Haiku Kukai 1 Favorites
Global Haiku • Millikin University • Spring 2015
crashing on the beach Katelyn Rumph (8) This haiku immediately takes me to the beach. I picture myself lying down on a towel and staring at the clear, blue sky. I have no worries about what is going on in the world and just want to relax. I feel the breeze against my skin and the smell of salty ocean water going through my nostrils. It also makes me wish it was summer time because I enjoy the summer much more than the cold winter. Overall, it's a great imagery and sensory haiku. Alex This is one of the best “feel-good” Haiku I think I have ever read. Its imagery combines two of my favorite things, summer and beaches. With a limited number of words, I can feel the warm summer air on my body, and it takes me away to all of the good times I’ve spent on vacation on beaches. Additionally, I get such a gentle feeling. I find this feeling interesting, too because the first word is “crashing”. However, I think the words “salty”, and “kisses” are so gentle that gentleness is the feeling conveyed. I feel many warm feelings, and I might even like it more because of our current weather! Adam I liked this haiku because I could really picture a person standing on the beach, watching the sunset. They see the tide starting to come in and they can feel the water on their forehead. The water does not hit them hard, but rather very gently, like a kiss. They can taste the salt in the air and they feel relaxed as they look out on the horizon. Brandon This poem has so many images built in to it. You can hear the waves crashing, you can taste the salty air, you can smell the salty air, you can feel the ocean breeze. I can feel the ocean water and the sand in between my toes. I think the paints a picture of someone perfectly happy and alone on the beach. I can picture this person walking along the beach close enough to the actually ocean so that the person can feel the splashes of the ocean on her legs. I like the idea that the air is kissing her forehead. This personification makes me feel very comforted and safe. I think this poem creates a safe place for the reader. Lexy I absolutely fell in love with this haiku when I read it. It uses words that portray great images. I picture a girl lying on the beach while it is kind of misty out. The waves come crashing in, and she can feel sprinkles of salt water spray her as she is lying there. I like the last line because it is interesting to imagine the air kissing her forehead. Overall, this haiku had some very good word choices that helped bring it to life. Nicole |
hot potato soup Eve Greenwell (2) |
numbing cold |
I watch Brandon Januska This one is a little emotional for me but I like it a lot. My girlfriend goes to school at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She is an academic year ahead of me and runs cross country and track. With our track seasons both in full swing, we are currently going the longest we've ever gone without seeing each other. This haiku reminds me of when I saw her last. I drove up to Kenosha the weekend before I had to move back for track and it was snowing the day I left. Eli This haiku sent me to a happy place. It made me imagine playing in the snow at night with my girlfriend. We roll around and jump in it acting as if we are young children on a snow day. I can see her rosy cheeks and nose. I can imagine the way her hair falls around her face and how her smile seems to be brighter than the fresh, clean snow itself. I feel myself getting lost in her beauty and losing all track of time. She walks across the yard to another fresh patch of untouched snow and the snowflakes seem to dance around her. Kyler |
in the park Eli Cook (5) I really enjoyed this haiku because it is very playful and easy to connect with. I can see people playing frisbee at the park. The frisbee is thrown to someone and they are getting ready to catch it. They see it get closer and closer, but it goes right through their hands and hits them in the face. Brandon This haiku is one of my favorites because I find it very funny. I imagine a group of guys playing frisbee in the park. One of them is not paying attention, and as he nonchalantly turns around, he sees a frisbee about to hit him in the forehead. This haiku reminds me of all the times that people think things are going well in their life, and then something bad suddenly happens. Nicole |
snow covered |
neighbor's treehouse— Brandon Januska (8) When I read this haiku, I immediately imagined a man visiting his childhood home, where his neighbor was his best friend when he was little. I imagined him coming home and visiting him, and he went to the backyard to see the place where he would play with him when they were younger, only to see that the treehouse was cut down, and all that was left was a stump. When you talk about rings with trees, generally they mean the rings that indicate how old the tree is, or was. So it ultimately gave me feelings of remembering the good memories and remembering the times that made you feel alive at one time. Katelyn |
rabbits in the vest Eli Cook (3) |
dirt stained skin Francesca Rios (3) |
across the pond Austyn Krueger (2) |
quiet house |
night life |
Wednesday night texts |
texts under blankets Lexy Bieber (3) I enjoyed this haiku because it was relatable. It makes me think of myself going to bed on a rainy, cold night. I cuddle up in my blankets and text on my phone or check social media until I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. The rain is a calming sound that can be heard hitting against the windows of my house, and it soothes me in my sleep. I think that touch and sound are appealed to here the most out of all the senses, because I can almost feel the soft blanket wrapped around me and the pillow under my head as I read, and I can hear the rain hitting the pavement outside. This haiku has a calming tone and mood, and makes me want to curl up and take a nap. Kendall |
fall break |
conductor lowers his arms Nic Sanders (3) |
snow falling Brandon Januska (5) |
hiding |
math homework Nicole Koch (5) This haiku was one of my favorites because it really emphasized that life is so unexpected. You can be just doing something a part of your daily routine and suddenly your world can come crashing down. The most tragic things just happen so suddenly while you are doing the most random acts. I also like that although the overall message of this haiku brings me sadness, it is written so simply and very lighthearted, which almost brings me to think the writer saw this death coming. Austyn |
sunny day Brandon Januska (2) |
talk on cloning Lexy Bieber (5) |
first snow Nic Sanders I really like the "first snow" "old fights" in this haiku. The first snow is fresh, its new, its happy. I picture a child looking out the window in her room taking in the beauty of the snow. I picture it being night time and the child is enjoying watching the snow reflecting the street lights, until her parents start fighting. I relate to this haiku a lot because as a child I was always the type who hid in my room whenever anyone was fighting at my house. I like the idea that the child is looking out and focusing on something beautiful and peaceful to try and block out the chaos on the other side of her bedroom door. This haiku is pretty sad, it makes me feel bad for the child. I just want to run in and hug the little girl and tell her its all ok and then watch the snow with her. I think this haiku is written really well. Eve |
bitter wind Kendall Kott (3) |
Christmas lights fade |
tip toe Kyler Fear (4) |
cold feet Lexy Bieber (8) I enjoyed this haiku because it makes me think about every cold winter day that I am stuck inside. My entire family has to fight over the blankets because not all of them are long enough for each person. I myself am six foot five and there is only one or two blankets that we own that cover my entire body. From the haiku, I get an image of me sitting on the couch with my blanket that I have to keep constantly pulling down to keep my feet warm because I have just come back inside from shoveling the drive way. Alex I imagine a wedding. A young bride tossing and turning on her wedding night to realize she has cold feet. I saw the blanket less as a blanket she’s covering up with but her life. She steals her freedom back, she’s backing out. I also really like the way this one reads as well. I like the one word in the third line. I can’t really explain it, but it’s a very subtle end. I think you’re expecting a different line almost, I steal the blanket . . . back is how I read it. Even though I know it goes together I read it with a longer pause than between the first two lines and I think it makes it sound really unique. Francesca |
lights out Lexy Bieber (3) |
fingers clenched |
abandoned city Francesca Rios (3) When I read this haiku, I imagined a scene from one of my favorite books from when I was in middle school, called The Uglies. In the book the main character escapes to an abandoned city to escape having to get surgery to become a "pretty," and the abandoned city is in the mountains, and was probably a bigger city in its day. When I read this haiku I could see about 13 different shades of pink, and it really made me happy because it is one of the prettier colors that I like. I could see the sun coming up over the trees and it was one of my favorite haikus from this page. Katelyn |
tracks in the snow Eli Cook (7) I really enjoy this haiku because it can be interpreted in so many ways. Before I knew the author, I pictured a couple walking around in the freshly fallen snow. Their tracks are the only ones that can be seen because everyone else is inside staying warm. They are just trying to get out of the house and when they do it is completely silent, but the air is loud with snowflakes. She is scared but when she realizes she isn't alone all of that fear goes away. However, when I found out Eli wrote it, I realized it was about his grandpa! So that entire story was just my own take on it. Austyn I really liked this one. Every time I read it, I imagine a different group. At first I see a young girl with her boyfriend, but then I see a young girl with her dad. I see a girl with her dog, or pet, and then I see kind of a more creepy one and see a young girl being followed by a man. I really like the way this is written because mainly we’ve been seeing the last two lines be paired together but this time the first two were so by the twist came at the end rather than the twist being the majority of the poem. Francesca |
in the twilight zone Adam Peters I really enjoyed this haiku because when I read it I envisioned myself. This is very much how I write my haiku. I saw myself sitting in my dark room with the shades slightly opened so that an eerie orange glow fills my room. Something about the colors and quietness of my room makes me thing outside of myself more and my haikus tend to be more imaginative and deep. When I try to recall a haiku that I wrote later that night I can’t even think of the first line. Kyler |
winter weather Nicole Koch (4) |
night sky Alex Cardascio (2) |
Christmas spirit Nic Sanders (3) I love this haiku. I think even though it doesn’t use any sensory words, I think it paints a pretty clear picture. I can picture the wintery scene, and the tree with the presents underneath it. I like how this poem eludes to Santa without actually using the name. This leaves some sense of mystery. I think this could be about a little kid knowing that Santa isn’t real and realizing that Christmas isn’t as special as they thought it was, but also it could be about a person growing up. This person could realize the season is about commercialism, and they could be aware of the family problems that happen during the Christmas season. This poem reminds me of how Christmas feels to me now that I am an adult. Lexy |
winter Katelyn Rumph |
breakfast with him Nicole Koch (7) When I think of this one I imagine two people who have been together for a while, and their normal morning of just getting breakfast that had turned into something sweeter. I liked it because I remember doing the same with my girlfriend. Last semester we would go together to the caf to go get brunch on Saturday with friends, but every once and a while we would be left alone. Whenever this would happen, it wouldn’t dawn on me at the time, but afterwards I would look back I realize that our breakfast was a date. It was something that we missed, but was just as sweet. Nic |
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muddy hands Randy Brooks (9) As I said in class, this one was my absolute favorite haiku I read. There is something about the imagery and playfulness of this poem that takes me back to my childhood. I remember catching frogs by my dad's house, because we had a pond in our subdivision. I was afraid to scoop them up, but once I did, I cupped them in my hands and took them down to the pond to let them go. The muddy hands remind us as readers of how messy and dirty kids get, which reflects their carefree, no-worry spirit. The word choice of 'prince' is very specific and adds that idea of imagination into the haiku, reminding us that kids are full of playful imagination. Instead of saying "lets her frog go" or "lets her friend go", the word suggest there could have been much more behind their relationship. The language is simple but the idea is effective, and paints a setting of a mucky river with a little girl in a pink tutu, leaning down and feeling the cold, fresh water as she places her frog in the stream. Kendall |
three buttons |
freezing cold |
on a whim Eve Greenwell I like the light heartedness in this haiku. I have had experience with my girlfriend. We would just be hanging out with her, and then we will be going out on a walk late at night around an empty Millikin campus. We were just looking at the trees and the pretty architecture of the campus. It turned into a pretty night but started out as nothing. That’s what I think is the spirit that this haiku is trying to get at. Nic |
a young girl's laughter Francesca Rios (4) |
scared and afraid |
chicken nuggets Nic Sanders (3) |
out the window |
tears roll |
walking through the valley Kyler Fear (8) I really like this haiku. It's just very simple and it reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses. "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" - Psalm 23:4. I just like how it sounds and how it makes me feel. Eli This Haiku reminds me of one of my favorite song, the cover of “Free Fallin” by John Mayer. In the song, Tom Petty (the musician who made the song famous) says, “Walking through the valley.” So, when I read this I initially thought of the song. Then I made a connection to the meaning of the song and the Haiku, and they are similar. In the song, a boy exploits a young woman but soon after realizes that he felt for her, and he is now alone. I connected the last two lines of the Haiku as the boy recognizes what he had done to her, and, in turn himself. He falls silent as he recognizes what he did, and I picture him walking alone, representing how he feels. Adam |
green pastures Kyler Fear (4) I love this haiku and the reference to the 23rd Psalm of lying down in green pastures. I think this haiku is beautiful, although maybe a little sad. I imagine that "the lamb" is someone who has died, since Jesus is the shepard and we are his sheep. This person is now in Heaven, lying on his eternal bed. I think the first line is really interesting, I think it refers to the person who has died and also the speaker of the haiku. First, the person who has died is now in Heaven lying in green pastures, where everything is peaceful and good. In the Psalm is says "you make me lie down in green pastures, you restore my soul." I feel like the speaker has come to terms with the death of a loved one. They have realized that their loved one is happy in Heaven and by realizing this they have peace and their soul/spirit is restored and at peace. They have been brought through the valley of grief and are now able to be happy and at peace. This is an excellent haiku and I love it! Eve |
© 2015, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.