five spring haiku
by James Roderick Burns
Downpour –
even the potholes
have potholes
*
Through the haar
a late-morning fox
zigs and zags
*
Blackbirds
lengthening –
late afternoon
*
In the window
of the abandoned store
a film about gulls
*
Dusky spire –
next door’s cat
answers his name
James Roderick Burns is the author of one flash fiction collection, To Say Nothing of the Dog, and five collections of short-form poetry, most recently Crows at Dusk (Red Moon Press, 2023). His stories have twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and he serves as Staff Reader in Poetry for Ploughshares. He can be found on Twitter @JamesRoderickB and his newsletter ‘A Bunch of Fives’ offers one free, published story a fortnight (abunchoffives.substack.com).