“sandstone trail” is 11x14. It is painted on paper with sumi ink and Japanese watercolors. This was a commissioned piece. © Annette Makino 2020
worn highway map
a few hitchhikers
dot the windshield
we blow through
another small-print town
dust devils
the diner’s
hand-painted sign
steak with ketchup
O’Keeffe country
a red mesa
blurs past
the lives lived
in the crevices
desert wind
The haiku sequence “Desert Wind” was published in the Summer 2025 issue of Modern Haiku.
a coyote
cruises the cul de sac
blood-red sunset
vapor trails
the long hike into
pre-history
Navajo sandstone
we cheer on the lizard
doing pushups
two ravens swooping
from their clifftop roost
juniper scent
piñon shade
the last few drops
of our water
miles of sagebrush
all my thoughts
ankle-high
home from vacation
sinking into
memory foam
— Annette Makino, publishd in Modern Haiku, 56.2, Summer 2025