Global Haiku • Spring 2018
Dr. Randy Brooks

Street Lights

by
Alyssa Rodriguez

I have chosen the following haiku in this collection because when they were written they were not like others. These moments touched me differently. These moments touched me in a way that I was able to put these moments into words and actually get people to understand what was going on in these moments without actually experiencing these moments; through our five sense, taste, touch, feel, smell, and seeing. Also, I feel like a lot of these haiku people can definitely easily relate to them, especially since majority of them were things I have came across in my daily life.

sledding down
a snowy hill
rosie cheeks

street lights
begin to fill
the summer night

finally back
everyone’s home
the smell of mother’s food

cherry red nose—
down to the last
tissue box

walking around campus
feeling like a zombie
the plague has spread

a tiny old lady
submerged in her
faux fur coat

rainy car ride
she points at the rainbow
in a distance

the smell of grandma's food
so good
even the neighbors come over

father and son
fishing trip
their lines get tangled

sliding down
the slippery slide
she plays with no one

Too Quiet

She is grown now. In her mid twenties, living her life, hardly ever around anymore. It’s kind of like once she graduated college she moved on as quickly as possible; without even looking back. She was passionate about what she wanted to do, in spite of what her mother would have preferred for her to pursue. However, she did not care. She never let what others said or felt stop her from moving forward and succeeding in her career. She felt she needed to prove something. She moved on to her next adventure faster than her last; She loves her life and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but once it gets too quiet in her apartment, she looks back into the past; back to when she was a little girl with no worries and picks up the phone. She talks to her cousin for hours about everything that is going on. Then, begins to talk about how much better things were when they were little girls; when there was nothing to worry about, but who can have the first turn at playing hopscotch or riding a bike. When life was more simple.

she reminisces over
three little girls
playing hopscotch

No Rest Yet

She is having a hard time balancing out this new chapter in her life. She is entering a whole different world; one that she was never really prepared for. Everything has been moving fast all her life. It has always been one thing after another; set a goal and knock it out. A fast pace routine. One minute she envisioning what it is going to be like next year; putting together her vision board of goals and how she is going to get there. Then, the next minute she is accomplishing every single one of her goals. You can say she is used to getting what she wants. However, once she tries to take a break or stop, she can’t. She doesn’t know how to stop.

rolling d
          o
       w
  
 n
a steep hill
not being able to stop

empty bed
a friendly kick reminder
I am not alone

walking cocoon
just counting down
the days of her arrival