Casey Turnipseed

Love, Loyalty & Friendship haiku by Casey Turnipseed As a junior attending Millikin University I have been exposed to numerous aspects of life. As an only child I was not subjected to sharing my feelings with others all the time so I became accustomed to writing poetry. When the college life was introduced to me it only seemed right to continue my writing. However, I had never been exposed to haiku prior to this semester. I have learned the style, purpose, and reason for writing haiku as well as the fulfillment it can offer one such as myself. My document is titled, "Love, Loyalty, and Friendship" because of my strong belief in each of these. Each one is a value or priority in my life of which I have an undying passion for. I even have a tattoo on my lower back dedicated to these values.

Love is my number one value in this great adventure we like to call, '`life." Without love in my life nothing would be what it has turned out to be today. As a young girl growing up at Millikin I fell in love with a wonderfully unique person. He was able to show me life through his eyes, which was very different from anything I have ever experienced through my own. I attempted to capture my emotions and feelings within this poetry in hopes that the reader could feel what I was feeling. Just as love goes through stages and phases. . . so does my poetry. Loyalty was my second choice for my lifetime priorities. I am a strong believer that without loyalty no relationship is able to survive. My relationship with my family members and friends depends entirely on loyalty because without it we would never be there for each other when needed. Our loyalty is what gives us strength and confidence in others. In my mind, those who you are loyal to, will be loyal to you in return. Lastly, I would like to talk about friendship because it is the rock that most people lean on when times get rough. I cannot honestly say I could exist in this world without my friends. The haiku I have enclosed within this document was each written with regards to a certain memory I have within my heart. A few of them are from the recent visit to Panama City Beach for spring break, while others are random memories from parties and things of that sort. I hope you enjoy this haiku document just as I have enjoyed creating it for you. Please keep in mind that with each new step in life, there is another chance for change. My haiku have been edited and so has my life in that I have decided that it was best to make changes with relationships, decisions, and future priorities. I would like to leave you with one final thought that is something I think about everyday when I wake up in the morning. "Remember everyday is a new day, there are no mistakes in it yet." —Casey One aspect of Casey's haiku that comes to mind very quickly when one enjoys her selection is the aspect of discovery. A lot of her haiku deal with discovering something and the awe and beauty around that discovery. But just as with the author herself, a closer look at Casey's haiku reveals a deeper layer of observation and emotion and a deeper level of understanding of human nature. For instance, my personal favorite in this collection is the shore I walk daydreaming I like this one because of the sense of peace that is evoked. I get the image of someone walking down a lonely beach totally oblivious to everything around them: the sun, wind, surf, birds, and themselves. This is one of those moments when we get lost in thought and simply forget what we are doing. I imagine this person ends up walking longer and further than they had planned due to this moment of calm. It is also interesting how she places the violent strength of the ocean's shore alongside a person walking peaceful. These two images juxtaposed create an interesting sense of tension in the images which helps to reinffirce how lost in thought this person truly is. Perhaps the thing I love most about Casey's haiku is the emotion her haiku carry. Her section on "love" poetry. Here she takes us on a thrill ride along the highs and lows of a relationship. In particular, her haiku is he watching? My hand t em   es   r   bl gives us a great sense of nervousness regarding if our beloved is watching us. With the play on the word "tremble" we can literally see her hand trembling about and then we as readers are left to wonder did he watch her. We are filled with a sense of pressure to perform and also the anxiety that comes from performing in front of someone. I've had the pleasure to know Casey for the past two years as a friend and as a result have been able to learn from her unique perspective on life. This perspective is a major influence in her haiku and I have been privileged to read and watch as this influence provides the strength for her haiku to shine. —Travis Meisenheimer