Global Haiku • May 2021
Dr. Randy Brooks

Her Life
in Her Words

by
Tanya Vaughn

I have enjoyed putting this collection of haiku together. The haiku I have chosen to place in this collection is near and dear to me. This collection will take you on a journey of memories from my life. Some are light-hearted that will you give warm fuzzies, and some are much deeper and sum up trauma that has taken place in my life. I hope you enjoy this collection for what it is.

When I signed up for Global Haiku, I was not sure what I was getting myself into. My advisor said, “I would like it,” so why not. The first night of class, I was all giggles. It felt like Dr. Brooks was a little over the top when it came to haiku. I no longer feel this way. I now have a better understanding of where his passion comes from, and I appreciate it.

Haiku has been a way for me to put my feelings down on paper, but I am the only one who knows what the haiku means. I can let someone read my haiku, and they will learn small tidbits about my life, but it will also leave them with questions. That is one of the beautiful things about haiku. Someone can also read one of my haiku and feel and see something completely different than what I am writing about in the haiku.

opening
Christmas gifts alone
dad’s holiday

long car ride
too young
for his touch

laughing
while peeling oranges
grandma’s gold slippers

in the courthouse hallway
peeking in
adoption final

fat lip
classmate blurts
you deserved it

my first born
old
rocking chair

treehouse
filled with laughter
fresh tomatoes

little boys
picks dandelions
riding lawn mower

she walks alone
in the early morning
dogs bark

she barks at them
on her way back

Tanya Vaughn & Jacey Centola

wildflowers line
the drive
old camper

stapler, paper clips,
pens
her iPhone dings