine Press, 2009), Rope Marks (Snapshot Press, 2012), The Deep End of the Sky (Turtle Light Press, 2015), The White Buffalo (Backbone Press, 2023), and Dust of Horses (Brooks Books, 2026). Much of his haiku is about the prairie, but he also enjoys writing horrorku which have appeared in a wide variety of journals, such as horror senryu journal, Otoroshi Journal, Circle of Salt, Haikuniverse, and Scifaikuest. He lives in Pierre, South Dakota.

An Esoteriku by Lorraine A. Padden

code switch crafting peace

~

Lorraine A. Padden is a former classical ballet dancer and widely published haiku and short forms poet. A Touchstone Award winner and Pushcart Prize nominee, Lorraine also served as a Fellow at confluence haiku, a new journal centered on experimentation and inclusion of diverse voices in English-language haiku. Lorraine is an active member of Zen Peacemakers, a global social action and justice organization, and she has been a featured presenter at Upaya Zen Center's popular Way of Haiku gatherings.

An Esoteriku by Barbara Sabol

the gannet plunges

into itself

zazen

~

Barbara Sabol lives close to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, whose trails she knows by heart. Before running a wash, she checks all pockets for feathers and small stones. Barbara's most recent collection is Mapping the Borderlands: Haibun and Tanka Prose (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2025).

An Esoteriku by Kelly Sargent

proving the sourdough
this need
for trust

~

Kelly Sargent is a poet, editor, and devoted tea drinker residing in Vermont. Though she writes about autumn foliage and fallen acorns, she most enjoys penning poems that reflect the multiple facets of being human. She is an assistant editor for #FemkuMag and served last year as co-judge for the HSA Harold G. Henderson Haiku Contest. Her latest haiku/senryu collection is entitled The Honeybee's Waggle (Cuttlefish Books, 2026). She writes because when a reader gives a little nod or slight smile, she no longer bears the weight of living, alone.

An Esoteriku by Kirsten Cliff Elliot

green burial
this acorn, too
has fallen early

~

Born on Lammas and married on Samhain, Kirsten Cliff Elliot is interested in Jungian dream interpretation and the collective unconscious. She has been writing and publishing short-form poetry for almost two decades. Her latest haikai collection, A Body of Work: Poems on Aging and Chronic Illness, is now available from Cuttlefish Books.

A Durga Puja Ku by Vandana Parashar

dhak beats
every woman
a Durga

The dhak (a drum played with two sticks) is considered the heartbeat and spiritual call of Durga Puja and other Bengali Hindu religious celebrations. It symbolizes the arrival of Goddess Durga and the triumph of good over evil.

~

Vandana Parashar is an associate editor of haikuKATHA and one of the editors of Poetry Pea and #FemkuMag. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019, and her second chapbook, Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022. She won the 2025 HIGH/COO Chapbook Award, and her third chapbook was published by Brooks Books. She is a Lord Shiva devotee, but believes in goodness of thoughts, words and deeds rather than following elaborate rituals to appease God. She likes to spend time with nature and herself.

A Durga Puja Ku by Vandana Parashar

bijoya dashami how long the way back is

Bijoya Dashami marks the culmination of Durga Puja and the goddess's departure from her maternal home. In Bengali tradition, her return to Kailash brings an undertone of farewell and separation. The festival is celebratory, but it also carries sadness at her leaving.

The phrase can be read in two ways:  How long is Durga's journey home, or how long must her devotees wait for her return?

~

Vandana Parashar is an associate editor of haikuKATHA and one of the editors of Poetry Pea and #FemkuMag. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019, and her second chapbook, Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022. She won the 2025 HIGH/COO Chapbook Award, and her third chapbook was published by Brooks Books. She is a Lord Shiva devotee, but believes in goodness of thoughts, words and deeds rather than following elaborate rituals to appease God. She likes to spend time with nature and herself.

An Esoteriku by Patricia Hawkhead

shadow memories
of a dark woodland
childhood fairytales

~

Patricia Hawkhead's writing has been published in many poetry magazines around the world with most of her writing informed by the natural world, particularly her small magical garden.

A Tanka by Reid Hepworth

a pair
of blinded sphinx
share a moment
atop the grave marker
things I can't unsee

~

Reid Hepworth shares her secrets with the trees, plots her storylines with the birds and is known to covet pebbles and sea glass. She finds magic in the smallest, most ordinary things. Her poetry, influenced by her interaction with the natural world and the human condition, has been published internationally. Reid has released two books of poetry.

An Esoteriku by M. R. Pelletier

chanting through the beads
the stations
of Earth's orbit

~

M. R. Pelletier lives in Kansas, but his haiku poetry travels the world. He has published in multiple journals including Bamboo Hut, Five Fleas, Wales Haiku Journal, Mad Swirl and Failed Haiku among others.

A Durga Puja Ku by Vandana Parashar

after the summer
that lasted too long
the scent of shiuli

The shiuli (shiuli/parijat, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) is strongly associated with autumn in Bengal and with the arrival of Durga Puja. Its delicate fragrance can evoke the festival before the celebrations themselves begin. The flower carries a sense of anticipation, nostalgia and seasonal renewal.

~

Vandana Parashar is an associate editor of haikuKATHA and one of the editors of Poetry Pea and #FemkuMag. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019, and her second chapbook, Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022. She won the 2025 HIGH/COO Chapbook Award, and her third chapbook was published by Brooks Books. She is a Lord Shiva devotee but believes in goodness of thoughts, words and deeds rather than following elaborate rituals to appease God. She likes to spend time with nature and herself.

"Parallel World" by Cynthia Anderson

Parallel World

This is a land of forests and lakes and narrow, winding roads with few cars or people. So it's pure chance to encounter an industrious dwarf driving a giant tree forward at a pace barely above a crawl. He gladly stops to show off the mechanism inside the hollow trunk—an assemblage of gears and levers. I ask, Where's your windshield? There isn't one. A jerry-rigged system of rear-view mirrors lets him see where he's been. Moving forward requires driving by feel. The tree, alive and well, is happy to be on the move after occupying one spot for millennia.

half-lifted eyelid
a line of clouds across
the dawn sky

~

Cynthia Anderson loves exploring the relationship between dreams and reality. She has published 14 poetry books, most recently a collection of haiku and senryū titled Heartwood (Cholla Needles, 2026). Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the Best of the Net, and the Touchstone Awards. Cynthia is co-editor of A Bird Black as the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens. She has lived in California for over 40 years. www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com

"A Recipe to Clear" by Joy Hallinan

A Recipe to Clear

one cup kosher salt
three sprigs rosemary
rind slivers of a fresh lemon

Choose a sunny day. Begin by deep cleaning your space. Place aside anything no longer serving you. Open wide the windows. Walk clockwise around the room with a bell or chime or crystal glass tapping softly with a knife. Let the sound echo. Mix the salt, rosemary, and lemon. Place a pinch in each corner saying a blessing. Display the remainder in a porcelain bowl or in grandmother's teacup to absorb the negative. Play music and dance. Remember to toss out the old salt during a full moon and begin fresh again.

~

Joy grew up writing poetry in secret password girls-only treehouses. An ardent herb gardener, hedge witch, and maker of extracts and tinctures, Joy practices folk traditions handed down from her great-grandmother. She is also a longtime student of space clearing and feng shui following Karen Kingston and other international practitioners.

Short-Form Poetry by Patrick Sweeney

Last I heard, he was rescuing worms from puddles in Pittsburgh

A Shahai by Stephanie Zepherelli

 

~

Stephanie Zepherelli, a former dance professor, is a longtime student and teacher of Iyengar yoga, ballet, and contemporary dance; a student of Zen master Robert Aitken; and a reluctant clairvoyant descended from Romanian Gypsies. She was introduced to short-form poetry via Triveni Haikai India. Stephanie lives on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, with her tribe of Madagascar geckos.

An Esoteriku by Oscar Luparia

BLACK HOLES only my cat looks at ease

~

Born in 1956 in Vercelli, Italy, Oscar Luparia is a trade unionist. Haiku, mountains and photography are his main passions. After approaching the classical Japanese poetry about twenty years ago, he has written seven haiku/haibun collections so far (available on the internet for free—https://archive.org/details/@oscar_luparia). His poetry has been published internationally.

An Esoteriku by Hifsa Ashraf

dunes after dunes of war debris no oasis

~

Fueled by a healthy dose of caffeine, Hifsa Ashraf from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, has been writing poetry since her teenage years. She is the author of six individual and four collaborative micropoetry collections. Lately, she enjoys cawing while tracing the contours of shadows.