Haiku Kukai 04 Favorites

Global Haiku • Millikin University • May 2022

1

making cookies
measuring twice
secret ingredient

Roxanne Rodriguez

This haiku reminds me of my stepmom. Baking is her stress reliever and over the years she has become very good at wiping something up quickly. I am not a good baker, I would need to measure things twice and make sure I was doing it right. With baking you can not miss an ingredient or measure wrong because it will mess the whole thing up. I am a good cook, because there is more room for error. It amazes me how quickly my stepmom can bake, almost like she is on autopilot. That is a skill I wish I possessed, maybe with more practice I could be as skilled a baker. Gabriella Barone, May 2022

2

steps off the dock
feet planted on the boat
rock side to side

3

my hair lays behind my ear
        falls forward
he gently pushes it back

Gabriella Barone

This one makes me think of a couple on their first date. The butterflies in both their stomachs. Her hair falls over her face he brushes it back they both feel the sparks of a fun new relationship. This was very well written and would have to be my number one pick. Sara Runyen, May 2022

I really like this haiku because it reminds me of love. It's the intimate moment where you are staring into each other's eyes and no words are said. Just staring into each other's souls and showing how much you care for the other person. Tristan Keller, May 2022

4

see him
one last time
identify the body

Roxanne Rodriguez

Although I did not love the feelings and image that was brought to my mind while reading this haiku, it is one of my favorites because of how much it made me feel. The surroundings I was brought to, the people around me, the open casket, all of it was like I was there all over again. I remember looking at my cousin’s empty looking face at his funeral and actually being able to understand that he is gone. I refused to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, and that is the exact emotion that this haiku brought out of me. Riley Cremeens, May 2022

5

the star twinkles
at me
wink wink

Roxanne Rodriguez

I like the personification of an inanimate object in this haiku. I find stars fascinating and the idea that we are made up of similar matter of stars. I believe that we are all in some way connected to the natural world and think that this communication between the writer of this haiku and the stars is a beautiful nod to that notion. Gabriella Barone, May 2022

6

can not stop thinking
about the podcast
classic, who done it

Gabriella Barone

I really enjoy crime shows and movies but I have never gotten into podcasts so I like how this haiku illustrates it and leaves the reader up to interest in what podcast they possibly could be talking about. Kaitlyn McIntyre, May 2022

This Haiku makes me think the same way when I’m listening to a podcast crime mystery. A lot of the true-crime podcasts that I have listened to have that who done it and I always want the outcome to be that they found the killer. Once I’m finished listening to podcasts, I cannot stop thinking about them and get excited when they come to television as little mini-series. I think that podcasts are like Haiku because they both make you think about what you heard or read. Roxanne Rodriguez, May 2022

7

let's pretend
for one night
that we have forever

Riley Cremeens

I enjoy this haiku because it's about love and showing that they want this night to last forever. I really like when different things talk about how love is everlasting and how even in death they will still find each other for a while or someone is moving far away. Whatever the case may be, they just want to reminisce in each other's presence. Tristan Keller, May 2022

8

summer pool day
the fastest way
to make friends

Riley Cremeens

I still go to the pool and take my nieces and nephew and see them make new friends and meet new people just like I used to do. The pool was the place all the kids went in the summer, you meet new friends, meet their family, swim, play with toys, ride the slides, and all in all have one of the best times in a child’s life. Lexi Bolt, May 2022

9

move in day
not for the family of birds
on our A/C unit

10

post storm
a break in the clouds
seven colors of hope

Tristan Keller

This haiku describes the how something ugly like a storm can be cleared up and bring something beautiful for us to view. It reminds me that we go through hard times, and see ugly things, and good things can come out of it in the end. Blessings in disguise happen all the time. Lexi Bolt, May 2022

11

heart break
everything is meaningless
first rain of the season

12

the ac blows
in the hot
summer classroom

13

friendship bracelets
makeup shared
she does my hair

Cleah Roberts

This Haiku brings me back to when I was a child and had my girlfriends over. Whether it was for a sleepover or just to hang out. Making friendship bracelets that we would wear to school would be special just for us because we picked out the colors. Sharing makeup and doing each other’s hair would come later when we were older and getting ready to go out on the town. Tucked away in a jewelry box would be that friendship bracelet from our adolescent years. Roxanne Rodriguez, May 2022

14

she thrashes
in the dead grass
weeds

15

clock in
clock out
what day is it?

Tristan Keller

I enjoyed this haiku because of how real this haiku is. I imagine a middle-aged man, working for a company he no longer loves. He wanted to work here since high school, this was his dream job. However, the dream has now faded and he looks forward to clocking out every day. He does not even remember what day of the week it is anymore, because of his disdain for the job he is forced to work. Cleah Roberts, May 2022

I've just started working twelve-hour shifts at the hospital and they really wear you down. Working dayshift was also a big change for me so this haiku really put that into perspective for me. Kaitlyn McIntyre, May 2022

16

every family holiday
they say I look just like her
it stings every time

Kaitlyn McIntyre

A girl, now sixteen years old, who lost her mother at the age of ten. Every time she attends a family gathering, they always remind her of how much she looks like her mother. However, she cannot find happiness in that the only thing she can do is being saddened by the remark. Because if her mother loved her she would have not taken her own life. Cleah Roberts, May 2022

I like this haiku because I feel like it is geared towards a specific audience, yet can be interpreted as any type of family member that may resemble the reader. For me, the sting reminded me of people saying I look like my father, because that is not necessarily someone I want to be associated with. But in another way, I saw the sting as maybe looking like a family member who has passed away. The sting of resembling someone who is no longer on this earth would be a painful feeling for me. The emotion that this haiku brought out was great in my opinion. Riley Cremeens, May 2022

17

looking for change
scissors in hand
CHOP

Kaitlyn McIntyre

I like this one because I have been this girl. I have gone through plenty of breakups and the first thing I wanted to do was a quick change. I would color and cut my hair to have a fresh new start and f fun new look. Now that I have found the person I will spend the rest of my life with I can look back on these situations and laugh and smile because the pain isn’t there anymore. They are faded memories and part of my past. Sara Runyen, May 2022

I relate to this haiku because I have gone through a lot of hair transformations, many during times when I felt I needed change or a release from what once was. Hair is a form of self expression that is ever changing because of its ability to grow back. Junior year of high school I cut my own hair, terribly. I will probably never do it myself again, key word probably. The feeling I got from cutting my own hair was liberating and maybe even worth the bad haircut. Gabriella Barone, May 2022

18

hot summer days
laying by the pool
lobster . . . it's whats for dinner

19

family photos
I wonder where
all that excitement went

Kaitlyn McIntyre

This haiku touches on a subject that happens as you get older. You start to realize that small things that you really enjoyed as a kid don't have the same impact as they did when you were a kid. I've noticed this a lot recently where I took things for granted as a kid and wished that I could go back and enjoy those moments while they lasted. Tristan Keller, May 2022

20

sound asleep laying
next to me
friend or foe

21

gas prices and groceries
a little for a lot
adulting a must

Sara Runyen

This is one of the most relatable haiku I have read this entire semester. Gas prices are not at the highest that I have ever seen them. I drive a small car and it takes almost fifty dollars to fill up my small car. When I was in high school it only took twenty-five dollars to fill my car up. The unfortunate thing about it all, is what the last line conveys. Buying gas and groceries is necessary, there is no way around it. Cleah Roberts, May 2022

I really like this haiku because of how literal and relatable it is. Kaitlyn McIntyre, May 2022

At the age that I am this haiku just fits.  I am at the age in life where you need to purchase your own things such as food, medicines, necessities. Not just because of moving out or being on your own, but because its easier.  We're all grow up and must do things on our own, and this is just part of life.  Right now, prices are going up and it’s hard for people at times to make ends meet and purchase what they need, but it’s the way of life. Lexi Bolt, May 2022

22

invitation
to her first birthday
you will not come
      we both know that

Gabriella Barone

this is a deep writing. You can feel the heartache and the disappointment in the authors words. They hurt for their child, niece, or cousin. And it makes the reader feel that pain as well. I have been blessed to have a wonderful father and now man in my life that take care of our children as my father took care of me and my siblings. This haiku is full of raw emotion and I like that about that its piece. Sara Runyen, May 2022

23

wishbone hanging
        by my window
                           snaps
the wish is gone

Gabriella Barone

I like this haiku because of the reference to the wishbone, as well as the spacing difference between the four lines. For me, the spacing represents the wishful desire to achieve a dream, and having it slowly dissolve into a dream that has washed away. Then at that point, you are back at square one, potentially trying to find a new dream or path in life. With the mention of the wishbone, I like that the author mentioned it because of the meaning behind it. The theory is, if you snap a wishbone with someone, whoever gets the bigger piece will have their wish come true. So with this haiku, I wonder if the wishbone snapped on its own, if it was being saved to snap with someone else, or if it was accidentally broken. Riley Cremeens, May 2022

24

at grandma’s house with the dogs
playing in the backyard
I worry she won’t want to go home

25

a tombstone
with a name
i never thought i'd see

Riley Cremeens

26

her face
stares back at me
on the headstone

Roxanne Rodriguez

27

she screams
they come to her aid
he’s gone

Cleah Roberts

28

I place her urn
on the mantle
with her favorite green scrunchie

29

the crown molding
once bright white
now a dull yellow

Kaitlyn McIntyre

This Haiku makes me think of my childhood house where my father smoked so everything always looked like it had some discoloration to it. Sometimes it was frustrating because my mother would always want to paint every year. This also makes me think that whoever wrote this Haiku was looking around a room they were in and thinking about how long the crown molding must have been there for it to be a dull yellow. Roxanne Rodriguez, May 2022

30

waiting for the host
the circle spins
class has started

Roxanne Rodriguez


© 2022, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.