Spreading Shade

by Michael Dylan Welch, Richard Tice, and Kathleen Tice

First published in Fireflies’ Light #23, June 2021, page 31. This rengay also appeared in This Morning's Tides: Commencement Bay Haiku 10-Year Anniversary Anthology (Tacoma, Washington: Commencement Bay Haiku, 2022), page 94. Originally written via Zoom on 27 March 2021.

cherry blossoms

still cherry blossoms—

overcast afternoon Michael

night chill—

pear trees turning white Richard

darkening trail . . .

dogwood petals

mark the way Kathleen

dawn joins

the glow of forsythia Michael

budding peaches

rice cakes purchased

for lunch Richard

a flowering mimosa

spreads its shade Kathleen