Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku

by Gabriela Marie Milton (Editor), Naoki Kimura (Photography), Andrew McDowell

Following the overwhelming success of "Petals of Haiku," which captured hearts and souls, we bring you “ An Anthology of Haiku.” This new anthology will enchant the readers with its delicate imagery and transitory moments, which inscribe themselves in eternity. It features nearly 240 talented authors, each bringing their talent and unique perspectives. Poets are prophets linked to nature and love. In this anthology haiku is there language.

Tranquility also features a stunning cover art by Japanese painter Hikari and superb fine-art photography by Japanese artist Naoki Kimura. With each turn of the page, one can't help but feel awestruck by how these tiny poems resonate with universal truths. They invite contemplation and reflection, urging us to pause amidst our busy and sometimes not so happy lives and embrace tranquility. This anthology stands as a testament to the enduring power of Asian poetry, specifically haiku, celebrating its role in connecting us with nature's wonders, love and our own inner peace.

253 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2025

About the author

Gabriela Marie Milton is an Amazon bestselling poet and an internationally published author. She is the author of the #1 bestselling poetry collection Woman: Splendor and Sorrow: | Love Poems and Poetic Prose (Vita Brevis Press, 2021) and the author of Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings (Vita Brevis Press, 2020). She edited the #1 Amazon bestsellers, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women(EIF, 2022) and Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (Literary Revelations, 2023). She was awarded 2019 Author of the Year at Spillwords Press (NYC). Her piece "If I say I love you" was nominated for 2020 Spillwords Press Publication of the Year (Poetic). Gabriela was featured multiple times in New York Glamour Magazine.

Reviews

[Eve Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wide range of non-traditional, experimental haiku, and traditional haiku on the sense of tranquility. The table of contents is alphabetical by first name and includes close to 240 poets sharing 5 poems each. I’m happy to have five of my haiku included.

Some of the master haiku poets I instantly recognized by name include Christina Chin, Clive Bennett, Charlie Lawler, C. Jean Downer, C.X. Turner, Eavonka Ettinger, John Hawkhead, Joshua Gage, and Leon Tefft.

Additional well-deserved mentions for their included work are Corine Turner, Uchechukwu Onyedikam, Jenny Mattern, Joshua St. Claire, Diane Webster, Nicole Smith, Kim Olmtak Gomes, Jack Granath,Marjorie Pezzoli, Marie C. Lecrivain, Sarah Mahina Calvello,Joanna Ashwell, Clive Reed, Tom Bajoras, Matthew Rhodes, Steven Stokes, Sasha Cantù, Ellen Krupich, Raine, C.K. Crawford, Michael Dudley, Tomislav Maretic, and Zach Hauptman.

My apologies if I failed to mention your work. Many great poems and poets included in the book!

Below is a spattering of my favorites. Note: I typically like traditional haiku, but not necessarily 5/7/5 (which is an optional syllabic format.) There were many great haiku experimenting with personification, a few monoku, and some non-seasonal topics. These were a few I marked that were excellent in my humble opinion.

trailside rest—
a walking stick starts walking up
my walking stick
—Michael Dudley

early morning
along the muddy path
with warm coffee
—Zach Hauptman

first snow…
my garden
the color of peace
—Ellen Krupich

snowstorm
even the lamp poles
shudder
—Joshua Gage

rock-hugging moss
a sudden softness
in mother’s voice
—Corine Timmer

rat snake—
the songbirds go
out of tune
—Leon Tefft

winter solitude
the fading shadow
of my footprints
—Clive Bennett

and here is one of mine:

first snow
the only sound
the bonsai
—Eve Castle

I need to also mention the cover by Japanese artist Hikari is exceptional - beautiful. A thank you for the great work in compiling this anthology goes to Gabriela Marie Milton.

Poets: please let me know if you prefer I didn’t share your work here and I’ll remove.

Eve

[Tremaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Anthology of creativity, expressiveness, and tranquility... Before I purchased this anthology, I knew it would be a work of art. There are over 230 writers and connoisseurs of haiku included, and with every turn of the page, a land of wonder awaits the reader.

Edited by Gabriela Marie Milton and published by Literary Revelations, the team has produced a book that is sure to stand the test of time.

It is an outstanding follow-up to Petals of Haiku: An Anthology, and is now placed alongside it on one of my bookshelves.

I appreciate and have an affinity for the form of haiku as it pertains to micropoetry, and every contributor shared their five haiku in creative and vividly expressed ways.

I have no doubt this book will be one I turn to when I need a place of calm as my personal retreat.

If you want to experience creativity at its highest, timely serenity, and be engulfed by the expressiveness throughout the anthology, then, I suggest this book for your collection.

We all could use a bit of tranquility.

[Leon Tefft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am honored to be included among the esteemed haiku authors in Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku and delighted to add this publication to my poetry collection. With so many contributors involved, I enjoyed the diverse talents and the creative approaches of each poet's unique style of writing. The stunning artwork by Hikari and Naoki Kimura adds a special touch. Tranquility is a thoughtful and captivating read.

[Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wide variety of topics. Many are not strictly haiku, but that's ok. I read the e-book and marked pages of my favorite poets and was going to list them but soon realized there were too many. There are excellent poems within the pages of this book and their spirits soar from its pages.

Full disclosure: I have a page of poetry in here.

[D. Peach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly 240 poets from around the world contributed to this best-selling anthology of haiku, sharing their reflections on the theme of tranquility. Haiku often emphasizes simplicity and nature, reflecting on impermanence or a moment caught in time. Tranquility is the perfect theme for the form, and this collection didn’t disappoint with its poetic pearls, each worth savoring.

Haiku is a Japanese form of short poetry—typically written as three lines with a syllable count of 5/7/5. In its traditional form, haiku includes a kigo, a word or phrase indicating the season and connecting the poem to nature’s cycle of life. This anthology includes haiku that abide by the ancient form as well as poems that allow for greater artistic freedom, all while maintaining the original tone and intent.

Each poet provided five haiku, arranged together on a single page, making this a generous collection that I highly recommend. And yet, it isn’t meant to be hurried. I read it in a week, but will happily read it again, a page or so a day.

Some of my favorite poems were visually vivid with beautiful imagery, or they evoked a mood, emotion, or memory. Here are five examples of what I found inside the pages:

By Nise Griffin:
The lichen oak fence
leads the eye to the border-
where nightingales wait

By Matthew Rhodes:
She walks, glancing back,
her summer dress a shifting
symphony of silk.

By Cheryl Batavia:
Newly fallen snow—
Our footprints, ephemeral,
our breath, transient clouds.

By Susan Canganelli:
sitting on a rock
ancient winds blow through my soul
a sparrow flies by

By Tess:
from one bookmarked page
emerges a butterfly
wise are her tattooed wings

[Peter Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exquisite series of brief moments that transport one into the realm of the eternal.

Haiku has a sparseness and elegance that few other poetic forms carry. At its best, it offers a quiet surprise — a sudden redirection of the gaze that pulls us back into the living present. Nothing superfluous. Nothing ornamental. Just immediacy: Look! Listen!

The beauty lies in how it uses language to move beyond language. Each poem is like an ink brush gliding across the page — painting a moment in time, then letting it go, leaving only the resonance behind. Through this sparseness, transience becomes the gateway to eternity.

This anthology captures that quality again and again. Reading it feels less like collecting poems and more like receiving a necklace of small, luminous moments — each one a window into presence.

[Nicole Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Tranquility: An Anthology of Haiku” is a luminous collection inviting the reader into moments of stillness, wonder, or quiet revelation. Curated from a diverse group of voices, each poem captures fleeting instants of beauty, grief, joy, and reflection with the elegance and brevity that defines the haiku form. The anthology flows like a gentle stream — contemplative, clear, and deeply human — carrying with it the timeless pulse of nature and emotion, reminding us of the profound in the seemingly simple. Alongside, the stunning art by Hikari and Naoki Kimura makes it all the more impressive and unique. I am absolutely delighted to be one of the contributors and add this lovely publication to my poetry collection!

[S.T. Hills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following Petals of Haiku, this is another brilliant anthology with haiku written by authors around the world, including myself.