Haiku Kukai 08 Favorites
Global Haiku • Millikin University • Spring 2022
1 your giggle Amanda Handegan (5) I really liked this one because it reminded me of seeing an old family member that I haven’t seen in a while. I have had a divorce in my family, and I have experienced seeing my uncle and aunt split up their family. My cousins were not really around that much. Recently, I was home and got to see my cousin and I hadn’t been around here in a minute. I heard her laugh and saw her smile. It was nice to see her, and it gave me up that I was going to be around my family more. There is so much power in connections and this haiku was all about a connection. Andrew Tufano, Spring 2022 |
2 a couple yellow tulips Amanda Handegan (5) |
3 throwing darts Nick Canton I enjoyed this one because its like one of the movies scenes. Where a guy is teaching her how to do something and that first touch of your hands is almost electric and you can feel the sort of tension or excitement between the two of you. Camryn Wagner, Spring 2022 |
4 one |
5 you are yellow Sydney Sinks (2) |
6 counting green buds Sydney Sinks (4) |
7 brown squirrel and I Sydney Sinks (5) |
8 butterfly on my shoulder |
9 dua lipa: on we’re levitating Jas Humphrey (8) |
10 judgmental stares |
11 witch’s cackle Alex Saviano |
12 p and m |
13 charcoal shrieking Nick Canton (6) |
14 bitten nails Nick Canton (7) |
15 cookie crumbles |
16 the old, creaky bench |
17 sitting in the |
18 why do I have |
19 jenga Kelsey Crotz (7) |
20 mate-riarchy |
21 woman Mandy Thrasher (6) I’m starting to feel this as I get older. I feel like when I get to a certain age, I won’t get to be myself for the betterment of others. I’ll be an aunt, God parent, not a mom but a mom if I happen upon a child. I feel like moms’ sometimes give up on being themselves to raise little goblins. Emma Antonelli, Spring 2022 |
22 15-minute drive Kelsey Crotz (6) |
23 home cooked meal Mandy Thrasher (5) |
24 lost Mandy Thrasher (8) |
25 sunny day |
26 corpses |
27 the early morning sun Gwen Klinkey This haiku exudes warmth. I literally had a physical reaction to the second line “warms our sheets”. There is nothing better than that feeling. The third line also made me smile. The image of waking up next to someone you love in a warm bed is so beautiful. I love the gentleness within this haiku. Amanda Handegan, Spring 2022 |
28 sweet tooth |
29 back rub |
30 little black dress |
31 road trip: Andrew Tufano (8) |
32 sprouting dandelions |
33 his arms |
34 friends on mute Andrew Tufano (7) |
35 so many ears, so many eyes Marta Viúdez García (3) |
36 chilling at Von Maur Marta Viúdez García (6) My mom loves that room, and I hate it so much. It smells like cheap leather and old lady perfume. Also, all of the shoes were ugly in there. The only time I got shoes in there was when I was little. Emma Antonelli, Spring 2022 |
37 wearing gentleman shoes Marta Viúdez García (3) |
38 fading scar Emma Antonelli (7) This one caught my eye right away. The scar tells us that there was pain, whether it was emotional or physical, and it left a real mark on the speaker and affected them for a long time. But now that hurt is finally fading, and the speaker is welcoming the healing that comes with time. “The hum of crickets,” while pretty, can also be a little overwhelming, and I think that’s the feeling we’re meant to get from the haiku. But this droning noise has stopped and has been replaced with a comforting quiet. It reminds me of the changing of the seasons and how “the hum of crickets” literally dies down as the season changes; similarly, the speaker is in a new season of their life, and that pain isn’t as intense anymore. It’s a beautiful idea. Sydney Sinks, Spring 2022 |
39 shopping cart Audrey Button (11) |
40 I reach out— Emma Antonelli (6) I love a good horror movie or book and I think that not enough of the haiku that we have read in class have horror themes. I think that the dash serves this haiku by acting as a jumpscare, I can imagine someone in a foggy graveyard scared by a HAND coming out of the ground! I think it’s interesting that the author says that they reach out to the hand in the grave because that is the exact opposite of what I would be doing if I say a hand coming out of a grave. Audrey Button, Spring 2022 |
41 park bench Audrey Button (5) I really liked this one because it reminded me of when you are young and dealing with crushes. I feel like sitting next to someone meant that you have a crush. Then when people would see you, they would be like starting rumors because they say so and so sitting at the park bench together. It is very innocent and kind. It tells a love story, and it makes me feel like someone is interested in me. I am very into this one and how adorable it is. Andrew Tufano, Spring 2022 |
42 soft porcelain face Emma Antonelli (3) |
43 screw butterflies Kelsey Crotz (7) |
44 kick |
45 aching back Audrey Button (3) |
46 colors of the rainbow Camryn Wagner (8) |
47 the silent evening Camryn Wagner (6) I love the images that come to mind when I read this haiku. I can see myself sitting on my back deck at home in the summertime listening to the cicadas. I think that the silence being broken is a good thing since the author said “cicada song,” it makes me think that a person is welcoming the broken silence and is almost relieved by it. Audrey Button, Spring 2022 |
48 firefly Kelsey Crotz (4) |
49 static from the record player Camryn Wagner (7) |
50 arm over arm |
51 heavy blue clouds |
52 an egg yolk globe Sydney Sinks (5) I thought the use of every single word in this haiku was just brilliant! Each word painted the picture so clearly for me, and I truly felt like I was dropped directly into the moment. I particularly love the use of the word “globe” because it’s just a unique way of identifying the shape of an egg yolk beyond “circle” or “sphere” or something like that. Alex Saviano, Spring 2022 |
53 silky soft sheets Mandy Thrasher (4) |
54 fermentation Nick Canton (7) |
55 your last name Jas Humphrey (5) |
56 the weight of winter Jas Humphrey (4) |
57 another stupid joke Mandy Thrasher (3) |
58 give me just oooonnnnnneeeeee Alex Saviano (7) I really enjoyed this haiku because of how fun it was to read. I have definitely said this same thing, in the same way a million times before. I really appreciated the spacing of the last line and I thought it was super clever. I pictured a lady behind a desk typing feriociously on her computer while completing a very important task when someone comes and demands her attention right away. I heard her finishing up typing and then pressing enter right before the last line. Amanda Handegan, Spring 2022 |
59 b r e l Audrey Button (8) We love a Marlene Mountain inspired “unaloud haiku”! This was done so well, and it does a great job of making the shape of the umbrella. I love that the dry portion literally forms the handle that stays dry, while still completing the picture. This was just so clever and such a fun way of writing haiku. It makes me smile to see some creative unaloud haiku. Kelsey Crotz, Spring 2022 |
60 s p |
61 silence Kelsey Crotz (5) This haiku had Marlene Mountain written all over it and I LOVED IT! I thought it was so clever finding the different pronunciations/using homophones to break apart the word “silence”. For a while, I didn’t actually even realize the part of the haiku on the left and thought it was just the idea of playing with homophones, but then the extra added bit of “she (re)” made it all so much more impactful! This might be one of my favorite haiku I’ve read all year. Alex Saviano, Spring 2022 |
62 little kitty who said you live here? Kelsey Crotz (8) |
63 Tie grr. Kelsey Crotz (6) |
64 oversized shoes |
65 dog in the mall Geo Tapia (7) |
66 his hands on my waist Gwen Klinkey (4) |
67 oxygen tank Jas Humphrey (4) |
68 the door opens |
69 slow dancing in the kitchen Isabel Vincent (5) |
70 porch swing |
71 comfortable silence |
72 weeds Andrew Tufano (11) This haiku reminds me a lot about toxic relationships or people. There are just moments in life when you come to a realization of someone being too negative in your life. This resonates with that second line of the haiku, “he’s overstayed”. Maybe he was beneficial to your life earlier in the stages, but now he has overstayed for too long and may have felt too comfy in the relationship. When I read this haiku, I almost feel powerful because it’s like so relevant to my life with this one person and he is just too much chaos for him to stay in my life. I love it. Chase Nelson, Spring 2022 |
73 the grey sky Camryn Wagner (8) |
74 he said he doesn’t want Chase Nelson (5) |
75 talk of future plans Amanda Handegan (6) I love this haiku. As so many of us prepare to graduate, this feels like the first time where the next step isn’t necessarily obvious. It’s thrilling and a little frightening to think about this next step and how there aren’t a ton of limits on what could happen next. This haiku puts these feelings into words and also issues a challenge: What if I really do go out and conquer all these grandiose plans I have? In high school, my best friend and I spent a lot of time planning trips we never took. We’d talk about going to Iceland, for example, and what we could do there, and we’d even look up plane tickets and compare prices. There was just something intoxicating about researching the flights and thinking that if we really wanted to, we could be in another life by tomorrow morning. This haiku reminds me of that experience and that confident, almost defiant feeling of “what would happen if I did?”—a feeling I haven’t had in a long time, but that’s coming back to me now as I think about what my life will be after I graduate. Sydney Sinks, Spring 2022 |
76 late april |
77 scattered puzzle pieces Emma Antonelli (8) This haiku is very bittersweet. It is really sad, but sort of beautiful in its sadness. It is such a hard thing to deal with when you are in a relationship that just isn’t working, but you aren’t quite ready to let it go. Instead, you try to force the pieces to fit. This only causes more strife and sadness, but you don’t realize this because you are neglecting the other puzzle pieces. You are so focused on the two pieces that you cannot see the full picture. The hyper-fixation isolates you and keeps you from reaching your full potential. Until you can accept that the pieces don’t fit, you won’t be able to work towards putting the puzzle together in the right way. Kelsey Crotz, Spring 2022 This haiku goes along really well with the one on top! The relationship is just not working out together. This relationship could’ve been something good at first, but once they got to know more about each other and see how each other reacts to different things, they noticed that they weren’t a good match. This happens all the time. People start to see what’s on the inside of a beautiful person from the outside and they just realize how much more different they are. Not a good match. Chase Nelson, Spring 2022 |
78 bakery display case Emma Antonelli (11) I thought this one was really sweet. You can just image this bakery display case filled with yummy treats and seeing the reflection of your boyfriend’s face and getting a small smile from him. It is a sweet scene that is perfectly displayed with these few lines. Camryn Wagner, Spring 2022 |
79 promises to watch me graduate unkept Jas Humphrey (7)
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© 2022, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.