dawn prayers - 
white breath meets swirls
of incense
 

sunlit clinic -
in the folds of the curtain   
lines of shadow
 

laughing buddha . . .          
at the window where my
mother died 
 

toddler's yawn ...      
in Tsechu* masks of gods  
monks leap and swirl
 

the fullness
of a white lily and   
the bee's hum
 

Note:
*Tsechu (Dzongkha  TSE - CHOO): Mask dance festival which is a seasonal event held in spring, autumn and winter.
 

Born and brought up in the Kingdom of Bhutan, Sonam Chhoki was introduced to haiku by her spouse who lived and worked in Japan. She has been writing haiku for about five years. The Japanese forms of haiku, tanka and haibun resonate with her own Tibetan Buddhist upbringing. Her haiku have been published in Asahi, Acorn, Frogpond, Heron's Nest, Modern Haiku and Magnapoets.