Haiku for National Haiku Writing Month – July 2025 First Half

 

National Haiku Writing Month has been founded by the well known haiku poet Michael Dylan Welch. The goal is to write at least one haiku a day. National Haiku Writing Month is in its 14th year. [1] I enjoy writing to the prompts on Facebook. Here are some interesting links: [2]. Our daily writing prompter for July 2025 is Dorna Hainds, who is doing so for the first time. Welcome, Dorna! 

江靜潮初落，林昏瘴不開。
明朝望鄉處，應見隴頭梅。
題大庾嶺北驛。
宋之問。
The river flows calmly and the flood recedes.
At dusk, the forest lies hidden in mist.
Tomorrow, when I cross the mountains early in the morning,
I hope to see the plum blossoms of my homeland.
An Inscription for the Northern Rest House of the Dayu Mountains
Song Zhiwen [3]

white noise 
white mellow walls 
waning madness 
~ Color of Madness 

looking for 
forgotten dream colors 
making progress 
~ Forgotten Dream Color 

no grey or black 
no shadow at all 
in the black hole 
~ Shades of Shadows 

windy days 
gold on the poplars 
and auburn hair 
~ Forest that Bleeds Gold in Autumn 

the Brontë sisters 
all gray of pigeon 
but such imagination 
~ Gray of Pigeon

the grey of the pigeons 
blends with the cathedral 
as we do 
~ Gray of Pigeon 

sinking 
the rainbow warrior 
is lifting the colors 
~ Warzone Colors Seen 

good notes 
and car washing 
into the piggybank 
~ Colors of First Money Made

the rainbow 
and mum's hair colors 
then a cloud of tears 
~ Color of Mum’s Hair Throughout the Ages 

furry creases 
and yellow faded paper 
a never ending love 
~ Yellow Faded Love Letter 

the forest 
painted with a red crayon 
just like in black 
~ First Red Crayon

out of the blue 
diving into the pool 
then a blue margarita 
~ Blue of Swimming Pools 

grieving 
our shadows 
wear black, too 
~ Shades of Grief 

what remains 
of the wishing well - 
murky shadows 
~ Shades of Lies Told 

forbidden desires 
the red rose 
blushes 
~ Color of Forbidden Desires

the rainbow wears 
the color of loneliness 
and silence 
~ Color of Loneliness 

 

 

Links and Annotations:
[1] National Haiku Writing Month https://www.facebook.com/NaHaiWriMo  
[2] „To help with haiku fundamentals, please have a look at "Becoming a Haiku Poet" at https://www.graceguts.com/essays/becoming-a-haiku-poet. Please review the "Haiku Checklist" at https://www.graceguts.com/essays/haiku-checklist. I also recommend to read: https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/why-no-5-7-5 
[3] Song Zhiwen (宋之問) was born around 660, which is uncertain, and died in 712, which is certain, because he was sentenced to commit suicide. Only one poem was included in the anthology 300 Poems of the Tang Dynasty (唐詩三百首); I translated the second half of the poem. I found a total of three books of his poems in the collection Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty (全唐詩) from 1705.

 

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