EN340 / IN350 Global Haiku Tradition
Dr. Randy Brooks
Millikin University PACE Summer 2004
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TammyWright

Tammy Wright

Essay on Michael Dylan Welch

Selected Haiku
by

Tammy Wright

My first exposure to Haiku was in 2000 when the Global Haiku Festival came to Decatur. I helped with some of the organization of the event and met many of the great authors. While I must admit, at the time, I didn’t understand the passion these authors had, it certainly didn’t stop my curiosity from making me read more and more haiku as I worked the book store at the event.

Since that time, I’ve made a few attempts at haiku writing. I’m most drawn to nature haiku. In times of light heartedness, I also find myself trying to find something daring or humorous to write about. But my interest always settles with the beauty of nature. I share with you my personal favorites.


a loving gaze
    a gentle nudge
        the puppy licks my hand


misty night
   somber face
      ring around the moona


Ginko – Lake Shelbyville

single life jacket
      floats—
against the shore

quiet waters
jig falls deep
tug tug – YANK!

I move
she moves—
my shadow

burned tree limb
lays among the weeds
home of a million creatures

she leaps from the boat
nose to the ground
poops!

so many people
so much food
she searches for scraps

ants
a tiny grasshopper
two against one. . .

hot summer day
we creep into the cold water—
a warm spot

the sky darkens
the tarp heaves
children play in the rain

the ground trembles—
a train whistle
blows

shovels and buckets
children at the water's edge
sand castles

 

 

painted canvas
   sunrise over the lake
      my face warms . . .

©2004 Randy Brooks, Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois || all rights reserved for original authors