Poem archive

Poems

Read poems by Arizona and Southwestern writers, plus classic work preserved in the AZPoetry literary archive.

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Haiku From Seventeen Syllables by Hisaye Yamamoto artwork AZpoetry.com

2025

Haiku from Seventeen Syllables

By Hisaye Yamamoto

A single sentence captures the ease—and emotional cost—of outwardly agreeing when one’s true answer is no.