Haiku Kukai 07 - Winter Holidays - Global Haiku • Millikin University • Fall 2019
fresh baked cookies
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three generations stand |
flour found Meghan Hayes I really liked this haiku because it reminded me of this tradition that I have with my little sisters. Every year, around Christmas time, my sisters and I go over to my grandmother’s house and we bake Christmas cookies with her. My grandmother buys pounds of cookie dough and we just cover her kitchen table in flour. She also had a bunch of Christmas cookie cutters that we use to make cookies in the same of Santa Claus or gingerbread men, or candy canes. Last year, I remember coming home after finals and all I really wanted to do was rest. But, my sisters begged me to go so that I wouldn’t break the tradition. I went and I had a wonderful time. It made being home for Christmas feel real. Gillian Genardo, Fall 2019 |
half-baked Morgan Bode (21) Ahh spending time intoxicated with family members trying to make treats to enjoy together later. There’s not much else quite as pure or as simple as that. Alex Bergland, Fall 2019 I LOVE this haiku. I have never heard of people getting drunk and attempting to bake on Christmas, but apparently this is a somewhat popular activity. I imagined my kitchen at home filled with family members spilling ingredients all over the kitchen. My mom is usually pretty neat and clean, but I imagine her to be okay with this messy activity on Christmas eve. Overall, I love the idea of familes drunkenly trying to bake items. Tori Stuart, Fall 2019 |
electric Christmas morning |
Christmas eve coffee Madeline Wilson (5) |
hot chocolate Gillian Genardo (9) |
hot chocolate Joel Ochoa I read this haiku as hot chocolate being a person. Much like how hot chocolate is so great because it warms you up on the inside, a person you love can do the same. I imagined going through the holidays with my girlfriend and just how happy that makes me. Being around the people you love during the winter really does provide so much happiness for everyone. I liked how simply this message was conveyed through hot chocolate in this haiku. Jon Kuebler, Fall 2019 |
ah, hannukah |
hannukah cactus |
smell of pine Victoria Stuart (6) |
train under the tree |
Christmas lights Jessi Kreder (9) |
sitting on dad’s shoulders Gillian Genardo (8) |
hung on the tree Jessi Kreder (6) |
the tree inside |
swaying in the snow John DeAngelo (8) |
carrot left in the snow Jonathan Kuebler (10) |
snow sparkles |
I lay in the snow Elizabeth Napier (10) This poem takes me back to a specific childhood memory. My mind goes straight back to fourth grade, playing in the front yard with my little brother on a snow day. His wide smile was adorable, and his red, chubby cheeks made me want to cry. I felt so happy and grateful to be making snow angels with him. I did not even think about the cold. Why would I, when I had so much joy in that moment? Rebecca Jaffe, Fall 2019 |
snow fall Elizabeth Napier (10) I think the way this haiku is written is absolutely brilliant. The staggered effect of the haiku matches what falling snowflakes would look like. This doesn’t take place in a great blizzard. The language and style indicate that it’s a gentle snowfall, one that is enjoyable to watch. Clean, safe, and bright are all words that I think work perfectly with describing a snowfall. I picture this taking place at night, which would allow the snow to appear brighter when juxtaposed against the night, especially under the light of a streetlamp. Altogether, I thoroughly enjoyed this haiku. Ben Kuxmann, Fall 2019 |
snow Madeline Curtin (7) |
spherical snowball Ben Kuxmann (9) |
black friday Cassandra Reed (5) |
all the presents opened |
wishing christmas Cassandra Reed This haiku made me really sad. Christmas is always magical and I love that you make new memories every holiday season, but there is something so magical about Christmas as a child that you can’t get back as an adult and I hate it. There is this one Christmas I will forever compare all Christmas’s to. I was wearing matching purple jammies and we went downstairs to these big teddy bears under the tree. I felt like the luckiest person in the world. There was so much joy in that day. Lizzie Napier, Fall 2019 |
star of wonder Gillian Genardo (5) |
broken home: Madeline Wilson (10) |
the family at the table John DeAngelo (9) |
what do I do |
Christmas eve Elizabeth Napier (4) I love this poem. It makes me feel warm and cozy. The word jammies really adds to the poem. It makes me think about being at home with my cousins. I think of the simple times when we would run downstairs to shake the presents before we could open them. This poem brings me home and I appreciate it very much. Cassie Reed, Fall 2019 |
Christmas Eve |
string of lights Joel Ochoa (6) |
Alexander Bergland |
crackling fire |
all I want |
annual Christmas party |
mistletoe Michael Hoelting (5) |
jingle bells Madeline Curtin (4) So, for me I like this anti holiday poem not because I hate the holidays but because as soon as Halloween is over everyone forgets about thanksgiving. I just do not like how people totally skip a holiday and want to skip straight for Christmas and that is just not right in my eyes. I feel people neglect thanksgiving just because they do not like the holiday, and I find it sad. This holiday is important, and people should have some more feelings for the holiday, much more than what people do now. Michael Hoelting, Fall 2019 |
Christmas eve confessional Madeline Wilson I liked this haiku because of the play on It' s A Wonderful Life. That line is probably one of the most infamous of all time, so changing it up is shocking to my eye. A good shock, but a shock nonetheless. I' d like to know the story behind this. I' m not Catholic so I don' t know much about confession and I' d like to be educated. Meghan Hayes, Fall 2019 |
ugly Christmas sweater John DeAngelo (12) |
“Silver Bells” on loop |
if I hear Mariah Rebecca Jaffe (19) |
the same Christmas music Alexander Bergland (6) The sky has been dark for hours now, and I have just gotten home from a long shift at work. I drove home and took in the sight of the first significant snow fall of the season. I seem to forget every single year how snow has an ability to silence the earth and make everything feel softer. Mom was on her day off, so the smell of her homemade chili and her favorite candle, Yankee Candle’s Balsam and Cedar, tango in the air. The Christmas tree is bare and the crate full of our old, sentimental ornaments are on the ottoman. Mom is half listening to a Hallmark christmas movie where the business executive falls in love with the small-town business owner but turns it off to put on my grandfather’s favorite christmas album: Frank Sinatra’s A Jolly Christmas. My brother is also in the living room. I quickly change into comfies, and when I come back, mom has a cup of coffee ready for me. We decorate the Christmas tree together, not needing to say much of anything at all. Mom hums quietly, just like my grandfather used to do. Just like his grandfather used to do. Madeline Wilson, Fall 2019 |
Maoz Tzur Rebecca Jaffe (10) |
alleluia Victoria Stuart (6) |
© 2019, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.