Global Haiku • Fall 2018
Dr. Randy Brooks

Bio: Haley, a Decatur, Illinois native, is a Mathematics – Actuarial Science major at Millikin University. Along with writing haiku, she enjoys running, travelling, and spending time with her family.

Photograph

by
Haley Vemmer

Introduction

Most of my haiku come from observing things around me and some come from memories. Many of the things I write about are significant because they make me happy or are from a good memory. A lot of my haiku also come from not knowing what to write about and picking something I can see or hear to write about. My very best haiku come when I least expect them to, and they are most often about some memory I have.

Reader’s introduction

Haley's haiku are very personal and relatable. She describes situations that we have all been in with perfect detail. For example, I clearly remember times where my curfew dampened my fun, and times when I've bought my own boxes of chocolate. Haley's writing takes me back in time and helps me remember times in my life. ~Julia Krull

tea kettle whistles
in harmony with
the howling wind

at the drunk man’s feet
the old hound
laps up the spilt beer

Santa Tracker—
watching as his sleigh
flies over Chile

needle and thread—
daddy sews up
her teddy bear

abandoned bicycle
a dragonfly rests
on the handlebars

before sending the text—
I delete the
“sorry to bother you”

after the harvest
the old farmer watches the sunset
from his rocking chair

old bookshelf
favorites easy to pick
from the collection

stoned—
he tries to cradle
the feral cat

“accidentally” kicking
the man stealing
my leg room

February fifteenth—
she buys her own
box of chocolates

twenty-one shots
the soldier presents
your son your flag

harvest moon rises
the farmer
still in the field

blackout—
moonlight floods
the city streets

fireflies—
the children race to catch
stars within their reach

snowfall
too late for
a white Christmas

visiting grandma—
sweeping fallen leaves
from her headstone

leaving the test
thinking about
changing my major