tinywords: haiku for 13 December 2007 by Michael Dylan Welch

first snow ...
the children's hangers
clatter in the closet

—Michael Dylan Welch

As a kid living in Winnipeg, the cold and snow was omnipresent during the winter, but we made the best of it by making snow forts, skating, and other outdoor activity. The hangers in the closet by the back door of our house used to clatter quite a bit each winter whenever we went outside to play in the snow.

Previous publications:

Woodnotes #23, Winter 1994, p. 6.
The Haiku Anthology. Cor van den Heuvel, ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999, p. 272.
Snapshots #4, Oct. 1998, p. 40.
The New Haiku. John Barlow and Martin Lucas, eds. Liverpool, U.K.: Snapshots Press, 2002, p. 163.
Presence (England) #18, Sept. 2002, p. 48.

About the author: Michael Dylan Welch is editor/publisher of Tundra: The Journal of the Short Poem. A long-time vice president of the Haiku Society of America, he was also cofounder of the Haiku North America conference in 1991, cofounder of the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founder of the Tanka Society of America in 2000. He has published his poetry in hundreds of journals and anthologies in more than a dozen languages, and has won first prize in each of the Henderson, Brady, Drevniok, and Tokutomi contests, among others. Though originally British, and having grown up in England, Ghana, Australia, and Canada, Michael now lives with his wife and two children near Seattle, Washington.

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published 13 December 2007
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Responses to the haiku for 13 December 2007 by Michael Dylan Welch

mike farley

2007-12-13 10:39:14

first snow . . .
the electric blanket
turned up to six
Penelope

2007-12-13 11:02:37

first snow
hot tub steam
drifting swirls
Bill Kenney`

2007-12-13 11:16:48

first snow
the sidewalk swept
by the wind
mike farley

2007-12-13 12:31:00

first snow . . .
the nine month old
sticks out his tongue
Ed Schwellenbach

2007-12-13 13:18:18

new boots
the cadent crunch of
compacting snow
Magyar

2007-12-13 15:20:22

snow drifts
roll across this field
a cat purrs
_M
Jim Tantillo

2007-12-13 15:33:55

first snow -
hurriedly winding up
the garden hose
Penelope

2007-12-13 15:54:44

first snow
nine months later
new baby
mike farley

2007-12-13 17:52:15

Oh Penelope, you scamp - what went on in that hot tub?

first snow
her ski pants
nicely fit

somebody stop me!
Robbie Gamble

2007-12-13 17:59:03

What a great coincidence! We had our first snowfall today, and all the kids are out whooping it up on their sleds.
judith Ingram

2007-12-13 19:50:19

I think some of you have had too much mulled wine!

First snow
cardinals decorate the apple tree
for Christmas
Michael Dylan Welch (WelchM at aol dot com)

2007-12-13 22:49:54

Nice to read all these haiku. I especially like "first snow . . . / the nine month old / sticks out his tongue." Bravo, Mike! I have two toddlers at home myself, and I gravitate to poems about children. I'm a skier, too -- always loved snow. My favourite Japanese snow haiku is Issa's "snow melting / the village brimming over . . . / with children!" (This is David Lanoue's translation.) Joy!
Alan Summers

2007-12-14 10:01:01

I'm certainly enjoying the responses here. ;-)

This is another of my favourites of Michael's, so real glad it can be appreciated all over again at tinywords.
b. m. richardson (orgbob at webtv dot net)

2007-12-14 12:41:35

judith, your mulled wine return thoughts to mind; one, the paths i've yet to cross.

---

vin chaud-
warmth in her finger
to my lips

-

first snowflake, on her cheek--
this blush

-

yellow snow
this time
moonlight
Ricky Barnes

2008-01-22 18:28:20

_____

first snow
wrong shoes
wet news

_____

first snow
thin robe
cold nobe

_____

first snow
fresh prints
bunny hints

_____
H. Gene Murtha

2008-02-05 21:15:19

some good stuff folks, and thanks
Michael, I enjoyed your haiku too

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Responses to the haiku for 13 December 2007 by Michael Dylan Welch

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