Global Haiku • Fall 2013
Dr. Randy Brooks

Growing Up

by
Caitlin Husted

My Introduction

I titled my haiku collection “Growing Up” because I feel like that’s what I, as a college student, am doing. We come to college never really being on our own and graduate ready to conquer the world. However, it doesn’t just happen overnight; it’s a continuous process. Through our years of school we learn things like time management, how to build successful relationships, how to lively cheaply, how important our parents are to us, how the naps we hated in preschool are now the best things ever.

We mature, we grow, we develop into the people we are today; as I did in this haiku class. When I started this class, I had no idea what I was doing, but now I feel like I have grown into not only a better haiku writer, but a better writer overall. I chose these haiku because I think they show how I have grown into the haiku poet I am today. They may not all be wonderful, but not everything in life is. You have to work hard and practice in order to create something beautiful. I have found that, for me, it’s better to just close my eyes and write. If I begin to think too hard about my haiku, they come out forced and fake. I want them to be real and beautiful. So thank you for reading my haiku and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

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Reader's Introduction

After reading through Caitlin’s haiku, I was surprised how real her haikus were. They are about things that I can relate to and that mean a lot to me. She clearly goes through the process of growing up from a little girl into a woman. I can see a little girl’s life just through the words Caitlin put on a page She shows how life is full of challenges and how we never really stop growing up; it’s a continuous process that continues for our entire life. One of my favorites was,

far up
in the trees
I find my true home

I really loved this haiku because, as a kid, I climbed in trees in every free moment I had, as I’m sure most kids did. That’s what makes me like Caitlin’s haiku. She takes simple ideas and makes them into something more.
~ Janelle Cordes

fireworks above me
family around me
my shirt stuck to my body

the piles of leaves—
all my hard work
destroyed by my dog

the sunlight hits
my upturned face—
spring breeze

sweaty palms
fluttering stomach
is it worth it?

quick kisses
before I leave for work—
doggie breath

an act as simple as
him touching my hand
butterflies

she walks down the aisle
daddy's tears
a new beginning

the grand reveal—
pink?
or blue?

the newborn's hand
wraps around
grandma's finger