Hunting Haiku Daily

2011-11-28T07:22:00.002-05:00

utter stillness

from behind the hunter
a deer snorts

2011-11-27T06:26:00.003-05:00

the buck pauses

under the empty tree stand
broadside

2011-11-23T18:13:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving
crows at the gut pile
enjoy their feast

2010-11-20T09:04:00.001-05:00

deer opener
the distant sound of
geese honking

2010-11-03T12:40:00.002-04:00

flight birds
just as quickly they
are gone

2010-11-01T15:23:00.000-04:00

first snow -
in the blind a box of
powdered donuts

2010-10-29T14:11:00.016-04:00

roadside trucks
sprouting up everywhere -
bow season

2010-10-24T20:16:00.000-04:00

sunny side up -
the waitress's smile as she
takes my order

2010-10-23T21:23:00.002-04:00

3:30 am -
duck hunters drink coffee at
the all-night diner

2010-10-18T11:14:00.000-04:00

Ohio Turnpike -
deer marked with orange
traffic cones

2010-10-09T08:59:00.001-04:00

dead grouse
on the side of the road
- north country

2010-09-15T11:46:00.000-04:00

town clerk -
carefully describing the
buck in her yard

2010-09-13T11:48:00.000-04:00

September
the butcher orders
a new knife

2010-06-11T13:34:00.002-04:00

early morning
the deer walks past targets
at the gun range

2010-04-21T09:28:00.002-04:00

carrion beetles
inside the deer skull
- spring cleaning

2010-04-18T11:25:00.015-04:00

in lush spring grass
a woodchuck chews deliberately
away from the house
where on a shelf a copy of Walden
sits unopened and unread

2010-03-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

faded target
on the rifle range frame
--winter's end

2010-02-23T21:52:00.002-05:00

day's end --
retracing my footprints
in the snow

2009-12-23T16:24:00.000-05:00

the blood trail
ending at the water's edge -
gutshot deer

2009-12-18T15:41:00.000-05:00

after the kill
bloody fingerprints
on the antlers

2009-04-21T09:59:00.000-04:00

predawn stillness
in the distance . . . that first
turkey gobble

2009-03-24T09:50:00.001-04:00

geese coming
in low over the treetops
. . . take 'em

2009-03-14T16:28:00.003-04:00

off season
window shopping for a new
pickup truck

2009-03-11T11:55:00.001-04:00

the ribs
of the deer
in spring

2009-03-09T19:48:00.002-04:00

first robins -
up in the pastures
woodcock

2009-03-06T14:45:00.001-05:00

March twilight
sniffing around the hen house
the first fox of spring

2009-03-04T20:14:00.007-05:00

evening sun
somewhere in the brush
a woodcock peents

2009-03-03T21:08:00.001-05:00

a rope dangles
from an empty tree stand -
spring woods

2009-03-02T11:51:00.000-05:00

season's end -
in the Penny Saver
guns for sale

2009-03-01T08:15:00.000-05:00

looking ahead
on the calendar to
October

2009-02-28T11:41:00.001-05:00

last day
of grouse season
- snow flake

2009-02-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

bare ground
blood trail signs
disappear

2009-02-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

bare ground
snowmobile trail signs
disappear

2009-02-25T11:36:00.003-05:00

Bass Pro Shops -
sounds of turkey callers
fill the store

2009-02-24T16:38:00.001-05:00

spring -
time to bury
the dog

2009-02-23T20:20:00.000-05:00

my weight
supported on late winter
snow crust

2009-02-06T11:42:00.003-05:00

Somewhere I read that Basho wrote about 2000 haiku in his life of which 100 or so are considered excellent, and of which he believed there were maybe ten that truly hit the mark. This is a tough ratio but perhaps holds a realistic perspective for us all. Excellent haiku craft requires tireless resolve to keep at it despite the misses and bunches of weaker attempts, with hope that out of the effort will surely come some keepers, and, if we are lucky, serendipity may provide an opportunity to create a haiku that will stand the test of time.
--Tom Clausen, "A Haiku Way of Life"

Napping pup

2008-08-30T07:21:00.003-04:00

Curled on my lap
New puppy snoring softly
Soft jowls but sharp teeth

classic hunting haiku # 10

2008-07-19T16:36:00.002-04:00

Here is another in our series of haiku by Issa.

1824

.追鳥や狐とてしも用捨なく
oi-dori ya kitsune tote shi mo yôsha naku

bird hunter--
even for a fox
no mercy

Translations are by David G. Lanoue, who includes the following note: "Translations based on Issa zenshû (Nagano: Shinano Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1976-79) 9 volumes. Some of the translations first appeared in Issa, Cup-of-Tea Poems and Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa."

2008-07-12T21:45:00.004-04:00

Thoreau's birthday -
seized by a desire
to kill woodchucks

2008-07-01T22:08:00.000-04:00

the cool
of a sporting goods store
in July

2008-06-20T14:05:00.000-04:00

summer solstice -
fall hunting catalogues
in the mailbox

2008-06-15T21:36:00.002-04:00

June puppies -
the dog training books
come off my shelf

2008-05-27T06:34:00.000-04:00

at the mouth
of an old woodchuck burrow
fox scat

2008-05-26T11:20:00.001-04:00

copper fouling
on the cleaning patch -
morning after

2008-05-22T15:19:00.000-04:00

spring morning
watching the sheep
watch for foxes

2008-05-01T14:28:00.003-04:00

May Day
an ominous lump on
the radiograph

2008-04-14T14:51:00.002-04:00

a woodchuck hole
still filled with leaves -
spring pasture

2008-04-08T20:50:00.002-04:00

hay field -
at a woodchuck burrow
fresh dirt

2008-03-13T08:03:00.002-04:00

two geese
circling the woodlot -
melting snow

2008-03-12T08:06:00.000-04:00

retriever pups
fight over the rabbit's head -
proud breeder

2008-03-09T13:54:00.001-04:00

freezing rain
the cold sting of sleet
on my neck

2008-03-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

postseason
letting sleeping dogs
lie

2008-02-29T15:07:00.001-05:00

dusk on the
last day of grouse season -
darkness falls

2008-02-28T21:58:00.003-05:00

spring snow -
in the thicket a grouse eats
withered berries

2008-02-22T16:46:00.000-05:00

icy night -
deer on the shoulders
lick road salt

2008-02-19T11:36:00.002-05:00

evening sun
we hunt grouse in
melting slush

2008-02-18T16:29:00.003-05:00

photo courtesy of Cagey and Elon Weinstein

2008-02-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

February thaw
brief snow goose reunion
frozen in retreat

2008-02-16T17:31:00.004-05:00

hunters
on the frozen mud flat
waiting

2008-02-15T17:55:00.000-05:00

at the door
asking permission
chuck hunter

2008-02-13T18:19:00.004-05:00

the truck
fishtails through goo -
trout opener

2008-02-10T11:50:00.000-05:00

season's end
hunting gear at Wal-Mart
goes on sale

2008-02-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

a cold cold
snow blowing sideways -
crows in flight

2008-02-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

a grouse
bursts out of the cattails -
pheasants cackle

2008-02-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

after the bird falls
the sound of the shot
from the next blind

2008-01-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

season's end -
a bucket of empty shells
in the duck blind

2008-01-22T13:54:00.000-05:00

winter beaver pond
ducks on the open water
feeding quietly

2008-01-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

season's end
the long night of the
decoys

2008-01-12T15:22:00.000-05:00

all that remains
of wandering ducks' dreams -
feathers

2008-01-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

photo by KGT, hole by Stedman

2008-01-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

January
we hunt a hole in the ice -
late season ducks

2008-01-05T20:50:00.000-05:00

blood on the ice -
winter winds blow over the
open water beyond

2008-01-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

indecision
making hunting plans
the night before

2008-01-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

blizzard wind
at the edge of the decoys
ducks appear

2008-01-01T16:08:00.000-05:00

New Year's resolve
the cancer patient orders
new hunting gear

2007-12-16T21:34:00.000-05:00

early Christmas gift -
Path Walker and Safari
plan next year's grouse camp

2007-12-15T15:29:00.000-05:00

holiday party
a stranger and I talk
about bird dogs

2007-12-14T15:48:00.000-05:00

snow roost hole -
checking the grouse turds
for freshness

2007-12-07T03:49:00.000-05:00

cormorants glide
over sea duck decoys -
autumn sea

2007-12-05T19:34:00.000-05:00

unfilled tags -
a herd of deer walk through
the backyard

2007-12-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

too busy to hunt -
I open the freezer door
for last year's deer steak

2007-12-03T19:43:00.000-05:00

winter rain
a grouse picks at buds
through the ice

2007-12-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

winter rain
the dark legs of a deer
move through brush

2007-11-30T07:54:00.000-05:00

gunstock
all scratched up
my hands

2007-11-29T10:32:00.000-05:00

a grouse flushes
and flies down the creekbed
autumn woods -
on the footbridge I pause
as a silent owl follows ...

2007-11-28T22:26:00.000-05:00

dried brown grass
chevron flight of geese
calling out ...

2007-11-27T18:36:00.000-05:00

after waiting . . .
the surprise of seeing
a deer

2007-11-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

deer stand
deep in the swamp -
a cat meows

2007-11-25T10:41:00.000-05:00

children
blowing a goose call
in a duck blind

2007-11-24T10:37:00.000-05:00

the cold
in my fingers -
deer stand

2007-11-23T05:14:00.000-05:00

wind shift
the decision to move
decoys

2007-11-22T04:01:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving rain
the duck blind roof
keeps us dry

2007-11-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

unaware of the gun
in the autumn rain...
deer

inspired by Issa

罠ありてしらでしぐるる雀哉
wana arite shirade shigururu suzume kana

2007-11-20T14:27:00.000-05:00

in the swamp
covered in leaves
a lawn chair
darkening afternoon
sitting watching for deer

2007-11-19T20:19:00.000-05:00

in falling snow
a fawn browses alone -
autumn dusk

2007-11-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

cold Christmas morning
the dog's bell falls
silent

2007-11-14T19:40:00.000-05:00

year's end
a tender young duck
on the grill

originally posted as a comment on Hunting Haiku Daily

2007-11-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

Veterans' Day
a glimpse of
the old buck

from June 2006 Hunting Haiku Daily

2007-11-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Armistice Day
the old buck and I
declare a truce