John Stevenson
Born 1948 in Ithaca, New York, USA
Living in Nassau, New York, USA
The Heron's Nest website
Upstate Dim Sum website
Contact the poet
Read the haiku
old slippers
the comfort
coming apart
Modern Haiku - Volume XXVII:2, 1996
revising poems
a third cup of tea
from the same bag
Frogpond - Volume XXI:1, 1998
all those haiku
about the moon in the trees,
the moon in the trees
Geppo - July\August, 1996
border of sleep
the sound of nearby breathing
. . . mine
Raw Nervz - Volume II:4, 1996
nude beach
his enormous
sand castle
Brady Senryu Contest, 1996
a long look
at the winter stars . . .
someone else’s wife
Haiku Headlines - February, 1997
winter beach
a piece of driftwood
charred at one end
Frogpond - Volume XXI:3, 1998
the train picks up speed
in a paper coffee cup
concentric waves
Modern Haiku - Volume XXVIII:3, 1997
luxury car –
a sparrow’s
quiet thump
South by Southeast - Volume III:4, 1996
morning sun enters
the sleeper’s
ear
Frogpond - Volume XIX:2, 1996
tourist town
postcards of the waterfall
racked upside-down
Brady Senryu Contest, 1997
summer traffic
my shadow rides up
a stranger’s neck
Christian Science Monitor - July 16, 1997
he locks down
the roller coaster
toothless grin
HPNC Contest, 1996
goblins at the door
in the darkness behind them
a cigarette flares
Haiku Headlines Calendar, 1997
between my rush to be ready
and her arrival –
a space
Modern Haiku - Volume XXIX:1, 1998
alone again
making an event
of a sandwich
Some of the Silence, 1999
Christmas Day
the exchange
of custody
Frogpond - Volume XIX:3, 1996
proud host
his orchard bursting
with fireflies
Albatross - Volumes 6&7:1, 1997
a deep gorge . . .
some of the silence
is me
Geppo - July\August, 1996
wind-beaten marquee
saying only
“Coming Soon”
Some of the Silence, 1999
done blooming
the peonies
unbend
South by Southeast - Volume III:3, 1996
spreading through the woods the Native Plant Society
Frogpond - Volume XXIV:3, 2001
a change in their voices . . .
children finding
a fledgling
The Heron's Nest - Volume 4:11, 2002
a deep bruise
I don’t remember getting
autumn night
The Heron's Nest - Volume 3:7, 2001
shooting star
what do fish
see at night?
The Heron's Nest - Volume 4:2, 2002
coming home
on the train
. . . the backyards
The Heron's Nest - Volume 4:12, 2002
first snow
what a racket
from the geese
Upstate Dim Sum - 2002/1, 2002
on top of everything
rain
Frogpond - Volume XXIII:3, 2000
September morning
none of the students
has failed . . .
The Heron's Nest - Volume 5:9, 2003
winter sun
a stranger makes room
without looking
Frogpond - Volume XXIII:1, 2000
a crowded street
I’m the one
who steps in it
Modern Haiku - Volume XXXI:2, 2000
dad’s life
just a little longer
than Napoleon’s
Upstate Dim Sum - 2001/I, 2001
summer sunrise
a man on a ladder
changing the price of gas
Frogpond - Volume XXI:2, 1998
the mirror
wiped clean
for a guest
Frogpond - Volume XXI:2, 1998
the tethered dog
watches a guide dog
enter the deli
Upstate Dim Sum - 2001/I, 2001
snowy night
sometimes you can’t be
quiet enough
The Heron's Nest - Volume 5:2, 2003
curling tighter
a leaf
catches fire
Upstate Dim Sum - 2001/I, 2001
new snow
the arc
the door makes
HPNC Contest, 2003
winter rain
puddles
on the river
Upstate Dim Sum - 2003/1, 2003
wind shifting
pool toys . . .
to the other side
Geppo - September\October, 1999
seeing it her way
it must have been lonely
living with me
Upstate Dim Sum - 2001/II, 2001
one last look
through the old apartment
a dry sponge
The Heron's Nest - Volume 5:5, 2003
right now
while we chat
fish in the deep ocean
The Heron's Nest - Volume 4:9, 2002
thin winter coat
so little protection
against her boyfriend
Geppo - January\February, 2000
autumn wind
the leaves are going
where I’m going
The Heron's Nest - Volume 5:10, 2003
last piece
of a jigsaw puzzle . . .
filling in the sky
Starfish - Number 5, 2000
Father’s Day
she tells me
I’m not the father
Modern Haiku - Volume XXX:3, 1999
mountain ginko
all the haiku
a little breathless
The Heron's Nest - Volume 3:10, 2001
a bit of birdsong
before we
start our engines
Upstate Dim Sum - 2002/2, 2002
leaves budding
a little girl
spinning in her dress
Modern Haiku - Volume XXX:3, 1999
in the pollen
on my car
her signature
Upstate Dim Sum - 2001/II, 2001
a child’s art –
the tulips tower
over everything
Shiki Contest, 2000
applauding
the mime
in our mittens
Frogpond - Volume XXV:1, 2002
all new clothes
waiting for
the school bus
Starfish - Number 6, 2001
barks at me every day
but just lately
he sounds lonely
Modern Haiku - XXXIII:2, 2002
three times I’ve said
“your husband . . .”
now we can just talk
Modern Haiku - XXXIV:1, 2003
jampackedelevatoreverybuttonpushed
Frogpond - Volume XXV:2, 2002
winter twilight
tire tracks
in a trailer park
Upstate Dim Sum - 2002/1, 2002
trying to fit in
time for my son to practice
parallel parking
Upstate Dim Sum - 2001/I, 2001
warm evening
an open door
to someone’s living room
The Heron's Nest - Volume 4:8, 2002
extra innings
a runner’s shadow
down the third base line
Past Time: Baseball Haiku, 2000
fireflies . . .
could I still
catch one?
Frogpond - Volume XXIV:2, 2000
long night –
breathing until breathing
is just breathing
Upstate Dim Sum - 2005/1, 2005
almost spring
she tells the whole story
in a single breath
The Heron's Nest - September, 2006
a small favor
repaid
in zucchini
Upstate Dim Sum - 2003/1, 2003
top six-shooter
a curled leaf
in the chamber
Upstate Dim Sum - 2006/2, 2006
we’re here
we might as well build
a sand castle
Upstate Dim Sum - 2004/2, 2004
fireflies
beyond
the sarcasm
Modern Haiku - XXXV:3, 2004
unable to find the middle of the night
Roadrunner - February, 2009
after midnight
getting some of my thoughts
into the lifeboats
Hermitage - Volume 3, 2006
city moon
generations
of renters
Roadrunner - VI:2, 2006
one of your sighs
has stayed with me
forty years, so far
Hermitage - Volume 2, 2005
cold night
the dashboard lights
of another car
The Heron's Nest - March, 2006
nothing matters how green it gets
Roadrunner - VII:4, 2007
pretty sure my red is your red
Roadrunner - February, 2009
Colonel Mustard
in the library . . .
winter night
Modern Haiku - XXXVIII:2, 2007
low tide –
stones that have dried
among those that haven’t
The Heron's Nest - Volume 6:3, 2004
this Halloween
children born since
9/11
The Heron's Nest - September, 2007
the width of a leaf between us and autumn
Kasumakura Contest, 2008
the tide
arranging rocks and sand
just as I would
Upstate Dim Sum - 2007/2, 2007
my doctor
takes off his glasses . . .
cold for May
Upstate Dim Sum - 2005/2, 2005
jury room –
multiple errors
in a discarded crossword
Upstate Dim Sum - 2005/2, 2005
dinner for one
a view
of the ocean
Upstate Dim Sum - 2003/1, 2003
Oscar night
adjusting the cuffs
of my pajamas
Geppo - January\February, 2004
class reunion
everybody loved
my wife
The Heron's Nest - Volume 6:8, 2004
a big diamond . . .
just imagine
the pressure
Roadrunner - V:3, 2005
after a journey
of a thousand miles
tv with you
Modern Haiku - XXXV:1, 2004
core
Live Again, 2009
summer dawn
an arm raised
for deodorant
Tundra - Number 1, 1999
long day
a chameleon’s
tongue
Modern Haiku - Volume XXXII:3, 2001
so much
of what I do
involves my body
Raw Nervz - Volume VII:3, 2001
spring morning
the hand of a student who
may know the answer
The Heron's Nest - June, 2007
thought I was going somewhere March wind
Roadrunner - June, 2008
used bookstore
the creaking stairway
to poetry
Mariposa - May, 2009
liking the same music
we hope the rest
will be easy
Upstate Dim Sum - 2008/1, 2008
writers’ conference –
from a toilet stall I hear
someone quoting me
Modern Haiku - XXXIX:1, 2008
winter
the interval
between park benches
Roadrunner - VI:I, 2006
groundhog day –
it doesn’t matter
what I see
Upstate Dim Sum - 2006/1, 2006
cold moon –
a moment of hesitation
years ago
The Heron's Nest - December, 2006
reversible jacket
the side
I always show
Geppo - November/December, 2006
demolition site
the colors
of closet walls
Upstate Dim Sum - 2006/1, 2006
seated between us
the imaginary
middle passenger
Upstate Dim Sum - 2008/2, 2008
evening calm . . .
the fisherman’s
smoke rings
Modern Haiku - XXXVII:3, 2006
embarrassed
by the lavish praise
I imagine getting
HPNC Contest, 2006
late night –
the waitress repeats
the list of pies
The Heron's Nest - March, 2006
smell of the smoke disappearing
Upstate Dim Sum - 2012/1, 2012
a man in a crowd in a man
Roadrunner - November, 2009
who am I
falling asleep
as
Upstate Dim Sum - 2011/2, 2011
leaf color of an old song turning
HPNC Contest, 2013
a leaf ago the shallow past
Frogpond - 35.2, 2012
mansion tour
big mirrors
of the rich
Modern Haiku - XLIV: 2, 2013
my house
without me
autumn wind
Modern Haiku - XLIII:3, 2012
never touching
his own face
tyrannosaurus
Acorn - Number 27, 2011
arriving
like most waves
from no one place
Upstate Dim Sum - 2011/2, 2011
the memory
of his memory
cherry blossoms
Upstate Dim Sum - 2011/2, 2011
winter approaching what grows in darkness
Upstate Dim Sum - 2010/1, 2010
summer solstice
a note beyond
the singer’s range
Into Our Words - HNA Anthology, 2009
voices coming
from the next apartment
used to be us
Upstate Dim Sum - 2010/1, 2010
her
being
dead
goes
on
Acorn - Number 29, 2012
putting them away
I hope my clothes
were good enough
Acorn - Number 29, 2012
without a sound
a frog
climbs out of the pond
Frogpond - 35.3, 2012
fact and fiction
of roses
in a vase
Acorn - Number 26, 2011
daylight as the exception it is
Acorn - Number 26, 2011
where does the idiom come from potatoes
Roadrunner - 11.2, 2011
winter dusk
a figure skater
tightens her eights
Modern Haiku - XLII:2, 2011
never go anywhere trees
Modern Haiku - LXI:3, 2010
Valentine’s Day
I chip away at her
icy sidewalk
Modern Haiku - XLII:3, 2011
the directions
to the cemetery
getting us nowhere
Upstate Dim Sum - 2012/1, 2012
autumn dusk
someone’s half pause
on the bridge
Modern Haiku - XLIII:2, 2012
banquet table—
just out of reach
the good conversation
Upstate Dim Sum - 2011/1, 2011
by the light of the pine do not resuscitate
Roadrunner - August, 2008
bird me catch me
Roadrunner - VII:4, 2007
if glass breaks easily a bird
Frogpond - 37.1, 2014