Poet Profile

Philomene Kocher

Philomene Kocher began writing haiku in 1991, and her work has been published in Canada, the United States and Japan. For 12 years (1998-2010) she served as Secretary for Haiku Canada. In 2008, she completed her Master of Education studies exploring haiku as a way of connection with persons with dementia. She enjoys sharing her haiku in the community: at a local tea store, on a neighborhood sidewalk chalkboard, and as part of a theatre production. After 30 years, she is still astonished by the magic of haiku.

Books Published:

still: new, selected & collaborative haiku (Ekstasis Editions, 2022); Singing in the Silo [haiku, tanka, and haibun] (catkin press, 2014.

family visit
resetting the porch stones
with new cement

distant barking
nothing
between me and the stars

rose hips and roses and buds
on the same bush
August evening

a hard frost
the sound of leaves
falling from the gingko

full moon
the sidewalk curves
around tree roots

dawn 
snow on each strand 
of the wire fence

Credits:

"family visit" - still (Ekstasis Editions, 2022); "rose hips and roses and buds" - Frogpond XXIV:1 (2001); "full moon" - The Heron’s Nest IV:9 (2002); "distant barking" - Canada Members Anthology (2014); "a hard frost" - Haiku Canada Members Anthology (2008); "dawn " - Carpe diem: Anthologie canadienne du haïku / Canadian anthology of haiku (2008).