Global Haiku Project
David Meyer

As a culmination to my Global Haiku class, I decided to take a walk (read: drive) around Decatur whilst taking photographs and write down haiku inspired by important landmarks along my path. I intended for this project to be a type of a “tour” around the city.

It turned out that this particular description to my project is very badly defined. How do I define a landmark? What criterion do I use to consider the elements of my path around the city? I realized that my situation hampered the completion of this project: I am only one person, and thus am unsuited to represent a proper tour of the city for the general populace; I am also not a native to Decatur, having lived here for only eight years. I revised slightly my project.

These are a collection of landmarks that are a very brief tour through my time in Decatur. I will do my best to explain the significance of each photo set before presenting the poetry inspired by the situation.

I must ask in advance for forgiveness for my photography “skill”.

This is a pond (connected to Lake Decatur) that is directly behind the back yard of my family's home. I choose to begin at home for a variety of reasons; chiefly, I make this decision for comfort. I enjoyed sitting at this pond early during high school tossing rocks into the water. I liked the shape of the waves, and the ducks are very accustomed to my presence. Yes, I trespass.

I attended Thomas Jefferson Middle School for almost an entire year during my first year as a resident of the City of Decatur. I did not expect to remain in this city past that year, yet it is almost a decade later and here I stay. This photo has some significance to my stay at the middle school; after lunch, all of us were herded out of the cafeteria to stand outside near these doors. Some of us played basketball; most of us huddled together for warmth and heckled nearby motorists.

I attended the Decatur Celebration for the first time as a freshman in high school as a volunteer escort for the suited characters. I never go this far downtown otherwise; I do not recognize any of those streets without the aid of booths, bands and people. I am very nervous around large crowds of people, so I will often duck into one of the alleys during the Celebration to catch my breath, break from the sun and prepare myself to wander the streets again. There is a school of chess that often attends the festivities; students play multiple games against the public at once and rarely lose. I drew once and have lost every other time I've played; I'm bitter.

I will conclude this short tour with images from a significant part of my young adult life. I attended high school at Eisenhower High School. We endured our share of memorable times.

cold stares I applaud my team from the visitor's section

fall clouds wet brass instruments broken formation