A series of micro-seasonal haiku, awakening to the ordinary
15th Sekki: White Dew (Sept. 8-22) – ‘Hakuro’
grass shining with white dewdrops (Sept. 8-12)
wagtails start singing (Sept. 13-17)
swallows fly south (Sept. 18-22)
Similar to the use of a ‘season word’ in haiku, each of the 72 micro-seasons (kō) provide a short phrase as a trellis around which to form a haiku. Above are the phrases for this particular micro-season and below are the inspired verses we have received.
Kō 43:
a yellow wagtail—
singing on the last branch
of summer
SHAOMEI YU
Los Angeles, CA
Kō 44:
thick darkened rafters—smoke
stained tobacco barns launch
swallows south
COLEMAN DAVIS
Berea, KY
Kō 45:
day’s architecture
webs of diadem spiders
shimmering with dew
NADINE LEITSO
Sunshine Coast, BC
To submit haiku for our Kō series, visit our submissions page.
To read more about Kō, and to view the seasonal calendar, click here.
To explore a haiku workshop offered by Upaya Zen Center, click here.
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