Haiku Kukai 08 Fall Break
Global Haiku • Millikin University • Fall 2019
long bus ride Jessi Kreder (8) I really appreciate this haiku because of all the subtle details hidden within the words that extra layers of meaning. But first, I picture this scene taking place on the girl’s way to school. She lives in the country and goes to a small school, hence the corn. I think the poet is implying that the girl sees her life in this place or town as empty and devoid of purpose for her. Using the word “the” implies that this is a specific place she is talking about, not just an empty cornfield anywhere. Then, the usage of empty is what leads me to believe the girl isn’t content with her life, while the fields may literally be empty, she’s also evaluating her life. This haiku does a great job of allowing readers to take a journey into what the meaning of the haiku is with only giving us a breadcrumb trail. Ben Kuxmann, Fall 2019 |
truck stop bathroom Jessi Kreder This haiku took me to the gas station halfway between my home and campus. My Grandma lives in Decatur, so I have been driving here since I was little. The stalls in this gas station are super short, so when you stand up you can see everyone else. My mom and I would always pop up and so hello to each other as a joke. The station is really creepy, and there would always be some creepy graffiti that said “This isn’t real” or something along those lines. Lizzie Napier, Fall 2019 |
endless empty fields Charlize Pate (5) |
going home Charlize Pate (6) |
bus ride |
faces of defeat Jessi Kreder (8) I really felt this haiku. The soccer team has had a pretty awful season this year and I have been through this haiku way too many times in the past 2 months. To go from losing all the time and now having a little injury turn into a season ending injury just sucks. I have been wearing a face of defeat for about a month now and that mask is difficult to take off. Jon Kuebler, Fall 2019 |
winter boots Morgan Bode (4) |
old smoke Rebecca Jaffe (7) I have always really enjoyed thrift shopping and shopping at antique stores. I think it’s so much fun to find old things because they always seem to have a story attached to them. And I love that you can take those old things and give them another chance. Reading this haiku reminded me of the time that I went to an antique shop about a month ago. There was this smell of old furniture in the room and they had a section that was devoted to old clothes. I saw some cool, older dresses. But what really fascinated me were the old books. I found some books that dated back to the 1880’s. They were children’s school textbooks and I thought they were extremely cool. Gillian Genardo, Fall 2019 |
dress shopping Gillian Genardo (6) |
a home-cooked meal Charlize Pate (6) |
Gillian Genardo (6) |
sticky middle C Gillian Genardo (4) |
my best days John DeAngelo (16) |
slipping on stones Meghan Hayes |
third wheeling? Charlize Pate (7) |
the bottle spins Charlize Pate (6) This haiku is very intriguing to me because of the amount of imagery to me and how many emotions it makes me feel. Reading the first line it is easy to see the setting; a group of teenagers sitting on the floor in a big circle with a glass bottle in the middle spinning. This image sets up the rest of the haiku so well. Then the second and third lines are where the emotion is involved. The words “wet lips” make me very uncomfortable and cringe to the point where I would want to stop reading. Then soft lips come next and makes me think that its getting better. Her lips finish off the haiku and leaves me with a sense of relief and happiness that fits this haiku. I also think of the last too lines as the thought process of the person who spinning the bottle and the bottle is about to stop and it passes wet lips, passes soft lips and then finally lands on her lips. Jessi Kreder, Fall 2019 |
they squeeze each other’s hand John DeAngelo (10) This haiku brought an element of surprise. First, I like the idea of a couple squeezing hands, because I think a hand squeeze can actually bring a significant amount of reassurance to another person. Regarding the element of surprise, I think the break after “knowing” was quite insightful. I expected the last line to state something about that it would be the last time they saw each other. However, the third line in this haiku brought a more hopeful outcome. I thought this was surprising because you really never know when you’ll see someone again. Tori Stuart, Fall 2019 |
left alone |
feather light |
summer night Gillian Genardo (10) |
summer night |
the passing of |
the autumn oaks Ben Kuxmann (11) I really enjoy the imagery this poem portrays in a small amount of words it is so cute to me. I like how they use nature to show the love these two individuals have for each other it is sweet to compare nature and love. It is also neat to think about to because people right how they love another person in the tree, so it is a cool comparison. I just think this is so cute to love someone like this and to grow together like a tree and love each other forever is amazing. Michael Hoelting, Fall 2019 I love the imagery in this poem. I can just picture a couple walking through some trees as the leaves fall. I think that the trees during fall are so particularly beautiful. I love the way that the look of the leaves flying around in the breeze. It just gives off this dreamy feeling. The leaves are also turning bright beautiful colors which I love to observe. I enjoy the idea of the trees writing us love letters. I love the idea of love letters in general and thinking about it in the way of them doing it for us is a special twist. Cassie Reed, Fall 2019 |
the sun shines Cassandra Reed (12) |
in the ER |
alone at my desk Jonathan Kuebler (6) |
furrowed brow Morgan Bode (14) |
Jonathan Kuebler (11) |
crunchy mud John DeAngelo (6) This poem brings me back to every single time I accidentally stepped in the mud. I would recoil in fear and disgust. If there is one thing I despise, it is muddy shoes. However, this haiku makes me wish that I had found the beauty in those moments by looking at the mud through rose-colored glasses. If only I had seen the beauty in mud, leaves, and sticks, perhaps I would have found inspiration, just like this author. Rebecca Jaffe, Fall 2019 |
this fall sky |
crisp wind |
steaming tea Rebecca Jaffe (12) This haiku has some WONDERFUL imagery. I can really see this girl' s eyes when I read this haiku. It has a really lovely way of laying out the scene. I can see these two people sitting across from each other in a cafe, staring into each other' s eyes. It' s cold, so they have hot drinks to keep them warm. This girl is so captivating that there is honey in her eyes. Just stunning imagery, wow. Meghan Hayes, Fall 2019 I loved this haiku because of how sweet it was. I used to go out every single Thursday with my best friend to get tea from the local tea shop in our hometown. Every single time, we were the youngest people in the shop by at least forty years. The world always spun slower when we were in Pickwick. The old women with kind blue eyes and hair that tells a story that worked there would always shower us with compliments. I always imagined those women as my pseudo grandmother. I read this haiku from their perspective. They would look forward to our Thursday afternoon dates, and I like to think that they saw us with a touch of honey in our eyes, just like how we saw a touch of honey in theirs. Madeline Wilson, Fall 2019 |
painful goodbyes Madeline Wilson (13) Driving off, destination unknown, leaving the unknown. In the mirror dwells the familiar, everything that you just said goodbye too. It all still feels so close, glancing in the mirror on the other side of the window. Looking over the shoulder in hopes to see the true image, but life size and in greater detail, the realization of when the familiar is not seen in reflection, it is farther away. So too, are the painful goodbyes, yet they can never wholly escape the mirrors picture. Alex Bergland, Fall 2019 |
© 2019, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.