Global Haiku • Fall 2019
Dr. Randy Brooks

Shaping the Clouds

by
Charlize Pate

The haiku in this collection are centered around the frustrations of life. Getting through them, dealing with them—from minor inconveniences or constant annoyances to larger problems. Every little thing can be a chore at the wrong time. Stuff happens in life that is out of our control and it is often hard to maintain a positive outlook. The haiku I picked for this collection outline some of these challenges and struggles. When taken individually, as most of them were written, they may be read as just little unfortunate occurrences. However, when taken as a whole, a theme starts to emerge. They show a journey beginning with a plague of unfortunate events, the attempts to take back control over life, and then a shift of perspective when force does not work. I named the collection “Shaping the Clouds” because it is an innocent exercise our minds often take part in. We can look up at them and imagine they represent different images, but it is the shift in our mind that allows us to see it. We see different things because we are looking for them and trying to make something out of them.

About the Author

Charlize Pate is an English Writing major with a creative writing emphasis and a minor in publishing and editing. She is a staff writer for the Decaturian and is also a music minor and performs in various groups across campus.

my to-do list:
      • won’t fit
      • in 3 lines

in my shoe
a pebble
i hobble on

coffee
poured in
a gas tank

unsure
i water
the dead plant

dominoes
that old best friend
who takes my money

third wheeling?
not for me!
i’m a unicycle

time, my mind,
milk
out of everything

a show of hands
grasping
at straws

twist . . .
of an ankle
you’re out.

down my chin
      blood dribbles
Tooth Fairy owes me five bucks

walking on water
a spider creeps
into the canoe

backpaddling
our oars
out of sync

wishing on airplanes
          the stars
have already fallen

creak of a swing set
in the howling wind
the witching hour

throat tightens
was it the sickness
or was it you?

the bottle spins
wet lips, soft lips
her lips

grace notes
their delicate function
optional

twelve reps
weight lifted
off my shoulders

skipping class
to go skip rope
cinderella

blossoming sun
the morning better
than my dream

meringue morning
shaping the clouds
with my mind

the last check
on my to-do list
i crumple up the paper