Global Haiku • Fall 2013
Dr. Randy Brooks

A Handful of Memories

by
Rachel Mudd

As I started Millikin University's Global Haiku Traditions class, I was rather lost. I showed up on the first day only to find that haiku was not written in 5-7-5! As the course started, my first introduction to haiku was Peggy Lyles’ To Hear the Rain. Looking back, a better book could not have been chosen to introduce me to the art of haiku. As I wrote responses to some of Lyles' haiku, I found that most of them brought me back to a memory. I loved that so few words could bring back not only vivid images of my memories, but the actual feelings of that memory through other senses. Thus, as I started writing haiku, I found myself writing with the intent of capturing some of my memories. Included in this collection are haiku not only based on memories from long ago, but also current events that I wanted to capture in the vibrant fashion of a haiku. I hope you will enjoy this small look into my life in A Handful of Memories.

Memorial day
bouquets on the lawn
honeysuckle ties

cool kitchen
peppermint patties and orange slices
granny and gramps

strawberry milkshake
the talk
of the relationship

scissors in hand
cutting away the burs
hunting day

one more mile
another piece
of cake

lightning bugs
just one more game
of wiffle ball

whispers
look who gained
her freshman twenty