Global Haiku • January 2021
Dr. Randy Brooks

Is this hello? Or Goodbye?

by
Allie Bonk

I would consider my haiku to be all over the place, some are rather bright while some are on the more depressing side. I guess the reason I titled this ‘is this hello? Or is this goodbye?’ is because it’s a goodbye to me since this is my last assignment in this course, but it’s sort of a hello to whoever reads my work after the class is over; this could be interpreted as sad, but it could also be interpreted as happy, which is sort of the vibe my haiku radiates.

While writing my haiku, I really did not have a plan or a theme. I just sat down and stared at my laptop waiting for something to pop in my head. Most of the time my mind went to emotions that I was feeling; whether it was directed at family members, friends, or even a hobby (I did write a few haiku about reading- which is a hobby I thoroughly enjoy). I think the brightness and darkness of my haiku depended on the mood I was in when I wrote it. I think I wrote more dark and depressing pieces if I was in a bad mood and wrote bright pieces when I was in a good mood.

The haiku that are found below are ones that I personally liked. I felt they connected to the name of the title, as some are more on the bright side, some are more on the dark side, and some could be both.

the moon rises up
time to close a textbook
and enjoy the night

my childhood friends,
they have vanished
at a finger snap

my mother sick,
my dad at work,
I am the new mother now

I put on
a smiling face
a mask

open my locker
a note falls out
a secret admirer

he gently places
a bright red rose
in her hair

dog daydreams of
frolicking
with all of his legs

car windows down
radio blasting
hand flowing through the wind

you smile
as a snowflake
lands on your nose