Global Haiku • Fall 2025
Dr. Randy Brooks

So It Is

by
Jordana Samnick

So It Is, is about making it through the downs in life. It is about going out on a personal journey, going through the motions, forcing yourself to keep going until you can’t. It's about recognizing when you've hit the bottom and acknowledge how to come back up. It's about honoring the process to get there, taking the time, pouring into yourself, feeling the emotions, and no more running. It’s facing the problem head on and pushing through it, pushing through it because you know it gets better. Most importantly, it’s about being true to yourself, being completely 100 percent you through all of it, because at the end, you’ll be back to the spot that started it all.

The art of reading and writing haiku has reminded me much of what I learned in therapy, which was the art of being mindful, how to listen, how to describe, and how to be present. I feel like this class was a great reminder of all those things for me. In all aspects of life, I value being more mindful and present, because I feel like you can never enjoy the moment too much.

Being in haiku class has helped me practice the art of listening and giving mindful feedback. In my personal life, haiku has helped me slow down. Not everything is a race, and when you slow down is when you have a moment to enjoy the small things or even notice them.

window to the soul
but your curtains
are drawn

feet glued to the floor
but someone
picks me up

I backspace for the millionth time
but that line
never comes

getting better every day
but sometimes that pot
still boils over

rolling graves
I hear
the whispers