from the stump
of the old cherry tree-
another cherry tree
Ben Moeller-Gaa is “your friendly neighborhood haiku poet” from St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Pushcart nominee and the author of Wishbones (Folded Word 2018), a full length collection of haiku and senryu which won the 2018 Touchstone Award, as well as three chapbooks, Fiddle in the Floorboards (Yavanika Press 2018), Blowing on a Hot Soup Spoon (poor metaphor 2014) and the Pushcart nominated Wasp Shadows (Folded Word 2014). His poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies around the globe. He has a degree in Creative Writing from Knox College, works as a Senior IT Functional Analyst for MilliporeSigma, and enjoys travel, music, art and other worldly meanderings with his wife Jessica and their rascal of a cat, Anastasia.
On writing haiku, he states “It has given me nothing but freedom to work in this medium. One of the biggest freedoms is the freedom from myself. Haiku allows me to get out of my own way and see the world that I am a part of instead of a world that I must comment on. This was a big shift for me as a poet and one that, once I embraced, I’ve never looked back from. I am so much more aware of everything around me, be it noises in my house, the goings on in my backyard, and just all of the moments that occur everyday that I am lucky enough to bear witness to. It’s changed my life for the better. I know that I am not alone in this sentiment. I read it every time I consume a new edition of a journal or re-read one of my many favorite haiku/senryu books. The community at large has also been extremely welcoming. And I am thrilled to have found it and to have become a part of this great, rich and deep conversation of letters.”