Sabi

gently
snow piling
up

Teresa Brase (7)

I really like this haiku a lot because it reminds me of those really nice days in winter where you have nothing to do but sit in your house, sip some hot chocolate, and watch the snow come down. That’s what I imagine doing when I read this haiku. There’s nothing but peace in here and I enjoy it a great deal. It’s very cozy. Alexa

I like that this haiku takes a different approach to the use of snow. Whereas snow is generally used as romantic imagery, it can also be interpreted through the lens of sabi, since snow can also be an isolating thing that leaves one trapped and unable to get away from their location. Christa

I like that this haiku takes a different approach to the use of snow. Whereas snow is generally used as romantic imagery, it can also be interpreted through the lens of sabi, since snow can also be an isolating thing that leaves one trapped and unable to get away from their location. Dan

the red light
bright and consistent
my only friend

Tives Gardner (4)

free at last     released
from his
fist

Jasmine Gregory (4)

silence
as I sit on the floor
wondering who cares

Briana Curtis (3)

This one is just very relatable. Everyone has been in this place. Feeling as though no one in the world cares.Feeling of emptiness and loneliness. Jasmine

I talk to the puppy
an attempt to
swallow my sorrow

Rakan Algatani (7)

the dog
calls in sick
laryngitis

Alexa Duncan (6)

I walk alone
down the road
looking for hope

Rakan Algatani (3)

narrow path one of us is in the way

Daniel Koffman (9)

I like how the writer wrote about narrow path because in a lot of situation in life sometimes people are in the way of each other and they all are blaming each others for being stuck in narrow life situations. Rakan

Narrow path one of us is in the way
This is the first line poem I liked so far, it just reminds me of me and my friend's situation where I feel like if they are not on the same level as I am they must get left behind. I know it seems kind of harsh it's just the way I feel. Ty

in bed, eyes closed
drifting into sleep . . .
TRAIN the woods

Jasmine Gregory (4)

I have lived very close to the train passing through Millikin’s campus. Each time I hear it I cringe because the horn is obnoxiously loud. The conductor will even honk the horn more times than necessary. It makes me feel like the conductors are doing it on purpose to piss us off. I am sure it is no secret to the conductors we, Millikin community hate it when they pass through the campus.

square mirror frame
the boy is trapped
in the four corners

Tives Gardner (7)

This haiku conveys a lonely image of somebody who is displeased with his or her reflection, yet unable to look away from it. It conveys a deep feeling of loneliness on the part of the person staring in the mirror. Christa

This haiku conveys a lonely image of somebody who is displeased with his or her reflection, yet unable to look away from it. It conveys a deep feeling of loneliness on the part of the person staring in the mirror. Dan

watching clouds
the hammock slows
with each breath

Mackenzie Larrick (7)

rocking alone outside
slowly
back and forth

Emily Holthaus

This is another haiku that brings me a lot of peace, as I’m often the one rocking alone outside, back and forth. For neither of these haiku is there loneliness, at least not for me. It’s a sense of being completely at peace with yourself and relaxing in that peace. I just imagine being back down at my aunt’s house in Tennessee. She lives in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and she has a hammock in her backyard that I use a lot when I’m down there. It feels a lot like this haiku does. Alexa

in a room full of people
I remain
unseen

we peer into
the abyss
eyes look back

Teresa Brase (4)

fireflies hide
among the stars
still night sky

Mackenzie Larrick (7)

Karumi

let’s a have a good time
no kids
no dogs
just space

high pitched laughter
the kids have fun
despite the old man's frown

the clock ticks
3, 2, 1 . . .
let the madness begin

Tives Gardner (6)

tiny feet
too quick for mom
it’s a game

Mackenzie Larrick (7)

I love this haiku because it reminds me of my niece. My niece cannot quite walk yet, but she crawls all over the place. I imagine me saying I’m going to get her and her turning around and taking off so quickly trying to crawl away as fast as she can. This poem puts a picture in my head of her being just a little bit older and being able to walk and then she won’t stop and it’ll eventually turn into a game. Emily

I like how the writer is putting us in such a positive states to imagine the young child as he runs to his mom side with laughter joy , and the sense of innocence. Rakan

kittens
pitter patting
on you

Teresa Brase

I really like how adorable this haiku is. Usually when you think of pitter patter you think of a human baby. This baby is just getting the hang of things. I imagine the kittens being small and clumsy. They have the biggest little heads and huge beautiful eyes. Their bodies have not quite caught up and they are fluffy. If all of this isn’t cute enough they are trying to figure out this new world from your lap. I don’t really care for cats but I love kittens. Christa

dog wagging tail–
I pat his head
as the steak sizzles

Daniel Koffman (3)

walking down the narrow sidewalk
her simple greeting
a smile

orange flickers
from the candle
dance wildly in the dark

Mackenzie Larrick (8)

I often times will sit in the dark or watch TV in the dark with a candle lit. No matter what I am thinking about or am watching I will gaze at the flame and feel relaxed and at peace. The orange fame with flickers of white light is beauty. Fire is both good and evil. It can cause trauma in someone’s life but yet keeps you warm. Briana

I really enjoyed this poem because it just reminds me of my child hood where I contently played with fire as a kid. I don't know why but I just had a love for fire and I just had to burn things like paper and other plastic products. Ty

the artist
dumps her paint
kaleidoscopes bloom

Alexa Duncan (8)

I love the contrast in this haiku. Imagining someone dumping something sounds ugly and messy, almost like an accident, but the next line using the word bloom completely changes the image. Also, the word kaleidoscopes gives this image of tons of bright, bold colors intertwined and mixed together to make a beautiful picture. I like the idea of something beautiful coming from a mess. Mackenzie

the spring rain
drowns the flower
at the roots

devotion
I tip toe
on the clouds

clouds rolling in
a clap of thunder
she got a STRIKE!

the more of you the lighter I become

Christa Hunt

This one just reminds you of that first love that swept you off your feet. Every Time this person is round it is just you and them in the world. Jasmine

This haiku seems very content and happy. It makes me think of love and the change it can bring to a person’s life. I imagine a person who has dealt with some type of hardships in their life, maybe previous heartbreaks or emotional damage, finally feeling relief when they find the person that they love because the person helps them cope with their problems. Mackenzie

the bouquet lands
in her lap
he asks her to dance

Mackenzie Larrick (4)

I like this poem because it puts a beautiful picture in my mind at a wedding reception. I see the bride aiming her throw at her maid of honor who is not married yet, but has a boyfriend. I see the maid of honor catching the bouquet and her eyes lighting up bright and then her boyfriend comes up to her and asks her to dance. It just puts a vision in my head of them getting ready to spend their lives together as well just as their friends are starting to do. Emily

I finally got my papers
the shadow separates from the body
and is left behind

Tives Gardner

In my mind this student has just got a term paper or final paper returned. They have been holding there breath trying see if they would have to revise the twenty page monster. The paper is returned and they get an A. The student has been the model pupil all year. He has not been partying or doing anything is responsible. As soon as he gets the paper he calmly sends out a group text message to his friends to hang out. It is the beginning of summer and he stays drunk for every weekend of the rest. This goes on until next year when he must excel again. Christa