HAIKU DIALOGUE – Sanctuary of the Senses – Touch and/or Taste

Thanks so much to Guest Editor Nancy Brady for opening our eyes to the animals around us, & now we explore our senses further with returning Guest Editor Carole MacRury… happy writing! kj

Sanctuary of the Senses with Guest Editor Carole MacRury

As haiku poets, we are familiar with being out in nature, living in the present moment awake to all sensory input, sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste. Sensory experiences can regulate the nervous system and support physical and mental health. Sensory practices and rituals can strengthen mind-body connections and regulate hormones to ease anxiety. I, myself, found ways to utilize the senses to remove debilitating anxiety attacks in my youth. Today, children identified as having sensory sensitivities receive treatment early on to help them process what can be overwhelming or underwhelming sensory responses. My own grandchild successfully underwent sensory processing treatment as a toddler.

A sanctuary is a place of refuge that offers safety and respite from the stresses of our lives, be it within our own homes, a bird sanctuary, a holy place, or at the kitchen table of a dear friend. A sanctuary is personal to each of us. We bring to these sanctuaries our senses whether it is our favorite color, a hot bath, a massage, favorite music, a cup of warm tea, or a hug from a loved one. Our ways and means are endless and unique. Our two prompts will invite you to discover the ways you create your own sanctuary of the senses to cope with the daily stresses of life and to enhance your own well-being.

Prompt: Touch and/or Taste

Of all senses, touch is something that offers comfort from the moment we are born and that can be sadly lacking as we age. Especially for the elderly or those living alone. Hugging, having a massage, or petting an animal can increase oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine levels, which can help to reduce stress and anxiety. There is the feel of a warm bath, of silk pajamas, or a piece of clothing we wear to remember a loved one. Both giving and receiving touch can be healing and offer moments of sanctuary. We pet an animal to comfort ourselves and the pet too. We give hugs and appreciate hugs in times of need. We remember the touch of a mother’s hand, a lover’s hand, or a nurse in the middle of the night. And there are other ways we soothe ourselves – a favorite soft blanket or a smooth stone (sometimes called worry stones, as if one could rub one’s worries away). Even children have favorite baby blankets or stuffed animals. My daughter’s worn bunny went off to college with her. Touch can lower the stress hormone cortisol, help regulate emotions, and provide a sense of security and attachment. Feel free to include taste as it is a surface receptor (taste buds) closely related to skin receptors. Our tongues detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savory. Closely aligned to taste are textures. What textures does your tongue crave? Creamy, crispy, crunchy, chewy. Comfort food is real and something we turn to for self-soothing. How do you utilize taste and/or touch to enhance your sense of well-being?

The deadline is midnight Eastern Daylight Time, Saturday, April 11, 2026.

Please use the Haiku Dialogue submission form below to enter one or two original unpublished haiku inspired by the week’s theme, and then press Submit to send your entry. (The Submit button will not be available until the Name, Email, and Place of Residence fields are filled in.) In the Poem box, with your poem(s), please include any special formatting requirements & your name & residence as you would like it to appear in the column. Please note that by submitting, you agree that your work may appear in the column – neither acknowledgment nor acceptance emails will be sent. All communication about the poems that are posted in the column will be added as blog comments.

Join us next week for Carole’s selection of poems on the topic Touch and/or Taste…

Bios:

Guest Editor Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work. Her poems have won awards and been published worldwide, and her photographs have been featured on the covers of numerous poetry journals and anthologies. Her practice of contemplative photography along with an appreciation of haiku aesthetics helps deepen her awareness of the world around her. Both image and written word open her to the interconnectedness of all things, to surprise, mystery and a sense of wonder. She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).

Assistant Editor Lafcadio, a former teacher, now works from home writing, editing and proofreading study guides for nursing textbooks. She lives in Tennessee. She has written poetry for a long time but a couple of years ago fell in love with Japanese micropoetry and hasn’t looked back. Lafcadio has been published in a number of journals and anthologies. She writes under the nom de plume of Lafcadio because nom de plume is so fun to say. You can read her poems on Twitter (X) @lafcadiopoetry or BlueSky @lafcadiobsky.

Assistant Editor Vandana Parashar is an associate editor of haikuKATHA and one of the editors of Poetry Pea and #FemkuMag. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019 and her second chapbook Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022.

Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. She lives in New York City and enjoys reading and writing haiku.

Managing Editor Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She served as Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada for ten years, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019). Find her at: kjmunro1560.wordpress.com.

Portrait by Laurel Parry

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Photo Credits:

Banner Photo credit:  Carole MacRury

Haiku Dialogue offers a triweekly prompt for practicing your haiku. Posts appear each Wednesday with a prompt or a selection of poems from a previous week.  Read past Haiku Dialogue posts here.