exhausted in the car
seat...tilted... down
Ursa major

Nick McLenighan (2)

indescribable feelings
i tell her
my middle name

Dan Simpson (4)

chocolate silence
the hectic morning
passes me by

Katie Burke

October frost
my secrets
leave a handprint

Dan Simpson (4)

Not only is this haiku written extremely well, but it was also deeply moving.  Winter has just begun to set in as the individual looks out the window at the early morning frost. She has his or her hand on the window to feel the cold; when she pulls away, a handprint remains. The individual seems sad, or lonely, or upset by something, yet she has not told anyone what is bothering her. I think that others sense that she is holding something back, though, for like the handprint, her sadness still lingers.  Laura

unable to cry
I sharpen a
stack of pencils

Nicole Silverman (13)

I could really relate to this haiku. Because it's the end of the year and everyone seems to be under a lot of stress, crying turns into a regular event between my friends and I. However, there was a time in my life where I was really sad, and for some reason I could not cry. I would do anything else I could to try and release tension -in my case I would play the guitar until my fingers were sore, run, or write in a journal until my hand cramped up -anything that would release some tension. When I read this haiku I was actually able to feel that frustrating feeling of built up emotions and the need to release them. I also imagine the pencil sharpener is an old metal one that you have to grind and grind to get the pencil sharpened. By the end of the haiku I can feel relaxed because I can imagine my arm getting tired and that tension being released, only after a whole stack is completely sharpened. Sarah

I really like this haiku because I have felt this feeling many times. I have been in a position where I want to cry so bad and yet I don't want anyone to see me or think that I am weak. One time I can remember being in a class and the professor was so mean and we had just gotten our tests back. I was so disappointed in my grade and I thought I had done so much better. It seemed like when he gave me the grade he enjoyed it. I wanted to burst into tears and run out of the room but instead I just acted like it did not bother me and went on finding something else to do. Jill

this is another one of my favorites for kukai because it reminds me of all of those times that I've been sad and crying for hours but I cannot cry anymore. I am all cried out yet I am still sad. Sharpening pencils may not have been the action that I would have chosen in this situation but it is a repetitive, meaningless action. I think it really captures the mundane qualities of mourning. Katie

quiet moment
after a shower's refreshment
one bulb burnt out

Nick McLenighan (2)

naked
she winces at her reflection
Fat Tuesday

Nicole Silverman (11)

This one is really great; it's nice to get the sense of Mardi Gras in a haiku not grouped together with many similar haiku. The woman in the haiku seems to have awakened in a compromising position and is probably delirious because of a hangover.   She's realizing what she did the night before and doesn't seem happy; looking at herself in the mirror reiterates the deed she did the night before.   I get the feeling that whatever she did was so bad that it's difficult to look at herself the next day. Joanne

I really liked this one because of the self-depreciating that is going on. I think everyone has those moments when they feel like they're the ugliest thing on the face of the earth. The image I get is one that is in a colorful room with a full-length mirror and a apprehensive young woman in front of it. In all reality she is very attractive, but not the pop standard of beauty. Mike

It is that feeling that all girls get quite often of thinking they are fat. I hate looking in the mirror when I am naked I try to get clothes on as soon as possible. The Fat Tuesday is funny because I feel like in this haiku that it has no significant meaning other than it is Tuesday and I feel fat and it is such a common feeling among most people. Jill

empty gym
sunlight on a bench
one more set to go

Dave Koester (2)

I chose to write about this one because I have so many memories of those days when you had to work out so long and hard before you were able to go and have some fun. Those days always seemed like the hottest days and everyone seemed like they were having so much fun outside. But you were stuck inside a hot, sweaty, smelly gym lifting weights and running. The dedication it took did not always come so easily, especially on these days. But with all of the time spent in the gym working to get better, the payoff was so much sweeter when you win. Matt

missing life’s screwball,
in my utopia
eating my ham on white

Tony Lipka

careful consideration
a squirrel leaps
to a new tree

David Meyer (3)

raining white flower petals
one catches my tearing eye
cold spring morning

Nick McLenighan (2)

fizzing with anticipation
Alka-seltzer doesn’t help
big black stage

Nick McLenighan

round and round
no more training wheels
fifteen stiches

Cory Hodges (3)

we laugh we cry
we live      we die...
soulmates

Cory Hodges (2)

she looks at me
without me knowing
feigning sleep

Dan Simpson (4)

soft hum of the generator
silence covers me
like velvet

Katie Burke

autumn suicide
the widow wonders
who to go to

Dan Simpson (6)

soft, worn leather
rocks me softly
grandpa’s favorite chair

Angie Hawk (3)

coming of new life
the worried father struggles
to find the perfect name

Matt Tierney (4)

This haiku is a very happy haiku. The father is going to have a child come into his life he is all excited, and wants to think of a good name for this child. The father wants a cool name for the child that many other kids don't have. Tony

wondering around
the endless boundaries
of my imagination

Matt Tierney

lunar eclipse       toes in the ocean

Molly Burns (9)

I just really liked this one b/c I was able to gain a really good image in my head. I was able to put myself on a beach enjoying the feeling of being on a beach. Also I could almost feel the ocean against my feet as each wave came crashing in. David K.

sitting on the sidewalk
my red Popsicle
drips in the heat

Sarah Bassill (8)

gingersnap recipe
just the way grandma made ‘em
sunlight drenches the empty kitchen

this one doesn’t work
same with this one
computer lab

Matt Tierney (3)

the stench of beer and cigarettes
all the windows open
I sit with numb toes

Julie Bilbrey (2)

red-brick fireplace
great-grandpa’s thumbprint
still in cement

Angie Hawk (3)

colorful clothing
clean and pressed
a prisoner

David Meyer (2)

I really like the element of surprise in this haiku. The first two lines make me think of someone with a new suit, or a new dress that they're excited to show off. Instead it's a prisoner and all I can see is a bright orange jumpsuit. It makes me wonder if the prisoner feels that same pride and need to show off...maybe that's why he went through the trouble to press that orange jumpsuit. Molly

untouched journals
gather the dust
of silent thoughts

Molly Burns (4)

bubble mower
side by side
we cut the grass

James Hartnett (8)

I liked this haiku because it is so cute. It reminds me of my little baby cousins. It seems like whenever you are doing something, they want to be doing it with you, things like mowing the grass. I remember having a little bubble mower too. This haiku is written very well and I am sure it brings back memories for a lot of people. Brooke

thinking of you
realizing
the cat pissed on my sweatshirt

James Hartnett (4)

This one is great. It has that humorous defeatist quality to it I like so much in haiku. There's the romantic aspect to the haiku that has to do with day dreaming and then its ripped apart by cat piss. The really funny thing is that cat piss never really goes away, so this sweater is ruined. I laughed out loud the first time I read this one and it still keeps me entertained. Mike

laying in the grass
we point out animals
in the sky

Sarah Bassill (5)

the wind
pulls in the rain,
pulls out my hair

Nicole Silverman

single hair
on the pillow
too short to be my own

Nicole Silverman (5)

falling from irish lips
french words
cell phone dies

August sunshine
hiding our tears
behind dark lenses

Molly Burns o

four bare backs
water dripping
from wet hair

Nicole Silverman

new doll
my older cousin
still won’t play with me

Rachel Walker (4)

This haiku was rather sad, I thought. Despite the best efforts of the younger cousin, who looks up to and admires the elder, she never succeeds. Thinking a new doll will impress her, she is just shot down again, the elder cousin uninterested in "child's playthings" and even less interested in uncool children. This says a lot about our culture I think, the fact that we think new fancy things will buy us friends. They won't, and they will never last and never be able to replace real friendships. Nick

worn name
trying to make it out
under the dust

Jill Guffey (5)

heart beats through my chest
as he draws
nearer to me

Jill Guffey

the midst of nothing
there she sits
hope

Jill Guffey

tangled hair
my mother
tries to fix the doll

Rachel Walker (9)

I love the double meaning behind this haiku. First, I see a nurturing, loving mother trying to untangle a doll's hair for her daughter. However, as I read the poem again, I instead saw a frazzled mother with unkempt hair to match her uncertainty. She may be a single, working mom, or she may just be having a bad day, but regardless of the reason, she feels incapable of taking care of herself, let alone a child. Everyone feels completely powerless at some time or another, and this haiku depicts the feeling well.  Laura

blanket
underneath the tree
falling crabapples

David Meyer (3)

soon after marriage
the couple
connected only by rings

Chris Merritt (6)

I chose this haiku because I think it is very true about marry couples these days. This haiku is very self explanatory. Couples get married, then after the honeymoon they are only connected by wedding rings. Tony

This haiku reminded me of the work of George Swede. He wrote several haiku dealing with marriage and divorce and this haiku approaches it in a similar mannar. This haiku does not look at newly weds in a trite clichéd way. But it exposes a more depressing side to marriage, which is not written in a blatant tacky way. This haiku is subtle and has strong content. Rachel

moving box
I carelessly place
the doll in the bottom

Rachel Walker (4)

I see a young girl in this haiku, one who is upset to be moving away from all her friends in favor of somewhere new. The parents seem frantic to get everything packed away; they might be running late for their arrival in their new home. One of the parents, in their hurriedness, pack up their young one's favorite doll - maybe the only friend she feels that she has left. I'm left feeling very sorry for the girl, as one of her favorite forms of comfort and companionship can't come out until after the long journey. Joanne

meeting the parents
you forget
to introduce me

Rachel Walker (4)

I was just really able to put myself in this person shoes. I have been in the situation where I have had to meet a g/f's parents and it is always a very tense situation. So I was just really able to get a good image in my head of what was going on here. David K.

5am--I leave my own house
I lack the energy to tell them
party's over

Julie Bilbrey (2)

I like this haiku a lot. There have been those times when we would have a party and it is getting really late or early, which everyway you think about it, and you are just so tired to do anything about it. So you leave, not even caring who or what is going on at your house. You are so tired from partying all day and all night that it is time to call it quits. Either because you are to tired are your body is hating you and is not letting you enjoy yourself anymore. And in the morning you just wake up hoping that nothing too bad happened. Those are great nights, those are the nights that college is all about. Matt

schoolbus
putting on makeup
away from mother's eyes

Ashlee Peth (4)

fighting for peace
the leaf trembles
on its branch

Laura Podeschi (4)

This haiku has a lot going on underneath its words. Obviously, it's a windy day; the wind is blowing across this branch causing this commotion. I suspect it's fall. When would one normally consider a gust of wind a threat to a green leaf? Consider instead the plight of a red or dried leaf still on the branch. This leaf is about to fall to the ground to join its many other counterparts. David M.

blowing out the candles
she wishes . . .
for one more year

Jennifer Godwin (14)

This haiku tugged at my sentimental side a little. I can see it from two different angles—that of a person wishing for one more year of their own life, and a person wishing for one more year with someone else. As usual, it called to mind my friend Kelly, who I'm always talking about in my haiku. Her sister died right before her [Kelly's] birthday, and it was definitely a somber evening. I can just imagine that this is how she felt when blowing out her candles. Molly

This haiku reminds me of my friend Margot. She has cancer and has been fighting it for years now. I can imagine someone who is very sick and when their birthday comes around they just wish that they would keep on living. My roommate makes wishes all the time and usually they're about boys or about getting a good grade in a class. To think that while she is wishing for a boy to like her, Margot is wishing to live another day makes me re-evaluate the meaning of life. It's a very powerful haiku. Sarah

creaking barn door
grandpa’s hat
still hanging from the rafters

Angie Hawk

wind rips through
an open field
scattering sunflowers

Laura Podeschi (3)

I enjoy the different facets of the final line of this haiku. I read it two different ways; my first reaction is to read the haiku in one go, line after line after line: "wind rips through an open field scattering sunflowers".   I can see a very strong wind blowing across a field of the tall flowers, possiblt breaking several off of their stalks and moving them around. I then read it slightly differently: "the wind rips through an open field. scattering sunflowers". This second reading describes much the same occurrence to me, but it takes the focus off of the wind and puts the focus on the field. I find this a very interesting haiku. David M.

light morning dew
a raccoon
in the passenger seat

Ashlee Peth

warm evening breeze
a sparrow competes
with the wind chimes

Angie Hawk (4)

tracing the path
of an old scar
the tree's bark

Laura Podeschi (4)

This haiku really resonates for me. The image of following an old scar in a quite, intimate moment between the tree and an individual, or a quiet intimate moment between two individuals in the woods, by a tree, getting to know one another on a deeper level through physical exploration. Perhaps it is a person looking at the tree and realizing the similarities between the old tree and the old man/woman, scarred either physically or emotionally, or both. Nick

hunched in the corner
white robe clings
to skin and bones

Jennifer Godwin (2)

sitting on a rotten log
while my backpack
rests comfortably

David Meyer (2)

rain drips down
the black umbrella
a shadow falls across his face

Laura Podeschi (2)

air conditioning broken
kitchen chair
sticks to my thighs

Katie Burke (3)

alone in the house
--goose bumps
I turn off the TV

Ashlee Peth (5)

I liked this haiku because it is a familiar feeling. I have a cemetery in my backyard, so when ever I am home alone I will leave the TV on loud so I don't get to scared. Just reading the word Goosebumps, gives me Goosebumps. It is almost a funny haiku, and I am sure that many people get these feelings. Brooke

looking for
lightning
I hold my breath

Laura Podeschi (3)

I enjoy this haiku because it takes me back to a moment I have experienced before. Lightning is beautiful and fun to look at but it is also dangerous and scary. Whenever I watch the lightning I get a bit jumpy and nervous. I think this haiku captures that nervousness well. Rachel