Moonshine
grapes of wrath
illegal migrants working
the orange groves
dust bowl
thousands leave home
misty woods—
empty bench
secret rendezvous
dealers conspire
on cargo transfer
shared wealth
and development
for all humanity
calm summer river
donations flown in
thirsty goldminers
nourishing on
mercury-filled water
sweet tooth fills
with gold amalgam
Christina Chin is a painter and haiku poet from Malaysia. She is a four-time recipient of top 100 in the mDAC Summit Contests, exhibited at the Palo Alto Art Center, California. 1st prize winner of the 34th Annual Cherry Blossom Sakura Festival 2020 Haiku Contest. She was the first prize winner in the 8th Setouchi Matsuyama 2019 Photohaiku Contest. She has been published in numerous journals, multilingual journals, and anthologies, including Japan's prestigious monthly Haikukai Magazine.
Kim Olmtak Gomes was born in Suriname, South America, where she is currently also residing. She is a teacher of the English language. At present she is retired, but is still teaching on a part time basis. She writes haiku and is published in print and online journals.