cloud haiku

by Joshua St. Claire

sea foam

stratocumulus clouds

cover  reveal the moon

contrails 

a downdraft splits 

the flax field

stratus drizzle 

only the lichens

greening 

the golden hour's violet clouds nectarines

stratus nebulosus

shadows

under pear blossoms 

the fog’s softness snaps them into focus

                                                                         white pines

stratus undulatus 

rippling along the parking lot

waves of rain 

cirrostratus sun brightening and fading cherry blossoms 

cumulonimbus 

a Chincoteague pony 

becomes mist 

altostratus dawn

two mourning dove perching

in a sycamore

coyote ululations

from nowhere to nowhere 

cirrus intortus

Joshua St. Claire is an accountant from a small town in Pennsylvania who works as a financial director for a large non-profit. His haiku and related poetry have been published broadly including in The Asahi Shimbun, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, and Mayfly. His work has appeared in annual anthologies including the Dwarf Stars Anthology (SFPA 2022 and 2023), The Red Moon Anthology (Red Moon Press 2024 (forthcoming)), and contemporary haibun 19 (Red Moon Press 2024 (forthcoming)). He has received recognition in the following international contest for his work in these forms: the Gerald Brady Memorial Senryu Award, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational, the San Francisco International Award for Senryu, the Touchstone Award for Individual Haiku, the British Haiku Society Award for Haiku, and the Trailblazer Award.