In May we asked you to write a haiku or tanka about your experience staying safer at home. You answered the call and sent us some extraordinary poetry--over 460 haiku and tanka. While most of you sent only one piece, some of you sent in multiple haiku and some sent in multi-part haiku. You went for it! We even had submissions from the state and local Poets Laureate. You ranged in age from 6 to at least 79 (one of you told us her age). Your subjects spanned a wide range, too: masks, social distancing, loneliness, joy, nature, fear, shopping, reading, relaxing, family and Tampa herself. We enjoyed reading every haiku/tanka.
Thank you to everyone who participated.
Featured below are the haiku/tanka that spoke to us the loudest. We hope they speak to you, too. Enjoy, stay safe and keep writing!
Social distancing
I have been inside for weeks
Send margaritas.
Danielle Shepard
Three minutes well spent
My pen was put to paper
Government issued.
Stuart Schneiderman
The pink orchid points
Like a promise. Sails unfurl
Into the future.
Jen Karetnick
We had to stay home
No more beach or Riverwalk
But we stayed healthy.
Scott Schroeder
Ybor chickens screech
To break the spooky silence
Of a waiting town.
Cari Oleskewicz
No flour. No yeast.
No TP. No Lysol Spray.
Tampa is bereft.
Rochelle A. Reback
Covid killed my job
Now I need a new career
I’m scared but here goes...
Steve Sensenig
Life in COVID times:
No shoes, no pants, no bras – but
The face mask stays on!
Alyssa Shimko
“Supermoon”
Mask white and sterile,
Near and distant gravity,
Your hope fills our bay.
John Davis Jr.
Nightly ritual:
Playing with my best friend's kids
From six feet away.
Laura Estes-Swilley
Only breeze runs down the street
I wonder who is whispering
Your heart and my heart.
Sushmita Pandey
Wife works in next room
Now our sole provider
My search continues.
Chris Gustafson
I tried to haiku
As something new to do
Streaming words not shows.
Chris Gustafson
“The Corona-cation Chronicles Day Fourteen”
Each day creates its
Own rhythm and melody
While poetry glad
To cede the soulful lyrics
Suzanne S. Austin-Hill
When this is over
My spirit will be sober
A human again.
Hugo Bobea
Sky without contrails
Birdsong flutters on blue breeze
Earth breathes a bright lull.
Christine Cock
Cardinals build nests
Blue Jays chase them away
Nature perseveres.
Heather Frankel
We’ve stayed safe at home
And now have great news to share
A baby next year.
Anonymous
“Loneliness”
The sound of lonely
Though surrounded by people
Sadness has come here.
Ashley G.
Alzheimer's felled him.
Coronavirus ensured
Solitary death.
Jenifer Neale
When we touch again,
It will mean something different,
To convey our joy.
Lisa Shasteen
Cat in warm sunshine
Knows nothing of the world's grief.
When will I see you?
Anonymous 78 year old woman
“Necessary Adaptations”
Mami learns Facetime:
Papi remembers my name.
Hold fast to this day.
Sonia Quinones
“Living Solo Through COVID”
I won’t stay silent.
That sound you hear is life still
Talking to itself.
Sonia Quinones
2021
I no longer want to be
An introvert please.
Meaza Stewart-Morrison
Work in pandemic:
The air conditioner hums
Louder than before.
Jeff Patterson
Tears over nothing
Mask hides my stress and worry
The virus prevails.
Cindy Davis
Hugging deficient
The touch of love is missing
Make me whole again.
Cindy Davis
“Pirates beat scurvy.
They can handle COVID too.”
- J. Gaspar, M.D.
John Dicks
Alone in a loop,
Essential and exhausted
With no end in sight.
Katherine Warren
“Duty During a Pandemic”
Under the soffit,
A bee swarm lingers for days,
Protecting the queen.
Mezaan Beljic
Peach tree decaying
Blossoms pink amidst chaos
I too long to bloom.
Laura S. Whittington
“Dandelion”
Golden face stretching
Taller to powerful sun
Fearing naught ahead.
Laura S. Whittington
“Apocalypse Visions - Haiku #1”
I stumble into
Sunlit patch of forest - breathe,
Chaos at my back.
Randy Goggin
Together as seven.
Blind darkness still looms outside,
Giggles soak these walls.
Kristina Porricolo
The window was closed
I could see you through the glass
Our love seeps through it.
Margo Castellana
Staring at the world
I leave my breath on windows
So close yet so far.
Geoff Williams
The sun feels so good
Through the living room window
I should put pants on.
Geoff Williams
“Tanka”
No one to bug me,
But guilty for sleeping late.
The whole day to do
Nothing! A knock on the door:
Cloud passes without a word.
Stephen Lindow
Sun and salt air may
Help to fight COVID, so come
See us in Tampa.
Anonymous
Pandemic haikus -
Hoping that they will not be
Read posthumously!
Marian Seymour
Never realized
How beautiful the Tampa
Skies look all alone.
Phyllis Gaines
Front yard happy hours,
Kids on bikes, parents waving,
Let’s keep this going.
Ginger Watters
Online meeting time,
But I'm thinking of haikus
And not listening.
Ginger Watters
Virtual hand holds,
Eyes closed, imagining Falk
And our dancing ghosts.
Amanda Sieradzki
A fever of rays
Waft, aloft. A manatee’s
Snout sniffs its greetings.
Amanda Sieradzki
Suddenly a mask
Becomes a fashion statement
Plaid or polka dot?
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
A poem a day
Keeps angst away, or try two
You’ve nothing to lose.
Katya Sabaroff Taylor
The pandemic of
Twenty twenty caused a whirl
Of toilet paper.
Barbara J. Lima, 79 years young
“Origin”
Bats in their cool cave
Watch the rats they've bitten crawl
To Wuhan and wave.
Peter Meinke, Poet Laureate of Florida
“Looking Over Us”
Piercing the virus
The face of the moonlight wind
Is expressionless.
Lester Albert
Longing to belong
Eyes meet above masks
Can you see my fear they ask.
Randy Rosenthal
Alone together,
Sitting here, nature and I,
Planning our future.
Eva Telesca
Coronavirus
Humbly brought us to our knees
Alone together.
Mary Greenleaf
We do puzzles now
Stay inside - flatten the curve
Mourn our daily dead.
Carol Ann Moon
Streets of eerie still
Windows of blank stares reflect
Where did the world go?
Janet Clayton
“Pandemic Haiku”
The rent is still due
Though the office is empty.
A little kindness?
Epidemic strikes.
Pan strikes celebrate heroes
Who breathe the same air.
The sky is quite blue,
Clouds dancing lazily by.
Quarantine up side.
Fence fixed and painted.
Hedges are all trimmed and neat.
Pandemic do-list.
J. Kent
“#19”
COVID days, trapped, home,
Easter tornado, still spring
Remembered flowers.
Earl Braggs
Shelves are all empty
Hidden faces and gloved hands
There's no place like home.
Felicia Russo
Masks, sanitizers,
Remaining six feet apart -
Science fiction...right?
Linda Lee Sullivan
“Tanka”
On my morning walks
I belt out Broadway show tunes
From a sidewalk stage.
There’s no standing ovation.
I sing to the silent streets.
Linda Lee Sullivan
Time goes by slowly.
We wait to see the outside.
It feels like years pass.
William Terrill, 11 years old
Abundant sunshine
Long walks, pool floating and wine
What COVID-19?
Nancy J. Meyer
We empty nesters -
Safer at home is our joy.
Second honeymoon.
Nancy J. Meyer
Doctors try to warn,
Ignored until it hits home;
Death is personal.
Steve Vickers
Black roots, clean toenails
Drug store trip with a mask on
What’s a girl to do?
Excitement today.
A trip! Let’s race to the car!
Breadline at the school.
My hands used to type.
Now they are immersed in flour.
I have found myself.
Ginger Watters
Remember Tampa
Yes, The way she used to be
One Tampeño Love.
Mario Roberto Núñez, TampaNativesShow
With COVID-nineteen
All churches have grown quiet
Saying silent prayers.
James J. Gustafson
“Motionless”
Everything is still,
As the sun shines upon it
I can imagine
The way it would warm my skin
As I gaze through the window.
Natajah Diggs
My fear suffocates
What will happen tomorrow?
Paranoia gnaws.
Anonymous
Spells of mindless haste
Broken by shelter in place.
While a new world waits.
Geoffrey Philp
2020 failed
Virus protection not found
Please reinstall now.
Brian Carroll
Looking to the end
And a bright sunny future
Coming soon, Tampa.
Stephanie Kuczynski
What to do today?
Plagued by a jigsaw puzzle
Same as yesterday.
Carole Mackey
We go outside more
Use your car less and ride bikes
Time with family.
Addie Corbett, 10 years old
Fun baking with mom.
Muffins, French bread and brownies.
Love this time with mom!
Madison L., 6 years old, submitted by her mom
“The Last Super Moon”
Tonight the Flower
Moon’s light sprinkles through the trees.
Petals drifting down.
Barbra Nightingale
Blue skies and clean air
Mother Earth breathing again
The silver lining.
Denise Dispenza
Fight or flight kicks in.
Birds wake me sky is so blue
My city will survive.
Mercedes Skelton
Social distancing.
Here all alone by myself.
Six feet from me, sigh.
Randy Andrews
Shopping at Publix
Man walking wrong way down aisle
Not wearing a mask.
Laura Black
Biking on the trail
For my daily dose of peace.
Tailgate brewery.
Patrick Piper
“ICU”
Forty five minutes
Desperate, yearning for you
Through a glass window.
Leah Clark and Molly Finger
Quarantine boredom
Collateral damage
I’m writing haiku.
Marian Hill
People drinking bleach.
Protesters with AK guns.
Yikes! I'll stay at home.
Lauri Criqui
“Upside Down”
Human race suffers
Life smashed by savage virus
Red flowers in bloom.
Evelyn Ann Romano
Bright green leaves unfurl
Our turn to create treasures
Pause and savor them.
Melissa Nye
Pajamas are great,
A style for all days and times.
And bare feet all day!
Marlene Rubin
Guns are essential
But eyeglasses are not. Huh.
Good guys with bad sight?
Elizabeth Corwin
The moon's gentle glow
Brushes the bay before me,
Unmasking the night.
Karen Lee
“Cucumber Mint”
A freshly made bed
Iced tea on the windowsill
And nowhere to go.
Gabriella Davis
“The Monarch”
Light as a feather,
Breezy aerial dancer,
No worries for you.
Paige Eaton
Art and compassion,
Bind these challenging new days.
How lucky are we.
Jenny Carey
Pandemic shut down
Unemployment soars, stocks crash
20s 2.0.
Nell Abram
Miss grandkids and fests,
Haircuts, hugs and dining out.
Masks and temps now flare.
Ross Gottstein
The wrong way shopper
Unaware of surroundings
Face mask to face mask.
Natasha Leslie
Heartbroken, lonely -
Heifer bellowing in the field
We all need company.
Edward Schmidt-Zorner
Pandemic sunset
Waiting for those dark gray clouds
To become bright pink.
Judith Gorgone
“Pandemic Wakenings”
The soft gray cat slips
Out the slit door at midnight,
And the moon slips in.
Angela Masterson Jones
“Global Annexation”
Coronavirus
Fills its own line with sickness.
Overtakes the poem.
Angela Masterson Jones
Hearts swap in social distance
Stay away but bloom
Indoor plants can still flower.
Daisy Evans
My ears are burning
Fitful sleep, fears - quarantine
Nothing in between.
Daisy Evans
Smell of Cuban bread
Taste of cafe con leche
Our Tampa still lives.
Steve Otto
“At East Lake”
Sandhill cranes take aim,
Break the late sun’s yolk, their calls
Ancient doors creaking.
One more edition
Of Whateverdaythisis
Dissolves into dusk.
Terry Godbey
Compassion Saved me
Books became my Rescuers
Love disguised in Print.
Nancy Shebeneck
A snuffed candle stream
Sails skyward into heaven,
Smoke signal received.
Nancy Shebeneck
It’s always been here
Before the shifting silence
Pelican. Wind. Docks.
Joy Gaines-Friedler
Coronavirus
Masks are uncomfortable
Fresh air is like gold.
Jill Henrich
Life turned upside down
Lost sense of time in the daze
Crashing with the waves.
Katie Montes
“Family Photos on the Fridge”
Tasting memories.
Recalling my life’s flavors.
From when time was sweet.
Lisa Geisness
Binge watching my life
My food gets left at my door
No one is in charge.
Chuck Kikel
“My Lovely Day”
Forced aging in place
Virtual children on Zoom
Hair and garden grow.
Francine Wolf
As I write this poem,
I not only feel trapped,
But productive, too.
Sameer Guduru
The world on its heels
Workers fight with all their zeal
Hope and care prevail.
Jay Talati
“Quarantine”
Stuck at home. So bored.
People getting scared. When will
This pandemic end?
Miranda Olivera, 6th Grade, TCMS
“Keep Away”
Cough, cough be afraid.
Do not sneeze or bear the pain.
Inside we keep safe.
John P. Griffith II, 6th Grade, TCMS
The sports were cancelled.
Baseball. Juijitsu. Football.
Fortnite. Save the world.
Jacob Wolf, 6th grade, TCMS
Home working, outside
Spoonbills stretch wings at lake’s edge
Anoles drink sun.
Jane Juran
Friends text, checking in
Neighbors bring a plate of food
Kindness surrounds me.
Jane Juran
The water is flat
Saturday - empty quiet
Bayshore Boulevard.
Jonathan Shipley
“Touch”
The feel of your touch
Is fading fast, air hugs will
Have to make it last.
Lauren Michelle
“Humanity and Love Sandwiches”
COVID spreads disease
While we spread humanity
And love sandwiches.
Lauren Michelle
“Apart”
Two lonely parents
With only Tuxy the cat
Wait for my return.
Christy Bailes
Dancing in silence
The virus hops lung to lung
Searching for a home.
Pamela Mard
“Homebound”
Fronds sway gently
An orange butterfly flutters
Squirrels stroll silent streets.
William D. Mitchell
My tiny cottage
Is teeming with adventures.
Oh, my books, my books, my books!
Jim Wicker
All in Tampa pray
For the vaccine and the day
Bucs with Brady play.
Joan King
Calamitous times
I search for the stillness
Of lotuses.
Jackie Chou
People running out
Madly wanting connection
Death at the beach? Nah.
Terence Wolfe
“Evening Ritual”
At seven o'clock
Pans banging, cheers floating from
Windows to heaven.
Carole Bugge
“Sitting Alone on the Porch for the First Time”
If nothing else, now
I know the names of the birds
Who always knew mine.
Kate Sweeney
“Freeze”
True honest mistake
Yet again, “you should have known”
I’m essential, right?
Kathryn Gertz
“Pandemic Tanka”
The last man on stage
Struts and frets as he exits.
From a tree, a wren
Sings “Ode to Joy” as chickens
Reclaim Ybor City streets.
Claire H. Matturro
“Feast or Famine”
Our togetherness
Has no happy medium,
Too much, too little.
Lynda Waters
Virtual schooling
Children act like evil spawn
Five o'clock somewhere.
Lynda Waters
I experience
Profound joy as the moonlight
Dances on the pond.
Dianne Blyler
We settle down with
A bottle of fine red wine
In our solitude.
Dianne Blyler
“Aegisthus Abandon”
Telescope in hand,
Words on salt sweet air whisper,
Poetry still sings.
Dawn McMahon
“Suspension”
Body weightless over
Water, voice driftwood in air,
Breathe you back to me.
Dawn McMahon
“Chiaroscuro”
Fingers press on glass,
We reflect on dark matter.
Moonlight reaches in.
Cheryl A. Van Beek
“Tidings”
Gardenia sends scent,
Connects neighbors through the breeze -
Petal-swirled hellos.
Cheryl A. Van Beek
“Armchair Travel”
Blue-spark dragonflies
Let quarantined eyes ride them
Through sun-flamed gardens.
Cheryl A. Van Beek
“Lessons Learned Haiku”
Coronavirus
Teaching us new ways to be
With one another.
Donna L. Decaul
“Connections Haiku”
I've never felt closer to
So many people.
Donna L. Decaul
Pastor works from home
Places chairs six feet apart
Church in the driveway.
Andrea McBride
Bears lurk in windows
For children to seek and find
It’s the little things.
Andrea McBride
COVID survivors
Willow trees in winter's grip
Pray for spring's reprieve.
Edith M. Freeman
A sparrow spry and
Brown watched twilight loom as I
Started my car. It
Reminded me since COVID
Us seniors shop the first shift.
Edith M. Freeman
“Plan B”
Beaches closed? Oh, well
We giggle and skinnydip
In our own warm bath.
Mary Ann Marshall
Healthy crops growing
Hungry people round the world
No passage between.
Cheryl Licata
All caught up on things
Books read, movies watched, house clean
Thanks, COVID-19!
Kristine Mannino
Ascending in mist...
We cling to thin rope of hope,
Alone together.
Mary Catherine (Mary Kay) Madden
Black/brown, soft, curled up
Dead mouse on the path; yet life
Continues – hawk swoops.
Victoria Dym
Nighttime sounds are new
Thoughts of Corona seep through.
Ellie May is born.
Nancy Mashberg
Selfsame reflection
Once most favored friend of all
Too familiar now.
Aditya Rao
Unfurled feathers cloak
Robin’s tureen, lapis eggs
Unseen, Spring’s banquet.
Adagio Patricia Micaletti
Sun rays graze the day
Single track sturdy and still
Quiet in my mind.
Joanna Cheshire
“Life Transformed”
Breathing tube in... out
Heartbeat, flatline, silence, as
a spirit ascends.
Chantelle MacPhee
It came suddenly
It turned my world upside down
But I am still me.
Ishaan M. Shah, 6th grade, Terrace Community Middle School
Third-floor branches shake
Squirrels busy with chasing
Also work from home.
Amanda N. Butler, Poet Laureate of Oldsmar