Global Haiku • Spring 2019
Dr. Randy Brooks

Beneath the Magnolia Trees

by
Amanda Bivens

The title of this collection is “Beneath the Magnolia Trees” because it is an example of the imagery that one can expect from haiku. Many of the haiku in this anthology involve things that I have observed in nature. The other haiku come from moments captured from my life surrounding my beloved husband, my children, and my observations of people in the real world. Some of these haiku simply come from my vivid imagination.

My favorite haiku are the ones that involve one or more of the five senses that allow the reader to develop an emotional connection through that particular haiku, and truly experience the moment that each individual haiku is trying to capture.

old blue truck
sputtering
as the key turns

early morning sunrise
tangled sheets
entwined with you

our first date
my favorite shoes
. . . his vomit

date night earrings
the only thing
I’m wearing tonight

my guardian angel
out of breath . . .
asks for a new assignment

mirror, mirror
on the wall
. . . another gray hair

picture window
on display
. . . my neighbors

the sweet smell
as I walk . . .
beneath the magnolia trees

a letter written
to myself . . .
the ghost within

laughing along the river
from behind his back
wildflowers

muddy paw prints
on my carpet
. . . that’s not mud

sunbathing     and
unamused by your presence
the fat house cat

driving on back roads
getting lost . . .
in your eyes

across the room—
she locks eyes with
the one who got away