Global Haiku • Fall 2019
Dr. Randy Brooks

Tracing the Constellations

by
Joel Ochoa

I chose the title “Tracing the Constellations” because it comes from my favorite haiku I wrote this semester. This phrase came to me from a specific moment in my life that made me fall in love with the stars and with noticing the little moments in life. Every haiku in this collection is of a specific moment in life whether joyful, heartbreaking, or funny. I chose these haiku because they all provide vivid imagery of these moments that makes it easy to put yourself in the middle of them. As you read this collection, I encourage you to immerse yourself completely into the stories told by each unique haiku and experience a specific moment of life. I hope that you may come to notice and cherish the little moments in life, something as simple as tracing the constellations.

About the Author

Joel Ochoa originally hails from the great city of Cedar Falls, Iowa and is currently a sophomore majoring in Theatre and minoring in communication. Joel enjoys the finer things in life which include but are not limited to chacos, chicken nuggets, and iced French vanilla lattes from Dunkin' Donuts. He is an avid lover of adventure, nature, and camp counseling, and he hopes to visit every continent at least once in his lifetime. Joel would like to thank his family, friends, and anyone who helped inspire his haiku writing this semester, he could not have done it without you.

jaunting upstream
sound of the waterfall
closer with every step

dinnertime
sometimes right on time
sometimes at midnight

swinging boy
waiting for someone
to take the empty swing next to him

a stampede
of students in the hall
gunshot

your hand in mine
little kisses
from the waterfall

coffee shop
mind everywhere else
except on homework

repeated glances
at ticking hands
stood up

waxing crescent
where is the guy
with the fishing pole?

movie date
hand on the armrest
am i supposed to hold it?

string of lights
a single bulb
refuses to shine

stall wall
heart around “M + K”
are they still together?

his
    little
          finger
                   tracing     the

                   constellations

ivy covered bridge
i still remember
how our hands entangled

silently hammocking
          under the stars
your company is enough

hospital room
the oxygen tank
his only company

jersey number 5
will I ever be called
my name

mountaintop view
a perfect moment
of highs and lows

seven years gone
his room still left
untouched

quiet night at home
surrounded by a company
of one

gentle breeze
the window curtain
waves hello

footprints in the sand
i stop to examine
bigfoot

i don’t remember
the driving
just you sitting next to me