brisk breeze
the hawthorne hedge
blossoms with sparrows

every light on red
late for work
again

coffee cup
memories of our last date
pouring out

chopping onions
she sheds a tear
the lady of shallots

hanging
by a thread
the spider escapes the flood

grey skies
tumbling from the clouds
bird song

winter sun
the warmth
of the cat’s purr *

in my pocket
a pebble ...
the weight of history

*“winter sun” was first published in The Wee Sparrow Haiku Nook (scroll down to find Haiku of the Month, February 2025); appears here with poet’s permission.

Melissa Dennison

is a writer of haiku and other Japanese short-form poetry, as well as flash fiction and short stories. Her work is inspired by everyday life and the natural world that breaks through the cracks in the suburbs where she lives in the UK. She is also influenced by world events, particularly the climate emergency. She also appreciates a laugh now and then.

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

A sampling of Melissa Dennison’s humorous poems:

⚡ A pair of SciFaiku in dadakuku: “Death star ratings” (1 March 2025) and “Jupiter’s bad dream 2” (28 January 2025)

⚡ A pair of senryu in Haikuniverse: “wolfmoon” (20 January 2025) and “who knows” (19 August 2024)

⚡ A pair in failed haiku (Volume 9, Issue 104, December 2024): “kiss me quick” and “biodiversity’s great” (online pdf, and you may want to use the search function to locate these poems more quickly)