schools and summers

Haiku by Ann Sullivan, Ruth Holzer, Valentina Ranaldi-Adams, and Mary Oishi

last day of school
a tail wagging
at the screen door

Ann Sullivan
Arlington, Massachusetts, USA

last day of school
we slam our lockers shut
a little louder

Ruth Holzer
Potomac Falls, Virginia, USA

school carnival
a teacher splashes
into the dunk tank

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio, USA

crayons
left on the dash
multi-colored pancake

Mary Oishi
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Editor Bio: Dr. Sangita Kalarickal is a Pushcart Prize and Touchstone award nominated wordsmith. Her work has been widely published in several journals and anthologies. She has authored Mamina (Kavya-Adisakrit, 2023), and co-authored Light & Line Drawings (Kavya-Adisakrit, 2026), which are collections of free verse and haikai poetry. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Drifting Sands Haibun Journal.

Tip Jar

Haiku Girl Summer will always be a free publication. If you want to make a financial contribution, please visit Allyson Whipple’s Buy Me a Coffee page. Mention Haiku Girl Summer in the comment box and your donation will go into a pool that will be divided among the guest editors at the end of the 2026 editorial run.

Merch

If you want to even more ways to share the summer love, you can check out the Haiku Girl Summer merch shop. We have T-shirts and tank tops along with hats, mugs, buttons, and a spiral notebook. Email me if there are other items you’d like to see!