I am a very big yoga gal. I started taking class regularly last semester and it really changed my view on life and on myself. Both of these haiku bring light to the effects of yoga and meditation and how it is really a practice for both your mind and your body. They both connect to body/mind health and it shows in the imagery both authors use. I can see both women practicing in the morning and I can put myself in their places. Both of these haiku were wonderful. Meghan Hayes, Fall 2019
I enjoy these two haiku together because they share the theme of the body and the mind needing to be brought together. I often feel a disconnect between who I think I am, and the way that my physical body looks to others and to myself. It is beautiful to think of a meditation or yoga pose aligning our two halves of ourselves together, and practicing the acceptance of the body as part of finding our true self. Morgan Bode, Fall 2019 |
I picked this haiku match because there is something ridiculously poetic about yoga positions, particularly child’s pose. Child’s pose is a position or relief, safety, and refuge. It is the one position where I can relax in the darkness, completely vulnerable and comfortable. For me, poetry is the same thing. Writing is where I can let my guard down and be myself. I can finally relax and focus on my inner humanity. All that matters is the present, which is a rare feeling for me. That is why I think a child’s pose haiku theme is perfect. I also picked this match because I have a special soft spot for goats. They are one of the only things on this earth that can give me instant happiness and relief. When I am petting a goat, I feel joyful, safe, and I can’t stop smiling. Rebecca Jaffe, Fall 2019 |
wake up
go sweat go to class
when will it end
Cassandra Reed |
school, job, yoga class
am I really
that flexible
Benjamin Kuxmann |
in the gym
I wonder
would you still love me
Michael Hoelting |
I made a promise to
my body. I said
I will love you.
Madeline Curtin |
This pair is my favorite because they tell a story that I resonate with. The first one tells me about how taxing the current semester has been for me. It's the inner yearning in me that constantly asks about when the struggle is going to end. Or perhaps it tells me that I am growing impatient day after day for the finish line that seems so far away. Meanwhile, the second haiku tells me of trillion different things I am doing from courses to test-prep to my myriad jobs. And that, how accommodating I have been to my duties through all of it. The haiku asks if I am really that flexible? I think I am, just enough that I will see it to completion of all this, no matter when that end comes. Nawaj KC, Fall 2019 |
The second haiku is mine, but I love that it was paired with this one. The first one focuses on bettering their self for another, wondering and pondering over whether the other person would still love them if they looked differently. In mine, I focused on the way I stopped loving myself only when I looked a specific way, when I was my skinniest. But, now, I'm promising to love it unconditionally, regardless of how I look. I adore the juxtaposition of the love felt in these haiku, toward self, and love from another. I'd like to imagine the love from the person in the first haiku is as unconditional as the self-love in the second. Maddie Curtin, Fall 2019
Both of these haiku incorporate health and fitness into love. The first haiku highlights anxiety within relationships, as people often fear to lose a person they care deeply for and thus put a lot of time and energy into improving themselves to keep the person close. On the other hand, the second haiku deals more with self-love, which can go beyond a mental thing. Taking care of your mind and body is a difficult thing to do. I imagine the person within the second poem struggles with aspects of their self-confidence but committing to improve your physical image is a big step forward in improving that. Both haikus do a good job of capturing readers and making them feel as the people within the haikus do. Whoever wrote this haiku did a fantastic job of making readers feel emotions similar to what the person in the haiku must be thinking. I think most people can relate to improving certain aspects of yourself in order to impress a potential romantic interest. What I find incredibly interesting, is that the person in the haiku already seems to be in a relationship or have a lover. I take this to mean that the person in the haiku is insecure about holding on to the person that the poet treasures so deeply. Its hard not to do this in relationships; you put so much time and energy into creating something beautiful and the last thing you want is for it to someone end. This haiku truly does encapsulate the anxiety associated with maintaining a relationship. Benjamin Kuxmann, Fall 2019
I really loved both of these haiku so much. I felt like I had related to both of them which made it super hard to choose a favorite. I definitely have thought about the first haiku a lot. I love working out and going to the gym and a lot of times when I do I think about a lot. It helps me take my anger or frustrations out. I often will think about something that makes me upset and then it helps me lift heavier weight. I also loved the second poem because it resonated with me so much. I just have felt that feeling of trying to love your body so much. Trying so hard that you have to make a promise with yourself that you will love your body. Cassie Reed, Fall 2019
I really like the different perspectives of these poems. The first speaker has maybe gone through a transformation of some sort and is wondering if someone else would love them now. The second speaker has committed to themself and is focusing on self-love. They are working toward loving who they are as opposed to becoming more lovable to someone else. Charlize Pate, Fall 2019
I think that these two haiku actually parallel each other very nicely. This pairing of haiku is so interesting because both haiku are discussing a very similar topic but in very different circumstances. I feel like the speaker in the first haiku is feeling like they should fix themselves for another person. It feels like they are wondering if all the work they are putting into their health now would have helped salvage the friendship or relationship in the past. On the other hand, the second haiku professes this proclamation of self-love. The speaker in this haiku seems to be fixing himself or herself for the sole purpose of being healthier and happier. They’ve made a promise to love and care for their body for the sake of loving and caring for their body. I find it to be a very interesting pairing about working out. Do you do it for yourself or for someone else? Gillian Genardo, Fall 2019
This was a powerful pair to me because of their deep differences. The second haiku is an ode to oneself, while the first haiku is an ode to someone else. Individually, these haiku are powerful. The first haiku feels like a punch in the gut, because you wonder what inspired the writer to need to ask this question whilst in the gym. Did someone break up with them because of their physical appearance? The second haiku makes you emotional because it is a valiant attempt to love yourself. You make a promise to yourself because without that, you might not follow through. However, juxtaposing these haiku intensifies the power of both. The promise to love yourself stings more when you imagine someone in the gym questioning the love of someone. I wonder if this pair can be seen as different times of the healing process after a messy breakup. Madeline Wilson, Fall 2019
This poem was so eloquent to me it seems so simple but has so much meaning behind these very crafted words. It made me think of myself and my constant battle that I have with my own physique in all honesty. I am always fighting to love myself and I find myself always pushing to try and love my body even though it is hard. As I have gotten older, I have become skinner, but it never feels enough I always want to be skinner or have bigger muscles. I always try to work out when I do not play soccer and sometimes, I wished I worked out more because I feel like I would reach my goal of being skinner. While this person seems like they can squeeze out those three magic words I never feel like I can about myself and it is extremely difficult some days. It is also interesting how this person said I will love you instead of myself I just find it very amazing and adds more to the poem when they phrase the poem as such. Michael Hoelting, Fall 2019 |
I really like this pairing because these are both ways to relieve pain. Ballet, or anything we are able to get so involved in and focused that it takes us out of our problems is a healthy mental solution to our woes. The Epsom salt paths is another method of aiding our physical pains. Together these two signify a goal of physical and mental health, even though the ballet does not stop the dancer’s stomach from turning after she does. This match gives examples of a few of the various methods we use for healing, or attempt to heal ourselves. Alex Bergland, Fall 2019 |
school, job, yoga class
am I really
that flexible
Benjamin Kuxmann |
ballet—
she stops turning
her stomach doesn’t
Elizabeth Napier |
