Billie Wilson
(born August 1, 1941, Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.A.) is a long-time member of the Haiku Society of America, and served several terms as Regional Coordinator for the Alaska Region. Since 2003, she has coordinated the annual haiku competition honoring her first mentor, Robert Spiess. She helped create and care for The Haiku Foundation's Haiku Registry (2009-2018). She served as Associate Editor for The Heron’s Nest (2011 - 2017). Some of her awards include the Harold G. Henderson Memorial Award, the Gerald Brady Memorial Award, and The Heron's Nest Readers' Choice Poem of the Year. She has resided in Juneau, Alaska, since 1962.
the ferry slows
through Wrangell Narrows
meteor showers begin
Frogpond XXII:3, 1999
3:00 a.m.
through sounds of winter rain
the mail plane landing
A New Resonance 3: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku, Red Moon Press, 2003
fruitstand apples
the rich smell of horses
on my hands
to find the words, HSA Northwest Region Members’ Anthology, 2000
deep winter
a man outside the market
feeds crows from his hand
The Heron's Nest II:12, 2000
pink lemonade
the taffeta rustle
of cottonwoods
South by Southeast 10:2, 2003
mud-spattered pickup—
four dogs watch
the tavern door
The Heron’s Nest III:2, 2001
the first flakes of snow
drifting down on the wetlands
Canada geese
The Heron's Nest IV:11, 2002
winter rain
the clock chimes three quarters
past some dark hour
South by Southeast 9:3, 2002
an open book
on the old porch swing—
first fireflies
Acorn 6, 2001
early autumn
the path to the waterfall
willowed with gold
Haiku Light, September 2001
freezing wind—
the body builder pumps gas
in a muscle shirt
First Place, Gerald Brady Memorial Awards, 2001
where the barn stood
a rusty plow
in the bindweed
Acorn 9, 2002
rumble of thunder—
slicing just-picked peaches
for the pie
Mayfly 33, 2002 (selected for cover of Mayfly 34)
no wind tonight
across this reach of prairie
all those stars
Highly-commended, James W. Hackett International Haiku Award, 2001
winter nears—
in the dog's eyes
the wolf
The Heron's Nest Award IV:12, 2002
flattened grass
where the bear slept
stink of salmon
The Heron's Nest IV:8, 2002
an avalanche roars
down Thunder Mountain—
first crocus
Haiku Headlines Vol. 15, No. 1, April 2002
choosing a melon—
a song so old
I forget why I cry
Frogpond XXV:3, 2002
no wind today
the cottonwoods
speak in chickadee
Editor's Choice, The Heron's Nest VI:3, 2004
supper cooking—
a wind with storm in it
comes through the wheat
The Heron’s Nest V:8, 2003
storm warnings—
the deep blue reach
of delphiniums
First Place (Season Word), Hawaii Education Assn.,2002
whalebone
from a beach near Savoonga—
winter rain
First Place, Harold G. Henderson Award, 2003
prairie dusk—
the rustle of field mice
wintering in
Winner, Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition, 2003
trail's end—
the taste of wild onion
still sharp on my tongue
The Heron's Nest VI:3, 2005
same old argument
she pulls silk
from the sweetcorn
Mayfly 37, 2004
chilly evening
the wine full of summer
in a far country
Mariposa 11, 2004
Valentine's Day
he tells me I'm number one
on his speed dial
Frogpond XXIX:1, 2006
spring day
the pup brings a different stick
from the thicket
Snapshots 12, 2006
sun tea darkens—
bees in the hollyhocks
all afternoon
Acorn 16, 2006
that whale I could have touched
surfaces again
in my mind
Mariposa 15, 2006
retreating glacier—
how long since we've heard
the black wolf's song
Modern Haiku 38:1, 2007
winter wind—
a cradlesong sung
in an ancient tongue
The Heron's Nest Award VIII:4, 2006; Readers' Choice Poem of the Year
prairie morning
only bluebells
only sky
Winner, The Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition 2007
pale moon the thinning of days into winter
Acorn 20, 2008
wind from a raven's wing
brushes my arm
shadows on snow
Acorn 22, 2009
campfire sparks—
someone outside the circle
starts another song
The Heron's Nest Award II:2, 2010; Readers' Choice Poem of the Year
Bohemian waxwings—
and I didn't even have
a bucket list
Close to the Wind, Press Here, 2013
Winner, The Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition 2014
rain becomes sleet
the secrets
we take to the grave
Mariposa 31, 2014
truck stop
we try to imagine
what Lewis and Clark saw
muttering thunder 2, 2015
the eons I was not here
the eons I won't be
winter stars
Acorn 37, Fall 2016
one pine siskin
pecks at the thistle
winter dusk
Mariposa 37, 2017
first spring day
whatever it is
that wags a dog's tail
A Moment’s Longing: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2019
false spring
have I ever been
real?
Mariposa 44, 2021
midnight sun
the dog’s presence everywhere
he used to be
Modern Haiku 52.3 (2021);
string theory: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku