1

a dresser
her scarf
collects dusk

2

after the argument
her empty chair
collects rain

Michael Jouanneau

3

remember it all
too well
the cardigan doesn’t fit

Randy Brooks

I really like this one for multiple reasons. This first is what I see when I read this is a girl finding an old cardigan hid in the back of her closet. It opens a flood of memories and she remembers everyone. I know I have felt this recently when cleaning out my room and finding old things I forgot about but they bring back so many memories. This haiku also reminds me of a couple Taylor Swift songs which is fun. Addison Ross, July 2026

4

blue tango
a dress from
mother’s playbook

Randy Brooks

5

melting pot
the twilight takes
every shade

6

snapshots
I show my daughter
what life used to feel

Michael Jouanneau

7

everything piles up
I miss
real summer

8

tennis courts
age
no longer matters

Addison Ross

When reading this haiku, it brings me back to spring, and last summer, when I play tennis with a friend in Peoria - we are not the same age, which become the literal interpretation of this writing, but it brings the idea of breaking the barriers in sports - tennis might be a more posh sport compared to the collegiate football environment we are raised in, but it also for me draws to the question that sports in general become more acceptable for the age differences, and that  there is no age which you cannot start, and no age that you should stop - apart from like American football...

9

room service
an afternoon breeze
wrinkles the curtains

10

crisscross applesauce
waiting for
grandpa’s fireflies

11

just the two of us
things no one said
out loud

Randy Brooks

12

the wind howls
I try to escape
chilled to the bone

Addison Ross

13

my best teacher
and biggest enemy
a green fuzzy ball

14

painting the nursery
cat paw reaches
under the door

15

bonsai tree
sold for pennies
at the garage sale

16

thick clouds
the sun shining through
my thoughts

Addison Ross

For me reading this haiku, illustrates for me a very precise scene: you had a hard day - a very emotionally filled day and your thoughts are not all fogged up, but at the end of the day, the evening sun breaks through your draperies and soften ups the atmosphere, drawing us away from the darkened library, and to the slowing of the outside. Unburdening your thoughts of the day, and letting the evening draw in care free. 

17

July heat
the crown rusts
in the meadow 

Michael Jouanneau

18

after the anthem
my child asks
who are the free

Michael Jouanneau

When I read this one, I imagine a small child and their parents standing for the national anthem at a sporting event. This is a very common thing, but what the child says catches the parent off guard. Especially with the fourth of July just passing, these thigs combined have really made me think. Yes, we do have freedoms that others do not have but are we really free? There are still so many people that are fighting for rights and so many inequalities, it’s hard to feel like we are actually free. Addison Ross, July 2026