Global Haiku • June 2025
Dr. Randy Brooks

Giving the Past, Presence

by
Tierra Cook

Writing is courageous, reading haiku is selfless, as the memories and emotions within each line are given a new place to exist. Haiku is a safe place to be. Reader, writer, or listener, haiku let's people breathe in the life that words have left behind on teh page.

This class has been a delight. I've learned so much about haiku, as well as unlearned things I thought I knew about poetry and the world around me. The following collection includes haiku that activated forgetten memories, healed unnoticed wounds, and made the mundane feel extraordinary.

conch
for a listening ear
the shore says goodbye

butterfly
how many days
have you seen the sky

spritz of lavender
subtle night breeze
rest     well deserved

silk painted petals
a sad memory
turned into joy

vase half full
roses
for Mother's Day

cold confections
light like flour
inside is where it's warm

dark and cold
not in my home
seconds for everyone

rise and fall of my chest
and shoulders
all throughts at bay

pallbearers stand
near the casket
inside jokes

warm air
skintight
eager for the last leg

. . . an apple a day
but
I like oranges

crocs
unsuited
for the rottweiler