Poet Profile

Paul David Mena

I have worked in the computer industry for over 25 years and have been writing haiku nearly as long. A city-dweller since birth, I tend to lean toward urban themes in my work, with an emphasis on the vibrancy, diversity and polarity of the city setting.

Awards and Other Honors: I won an honorable mention at Haiku Chicago in 1995, as well as placing second in The Haiku Award in still magazine in 1999.

Books Published: tenement landscapes (a small garlic press, 1995); trainsongs [haiku and free verse] (double bunny press, 1997); the brewpub chronicles (Haiku in Low Places, 1999).

staring
at a sheet of paper
a night without words

three jazz pianists
improvising
for ghosts

military jet
carves a white scar
in the sky

Veteran's Day rain—
an old man holds an umbrella
above the monument

thank you for the gift
of yourself
unwrapped

Thanksgiving Night—
a stray dog
in an empty parking lot

Credits: "staring” - Brussels Sprout (1994); "military jet" - Brussels Sprout (1995); "thank you for the gift" - Modern Haiku (1996); "three jazz pianists" - still (1999); "Veteran's Day rain" - still (1999); "Thanksgiving Night" - temps libres (2009).