Global Haiku • Spring 2017
Dr. Randy Brooks

My Cold Haiku

by
Kyle McMahon

There is a time and place for everything, and when it comes to writing haiku I believe there is a time and place for that as well. Haiku should not be forced into your brain, and I never think of writing haiku as a task. I think of them as a time to expand your mind while expanding others. Rather than thinking of a topic, I try to think of stories or past situations that have effected me in an emotional way.

Even though I try not to simply stick to a topic, I do try to stick to a more rebellious out-of-the-box fashion. Making sure my haiku are more intense and surprising is my goal. I also try NOT telling the full story. I hope you enjoy experiencing my haiku, joining my stories and creating stories of your own.

shaking
the empty cologne bottle
he lights a cigarette

the young mind
revolves in his own shell
—let it be . . .

tires fuller
than our pockets
we head to the coast

skin screams for ink
I wait for
my tattoo psychiatrist

back from the funeral
we do dishes
as a family

quick tug
from the fishing pole—
I sigh for the tenth time

my uncle asks
for my life plan
I chug a beer

the woman in white
smiles
not her wedding

peeking through the cracks
of an empty parking lot
a yellow tulip

the lights go on—
I thought I was dancing
with her

at the funeral
an old man
grabs the last cookie

a homless man
repeats his signature
over and over

lonely umbrella
shading nothing
but its feet