3-14-15 'Ku

[rayheinrich]

first thaw
cigarette butts
dog shit 

While some haiku don't require it, I think this one needs a "-" to communicate the pivot* point:

        first thaw -
        cigarette butts
        dog shit



* From Wiki: "The essence of haiku is "cutting" (kiru). This is often represented by the juxtaposition of
two images or ideas separated by a kireji ("cutting word") between them which signals the moment of separation
and colors the manner in which the juxtaposed elements are related."

From me: The cutting can also be signalled by the "-" punctuation mark OR by the whole second line:

        herons flying
        through the mist
        an autumn moon

And it's not just haiku: ALL poetry, literature, rhetorical discourse, uses this devise.
Sonnets! So MUCH so for these things which, as far as I've seen, only Leanne has mastered.