Global Haiku • Spring 2017
Dr. Randy Brooks

bruises

by
Jordan Oelze

This collection of haikus embodies my aware and romantic heart. I have a strong urge to connect with every person that I meet, and those connections stick with me like bruises. Some hurt, some sting, some feel down right wonderful. Each haiku explores my interest in relationships and vulnerability. They are all like bruises. I don't know where some came from, and some…I can remember exactly how they felt.

Jordan Oelze is a junior Acting major from St. Louis, Missouri. He has participated in several mainstage shows at Millikin such as As You Like It and Rough Magic. He is an active member of the honorary theatre fraternity Alpha Psi Omega and a member of the Math Club improv group.

heavy downpour
my mom's shoes
soaked on the deck

matching bruises
never looked so good
                        on us

he traces my back
with the softest touch
I pretend to sleep

light and airy
two water signs
skinny dip

counting freckles
I pull the sheets
heavy breathing

we follow
the blue line
    to the windy city

snow-covered train tracks
the warmth of your skin
    guiding me

Grandma's garden
a hummingbird
flies backwards

vodka lips
popped balloons
cover the floor

unanswered texts
mostly upset that
I left my shirt in your room

a breeze before dawn
light-up shoes
hitting the asphalt

gasoline
my mother's tears
on the steering wheel

running running running
                    stop
           b  r  e  a  t  h  e

the butterfly kite
    billows in the wind
        one broken wing

piggy back ride
     my niece's arms
choking me

overcast
my dad picks me up
from my mom's house

every night   
     I somehow end up
          next to you

if i knew   
it was the last embrace
     i would've held tighter

i want to write haiku
     on your skin
with my lips

we shoot the breeze
     as it
breezes by