Haiku Kukai 3
Global Haiku • Millikin University • Fall 2010
pumpkin patch |
small boy uproots grass Katie Coletta (7) I picture an old woman looking onto a small boy, or perhaps a single mom. As she watches her son picking up and caring the tender and bent blades of grass, trampled by ungrateful others, she is reminded of the pain in her heart and how his father trampled over her in the same way. Though she regrets having to have her son grow up fatherless, she knows that it is best. The father, probably abusive in some way, made her choose to take her son and run, brining him to a place where the only way his father will ever be close to him is when his last name comes neatly after his son’s first. Brittany This haiku creates a picture of two little boys out on a playground picking at the grass because they can’t do anything else. They are sat away from everyone and they are supposed to make nice because they are in timeout. As a little kid, it always seemed right to place the blame on other people because you could do no wrong; taking “Treat others how you want to be treated,” to an extreme. Bret |
fall’s arrival Kelsy Whitney (3) |
blow that sawdust away Danny Delaney (4) |
falling bare |
whispering breeze Jessica Golden (6) This haiku is really refreshing and pretty. I can hear the litheness of the breeze, creating vibrations among the leaves, creating pitches of noise. The raspberry blooms are vibrant and beautiful. I can imagine that the author found inspiration from the whilst walking to a class, and absorbing the beauty of this campus. It's a wonderful feeling to realize the natural, harmonious beauty of nature, even when beloved seasons change. I felt a little shimmer after reading this. It reminded me why I love nature in the first place. Steph |
flocks of bird girls Katie Coletta (8) I can imagine young hip women at the gym hitting the treadmills. They are all in shape, have great and successful careers, while still finding time to raise families. No one else can figure out quite how they balance it all. These women always seem happy and full of energy. They even wear cute clothes to work out. I enjoy working out but I am not a very good runner. I always envy the women who can just run 4 or 5 miles without stopping or changing their pace at all. I run a mile and have to walk and have to walk to recover. I believe that these super women must have some kind of flaw though that is not apparent upon first inspection. Maddie |
deflated empty boxes |
while students doze |
heat from the spotlight Jessica Golden This makes me think of a particular instance. My junior year, I got the lead in the spring musical. I was so excited because they rewrote the male lead to be a girl part specifically so I could have it. But as preparations for the show continued, I hated the show and I thought the show really really sucked. When opening night came, I really did not want to perform at all, but I knew I had to. I was so scared because I knew everyone was going to hate it. But when I walked out for the first scene, I couldn’t see anyone in the crowd. The spotlight was all I could see or feel, and it gave me the confidence I needed to perform. I’m sure the many theater majors in this class can identify with my feelings, and maybe even agree about the special powers the heat of the spot light can give to a performer. Kelsy I liked this one because it strongly reminded me of my senior choir dinner in high school. I remember the feeling of the spotlight on me and looking out into the audience and I was so afraid. I closed my eyes for just a second right before I began to sing and it was so helpful. I felt like everyone disappeared and I just started singing. I love how this haiku is able to bring the feeling of notes flying around me in perfect harmony and it makes me want to smile. Sam M As someone who did theater in high school, I love how true this is to the theater experience. I’ve had it many times, and each time is different, unique, scary, and amazing. It’s a great feeling. Kale |
evening sky Laura Scoville (5) This haiku reminds me of an experience of a time I had last year. It was getting cold out, but I refused to wear a coat so I bundled in an oversized sweatshirt and I went with my friends out to a park that was off campus. We drove there and brought the things we would need to have a simple picnic. We set up our food, not on the picnic table, but on a concrete block that pretended to be a basketball court. After we had ate and the rest of my friends went off into the playground, I laid down on my back and looked up at the stars. There were no lights in the playground and so I could not see anything around me. The wind blew and the grass and trees around my rustled. Everything seemed mysterious, like the meaning of everything was being revealed to me in a language I didn’t understand. This haiku reminds me exactly of this moment, or at least of a person alone on their back in the dark, contemplating the questions of the universe. Beth Ann |
family gathers Samantha Miles We only have 8 channels at my house, so we don’t watch too many sports, but I still love the feeling I get from this haiku of the family gathering on the couch. I’m personally reminded of Christmas morning and what a joyful experience it is. Kale
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glittering shadows Maddie Knott (2) I really liked this haiku because it reminded me of taking a trip to Mt. Rushmore with my parents when I was 9. Seeing the fireworks and the illuminated presidents’ faces in this beautiful yet natural setting was so cool for me, and it made me proud to be a part of this country with such amazing leaders who believe in the people. I loved the description of glittering shadows dance. It made the entire haiku come to life for me! Jessica I adore this haiku! I see a darkened room in a museum, bathed in the kind of yellow light that doesn’t reach into the corners of the room.... It reminds me of the room the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are kept in in Washington, D.C. When I visited with my family, the room was strangely empty. As we walked in, the crowds of people melted away until it was just my family and a few other people in the room with the documents. I also remember looking up and seeing the painting of the signing of the declaration of Independence hanging above me. The way the light skittered across their faces made the men almost seem alive. This haiku could almost have been written about my own memory, which is why it spoke so clearly to me. Great job! Katie |
the taste of you |
raking up piles Maddie Knott (5) This haiku put me back in time into my childhood where I lived on a court off a dead end road with kids my age in every house. In the fall, my backyard was the place to be. I had a swing set in my backyard that my dad and uncle built for me and the two swings sat to the left of a huge maple tree. Every fall, my dad would rake the leaves into a huge pile right in front of the swings. All the kids of the neighborhood would come over and we would take turns swings as high as we could and jumping out of the swings into the pile of leaves. It was the best part of the fall. I still have pictures in albums from when we would do this. Ally I love this haiku! This one brought back so many memories of being a kid and raking leaves in my front yard with my best friends at the time, Hannah and Emma. We used to rake them all up, then make leaf houses and mazes, and then we’d rake them into one big pile and dive right in hooting and hollering and throwing them at each other. Incidentally, my friend Emma got a piece of the leave stuck underneath her eyelid and it was really sick. Just saying. Jessica |
my sticky situation Danny Delaney (3) This haiku is certainly memorable. Based on my interpretation, this haiku wasn't written about literal pancakes and syrup. I'd shan't go go into detail about this haiku, because it may be a little sexually explicit, but I can certainly say this has huge erotic undertones. I believe this haiku was written by a male who wanted to insert huge innuendo into his work. The ellipses on the second line represent the climax of his "sticky situation". I sort of prevented my mind from fully imagining this, but I can certainly say I felt a little strange. Steph |
i cry out |
under the covers Jessica Golden (7) This haiku just is really true with what it is saying. I really like that when I was younger I so remember trying to sneak conversations when I first got my cell phone. I definitely was the girl who would be on the phone, late at night, talking to her boyfriend. The worst part was always when my dad would like walk in and he could always see the light from my phone through the covers. It was never a good way to get in trouble with dad. My dad was very protective and did not like his little girls talking to boys, especially after being in bed for 3 hours. Ally I like this one too because it also brought back a lot of memories. I remember thinking that if I hid under my blankets to talk on the phone that my mom would not hear me and therefore I would get away with it, however, most of the time I did not. I like how the haiku mentions that its “midnight” because when you are younger being up until midnight seems so cool and you want to get away with it so that you can tell everyone that you were up so late. I feel like this haiku also represents times when I was even younger before I had a phone and I used to use a flashlight under the covers so that I could stay up reading past my bedtime. Sam M I enjoy the imagery I get from this haiku. A young boy or girl, who is maybe nine or ten, snatches the home phone and sneaks it into their room without their parents knowing. Secretly, they call their best friend of the opposite sex, the friend who everyone has a feeling will end up becoming the little boy or girl’s future boyfriend/girlfriend, or even spouse. They aren’t supposed to talk this late at night, but they just can’t resist. They can’t help themselves. They enjoy each other’s company too much to go all night without talking to them. Eddie I can just imagine two young people staying up late talking on the phone even though they are not supposed to be up still. They have to try really hard to conceal what they are doing so the hide under the covers in hopes that they do not get caught. This secrecy makes the relationship and the conversation even more exciting. After this kind of phone call it is hard to fall asleep. Me and my boyfriend are pretty practical and do not talk to each other late into the night but last year I had a roommate. So I did not want her to hear everything so often I would talk quietly while being all covered in blankets. Maddie |
clear starry night Bret Henderson (8) I picture am intimate group of friends sitting around a fire on a beautiful night. They have discussions about everything in life. They are so enthralled in the conversations, that they lose track of time and continue their discussion into the early morning light. Kels This haiku is timeless to me. At any time or place in history, people have stood beneath the starry sky, arguing about anything and everything. Wars, children, relationships, dreams.... I think that anyone could relate to this poem. The reference to fire could be a campfire, a forest fire, gunfire... there are endless interpretations. Having read it after the previous haiku I wrote about, I saw this as a general discussing strategy with his men, fervently trying to decide which tactic would be the most effective in battle. The fire could be the fire of guns and cannon in the background. I think this haiku is brilliant in its versatility, and I bet it would speak to many people of different backgrounds because it is so open to interpretation. Katie |
as we walk by the field Eddie Pluhar In high school, I played soccer and that is the only sport I really cared about. I disliked the football team because they thought they were better than everyone because they played football and the staff and parents let them think that. They would make fun of soccer players because we shin guards… I rarely went to football games, but one of my friends lived down the street from the football field and if the Washington Panthers scored, we knew. Bret |
nighttime |
colored pencils |
beautiful storm Bret Henderson (5) |
wrapping up Maddie Knott With the simple 2 word lines of this haiku I can really feel the slow, deliberate actions of the unmentioned person in this haiku and the sense of loss they must be feeling. I remember moving for my first time. It felt like I was locking away everything I'd cared about in that home and that the memories associated with the simple, undervalued everyday objects I'd taken for granted time and again would simply vanish as I shut the lid. Thus, each and every object getting packed got special care, as if it were fragile. I would pick things up and just stare at them for a few long, hesitant seconds before I could bring myself to wrap them up and put them in their proper container. Of course, all of this seemed rather silly when I finally got moved in and settled down. My family was still there and so were all the objects and memories but while I had been packing it all away I felt very empty and directionless as if my home had been reduced to a stack of boxes in a truck. Samantha Parks |
running through crimson trees Katie Coletta (9) This Haiku spoke greatly to me because it reminded me a lot of my own personal experience. This haiku reminds me of when I am particularly stressed out or just emotionally unstable, I find myself needing to run. I’m not talking about a leisurely jog, I mean RUN. Wherever I am, what ever I am wearing, sometimes no shoes, I just run, as fast as I can in which ever direction I happen to be facing. For some reason feeling the wind in my hair and running to nowhere makes me feel so free and able to escape whatever problem I’m facing. Brittany I can’t completely comprehend why I love this haiku. Perhaps it’s the fact that I can relate to this, or that we can all relate to this. I know there are times when I wish I could run, run far away, not from my situation or from people I know, but just run away from myself. There are days when I just wish that when I fall asleep, I will wake up the next day a new and better person. I imagine crimson skies being sunset, day turning into night, and I run through these sunsets trying hard to become somebody better than what I perceive myself to be. Eddie I really like this image of late fall and teenage angst. Its easy to smell the musty red leaves and hear them crunch underfoot. I picture a girl or guy in an oversized sweater, upset at themselves--perhaps because they forgot something important or said something really dumb. Regardless, they are very upset so they run through the trees in the park, clutching the sweater tightly around themselves in a bear hug. I can hear the ravens chattering in the branches above and leaves crunching beneath their sneakers as they race their own shadow down the deer-path, stumbling over fallen branches. The wind beats against them, whisking the worries and tears away until eventually the runner finds solitude and inner calm, and lays down on autumns red comforter. Samantha Parks The word crimson was the first thing I noticed about this one. When it’s paired with tree, I get this beautiful picture of a grove or an orchard deep into autumn. I picture someone, a girl, darting through the trees as fast as she can. She doesn’t know where she’s going, and she can’t get away from what she’s running from. I love that myself sits on it’s own in the last line. I hope this girl finds her self one day, or she’ll spend the rest of her life running in circles through the leaves. Laura |
autumn mist seeps |
climbing up |
cool breeze |
spinning Samantha Miles |
white goat |
October afternoon |
a chill wind blows moonlight Katie Coletta |
Tuesday’s chill |
first chill |
shivering and wet Eddie Pluhar (9) I am always cold. My boyfriend is always warm. This haiku reminds me of him, and that he is always there to literally warm me up when I’m cold. This haiku also hits me in a metaphorical sense. This poem is literally about a person whose significant other (or something similar) is keeping them warm by covering them. This also makes me think of a significant other that can keep them safe. When someone is shivering and wet, they need someone for support because they have hit a hard time in their life. The significant other helps them and cushions the blows that the outside forces hurtle towards them. Beth Ann There’s nothing more satisfying on a cold, wet day then snuggling up with someone special. Something about body heat does what no blanket can do. Not only is the other person warm, but having a connection with someone like that warms us up in other senses as well. I feel like everyone can relate to this one either in a literal sense or in other ways. There are going to be times in life when we’re going to be left out in the cold, and sometimes we need someone else to bring us back inside, run a towel through our hair, and tell us everything is okay. I feel like this one really embodies that. Laura |
with homecoming |
morning chill |
midnight in the park |
© 2010, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.