30 Selected Haiku

1
wiping his face
under the umbrella
an old man with books

2
old diary--
finding phone numbers
of friends still alive

3
red with shame
the sky at sunrise
one more kiss

4
whiff of wine--
remembering the bouquet
she gave me once

5
tangled together
flames of a double lamp
on the terrace

6
a lone sparrow
atop the naked branch
viewing sunset

7
winter holidays--
my son chases butterflies
flower to flower

8
on the terrace
facing the sun
an empty chair

[All haiku published in Late-Blooming Cherries. Eds. Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Rimi Nath. Gurugram: HarperCollins Publishers, 2024.]

9
in silence
one with the divine will
growing within

10
vultures waiting for
the remains of sacrifice
on the temple tree

11
on the river's bank
his soul is lighted for peace--
lantern in the sky

12
sea waves
roll from far away
white peaks

13
traveling back
from the waves of bliss
a foam-leap

14
caressing
her pregnant belly--
water lily

15
her lonely grief
melts in the candle wax:
evening's dark floor

16
after the tumble
buried between the sheets
leftover passion

17
a sleeping snake
curled between the eggs--
layers of leaves

18
her smile
arrival of spring
at the bower

19
crowded streets
moving among the years
wretched faces

20
living again
fountain on the hilltop--
divine light

21
a crescent
in the western horizon--
missing the moon

22
hitching up the skirt
she fills her pockets with
unripe mangoes

23
hanging
door protector--
Buddha

24
after the party
empty chairs in the lawn--
new moon and I

25
cleaning the remains
of burnt out earthen lamps--
dusky temple yard

26
lemon tea--
shade of her lipstick
on my lip

[All haiku published in  Ram Krishna Singh,  Against the Waves: Selected Poems.  New Delhi: Authors Press,  2021]

27
she wrings her hair
rising from the lake:
rural Venus

28
Vishnu in stone
weight of the universe--
sitting tortoise

29
sunflowers ring:
teenagers ChatGPT
Sapphic know-how

30
creepy shadows
along the muddy road--
big bright moon

[All haiku published in Ram Krishna Singh, 
Knocking Vistas And Other Poems.  New Delhi: Authors Press,  2024]

--R K Singh