PACE Global Haiku • January 2009
Dr. Randy Brooks

Selected Haiku

by
Stephen Lones

My approach to writing haiku is simple: do anything besides think about haiku and the haiku will come. Ironically, most of my haiku have come to me at work. I’ll be typing away on the computer when a topic or a line will come to me, so I’ll stop and write for a bit. Apparently my brain refuses to be creative under pressure.

I was very surprised by how enjoyable writing haiku turned out to be. It allowed me to explore the feelings associated with my memories, both good and bad, and to write them down on paper. The more vivid the memory, the easier it was to write. If I had to search for a memory, my haiku tended to be flat. I prefer to not be too wordy, but I sometimes fail at that desire. Overall, my haiku writing was extremely cathartic and I hope you find some small enjoyment from my first haiku attempts.

a tipped canoe…
my good mood carried away
by the swift current

the falling snow—
now no one knows
where I’ve come from

cold pizza…
no microwave
for you this morning

after more blankets
she asks for a fan—
frost on the window

a closed door
I pause to listen…
she weeps inside