Nine Haikus





Marking the seasons
Using the phenology
Of motorcycles

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“Pencils down now, please,”
Armed men politely order.
“There shall be no press.”

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Former hardware store
Now shuttered up and closed down
Mom and Pop are gone

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Looking‌ ‌and‌ ‌seeing‌ ‌—
People‌ ‌often‌ ‌confuse‌ ‌them
They‌ ‌are‌ ‌not‌ ‌the‌ ‌same

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Stranger but stronger
The elephant in the room
Goes on a rampage

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As you paint over
Watercolor memories
You weep with sorrow

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Wisconsin winter
Patient ice fishermen wait
Undaunted by cold

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That gray morning dew
And the prostitute’s revenge
Heavy on the air

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Blazing red maples
Alight the crisp autumn air
Burning effigies

Originally from rural southern Kentucky, Rose Menyon Heflin is a writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. Her poetry won a 2021 Merit Award from Arts for All Wisconsin, and one of her poems was choreographed and performed by a local dance troupe. Additionally, she had a creative nonfiction piece featured in the Chazen Museum of Art’s Companion Species exhibit.