EN340
/ IN350 Global Haiku Tradition
Dr. Randy Brooks
Spring 2003 |
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Those
Were the Days
Selected Haiku
by
Nathan
Carden
In
this collection, titled "Those were the days,"
I chose my favorite haiku that I had written throughout
the semester. Most of the haiku I write come from memories
and dreams. I also like to write simple haiku that gives
the reader an easy picture to imagine and relate to. I feel
haiku has changed the way I look at life and events. I try
to write haiku that people can relate to. Childhood memories
are my favorite topic to write about.
Nathan
Carden grew up in Antioch, Illinois. He graduated from Millikin
University in May of 2003 with a Bachelor's degree in sociology.
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Reader's
Introduction
A
truthful, convincing haiku must evoke an image or feeling
from it's reader. Not always must the reader empathizes
with the authors work, but be able to find some connection,
changing the words to colorful images in their mind. Nate
Carden's haiku brings a snapshot situation to his readers.
I find several of his haiku dance around childhood with
fond nostalgia then grow through out his life touching
on eminent memories. Reading through his haiku book is
like reading Nate's autobiography from his sandbox fun
to college.
warm
summer bike ride
untied shoelace
stuck in the chain
I
loved this haiku because it reminds me of summer and all
the ritual events that take place during the long hot
days. I can picture Nate, younger, riding his bike around
the neighborhood. Then, suddenly his shoelace becomes
tangled and down he goes! I laugh when I read it, thinking
back to my own memories.
Rachel
Perry class of 2004
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chain
link swing
head back
feet to the sun
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little
big city
matchbox cars buried
in the sandbox
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quiet
warm afternoon
swinging alone
on the driving range
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long
ride home
thoughts of good times
replay through my head
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holding
hands
walk on the beach
footprints disappear
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pitch
black
. . . ten Mississippi
ready or not here I come
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paralyzed
fingertips across my back
goosebumps
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another
break
back home again
with tons of laundry
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Up
North
Grandpa
cooks the eggs, hash, and bacon. Grandma sets the table,
pours us juice, and makes the toast. It's a cool spring
morning with the lonely lake sparkling across the yard.
We eat early so we can hit the lake and go fishing while
the big fish are biting. Sun rises over the lake and dew
covers the grass. We fish under a willow tree, waiting impatiently
for a bite. Grandpa says if we catch enough fish, hell
fry em tonight for dinner.
sizzling
bacon wakes us
quiet morning on the screen porch
fog blankets the lake
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©2003
Randy Brooks, Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois || all rights
reserved for original authors
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