PACE Global Haiku • PACE November 2014
Dr. Randy Brooks

Stepping Stones

by
Kristen Johnson

I dedicate these haikus to my son. He lifts me up when there is no one else to do so. He encourages me to be the best person that I can be and helps guide me through life. All the things that I do are for him. He strengthens me and helps me chase my dreams.
 
 
Introduction

Over the past 5 weeks, haiku has become a very big part of my life. I decided that writing haiku is not only about my personal memories, but ones that can help me remember other people and things that have been a large part of my life. The haiku in this collection ranges from the birth of my son to spending holidays with my family.

Creating haiku that are not only enjoyable for me but to others was complicated, as not all people have been through the same life obstacles. Writing haiku doesn’t come along with a specific set of rules or ways to write. I thought that there would be something that I needed to learn or study to be able to write haiku. I learned very quickly that haiku includes thinking about
audience, past, present and future experiences, and senses of all kinds.
 
The haiku that I have included in this collection are ones that were written with an audience in mind and thoughts and images have been enabled to take the readers through a wrinkle in time. Like a stepping stone, each haiku in this collection will lead up to the next, ultimately leading to the one path that has never failed me: my family.

me and my sister
waiting and waiting—
streetlights come on

praying
the dusty rocking chair
in the nursery

a child cries
her mother slips
into the darkness

Christmas morning
the smell
of burning wood

coldness
i open up
my heart

autumn leaves
the smell of apple crisp
in the oven

a long day
cool clean sheets
calling my name

ice cold watermelon
we want
more

hair salon
I bring
my own hairbrush

night lights
I dance
alone

cemetery
a little boy
walked through the gates