Haiku Kukai 01 Favorites
Global Haiku • Millikin University • Winter 2024
1 door swings open Danielle Piper This one actually did make me smile. I reminded me of my boyfriend. We are high school sweethearts. He always makes time to visit me and never complains about the long drive. He is truly such a great supporter. No matter what he always shows up with a smile and most of the time new flowers for my vase. Flowers are just such a kind and loving gesture. Lauren Killian, May 2024 |
2 coffee's warm embrace Danielle Piper I feel that this haiku stood out from the rest, because it had a very non-abrasive and peaceful tone. The language used is very calming and makes me think about my own personal alone time. Coffee is a drink that I enjoy very frequently so that may contribute to my interest in this poem. In the second line I think about long days spent doing countless assignments for school, but also the satisfaction of being hard at work. The last line reminds me about how much I enjoy having personal space and that life can become very overwhelming without it. Collin Applegate, May 2024 In this haiku, I imagine that is is a Saturday morning. It is the middle of May, and college finals are just around the corner. A young student gets up early. Makes a pot of coffee, and sits down with her laptop open. She begins to work, finishing the essay due on Monday, finishing the presentation due on Wednesday, and studying for the Friday Exam. She is calm, yet fierce. She is in the zone. Her notebook lays on the table, full of notes and highlighter marks, things are bolded in sharpie. She is in her element. Chance Cole, May 2024 |
3 empty highway Danielle Piper The scene of an empty highway with soft music playing and a tear falling is like a tiny movie clip of someone feeling really alone. The highway stretches out, all quiet and empty, while the music adds a kind of soundtrack to the moment. And that tear? It's like a silent statement of how the person is feeling, maybe sad, or maybe just overwhelmed. But it's definitely a moment where you can feel the emotion, even without any words. Alex Wozniak, May 2024 After reading this haiku, it reminded me of when you hit a point where all of your emotions take over and you become numb. This particularly happens on late night drives; you are by yourself and can be vulnerable. It's easier to do it behind closed doors with no one else around. When there is an open road with no one around, your feelings are able to become stronger in the sense because you are completely alone. Music comes into play to help remind a person of what they are currently feeling based on the lyrics and allowing the emotions to come out fully. Bella Mattaliano, May 2024 This haiku is so relatable to me. I could actually imagine it, because I have been there. I don't cry all that much but when I do it's because I am all alone, my emotions have been bottled up, I am driving and then a relatable song comes on. There is something about a good cry, listening to your music and going for a drive. It always helps me let it out and recollect my thoughts. This haiku is so easy to connect with. Lauren Killian, May 2024 I found this haiku to be moving as I think we have all felt this emotion before in some capacity. There are nights when you are driving home from work or school and it just did not go as planned, all you want to do is bawl your eyes out, but you cannot as it would be unsafe. The solution, the single tear and a good playlist to scream to. Tara Becker, May 2024 |
4 years of suffering Thomas Hill Even though I wrote this one it's still one of my favorites because of personal experience. I wasn't always athletically gifted as I am now. Constantly being overlooked and under-appreciated by coaches and teammates. Never really given a fair shot. But it was so easy to just give up and quit. That wasn't the route I wanted to take though. I wish it happened overnight but it just doesn't work like that. It took years of hard work, training, putting in extra hours to show people why I deserve a shot and get the recognition I felt I deserved. And when I finally got that chance I made every second of it count. I showed people all that pain and suffering built a fire in me and I used it to build me and make me stronger physically and mentally. I'm not where I fully want to be yet but I'm happy with how far I've come over the years and seeing that what i'm doing is paying off. Thomas Hills, May 2024 |
5 the brightest in the room Thomas Hill I found this haiku to be particularly dark. I always seem to be drawn to the more macabre. This reminds me of the idea that the nicest words are always said about you at your funeral. I’ve always found this to be a kind of sad idea to think about but at the end of the day it is the truth for some people. This haiku really embodies that message. Tara Becker, May 2024 |
6 under stadium lights Terrion White I liked 6 because it reminded me of playing in high school under the big stadium lights. I remember the crowd being electric and the energy of the night is unlike anything I've felt. Playing in an atmosphere like that is unlike anything I've experienced. Danielle Piper, May 2024 This haiku captures the electric atmosphere of a sports event under stadium lights. The huddled whispers and sudden plans suggest a moment of excitement and anticipation among the spectators. Then, as the crowd erupts into a roar, you can practically feel the energy pulsating through the air. It's like being caught up in the exhilarating rush of a big game or event, where every moment is charged with emotion and anticipation. Alex Wozniak, May 20 |
7 a crowded room Bella Mattaliano Haiku #7 just hit in a way that felt so familiar. Within the crowded room there can be many distractions. I envisioned this at a party. Within this Kukai I absolutely loved ‘but not you’ I felt a connection that even in a crowded room with distractions the reader will always focus on their ‘person.’ For that I fell in love with this Kukai. Hailie Schafman, May 2024 |
8 soft kiss Bella Mattaliano |
9 a cold night Bella Mattaliano When I read haiku number 9 on Kukai 1 it allowed me to really bring back memories from some of my most memorable nights with my longest-lived friends. Before one of my friends moved away, we would often sit around his campfire and just have long talks which would usually have no substance whatsoever, but they aren’t something I would forget. The cold night and fire stopping just reminds me of an end to the times that we had and how we won’t be at same spot anymore, but the memories will always stick. Jacob Bullock, May 2024 |
10 crystal blue pool Chance Cole |
11 five page essay Chance Cole I like this one because I think everyone understands this feeling. All of us are students and we all stress about school. A lot of students do not always try on homework they just want to get it done. I think some teachers do not always understand that we are in more than one class, some are in sports, or student orgs. Reed Pierson, May 2024 I picked this one as one of my favorites because it is very relatable. I am a big procrastinator so I often do assignments right before they're due because I feel like that's when I work the best. There have been nights I have been thinking about how to start a paper and that process alone can take me a lot of time.I can't even count how many times I've lost sleep or couldn't even sleep because the night before I was doing something school related. It's just a part of college I guess. Thomas Hills, May 2024 |
12 hands joined at sunset |
13 boxes on the floor Tara Becker |
14 take the meds |
15 phone call with a friend Tara Becker I really liked 15 because it reminded me of being away at school and being on the phone with a friend from home. I picture it being my very best friend who lives hours away from me. However, every time I talk to her we just pick up right where we left off. It's easy and fun. When I talk to her the conversation just flows and when we talk for hours it really does feel like minutes. Danielle Piper, May 2024 I chose this haiku as one of my favorites because I can relate to it. As someone who has a long-distance best friend, I spend a lot of time on the phone talking to her. I spend so much time and yet it never feels like long enough. Especially when I cannot see her in person. I feel many college students can relate to this haiku. Kylie Villarreal, May 2024 I also like this one becuase when you are with the right people times goes back so fast. Leaving Millikin for the summer gets harder and harder each year because my friends at school start feeling like family because you spend so much time with them. Reed Pierson, May 2024 |
16 feeling alone Kendra Hentz After reading this haiku, it reminded me of growing up. As you grow older, you achieve milestones of graduating college and moving out of your childhood home. You're in your early 20s, moving into your first house/apartment without your parents for the first time. It's thrilling but after a while it becomes very lonely in a sense you have to do everything on your own. You aren't able to come home to tell a funny story or something great that happened during your day in person, it's now a phone call. Bella Mattaliano, May 2024 This haiku was one of my favorites because I feel it is very relatable. I think every college student can relate to feeling alone and homesick. This haiku is a perfect encompassment of that. I also enjoy its simplicity. It gets the point across in a still poetic way. Kylie Villarreal, May 2024 |
17 the sound of crashing waves |
18 red light Jacob Bullock The haiku invites contemplation on the reasons behind these different responses. It prompts us to consider why we sometimes stop and why we sometimes push forward, and what these choices say about us and our approach to life. It highlights the tension between caution and boldness, conformity and individuality, and the ever-present choices that define our paths. Terrion White, May 2024 |
19 a grand ballroom Kylie Villarreal In this haiku, I imagine a party. A college party. Everyone is dancing and singing, and having a good time. The guests are drinking, and some are even some are doing drugs. But in the corner, alone, stands one man. He is an athlete. He has never drank alcohol, or done drugs. And he has no interest in trying them tonight. But he came to the party because his friends came. But, as they are off drinking and dancing, he stands there, and he cannot help but feel out of place. Chance Cole, May 2024 |
20 new build neighborhood Kylie Villarreal
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21 hot summer day Kylie Villarreal In this haiku I immediately feel a reflection towards some of my own personal interests. I love being outdoors and experiencing first hand what nature has to offer. The tone that this haiku sets puts me in a headspace of exploration and the freedom of moving through nature. I imagine going on hikes near bodies of water, and sailing boats through lakes. It really gives me a perspective of a crisp landscape that I would love to visit. Collin Applegate, May 2024 |
22 tan skin, wet hair Reed Pierson |
23 old friends drinking beers Reed Pierson Reed’s poem is very nostalgic as a college student. When you are around those friends again who you once spent every weekend with, being a silly teenager. Never thinking that you’d miss the good old days until they were gone since everyone was so eager to grow up. Those nights you all rekindle and feel like kids again, even for a few hours. I have many of these memories myself, and although these nights are slim they are always very nice times. It is definitely one of my favorites. Perhaps I peaked in high school… Abby Park, May 2024 |
24 busy day |
25 swiping left Blake Wiebe As for haiku #25, I enjoyed it because of the realness of it. It seems like for our generation the easiest way of finding ‘love’ is through a dating app. I find it crazy that a lot of people I talk to brag about their list of people they found on a dating app and possibly never met the person before. But why I like this Kukai is because of the reality of it. Dating apps have become the new ‘norm’ of finding love. Hailie Schafman, May 2024 |
26 flashing lights |
27 no attention being paid |
28 birds softly sing Lauren Killian I enjoyed 28 because of the imagery of a warm summer day. You can hear waves crashing in the image. Which then in my mind associates sand too. It is clearly warm, as the swimsuit has dried and birds chirp softly. It reminds me of memories of early beach mornings. Perhaps someone went surfing early in the morning, then laid in the sun. Enjoying the warmth of the sand and sunshine; listening to nature. It feels very peaceful and calm, like a scene from a movie. Overall, a very comforting poem with great imagery. Abby Park, May 2024 |
29 clean shoes Collin Applegate Haiku 29 showed and made me imagine how when you are working hard at something that although your clothes or shoes may be dirty in return you are gaining experience and knowledge that others who shoes or clothes are clean still wouldn’t have and that is an experience that not everyone gets and only people with hard work get to obtain. Jacob Bullock, May 2024 This haiku suggests that true experience and wisdom are forged in the moments when we face the unexpected. It encourages a perspective that values these experiences, recognizing them as essential to our development. Instead of lamenting the dirt, we learn to see the beauty in the journey it represents. Terrion White, May 2024 |
30 crickets fill the air |
31 endless tasks, emails, Alex Wozniak |
32 winds whisper Lauren Killian |
33 sun set low Hailie Schafman |
© 2024, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.