Global Haiku • Fall 2019
Dr. Randy Brooks

Heart Grasped in Hand

by
Benjamin Kuxmann

The title “Heart Grasped in Hand” is based on what haiku is able to do for me. As I have gone through the process of learning about haikus and writing them, I have found that a haiku should allow the reader to have an emotional experience tailored to them. A good haiku consists of the poet describing a situation with their own emotional weight attached to it but is still open enough for others to relate and have their own individual experiences.

When I think about writing haiku, I think it takes a level of vulnerability and willingness to express personal feelings and experiences in the haiku. If a haiku is able to make the reader feel something and not just see words on a page, then it is a great haiku. So, with the haiku in this collection, my hope is that I am able to connect to readers through sharing my own feelings and emotions.

About the Author:

Ben Kuxmann is a sophomore English Education major pursuing a Special Education endorsement. He is a proud member of Millikin’s Cross Country and Track & Field teams, but it’s no secret that he prefers track & field. He is also willing to play anyone anywhere at Spikeball and win!

heart grasped
in hand
hail mary

lined tombstones
the fallen leaves
join the army

we should get coffee
five years catch up
to me

family corn maze
where I am
doesn’t matter

the autumn oaks
leave us
love letters

spherical snowball
my brother’s
least favorite gift

waxing gibbous
I meet someone
new

lost in thought
the constellations
find me

blindness
she goes to dinner
with the other guy

empty nest
I hope mom
is okay

the sink overflowing
with dishes,
bastards

younger cousin
doesn’t believe
I took her nose

her hollow smile
haunts me
I did try

school, job, yoga class
am I really
that flexible

feet striking
in imperfect union
brothers

my daughter’s silly giggle
I snuff out
the cigarette

two hands
too close together
to not be one

nonchalant stream
we sit
in the tall grass

embraced in a movie
my heart knows
her breathing

midnight drive
the moon observes
my darkness

away at college
thinking of our reunion
less
and less

packing another box
wondering who
I won’t remember