t.j. zhang ☾

seventh moon, twenty-fifth day, 2025 leaning on a rail next to a pond outside the nursing home. koi fish spits a bubble between lily pads

koi fish
spits a bubble
between lily pads

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, twenty-fourth day, 2025 in Minecraft, Liz and i decided to go back to our house after getting some stuff from our hometown ten thousand blocks away. there, we spent the rest of the night listening to her discs on the deck she built a couple days ago. hillside deck her music box tinkles with the stars

hillside deck
her music box tinkles
with the stars

#haiku #poem #journal

summer stream
those are the ducks
she named that day

#haiku #poem #journal

the silver tassels arrived and I tried it on this sample bookmark. really loving it! can’t wait for the final versions 😖

the silver tassels arrived and I tried it on this sample bookmark. really loving it! can’t wait for the final versions 😖

#haiku #bookmark

(the bird in the pic might be a finch 🤔 i just wanted to use it) seventh moon, twenty-third day, 2025 during my walk towards the grocery store, i stopped on this one path where i always see one of my feathered friend. with a whistle a sparrow catches a peanut midair

(the bird in the pic might be a finch 🤔 i just wanted to use it)

with a whistle
a sparrow catches a peanut
midair

seventh moon, twenty-second day, 2025 on my way back home coming from my grandparent's apartment. cool summer one two fireflies here and there

cool summer
one two fireflies
here and there

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, twenty-second day, 2025 after eating at a chinese restaurant for dinner, me and my family went to my grandparent's apartment to visit our aunt's dog Barkley. i haven't seen him in a long time. when we opened the front door, he was there wagging his little bulldog tail. our family dog how noticeable now his aging fur

our family dog
how noticeable now
his aging fur

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, twentieth day, 2025 sitting on the ledge over a stream still reminiscing about our time together. summer kiss the subtle taste of her lip balm

summer kiss
the subtle taste
of her lip balm

#haiku #poem #journal

speaking of fears, i want to share a writing exercise i did for the writers’ circle two weeks ago. we were asked to think about what our fear is and then try to personify it. we only had fifteen minutes but these are the ones that came into mind that day.

#fears #purpose #purposedrivenlife

seventh moon, twentieth day, 2025 still sitting on the ledge, eating dried fruits. river's edge squirrel on a root reaches for water i used my binoculars to see the squirrel more clearly.

river’s edge
squirrel on a root
reaches for water

#haiku #journal #storytelling

gazing downstream
her presence
​still lingers

#haiku #journal #storytelling

seventh moon, eighteenth day, 2025 four days ago, Liz banned me from Minecraft for a few days because she wanted to build a surprise for me for our date night the following the day. but before she did that, she asked me to log in for a little bit because she needed help getting back to our house as she spawned in the middle of nowhere during a rainy night. thankfully she saw and followed the railroad i built and we met at the foot of the cherry blossom hill. train station saying our rain-soaked ​i love yous

train station
saying our rain-soaked
i love yous

#haiku #haibun #poem

seventh moon, eighteenth day, 2025 i had a date with Liz last night so i slept in this morning. around 6 AM, a loud sound from a feathery friend woke me up! abrupt awakening a blue jay squawking for mor peanuts! i usually put seeds, rice, and peanuts on my windowsill around that time so the birds usually perch there very early.

abrupt awakening
a blue jay squawking
for more peanuts!

#haiku #haibun #journal

seventh moon, eighteenth day, 2025 during our Minecraft date last night. farming wheat gazing at our sunset lit hillside house it's just so nice seeing the house we built together grow slowly. five months ago there was only the moon house that Liz built for our first date. now, more rooms were added along the cherry blossom hill. there's also a basement where the storage room is located, there's an artificial waterfall and river directly at the bottom of the house, a train station, farms, bamboos, pathways, lanterns, and so much more. i love it so much.

farming wheat
gazing at our sunset lit
hillside house

#haiku #minecraft

seventh moon, fifteenth day, 2025 in my room, holding the stuffed toys Liz gave to me as a gift. i really miss her a lot. my distant star all i can think about is december

my distant star
all i can think about
is december

#haiku

summer pond
a bumblebee gently sways
on a wildflower

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, fourteenth day, 2025 towards the end of our shift, me and my coworker were deciding what to use to cover ourselves from the rain for when we throw the garbages later on. we ran out of garbage bags, which we usually use to make makeshift rain coats, but thankfully we found some cushions outside the kitchen. pulling garbage bins chair cushions as our umbrellas

pulling garbage bins
chair cushions
as our umbrellas

#haiku #poem #journal

mehehe i can do these stuff now using my flyers and books. also, i finished a lot of things this week including my brochure, stickers, exhibit labels, posters, and more. i just need to print them. we’re getting there, one step at a time

#webcomic #webtoon

seventh moon, thirteenth day, 2025 i’m already missing Liz so much. i’ve been reminiscing about all the things we did these past couple of days over and over. if only there was a way to stop time... daydream when we waltzed under the summer sun i cannot wait for december though. this time, i will be the one visiting her.

daydream
when we waltzed
under the summer sun

#haiku #poem #storytelling

seventh moon, twelfth day, 2025 on our way home coming from the pond, Liz and i decided to sit on the swing one last time before she goes back home. rusty chains she swings high between cumulus clouds

rusty chains
she swings high
between cumulus clouds

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, twelfth day, 2025 yesterday, Liz's last day of visit. we were originally going to play the card game "Noir" in my room but we decided to spend that morning sitting on a platform over a stream by a pond. we thought that we could always play the card game online and that the best thing to do right now are the things we won't be able to do when we're far away from each other again. so we sat there quietly, holding hands, in the dappled lights. paper butterfly clipping it on to ​her golden hair

paper butterfly
clipping it on to
​her golden hair

#haiku #poem #journal

happy mid-autumn festival! :D 🥮

seventh moon, twelfth day, 2025 i bought an orange spray paint a couple days ago because i wanted to write Liz's name and my name under the "Haiku Bridge." the walls there are full of graffiti so i thought it would be the perfect place to do just that. graffiti bridge spray painting each other's name we wrote our names big and painted a huge uneven heart around them. i love it so much. now i will always remember that moment every time i visit that lovely lovely place.

graffiti bridge
spray painting
each other’s name

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, twelfth day, 2025 ​july 10th, my second day with Liz. she and i had been planning to go to my favorite bridge for months now. she called it, the "Haiku Bridge." the one in my comic, "a wish that bloomed in fall." it's where everything started, it's where i fell so deeply in love with life. without it, my comic could have ended up differently and there's a huge chance that Liz and i wouldn't be together today. that bridge means a lot to the both of us. it has become a very special place. summer bridge the river between ​our first kiss

summer bridge
the river between
our first kiss

#haiku #poem #journal

thank you Kris! 😊

seventh moon, twelfth day, 2025 that same evening after eating tacos for dinner, Liz and i went in to my room to open our birthday gifts to one another. i’ve been waiting for this moment since forever. since the day we started dating after Valentine’s day. our first eve she spills a jar of paper stars i folded her a thousand paper stars that contained the words “i love you” in each of them. there are no words to describe how much i love her so i told her to just look at the stars up in the night sky and count them. that is how much she means to me.

our first eve
she spills a jar
of paper stars

#haiku #haibun #storytelling

just ordered 250 pieces of flyers for my comic~ can’t wait to give these to peeps 😤

#webcomic

seventh moon, twelfth day, 2025 i was just so happy that i was finally able to cook taco for Liz that evening. i spent so many fridays trying to perfect her favorite taco combination and i am glad it all paid off. dinner went well. we all ate in the living room and talked about a lot of stuff. what i loved about cooking the tacos was that Liz was helping me cook them. just her being there close to me was the best thing in the world. a rainbow of taco holders in the sink it made me happy to see most of the holders in the sink. usually only one or two are there, mine and my sister's. but that night the sink was colorful and it made me smile from ear to ear.

a rainbow
of taco holders
in the sink

#haiku #poem #journal

fireflies
ending our first eve
holding hands

#haiku #poem #journal

seventh moon, seventh day, 2025 my father and i went to Dollar Tree and ShopRite this morning to buy a tablecloth for our kitchen table. i used it as an opportunity to browse some flowers for Liz and her mother. sunflowers this is the perfect bouquet for her

sunflowers
this is the perfect bouquet
for her

#haiku #journal #poem