batter up
hats over hearts as
taps floats across the base

Jenny Millikin (5)

snow day
children everywhere
angels

Heather Senger

This one reminds me of when I was little and we would wake up in the morning and the ground would be cover in snow. We would hurry over to the television to find out if school had been cancelled. Hurray! It had been, that means that my brother and I would gather up some of our friends from the neighborhood and go sledding. Or my brother and I would make an igloo or something, but we were always out playing in the snow and one thing that I always liked to do was to make snow angles. After I made my angel I would be so proud and have to run in the house to tell my mom to come and look at it. Nicole

summer afternoon
grandma’s laundry hanging
over the garden

twenty-one gun salute
in the bright winter sun
a baby coos

Jami Martin (4)

snow cone man
children running
from every direction

Heather Senger (7)

This reminds me of when I was a kid growing up. I remember playing outside and hearing the sound of the snow cone man coming in the neighborhood. It didn’t matter where you were as soon as you heard the sound you dropped everything you were doing hurrying home to get money so that you get a snow cone. You always heard the sound and to do this day you can still hear the sound. My son is just like me when he hears the snow cone man. Kara

a blink of light
across the field
the chase begins

Jenny Millikin (2)

My childhood was filled with outdoor play. During the day, we would play “cowboys and Indian,” ride bikes, swing or do anything else our imaginations (and parents) would allow. The best times, though, were during the summer months when we could stay outside after the sun went down. We would not be kids in Illinois if we did not chase and capture lightening bugs. There would be hundreds of them. We would put them in a jar or make “light” rings out of them. Most of the time, we just caught them and then set them free. Hide and seek was another favorite game to pay after dark. Every Saturday night my aunt, uncle, and cousins would come over to play cards with my parents. My brother, all the cousins, some neighborhood kids and I would play for hours together. Once the sun went down, everyone would rush inside to put on the darkest clothes we could find. Then it was the boys against the girls. It was great because we could hide out in the open by just lying down in a shadow and the boys would run right by without ever seeing us. Of course, once they ran by, we would jump up and high-tail it to base where we could shout out “Oly-oly-oxen free!” Summers back then were the best. Karen

children barefoot
through the grass
green fireflies

Kara Nihiser (5)

open a door
but don’t close another
where does it end

Jami Martin (3)

This haiku could be seen a few different ways, one could see it in an optimistic point of view or it could be seen as a kind of frustrated point of view. At first I saw it as opening a door, opening a new opportunity. Now I see it as a person who never got closure from a situation. Jenn

autumn afternoon
the sound of a woodpecker
tapping

Kara Nihiser (3)

I am working in the yard, raking leaves picking up things out of the yard, getting ready to mow. You can just feel the change of seasons coming. You see the different leaves of the autumn season. It is just you and nature, and you hear a tapping sound that you do not hear everyday, it is coming from one of the trees. You look around to find the tapping is coming from a redheaded woodpecker and you enjoy the scenery for a while. Rusty

swinging in the park
sunshine reflects
off my son's hair

Jenn Perry (3)

My little boy has dark blonde hair, that quickly lightens in the summer. And Kaleb loves to swing. It is very easy for me to personalize this haiku because of my son. I can hear his giggles as the swing flies back and forth. I can feel the breeze that the swing creates. I can smell the BBQ grills from the neighboring homes. Karissa

Oh the days of going to the park when my son was little to let him play in the park. He loved to swing and play on the merry go round. The sense of happiness on my sons face is priceless. The sound of the other children laughing and playing is magical also. The weather is nice with the breeze blowing through our hair. I don’t get to take him to the park to play like when he was little. He is now twelve years old and he is to old for me taking him to the park. The memories of going to the park I will always cherish. Kara

looking out the window
at the cold gray morning
the doctor's face says it all

sunny day
playing in the grass
at grandma's house

in the dark they meet
and share a smile
he leaves mad

all alone
in a strange city
will he ever come home

Jenn Perry (8)

I like this one because it makes you feel good that you are not alone. I can see someone standing a lone on the street thinking about how he misses his family or loved ones. I can also see the person who wrote this standing there wishing he would come home. They feel so empty because he is gone. They are wondering what he is doing and if he is going to be o.k. and of course, when will he be home with them again. Sue

spring afternoon
walking in the park
sounds of water

tears are shed
as she reads his words
not meant for her

Jami Martin (9)

I can picture an older woman that has been recently widowed, going thru a hope chest in the attic. She comes across an old Bible, and tucked deep in the Bible a letter falls out. It is dated from many decades before. Her heart falls, as she reads the introduction her heart falls as realizes that she was not the only love of his life, and the tears begin to fall. Karissa

I envision the passing of a spouse and the wife coming across a collection of correspondence. She is thinking he kept their correspondence even though she did not think he was sentimental. But upon reading the writing she realizes the writings were not correspondence between the two of them but of him with someone else. She shed tears because she never knew of this love he had for someone other than herself. She now wonders if the man she has spent so much time if she really knew all about him. It makes her hurt ache to know he would not have shared something so intimate with her, his soulmate. Kecia

This Haiku reminds me of a woman who has found forgotten love letters that her husband had written to someone he had dated before the two were married. Maybe the woman’s husband has passed away and she is going through some of his old things and she finds them. Or maybe she just didn’t realize that he had held on to these letters for so long and wonders why he still needs to look at them or keep them. I hope that she is not crying over the letters because they were recently written for someone else, but this poem doesn’t give me that feeling. The feeling is that the husband is gone and she is just remembering a time when he was still alive. Nicole

midnight thunder
she calls for daddy
through the bedroom door

Heather Senger (7)

This reminds me of when my youngest daughter Shannon was little. Shannon is frightened when it starts to storm. I can remember Shannon would have to go to bed around eight-thirty, and I would still be up watching television or doing something. A storm would start to roll in and she would hear the thunder or hear the wind start to blow. She would then call out from her bedroom, “Dad, I’m scared, can I come in there with you?” Rusty

I know that I said this in class, but this is my daughter with her daddy. He is her hero and knight in shining armor. He is the one that saves her from the storms, and she knows that he will always be there. This also makes me think back and remember my own father. He was my hero too. He chased away the thunder and made me feel safe, just like Wes and Alexis. Traci

schoolyard teasing
his question about dad
all the way home

phone calls to make
on a beautiful day
heavy heart

Karissa Lindsey (6)

cloudless sky
still water…
cannonball

Karissa Lindsey (3)

thankfulness
no cries or rings
one moment of peace

Kecia Wilson-Jackson (5)

I am reminded of when I had first started back to work, after having my twins. They were nine months old. It was a typical night for any working parent. Laundry needed done, the kids were hungry, the phone will not stop ringing, etc. Finally, after getting the kids to bed, the last load of laundry switched and the kitchen cleaned, I just looked at my husband, trying not to cry. We sat in silence, and that was all I needed to regain my sanity. I can still smell the bleach of the laundry I was doing, and the smells from the chicken we had eaten earlier. I can not really remember many colors, probably because it was around ten o’clock, and I had already turned most of the lights off for the night. Jami

I really liked this particular haiku because it really brings a sense of serenity. I have a picture of having a really hectic day at work or maybe taking care of kids whatever the situation might be, and then suddenly all the commotion is gone, there is complete silence and peacefulness and it’s priceless. Jenn

in the shade
of the big oak tree
tire swing

Karissa Lindsey (3)

This is a picture perfect scene of a grandfather pushing his little granddaughter, as she chatters about everything going on around her. “What is the over there, Grandpa?” I can her asking. The sun must be shining and both of them have all time in the world on this day filled with sunshine and big white puffy clouds in the sky, while they swing in the shade of the old tree that each of their relative had used in the years past. Mike

hot summer sun
beating down on the jar
sun tea

Karissa Lindsey (3)

trees breaking
in a cold wind
marriage mending

Karen McFadin (5)

This make you think about the ups and downs course that marriage someone times take. The trees breaking is the breaking of two hearts and the cold wind is the coldness that can be felt when relationships are going through rough times. Marriage mending is symbolic of how relationships heal themselves as they go through season just as the trees breaking will regenerate in the spring season. Relationships are like seasons, they change as people grow and change with time just like nature does in the change of seasons. Kecia

breeze through the screen door
grandma’s breakfast
toast and coffee

Saturday morning
children and dad
giggling in the kitchen

tangled necklace
he patiently takes it
from her hands

Nicole Stonecipher (4)

I imagine a woman trying to put on a pearl necklace. She just got it out of her jewelry box, a family jewel. It is tangles and the woman is upset. Her husband gently takes it out of her hands and easily untangles it. This haiku seems calm and I see a lot of pastel colors. Heather

cold winter night
a dinner date for two
running late

Nicole Stonecipher

I envision a gal getting ready for her date, rushing around wondering if she is going to be ready in time and how the date will go. She is struggling with what to wear, with the cold of winter being so unbearable, thinking that maybe she should have passed on going out, when the doorbell rings. In a rush, she goes to the door and opens it to find her date greeting her with roses. Mike

Grandpa never known
       his orange poppies
up this spring again

quiet night
                 listen
not so quiet

Mike Price (5)

standing in the water
cast the rod
deep exhale

Rusty Johnson (4)

rip
another shirt snags
on her nail

darkness
close your eyes tightly
coin in the well

Rusty Johnson

soft rain
        for a while
creeks running loud now

warm hot chocolate
next to the fireplace
grandmother’s stories

Nicole Stonecipher (4)

 
sand in my eyes     enemy or friend 

Rusty Johnson (6)

boat docked
thunder
bouncing off the bluff

bright helmet
three years old
pedaling faster

Traci Batchelder (3)

This makes me think of the wild abandon most children have. When my daughter was six, she would fly down the hill of our street, into the cul-de-sac below. Sometimes she would be going so fast that her front wheel would be shaking. As the words “slow down” came from my mouth, she missed the driveway that she always turned into, hit the curb, and proceeded to flip over her handlebars. That night we found out that she had broken her right forearm, wrist and hand; the day before she was to start first grade. This memory is full of green grass, blue skies, and oranges and reds from the evening sun. I can smell leaves burning and hear the scream of the ambulance that a neighbor must have called after witnessing the accident. Jami

cloudless sky
life jackets, water-skis, sun-block
fill the boat

Mom’s garden
peonies
come and go

Mike Price

silent flight
            great horned owl
working the meadow’s edge

in a house
with no power
sex heats the room

Rusty Johnson (10)

I totally loved this Haiku, and apparently so did most of the class! It just reminds us if those wonderful moments that don’t get to happen very often. Sometimes nature happens and allows up to take the time with our significant other that way we should!! Traci

I like the rest of the class, really like this. It makes me feel good. You can feel how cold it would be, but because of the body contact, it is not cold and is actually hot. You are in total darkness, because no one has power so the light from the streets are not even in the room. What else can I say. Sue

weeding
purple flowers
grandma in her hat

warm Sunday afternoon
mom and daughter ponytails
chatting in the kitchen

Traci Batchelder (9)

This haiku makes me think of me and my daughter doing each others hair. She is four and she loves to do my hair. It usually looks pretty bad, but I love it with all my heart because she is proud of it. I think of a blue kitchen in this haiku and the smell of popcorn. Popcorn is always a fun snack for girl time. Heather

summer warmth
breezy kitchen
remembering mom

Traci Batchelder (4)

This brings back strong memories of visits at my dad and step-mom’s house. They never seemed to sleep when we visited except for the snoring that took place while dad inspected the inside of his eyelids. Actually going to bed was non-existent. My step-mom, Bev, loved to bake. The warmth of the oven and the smells from the breads, cookies or pies she was making always made it feel so homey. There was always a breeze coming from an open window, the ceiling fan or a box fan that she placed in the dining room doorway to swirl the scents throughout the house. Whoever was awake would sit on stools next to the counter and talk with her all night long. We would, of course, sample her creations even it they were for the next day’s celebration. She passed away a few years ago. Standing in her kitchen will never be the same. As a matter of fact, we now spend most celebrations at my stepbrother’s house instead. Her kitchen is just so empty without her there. Karen