Global Haiku • Spring 2016
Dr. Randy Brooks

Time Shuffles

by
Genevieve Breitbach

Lose yourself in the words of this narrative and allow it to inspire your own inner imagery. Haiku is bret drunk like chamomile tea for the soul. Enjoy a peek into the wilds of my mind.

Time is never a constant. Memory has layers of meaning. This is how my collection is arranged.

About the Author

Genevieve Joy Breitbach hails from the rich, enchanting hills of southwest Wisconsin, and draws from her bucolic background for much of her work. She is a Junior BFA Acting major and James Millikin Scholar who feels very grateful to have had the pleasure of creating art with her fellow students and Dr. Brooks for her last honors seminar at Millikin. Over the course of this semester, she has fallen in love with the succinct power of haiku, and looks forward to continuing her haiku practice on into her future. This collection came from separately written haiku that magically developed a story of their own and decided to be a collection in a democratic fashion with their author’s approval. She hopes you enjoy this peek into the wilds of her mind, and encourages you to find the narrative in the words.

time shuffles, slides—
the old man’s saunter
down the airport’s moving walkway

fingers nestle among violets
seeking a hand to hold . . .
friendly grass snake!

just over the hill
a lone saxophone
breaks     the     silence

Cherry Berry
study break
man begs for a dollar

dragonfly zings—
—by my shoulder
chemtrail

sting of a kumquat
sits on the tongue
like words unsaid

riviera night
light springs from the water
to your eyes

baguette falls
into a puddle
they’ll always have Paris

punch thrown
through the dry-wall
of my chest

students hunch
to class
angry penguins

a wild goose honks
to intimidate his foe
no wait     that’s the train

heart aglow
as the sunset mists into
night

my coffee black
to prove
I can handle you

I wiggle my toes
walking on the moon
upside down

saddle bags
packed and ready
for a new sunset

throat scratches
the cat wants
in again

Abbey road
a chorus of honking
bloody tourists

harmonizing
in the back seat
Beetle Beatles

falling face first
into summer stars
—the lake winks back

a firefly
hums
Marvin Gaye

sun dog in a cloudless sky
she succeeded in becoming
better

warm breeze
on an exposed thigh
life is sexier now