Global Haiku • Spring 2022
Dr. Randy Brooks

The Fool's Journey

by
Kelsey Crotz

In the world of tarot, we follow the journey of “The Fool” as they navigate their journey through life.

We are all of us fools, as some point in our lives. Initially, I believed that my journey as the fool would start when I graduated. To an extent, I still believe this to be true. However, after this very eventful few months, I believe my journey has actually already started. I know there is still more to come, and that I still have much to learn. However, I also recognize that I have already learned quite a bit. I started off this journey with high hopes, and a keen interest in adventure. I was met with trials and tribulations and had to navigate my way through those hardships. I am quite honestly still working through them, and I expect more setbacks in my future, but I am intent on enjoying every step I take along the way (even the bad ones).

Enrolling in haiku this semester has been a blessing for me, as it has helped me really take things one day at a time and live in the moment. I have learned to process things as they happen, and I have become more aware of my own emotions and needs through writing. I have experimented with writing styles, gone through some growing pains, and also written some things that I am really proud of.

This haiku collection follows my journey as “The Fool” specifically. It was inspired by my haiku project on tarot, as well as the many fluctuating events in my life. But mostly, it was inspired by the following haiku:

                   transitions . . .
                   I have never felt
                   so old, while so young

When writing this, I was feeling on the cusp of something big, while also feeling sad about the things I was leaving behind.  I think this really encompasses what it feels like to grow up, and embark on that “Fool’s Journey”. I hope my readers feel somewhat similarly.

rose quartz
rose-colored wine glasses
I keep looking through them

the leaves crunch
a little giggle
escapes her lips

salt in her hair
she brushes the sand
out the cabin door

laughter and Doja Cat
I lend her
my skirt

screw butterflies
hippo
in my tummy

vanilla and honey
I catch a whiff
of the person they are

dandelions for my teacher
I miss
how easy it was

entering the auditorium
the ghost light
sends a warning

cracked china
too late
to juggle it now

                  silence
                  sigh
she (re)       lents

growing pains
why do I have to feel it
alone

perverse glance
do it once more
this weight is getting chucked at your head

boulder tossed
dowbn the mountain
I finally said it

ocean jasper
treading water, you are
my lifeboat

high priestess
I look for her
within me

ears perking up—
her own language!
i missed you dear friend

jenga
the trunk
of her car

sweet magnolias
we reminisce
and copy the accents

porcelain angel
in her hands
I hope she takes good care of it

silvery stardust
we glide
on to the newest adventure