Global Haiku • Spring 2020
Dr. Randy Brooks

Tidbits

by
Patricia Rooney

I write to you today, an introduction of my collection of haiku here entitled Tidbits. Haiku, to me is an observation of a snapshot in time, a picture that looks different to everyone as it’s a moment in the mind’s eye. It is the epitome of concisety, where every word has a meaning to develop a picture in the reader’s mind, or a moment. Some of these trigger memories. Some make all new memories. But they always make us readers pause, reflect, and breathe in the moment it takes us to. For one moment we are in a world entirely of our own creation and that is why I enjoy writing haiku. I love picking out the words that tickle all the senses, as to me, these are the haiku that make me warm. And I enjoy the little oasis from time, writing haiku brings me to. I hope these can bring you, Friend, to an oasis all your own, for even a moment.

These haiku are tidbits of this crazy thing we call life. Everything from that evening cup of tea to calm us before bed, to the beauty of nature all around us as nature itself is life too. I hoped to paint the world a bit through rose tinted glasses. With the uncertainty of the world right now, I wanted to put together a collection of poems that painted the world in a kind light that would remind us that it’s not all bad, that there is beauty still to be experienced even from six feet apart. I hope you enjoy them, and perhaps they inspire you to write some haiku all your own.

How has haiku affected my life?

With all the craziness in the world right now, it’s easy to focus on the negatives in life. How we’re all trapped inside, how we can’t spend time with the people we love, how the people we love are dying, etc . . . but haiku is a short and sweet little oasis away from all that turmoil. Whether it triggers a pleasant memory, or it creates a totally separate picture in your brain, haiku allows us to take a step back, take a deep breath, and live in a moment more beautiful, more pure, more pleasant than the life we are living now. It allows us to look at the curve of a flower petal or savor the taste of honey or the smell of freshly mown grass. It allows us to focus on the nice and beautiful things around us and in a world like the world right now, I’ll forever be eternally grateful for having haiku in my life to take my mind off the impossible.

Another nice thing about haiku is that it’s up to everyone’s own interpretation. Where someone gets a really strong scent of lilac from a haiku about flowers in a vase and it might make them think of their mom because lilacs are her favorite flower, it might remind someone else of a really bad break up. Haiku is entirely up to the reader’s interpretation and that is one of the other things I love about it. My interpretation is never wrong. It’s just my own. Pat-rice Rooney, Spring 2020

amber drizzles
my cup of tea
a little sweeter now

bowling with the family
mom’s shoes
just a little too slippery

rain patters
on a tin roof
a blanket fort

beads on a necklace
of wind:
cherry blossom petals

returning to childhood
on the wings
of a swing

social isolation
my cat
attempts yoga

two girls
tying the knot
friendship bracelets

squeaking:
the sound of fun
in a red wagon

on the life-stained sofa
a family meeting
my parents come out to me

in a quiet corner
an appointment
with J. K. Rowling
and a cup of tea

Ben and Jerry
the best wingmen
when he doesn’t call

pools of color
on the stone floor
between the pews