Keith Campbell

Global Haiku PACE June 2005
Millikin University

Keith Campbell

Selected Haiku

by
Keith Campbell

Author’s Preface

I knew very little about haiku before taking the Global Haiku Traditions course at Millikin University with Dr. Randy Brooks. After reading other haiku by classmates as well as notable haiku authors, I found it very enjoyable. Especially sound haiku can touch the emotions, senses and climates…all in three lines.

Equally important is the tempo of the haiku. For instance, a haiku may sound better with the last line in the first or second line. One can read aloud and position each line differently to choose the possibilities of how it can be presented. Having another person hear or read the haiku also helps.
Haiku is a small poem art of suggestion and connotation linked to personal experience and touches the real world. In other words, nature is linked to human nature. Many authors write about their feelings, hobbies, values, and memories. Each haiku ends with a different meaning for everyone.

In my readings, I found other haiku authors interesting. In particular, I enjoy reading from Nick Virgilio, Cor Van Den Heuvel, and Jeffrey Winke. Nick enjoys writing about nature (animals, water, and plants) and the seasons. Cor enjoys writing about baseball which is one of my favorite sports. Jeffrey writes with humor.

The more depressing and romance writing is not my cup of tea, but I still read and try to imagine what the authors are feeling, seeing, hearing, and/or touching. These types of writings did not click for me as well as the more upbeat, humorous, family nature loving haiku’s did. However, after realizing what the haiku was about, it was an interesting story within a short poem.

Haiku for me, deals greatly with my family and friends. These short poems offer memories of my past, present and what I picture as the future for my two children, my wife and myself. I like to express all emotions in my work. Life is full of emotions which makes living interesting. I have realized that it is a challenge to capture the moment in brief poems.

—Keith A. Campbell
Mount Zion, IL
July 7, 2005

boys in the garage
thunderstorm
beating on the pavement

Friendly Disagreement

dial by memory
the voice
of a friend

acquaintance’s share interest
diamonds and numbers

we argue
to prove a point
only to move on

the master of stats
provides useless knowledge

the boys of summer
grant memories
and welcoming conversations

baseball and friendship
are a constant tale

Keith & Clint

newborn child
in the hands of her father
a lot to learn

hot blistering sun
tip-toe swiftly
on the blacktop

traveling for miles
fart disturbs the silence
four door air

deceased son’s jacket
still in the coat closet
mother smells his scent

gaze at my child
trying on school clothes
my reflection

summer night popcorn
all packed in the car
outdoor movie

Summer Night – 9:00:01

where will the road go
many different lives
one second in time

smoky casino on water
slot coins drop

on a downtown street
crouch over with pain
a drunk bum hungers

         the last beer
         behind the wheel
         only the tree survives

father peeks in
sleeping child dreams

         write for hours
         lightening strikes
         computer screen darkens

Keith & Stacey Campbell