Poet Profile

David Caruso

My interest in haiku began with a college course titled “Buddhist Poets of Japan.” I felt challenged at the prospect of writing ten page papers on three-lined poems. Lo and behold, I was hooked. I live with my wife, Maggy and our three children.

Awards and Other Honors: The 2007 Ronald J. Caridi Award presented by the University of Pennsylvania for "uncompromising commitment to scholarship, hard work, and the life of the mind.” Honorable mention in the 2010 Robert Frost Festival International Haiku Contest.

last night’s lover
alone at the bus stop
summer’s end

first day of school
the look he leaves me with
looks at me still

cool shade
a rest becomes
the afternoon

Ay!
lightning bugs
bite the night

above the trees
beyond my reach
her balloon, her certainty

wet rain . . .
you keep telling me things
I already know

Credits: "last night’s lover" - Modern Haiku 40.3 (2009); "cool shade" - Modern Haiku 38.3 (2007); "above the trees" - Modern Haiku 41.1 (2010); "first day of school" - moonset 3.1 (2007); "Ay!" - frogpond 33:1 (2010); "wet rain" - Modern Haiku 40.1 (2009).