This collection of haiku poems captures fleeting moments and observations of nature, daily life, and introspection. Short vivid images describe a sparrow alone on a rooftop, the smell of a dried fish tail in river mud, and counting sand between toes at the sea. Other poems focus on themes of aging, sexuality, spirituality, and finding meaning through poetry. The haiku form is used to distill experiences down to their essence, revealed through minimalistic and evocative language.

1. HERE AND NOW :
A SELECTION OF
HAIKU
Ram Krishna Singh

2. awake
alone on the house top
a sparrow

3. a fish tail
dried up in river mud:
burning smell

4. sun rise
without newspapers:
post-chhat rest

5. hovers to the same
marigold I pluck for god
a green butterfly

6. turn into river
non-existing roads:
hudhud waves

7. counting sand
between the toes
my daughter at sea

8. her name
written on the sand:
a wave breaks

9. empty coffee cups
deride the syllables
I spin to make haiku

10. my hairs in air
reveal the baldness:
wank without wad

11. hidden between the sheets
my smothered senses—
salted honey

12. slowly rising
from the clouds edges
autumn sun

13. a sleeping snake
curled between the eggs—
layers of leaves

14. my hairs in air
reveal the baldness:
wank without wad

15. hidden between the sheets
my smothered senses—
salted honey

16. slowly rising
from the clouds edges
autumn sun

17. a sleeping snake
curled between the eggs—
layers of leaves

18. lying listless
on withered creeper
a golden bird

19. a yellow snake sneaks
through the blooming balsams bed
a lone frog puffs up

20. a drop embedded
in the half-opened bud—
winter morning

21. drifting
in the night’s silence
noon’s shadow

22. the sky
without a shadow
on the earth

23. wheezing his way
to Shiva’s hilly abode
a young miner

24. potholes:
spots of sunshine
wobble

25. dreaming her nude
the serpent rises:
first orgasm

26. cloning miracles
with the night’s discharge
in condoms

27. late night sleep
no lotus in the dream—
Chinese garden

28. fallen mangoes
after the midnight storm—
morning drizzles

29. stars twinkling
the beetle’s path
from manure

30. stench of burning leaves
mounts with fog in the evening
asthmatic breathing

31. swollen fog
ready to make way
for the sun

32. wrapped in fog
the flying plane
seen by sound

33. standing behind
the window bars observes
shapes in fog

34. feels the shadow
with wet fingers on the beach:
sound through the fog

36. when sleepless poetry
fails to negotiate night
I wait for white dreams

37. among the white hairs
a solitary black one
keeps her hope alive

38. night washes the sky–
the sun brings morning freshness
to my window

39. foam-maned waves
rise in the mind’s hush:
sinking dome

40. the wax drips
down the long hard candle–
a soft hum

41. her face
reflecting light
a mirror

42. with failed words
seek immortality
write haiku

43. a vague smile
in moonless cave:
tempting silence

44. a load of wood
on her frail back–
autumn evening

45. waiting for the train
alone on the platform
swatting mosquitoes

46. musky perfume
open unsleeping eyes–
drowsy sweetness

47. with changing weather
they look for sun and shade both:
chameleon tune

48. It’s utter helplessness
true, but to survive
one must be tamed

49. sparrows couple
on a withered creeper–
peep of day

50. etched on her skin
a ghost rises from the flames:
fighting one more day

51. taking a nap
on oranges in his shop–
a fruit vendor

52. two women argue
over price and weight of fish:
the hapless huckster

53. dragons play whirlwind
among the clouds meet & rain
unite earth & sky

54. the red light is on:
they all have secrets to hide
no use peeping in

55. a yellow spider
crouching in a corner
invisible webs

56. moving shadows
on the door curtain:
sinking sun

57. virtual flirting
untamed straggly bushes–
dystopia

58. non-stop rain
confining me to facebook–
depression

59. virtual flirting
untamed straggly bushes—
dystopia

60. between the lantern
and the smart phone
a pizza-eating girl

61. etched on her skin
a ghost rises from the flames:
fighting one more day

62. from the ruins
rises a mute flame:
heaven’s song

63. her veil
hides the face
love too

64. in silence
one with the divine will
growing within

65. a quiet turning in
to partake of her silence:
roaring ocean

66. evening sky:
a pale moon behind
listless trees

67. rises drowsily
after a sleepless night
a sick sun

68. Copyright: Ram Krishna Singh, India