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