Global Haiku • June 2019
Dr. Randy Brooks

The Light of Fire

by
Emily Boes

I chose the title “the light of fire” because of the several connotations fire can have. Fire is a powerful and destructive force of nature, yet it is necessary to survive. This duality establishes the extremes I am to write in my haiku. I want to bring my readers to the darkest depths of human imagination (just short of gratuitous), and to the highest of great moods. many things in life have several meanings and connotations, and that is a strong influence in my haiku: the good and bad elements of life.

I also have an affinity for science fiction and fantasy, which translates into my haiku as well. I believe imagination is a part of the self. If a person can imagine an image, then that image becomes a truth. Even if they’re on ly experiencing it in their minds, it is still an experience they had and can understand. I find the notion that haiku has to be grounded in concrete reality ridiculous, due to human nature being so dependent on imagination and critical thinking. Pure, raw objectivity is nearly impossible in writing, so subjectivity needs to be perpetually embraced.

I base my haiku on real objects (my ex-boyfriend’s sweater) and imagined scenes (the gravedigger) equally. The haiku selected here were chosen because they feature the mix of my experience, including my daydreams as well as physical objects and real experiences.

early morning sunlight
chocolate chip waffles
and vodka

a smiling face
creaking open the door
odd kinship

sweatshirt
stolen from a man
I never loved

endless water
strong winds fill our sails
rocking us to sleep

shallow puddles
a child stomps
creating waves

rainbows in the blood of a sunken ship

damp earth
you emerge from the soil
writhing

a cold room
a fluorescent light
sings a lullaby

summer breeze
a rope swing
rocking itself

throwing her necklace into the casket
 

musty earth
the gravedigger
slips a ring into his pocket

black robes drape down
porcelain masks
glisten with the light of fire

my tiny hand
wrapped in hers
squeezing

Real Estate

flickering flames
bring a pleasant scent
to the room

mask the garbage
rotting meat

figures drift past windows
readying the home
for visitors

stand and wait
for a lack of movement

one figure
blackens the window
stillness

raise an arm
and wave

Emily Boes
& Tressa Rudolph

ducks speak
across the pond
an English horn

one step

spets owt

full moon
candlelight
illuminates ashen skin

airline commercial
an aria
about murder

dark forest
the wind
speaks words of love