Grocery Store

by John S Green, Jacob D. Salzer, Michelle Schaefer, Richard Tice, Michael Dylan Welch, and Annette Makino

First published in Counting Stars, the 2021 Seabeck Haiku Getaway anthology (Haiku Northwest Press, 2022, page 57). Originally written during the 2021 Seabeck Haiku Getaway in Seabeck, Washington as part of our “Renkurama” group writing project. This was originally written as a renku, with a traditional autumn seasonal development, but when it ended at six verses, it seemed sufficiently like a rengay, even though it lacked a strong central theme. See also “Work in Progress.”

autumn wind—

all the low-sodium beans

on the bottom shelf John

distant thunder . . .

meditating on the toilet Jacob

pumpkin chai spice

the Starbucks line

queued past the cheese Michelle

everyone here eyes

the last piece of cake Richard

shy moon—

no more credit

at the grocery store Michael

dinner harvested

from the garden Annette