many late nights
the beat up car
has helped me home

Missy (5)

Grandma's wedding dress
passed down each generation
still beautiful!

Ashley Moore

black satin slippers
tucked deep in the closet
waiting to be worn

Chelsea (3)

I really liked this haiku from last week’s Kukai because it reminds me of myself a lot. I have so many shoes that it’s ridiculous!! I have a hard time getting rid of my shoes so they always just get moved to the back for another day. When I read this poem I think of a nice pair of black dress up shoes that are not necessarily worn as an everyday pair of shoes. These kinds of shoes are the ones that are held onto for special days and events. I have a pair of heels that I always seem to hold onto for weddings and bigger events that call for dressing up. They are put in the back of my collection of shoes, but I always know they are the ones to go to when I have a fancy event to go to. Ashley Moore

mom's wedding band
always on her finger
now mine

Chelsea (6)

I picture a woman who always wore her wedding band and you never saw her without it. One day she passes away and the ring gets passed down to her daughter. Her daughter puts it n her finger and like her mother never takes it off. Kristen

Doing homework for hours
with earbuds in my ears
nothing’s playing

Kristen (4)

it has silenced many
with aching legs
rocking chair

Louis (8

This haiku reminds me of my children when they were little and I would rock them at night. When I was pregnant with my first son my grandmother gave me a rocking chair. The rocking chair was bought many years ago in an antique store. My grandmother refinished the chair and had it in her house for many years. She gave the rocking chair to me after my son was born. The rocking chair is in my living room still today. I can picture a mother up all night with a crying baby and feeling frustrated. She sits down in the rocking chair and hopes the baby will go to sleep. This rocking chair has been in her family for many years. This haiku reminds me of my life with my sons and my grandmother’s rocking chair. Amy

looking at pictures
of my friend and I . . .
my whip cream curdles

Kevin (3)

broken handle
that wobbles when used
grandpa’s hammer

Kristen (6)

I like this haiku because I am able to relate to it. I remember going through all of my grandpa’s tools and want to keep them just because they were his. I know what it is like to have an old hammer that is coming loose at the top, but it has too my sentimental value to get rid of it. Some times the older tools are better that the new tools. The metal was heavier and more durable, today they are all about making tools that are lighter, but I am betting that they would not last as long. I always wonder how many nails that those old hammers have beat in. Louis

This takes me to a place where I one day will see my children, taking my dad’s tools out to use to fix things that mattered to him. I think it means just a bit more to me now because my dad works in his woodshop a lot and works with hammers and nails. I see my children one day looking back on the day when grandpa showed them how to use that very hammer and then them also showing their children. Mellisa

white gown
hanging in the closet
awaiting another day

Meredith (8)

cleaning out the
refrigerator
2-day old chili

Jennifer (4)

on the front page
a mangled car
stranger's safe arms

Meredith (3)

porcelain doll
missing her right hand
last gift from grandpa

Kristen (5)

This is a great haiku. It brings up these happy feelings you get when you are remembering someone you’ve lost and loved. It is those gifts that bring up those good memories despite their wear and tear. Meredit

I enjoyed reading this haiku because I felt a connection with it. The porcelain doll is fragile and I see scratches and a worn face on this doll. She is missing her right hand, which to me I think of a very old collectable. This gift was from her grandfather who maybe had died and the last thing that she has from him is this porcelain doll. The doll is a treasure to her and a memory of her grandfather that she will never forget. I can see the women taking good care of the porcelain doll and keeping it in a glass cabinet where everyone is able to see it, including her. It is a constant memory of her grandfather. No matter how old, worn, or broken an item is if it is given to you from someone that means so much to you and you adore, that gift will always be special to you. Chelsea