Global Haiku • Spring 2021
Dr. Randy Brooks

Haiku: Window into the Soul

by
Kaitlin Hathaway

Writing haiku is an art that I did not appreciate at first. I have always had issues with writing and interpreting poetry, so I thought that haiku would give me the same challenges. It took some time for me to develop my haiku writing skills. I remember thinking that haiku had to have the 5-7-5 syllable count on the first day. Luckily, I have learned so much about haiku since then and have changed the way I write haiku. I found that haiku writing is all about capturing a moment. Whether it be a moment that has some form of a deeper meaning or simply a moment that lingers with us forever, the art of writing haiku revolves around capturing a single moment.

When I write my haiku, I also want to invoke a feeling. My favorite haiku that I have read have been the ones that make me feel something. I wanted to do that in my own haiku as well. That is why for this haiku collection, I am focusing on my haiku that were inspired by some of the best and worst points in my life. Haiku, along with other poetry, is so beautiful because it allows us writers to be vulnerable. Many of these were written inspired by when I was at my lowest, so I hope that people read these haiku and it gives them hope that it will get better. I want these haiku to invoke feelings for the reader.

clear vase filled with
your dying flowers
I throw them away

swipe left, swipe right
we matched!
the loneliness lingers

red roses
they should know
I like daises

spring cleaning
I keep the clothes
that hold our memories

wild night
we look up
at the spinning stars

spring breeze
Ariana Grande through the aux
shades on, windows down

Harry Potter: Seven Horcrux Rengay

MISGUIDED WORDS

the first horcrux
used to create
avoidable death

simple blank pages
dark leather consumed with dark magic

the first victim
the girl who cries alone
in the bathroom

slipped into her caldron
she scribbles her thoughts to me

she speaks to me
influence is growing stronger

the chamber of secrets is open
the first split
of his soul

THE HAND THAT WOULD BRING DEATH

October 1943
from the hands of death
I was born into greed

that greed of his
that I fueled

he who saught revenge
upon his muggle father
for his disappearance

the blood of Salazar Slytherin
runs through his veins

for the man of greed
I would recycle death

my death doesn’t bring him remorse
I gave the reaper
more souls

CONTAINED EVIL

an object that once
held what one would call
beauty

filled with the memories
of their final moments

trapped
the muggles were unaware
of their impending deaths

the thirst for power   
grows by the second

no remorse, no redemption
the heart doesn’t mind

the supreme act of evil
it soon became
the purest form of living

BEAUTY FILLED WITH EVIL

the man filled with evil
became obsessed with my curves
to split his soul

the poor elf pained with
the planted murderous memories

shining gold
my beauty drained
in her final breath

what a shame that poison
is believed to end her life

how ironic that a Hufflepuff
being killed by someone’s loyalty

if only his appetite
wasn’t so tasteless
and filled with hateful purpose

TAINTED BEAUTY

aged and magnificent
once belonged to a mother
intelligent and wise

stolen from her daughter
jealous and sly

found in the forest
what was once loved
now lost and forgotten

the beauty tainted
with villainous purpose

hidden away
along with junk

mishandled by many
them not understanding
the beauty they hold

SSSERVANT

ssspoke my tongue
ssslave to his magic
sslaying his enemies together

ssstarved forced to ssswallow
sssoulless carcasses

sssinful curse
sssets his sssoul in me
sssplitting himself once again

ssslithering by his side
ssstrength came to him by numbers

ssstriking traitors
sssaving nothing left behind

sssoon my fate would find me
ssslashed in the neck by the
sssword of griffindor

THE BOY WHO LIVED

the chosen one
a boy born in the seventh month
whose parents thrice defied him

he would have the power
to defeat Voldemort

October 31, 1981
a mother’s love
saves her son

a scar is left
emotionally and physically

either must die
at the hand of the other

the boy knows a power
Voldemort will never know
love