Global Haiku • Fall 2024
Dr. Randy Brooks

A Choir of Birds . . .

by
Charlie Armstrong

for Mom

Haiku is a wonderful way of perceiving the world around us, our emotions, memories, thoughts, or even day to day life. It is often thinking of things that may go unnoticed in your mind, the small, subconscious thoughts, such as seeing a squirrel stash his acorns and saying, “Gotcha!” In that sense, nothing is “insignificant” in our lives, we just never notice them!

Learning to read, write, and understand or sympathize with haiku means to learn to understand what goes on around you, or that you understand nothing at all! There is beauty in the sense of understanding where you are in the world, and by learning to create haiku, you tune into what matters to you, and how you can put it into three lines or less. Through this, you can share what the world is for you to others, and you may never have to explain a haiku, as each one means something unique to every individual. With this, I hope these haiku mean something to you.

morning dew
grass bends
under gentle weight

a tailor
the lone crane
adjusting his feathers

homeless man
his eyes
shoot to the ground

sister’s wedding
brother and I hand off
our third musketeer

birth of a nephew
holding new life
stunned

a lake summer sunset
reflections of golden hues
as I hook a gator

aroma of grandma’s kitchen
from grandpa’s porch
bacon and pancakes

mom touching my hair
once again
I am a child

a sculptor
I am my own chisel
constantly chipping

old friend
tells all
the small-town rumors

a choir of birds
the wind
carries their gospel