PACE Global Haiku • PACE November 2014
Dr. Randy Brooks

Common Ground

by
Brittani Allen

common ground is a place in which we are familiar. common ground is a place where we feel a sense of belonging. on common ground, we spend a moment with our hearts and minds joined with those of the people around us.

the art of haiku captures the sight, sound, feeling, and smell that we experience in split seconds of our everyday lives. haiku poets have the opportunity to bottle up these sensory rich, personal moments to share with the world surrounding them.

my hope is that my approach to haiku poetry will speak to readers of all backgrounds and paint vivid, imaginative images that are real and relatable. through this art, i hope that my readers and i will share a moment together on common ground.

~brittani

small talk over coffee
for just a moment
common ground

old wool afghan
touching toes
she steals a little warmth

messy hair
just two more bites
Cherrios on the floor

first missing tooth
on Halloween eve
jack-o-lantern smiles

Christmas morning
mom unwraps
a priceless gift of scribbles

Christmas gift from grandma
I peel back the paper
. . . socks again

mistletoe above us
he pecks my cheek
our first christmas

maybe even better
than the day before
thanksgiving turkey

first day of baseball
grandpa's old glove slaps closed
on my hand

a shot of vanilla
in the ice cold coke
drugstore soda fountain

a life that seems perfect
on my side of the screen
Facebook

in the flicker of light
i see his smile
candlelit dinner

Monday Morning Rengay

My husband and I spent the morning together before work on Monday. These haiku reflect the main things we did that morning. First, we both checked Facebook while we drank coffee. I thought it would be interesting to write a rengay while each of us scrolled through our timelines.

Facebook Timeline

early morning
signing on
to catch up on news

reading updates
that don’t really matter

a woman tries
to convince me to buy
stuff i don’t want

an old acquaintance
keeps talking about church

a video begs me
to find out what happens
when you fry a whole pineapple

five mom brag about
about their kids' average talent