mailed in a shoebox
teardrops salt your cookies
weeks after you’ve gone

Allison Lingren (5)

This haiku has an aura of sadness which brought me to imagine the death of a grandmother. It seems all too likely that a grandma sent cookies to her granddaughter in college, but by the time the cookies arrived, the grandmother had died. I picture a batch oatmeal scotchies lying on tissue paper inside a worn, blue shoebox. A student sits Indian style on the floor and hovers over the box, weeping. Natalie

I think I like this poem so well because it reminds me of who I am right now, rather than in the past or future. I picture myself getting a package from the mailroom here at Millikin, which is always exciting. I notice it’s from my mom and I feel two contrasting emotions: sadness because I miss her so much, and joy because I know she loves me and misses me, too. I take my beloved package to my empty dorm room, sit on my bed, and carefully cut the tape and take off the top of the box. Inside is a plate of chocolate chip cookies, sent with love, from mom. I have such a strong relationship with my mom, and ever since she and my dad divorced, I have hated leaving her alone when I come back to school. Even after being back for a few weeks, getting her cookies in the mail take me back to that instant I drove out of the driveway, headed back to Decatur. Liz

humid noon
children play in the creek
with wet clay

moonlight
lake water takes my breath
skinny dipping

Rachel Cook

This haiku made me think of a canoe trip I go on up in Canada. After were out in the wilderness for 8 days we get to come back to the base island where there is a huge sauna. The night we come back everyone gets to use it. First they let all the girls use it for an hour then all the guys get to use it for the hour after that. The wood in the sauna tastes dry, and the heat is relaxing but it get overwhelming. This is why there is a back door that leads out to the lake. A lot of people will go into the sauna and then run out into the lake butt naked. The first year that I went on the trip I had never gone skinny dipping before. But, after my friend Shelly and I thought about it we figured it would be ok and heck there’s a first time for everything, right? We went into the sauna and when we couldn’t stand the heat anymore we ran out the back door and jumped right into Lake Nym where our giggles were cut short by the rush of water. When we came up to the surface it seemed like all around us was pitch black and it was just us, the lake, and the stars. Corinne

stiff mittens
brittled scarf
buttery insides

frozen pond
the gash on my chin
painless

Brian Blankenship (4)

I really liked this one because it reminded me of my friends and I doing unnecessarily dangerous stunts on the frozen pond behind my house. It really creates a good image of how things that should hurt don't when you're having fun. Brian R

This haiku makes me remember when I was a small child and how we could just play and have fun and forget about responsibilities. We could get hurt, throw a bandage on it, and be back outside before the next game started. Life was much simpler. I remember playing with my friends in my neighborhood over our winter breaks. We’d start early, before lunch, and play well into the evening. There were snow forts and snowmen, and snowball fights and sledding, and when we got hurt it never dampened our mood. The freeness of it all overwhelmed us. Adam

This was the first haiku I starred, and came right to it for my first respond. It is very simple. It has fewer words than most and it’s adjectives are not uncommon, but the image resonates deeply. When I read the first line, I immediately thought of ice fishing but then realized that no one ice fishes on a pond, rather at a lake or river due to size. I recognized that it wouldn’t take as much cold to freeze over a small pond as it would a much larger body of water. Therefore, I mentally classified my outside temperature as being frozen, obviously, but not that of artic measures. “The gash on my cheek” made me envision a teenage girl who had been practicing figure skating in her back yard pond. She was working relentlessly, training hours on end, and this pond had been made just for her commitment to the sport. I saw the girl doing a triple axel which was out of her range of skill and come crashing down, cutting her cheek on a sharp part of the ice. However, the second before she crashed she knew what she had done wrong. Her cheek was bleeding, she was frozen, and it was getting late but she would remain caught in attempting this death defying stunt for another 2 hours. Traci

a comfort to know
candlelight vigils
for all those “Nice Guys”

I reach for her hand
she does not retreat
now what?

Adam Stefo (7)

I love the image this haiku puts in my head. It is a classic first date ordeal. A boy walks the girl to the car after a date. He is so nervous that his palms are sweating and he is stammering whenever he speaks. It has taken him the entire date to build up the courage to reach for her hand. When he finally does, he closes his eyes because he cannot face the possibility of rejection. After a moment passes, he opens his eyes and realizes that this dream girl did not reject his hand… and that they are still standing in the middle of the street. Faith

up the stairs
running swiftly
my cats

sleepy musicians
watch the sun rise
a yellow school bus

adjusting my dress—
hands shake and breathing shallow
I wait for my fate

after so many words
I realize
I haven’t said much

Melanie McLay (10)

The emotion ringing from this haiku is startling. The first line provides a sense of frustration and exhaustion ringing from a torrent of conversation. At the same time, it is as if the person speaking has finally come to terms with the fact that they have met a dead end, that their eager attempts have become futile. The defeat is not, however, from any other source. It is from their lack of judgment or word choice. The haiku sums up the realization that sometimes a person’s defeat is a personal failure, and that blame should not fall on others. Erin

This haiku is meaningful and has an interesting perspective on our use of words. The first line makes me imagine a library. What is a library if not a place of words? I imagine the Decatur Public Library (before it moved to the Sears building downtown). There are people everywhere reading and expanding their knowledge. The second line is the epiphany line. The third line goes along with the second and completes the thought of the haiku. I know that I have definitely felt the way the speaker of this haiku feels. At some point, we all think about the massive amount of communication that has taken place in our lives.   We write papers, e-mails, speak to each other, talk on the telephone, write reader-responses, write poetry, write prose. With all of this, how much have we actually accomplished? How have our words changed the world, if they have at all? As an English major, these are all questions I confront on a constant basis. I like this haiku because it is more thought-provoking than it is imagistic. Pat

When I first read this haiku, it made me think of haiku and haiku writers in general. In class we have talked about how even though they are just short poems with a few words, they still hold so much strength and meaning to the people reading them. After reading it a second time, I took that idea and expanded it to real life events. I pictured a couple who just got into an argument, and the man is trying to explain himself. He is in hot water with his girlfriend, and after trying to talk himself out of trouble, he realizes that nothing he says really makes a difference… he “hasn’t said much” to change anything. Liz

This Haiku did not create an image in my mind as much as it cultivated an emotion within me. I have been in many situations where I don’t feel as if I’m correctly able to give my thoughts justice through speech. One may attempt to describe it in any and every way possible, and still never seem to get the point across. This generally leads to more attempts, until one finally becomes frustrated and realizes that they’ve done nothing but speak a bunch on nonsense. It’s a funny and frustrating feeling that I felt this author demonstrated very well. Jamie

What a profound realization. I have found myself in a position such as this many times. I tend to talk a lot, and when I’m nervous I talk even more (or I’m completely silent). Chatter is so often meaningless. Or perhaps this could be in reference to an attempt to have a deep conversation with some one that you just cannot seem to ever finish because you always walk away feeling that there is something more you should have said. Faith

I have been in this position. I am one to talk a lot, and sometimes I don’t actually say anything despite the fact that my voice is gone by the end of the night. This poem has a sense of emptiness in it, as if the author one had someone near to them which they always talked to but now they are gone and they have even more to say. This is not a person who the author took for granted but someone who they really tried to express themselves to. Now that they are gone they feel like they should have said even more. It’s one of those “I’d trade all of the times I said I liked you for one I love you”, a hole that no matter how hard you try, you can never fill in the end. Andrew

a gasp—
before the applause
after the music

Allison Lingren (6)

I love the image and feeling this one gives me. This haiku made me think of Broadway. I went last summer to see Assassins and The Producers and they were unbelievable! I had never thought of it before, but there is that moment right after the end of the music where you are just blown away by the talent and the emotion and you have to pause and catch your breath before you are able to physically applaud. I really had never noticed that until I read this haiku and it was like an epiphany because I instantly knew what moment they were talking about. Rachel

As a musician, I know this feeling so well—that intense moment right after you finish your final note. It is absolutely the most powerful moment of any performance. For the audience, it is a moment of hesitation—waiting and wondering, “Is it time to applaud? Perhaps there is a surprise ending…I will wait for someone else to start applause…” But for a musician, it is a moment for you, a moment to know for yourself what you have just done, to appreciate the thrill of performing. Melanie

I thought this Haiku was interesting because I followed up the last Haiku I wrote about perfectly. It was almost as if it was a continuation of the last Haiku. All of the choirs, as well as the orchestra, held out one large note together and crescendo until it wasn’t possible to crescendo any more! Just when the note could be held no longer the director ended the piece with a very sharp cut off. There was a split second of silence where you could feel all 2,500 audience members gasp in as they were released from the music. After that moment the theatre was roaring once more, but with the sound of applause. Jamie

green grass
spotted by stones in rows
a flower wilts

shoulders hunched
the chill fall rain beats them down
overdue books

late evening sun
covering the swimming pool
a good book

two kindred beings
the dance cut short by deceit
back to loneliness

eight am
from inside the shower
Buscemi is singing

Brian Blankenship (6)

I like this haiku because it is a good representation of college life. It wouldn't necessary have to be the author's roommate, as described in the haiku, but the whole idea of waking to one of your roommates singing in the shower is quite funny. I get the idea that this is a common occurrence as well. I also like the way eight is spelled out and am not punctuated. Rick

This haiku struck me as something completely ridiculous and entirely hilarious! For some reason, I pictured a very famous scene from the TV series “Dallas,” when Victoria Principal woke up and discovered Patrick Duffy in the shower and realized that the entire previous season (including but not limited to his death) had just been all in her dreams. When I read this haiku, I imagined this, but with Victoria Principal discovering not Patrick Duffy in the shower, but Steve Buscemi (one of my favorite actors!) This is one of the most absurd things a person could think of, but it’s what came to mind, and it made me laugh out loud! Sarah

Maybe I picked this one because I know Buscemi, but I really did like that it brought me back to freshman year in New Hall 4. Our whole floor was really cool and everybody always hung out together during the week, and Buscemi singing in the shower was no rare occurance. Brian R

a new beginning
writing mindless words
housemates being loud

stary night
a cricket’s lullaby
outside my tent

Corinne Cullina

Stars are a beautiful symbol that describes a vast, infinite beauty that I will never be able to understand. They also give room for imagination and mystical worlds to suddenly appear through the different arrangement of lights. I can just see a young couple camping under a canopy of glorious stars, softly being drifted to sleep by the music of the crickets all around, not even making it back to the shelter of their tent. The couple is so enraptured and taken aback by the gorgeous landscape that they see the tent as more of a hindrance, than protection. Erin

Florida morning
before the sunrise
bed’s warmth gone

a child’s gift
painted rock in neon paint
for Grandpa’s headstone

restless daybreak walk
the burning bush before me
calms me

What am I?
A whisper
or your shadow?

Jamie Devitt

The question’s on both line one and three bring several relevant emotions into the words such as bewilderment, frustration, awe, and perhaps even joy. It is unclear who is speaking, or whether or not they would prefer to be the whisper or the shadow. Personally, I view an individual that is caught in an inner struggle with their conscience. I see a voice in the back of my mind pondering whether or not some actions are led by a quiet part of myself wishing only for the good in everything, or if some malevolent part my subconscious is stealthily creeping forward to circumvent good intentions. Erin

all my words
seem to fail
when she cries

Brian Blankenship (10)

I love that this haiku says so much in so few words, especially because the small number of words complements what the haiku is trying to depict. It really captures the extreme helplessness the unsuccessful comforter feels. It also shows how much this person truly cares. Allison

This has both the element of love and the feeling of loss. This is written from the perspective of someone who wants nothing other than to stop the pain of one whom they love. They try and try to console, but nothing works when this person cries, it’s as if they care about this person so much that they feel like they must be missing something due to the fact that they cannot ease the suffering of their beloved. Andrew

the knight stops
dropping his sword
he gasps for breath

shaking finger slides
under the crisp folded edge—
who sends their love?

New Year's Day
passed out on the couch
someone I don't know

Rick Bearce

Although I've never been drunk on New Year's, this haiku still psinted a very vivid picture for me that forced me to recollect some not-so-fortunate happenings of freshman year. I especially like how the last line can mean either that a person I don't know is helping me, or that seeing myself passed out is seeing someone I don't know: a more metaphorical view. Brian R

brisk wind
sitting around the campfire
harmonica's melody

Rick Bearce

This haiku really hit me because my dad plays the harmonica and he would always take me to go camping. We would set up camp, find some firewood and get the campfire going. He would get out his harmonica and play it like a train was coming at us. It is the coolest thing. He would then break into a jazz song or an old country song. I remember one particular time when we went and it was a beautiful night but it started raining. Our tent was soaking wet. We ended up sleeping in his thunderbird. It was cramped and pretty uncomfortable, yet an interesting memory. I am glad to have been reminded of this time, I had temporarily forgotten it. Alisha

a young girl
the trumpets blare
in the autumn breeze

Elizabeth Braden

Immediately my imagination created the scene of a girl of nine or ten standing self-assuredly outdoors. She has auburn hair and matching freckles, but her most striking feature is the way she stands. Feet planted firmly apart, she exudes a sense of triumph. The trumpets complement the mood by expressing her victory through music. The glint of the instruments in the autumn sun matches the shine of the young girl’s hair. Natalie

For some reason, although there is no mention of it in the poem itself, I get a very strong sense of color from this haiku. And despite the reference to sound, I seem to mix that in with the color scheme as well. Being a brass instrument, the trumpet gives me a feeling of a very bronze like color, which I think mixes well with the reds and oranges and browns that well all associate with autumn and the changing of the leaves. I also like the way that the blare from the trumpets seem to parallel the autumn breeze. Brian B

last note shatters
against the frozen night sky
Dona nobis pacem

Allison Lingren

I really connected to this Haiku, because I have been in this exact situation. I actually think that this haiku might have been written about the Millikin vespers concert that I’m referring to. “Dona Nobis Pacem” was the closing song that all of the choirs sand together as a finale. The last note was this big, powerful note that everyone sang in unison, and I truly believe that it was spectacular enough to shatter any frozen night sky! Jamie

Grandfather
we glide across the lake
coffee and a sunrise

Faith Martin

I’m not incredibly close to either of my grandfathers, but I can perfectly imagine what it would be like through this haiku. The last line seems to say so much: ”coffee and sunrise.” I can just imagine a grandfather and grandchild (now, fully grown) on a boat ride—fishing, perhaps, in completely wonderful silence. A simple, tranquil moment—best described in as few words as possible. Melanie

old car
chugs in the winter chill
its destination unknown

Elizabeth Braden

I really like this haiku because my dad and I bought a 1950 Plymouth Super Deluxe as my first car. That car was the best. The windshield wipers wouldn’t work if you had the gas pedal pressed down, because it was a hydraulic system. I remember I was driving my friends around in it and it was a really foggy, cold winter night. We were just driving around and the dew started appearing on the windshield. The driver behind us was trying to pass us but it was a no passing zone and I had to keep slowing down so the windshield wipers to work. We liked to aggravate drivers that got all wrapped up because of something goofy. So, we laughed about it for a while, just driving around. Alisha

I have had several dreams that varied on this haiku’s subject. That idea of jumping in a beat up old clunker and driving to wherever the road takes me. The impulsiveness and uncertainty is what intrigues me about this situation. I’ve rarely ever considered the scenario in the winter, but I suppose the idea of getting away from it all in the winter (during the Holidays when stress is at it’s highest) would be more thrilling and satisfying than in the summer. Adam

walking home from aerobics
stale sweat
freezes my shirt

new books new backpack
a nervous young girl waits in line
outside the school

cold hands
slip into hers
brisk summer walk

traveling Sister
seagulls call
will she come home?

three little girls
singing wildly off-key
splashing mom

Faith Martin (3)

While I realize that someone wrote this haiku from personal experience, I am also forced to wonder if that person stalked me growing up! This haiku is my family. I am the middle of three girls. I have numerous memories of us going on trips and singing with our three scratchy little voices (no Christmas songs until after Thanksgiving …Dad’s rule of course). We would stay at a hotel that had to have a swimming pool and each of us would bring our swimming suits. We would get crazy and end up splashing my mom (some how we are all three still alive today..). While are no longer little, our voices are strictly for singing in the car by ourselves, and none of us would be caught dead in a bathing suit anymore this haiku tells my families story. Traci

the pitter patter of rain
like the steps of my children
who once lived here

twinkle, twinkle
you’ve been practicing
gold star

numbed fingers
grope at
orange rind

hiking
daddy long legs cross
the fallen tree

Corinne Cullina

This first line of this haiku made me imagine hiking with my family at Rock Springs here in Decatur. We did this often in my childhood. It's a cool morning and extremely foggy. We are in the "pine tree forest," an area of a lot of pine trees. I can barely see in front of myself because of the fog. The smell of pine surrounds me. The second line also made me recall a childhood memory. I remember that at a park one time (I don't remember specifically where), my dad found a daddy long leg spider and showed it to me. It was the first time I had seen one, and I was amazed by it.   The spider was small and also mysterious. This also represents the education process that my parents instilled in me. The final line of the haiku takes me back to the pine tree forest at Rock Springs. I imagine not a fallen tree, but rather a stump of a fallen tree. There are many stumps in the forest that people often trip over. They are abrupt and unnoticed. Pat

I am not fond of hiking and I absolutely loathe spiders, and yet this haiku captures the beauty in both so well that I can’t help but admire them. To think a single tree trunk could be a whole world to some creatures—it makes you feel so small in the world. Perhaps I feel connected to the daddy long legs through this haiku—I am hiking, they are hiking beside me. We are comrades, not two species competing for existence (although I’ll still be mad if one bites me!) Melanie

quiet girl
walks away from her past
in hot pink pumps

Melanie McLay (6)

This haiku made me smile in thinking how it related to my childhood, as a lot of haiku thus far have. I was a very quiet and shy child and that trait has carried over into the beginning of my adulthood. I feel as though I am very slowly stepping away from that part of my past, and I like how the author said “in hot pink pumps” because as much of a tomboy that I know I come across as, I have this soft spot for a pair of fabulous girlie dress shoes. Elizabeth

I think this one was my favorite of all. First of all, the image I get from “quiet girl” is my best friend. We are complete opposites; I’m the loud one and she’s the quiet, reserved one. She’s gorgeous, but she doesn’t really have confidence in herself. The next line, “walks away from her past” I literally see my friend leaving our town going to college. She goes to Western and she has blossomed there: she has confidence and she’s more outgoing now. She really came into her own. “Hot pink pumps” is an awesome image. Pink is all about girl power to me and so are the pumps. The girl in this haiku is forgetting everything she used to be and starting over being whoever she wants in these stellar pumps! Rachel

This haiku reminds me very much of myself. I’m trying very hard not to drag myself into the ideas of someone else, but it reminds me so much of my own experiences that I can’t not. Sorry to whomever wrote this.
I wen to the same school district from kindergarten all the way through high school with many of the same kids from beginning to end. From the age of five until about 17, I was very shy, very quiet, and very smart. I cared very much about what people thought of me, and rarely took risks. But then the summer between my junior and senior year, I spent six weeks at a Carnegie Mellon Pre-College theatre program. That program changed my life. I became much more outgoing, much more confident, and much more independent. When I came back, I was a completely different person, and my long-time classmates took notice. That is what this haiku brings me to. The mousy “smart girl” has discovered the hot pink pumps in the back of her closet, and she’s ready to take on the world. Stephanie

It seems to me that this haiku was written to have emphasis on the first two lines, with the third being a lead-in to her new life. I read it the first few times that way, but suddenly a different approach occurred to me. I read it again with emphasis on the first line and saw the second and third lines as a reference to the past. This is particularly meaningful to me because while I used to be crazy and wild and unpredictable, college has had a different effect on me; I’ve settled down. Even though I got excellent grades in high school, I’ve really begun to concentrate on my studies, working towards an early graduation. With my best friend thirty miles away and my boyfriend seventy miles away, I’ve become more of a homebody and less of a going-out girl. Some people might see this as a bad thing, but I LOVE it. I’m more focused and organized and I’ve caught up on my reading. I still have fun with my friends, and even still go out on occasion, but I’ve put away the hot pink pumps (or, in my case, hot-pink-knee-high-boots) for now. Sarah

tight hands on the wheel
rain drops fall
into cupped palms

steam escapes
from underneath my blanket
rubbing my shins

silence in the theatre
teenagers chuckle
at someone's fart

Rick Bearce

This haiku proves that haiku is not always serious and can often be both fun and meaningful. The first line suggests a serious tone. I imagine a movie theater packed with people. A serious film is showing (for some reason, I imagine Titanic ), and something awful has just happened in it.   Everyone in the theaters stops eating, drinking, or whispering to his or her friends. The second line made me think of "those obnoxious teenagers" that everyone has either encountered or been at some point in their lives. I imagine a group of eight, four boys and four girls, laughing inappropriately at the movie being shown. An old woman shushes them, which only provokes them further. The final line continues this image. I imagine the teenagers making fart noises as Rose and Jack profess their love for each other. They laugh at things only they understand. Pat

newspaper boy creeps by
us in the dark
talked the night away

mist rises
from the pool as I
swim into sunrise

Natalie Perfetti

The imagery in this one was great. I actually pictured a lake, even though it says pool. It’s early morning and it is cool water, but the heat of the day is sort of lingering in the air, almost waiting its turn. “Swim into the sunrise” is an amazing line! I can see a lake in the country with nothing around and the swimmer is alone in the calm with nothing but the mist and the sunrise. It’s such a peaceful image. Rachel

waffles pop up
grandma pours the
powdered sugar

rain on our faces
breathlessly laughing
soggy shoes

Natalie Perfetti

As I read this haiku I was taken back to a memory of my best friend and myself playing in the rain. I always love to play in the rain, but I usually cannot convince my sisters to join me. So one rainy evening, after rejection by both sisters, I called up my best friend Alicia and told her we should go play in the rain. Of course, we were about thirteen at the time and neither of us could drive yet. Since our mothers refused to drive us, we both took our phones outside and talked and played in the rain over the phone. That is, until my mother discovered me and made me bring her phone inside before I “ruined it in the rain.” (Note the humorous lack of concern for the possibility of electrocution.) Faith

rhythmic breathing
wrapped in warmth and down
as I fall…asleep

celery-green curtains
made into overalls
the walls of Mom’s bathroom

little tomboy
stuck between two brothers
alone

Rachel Cook

This haiku reminded me of anther we have read and one that I wrote myself. As I’ve said before, I grew up the forth child sandwiched between four brothers. I was a little tomboy—and still consider myself to be one—who was always just thrown in the mix of boys. I might have always been surrounded by brothers, but inside I was all alone, which no one to play with or even to relate to. Elizabeth

signal tower
blinking a warning
above the green field

packing and rolling
stack them in the freezing rain
our man turns to ice

cold winter chill
gives you an excuse
to hold me closer

Jamie Devitt

This strikes me as a very sweet haiku, and reminds me of one of the reasons why winter is my favorite of the four seasons. I love being close to my boyfriend, and in the wintertime we tend to stay very close when we’re outside (be it for a long walk or just the distance from our parking place to Wal-Mart). In the summer, couples seem to mostly hold hands because it’s so warm outside, but in the winter, body heat from that “special someone” is an added bonus to keeping warm. Even inside, we curl up under a blanket in the winter when we’re watching a movie. It’s cozy, romantic, and toasty-warm! Sarah

quiet night
your cold hands on my face
freeze my tears

Rachel Cook (7)

I really enjoy the clash of cold and warm images in this poem. For example, the cold hands on the face, the face being something usually associated with warmth, housing the rosy cheeks and being the center of emotion conveyance. I’m curious as to the connotations of the frozen tears however. I wonder if the tears being frozen are a positive thing – the tears freezing as a metaphor for ceasing someone’s pain. Or is by freezing the tears, the author is trying to say that the consolers attempts are lost, a sort of a reference to the Midas touch – he attempts to soothe her pain, but ends up just making things worse. Brian B

I absolutely love the imagery used in this haiku. Even though the haiku uses verbs and adjectives that imply the cold, the warm comfort that these hands give her is wonderfully clear. I really like this contrast. Allison

the shaking ground
my shivering body
longest train ever

tears fall silent—
you turn to leave me
my favorite mistake

chill of winter
at the cemetery
wreaths are blown over

Rick Bearce

The cemetery where my grandpa is buried instantly popped in my mind. He died at the time of year where fall and winter are blended together, and his headstone has yet to be put up. In its place is a wreath, which is impossible to keep standing. Every time anyone visits, it’s on the ground. Ryne

burning wind in her face
the runner takes off
across the dirt field

her best friend
the smell of laundry
in the air

Elizabeth Braden

This haiku reminds me of when my friend Agnes and I would ride our bikes around the suburbs where we live and note all the things we smelled. Our favorite smell was of dryer sheets. For this reason the smell always reminds me of being at home. It’s one of those smells that relaxes you and comforts you like towels just out of the dryer. Corinne

abandoned house
unfit for humans
footsteps

Brian Rohde

I liked this haiku because it is kind of mysterious. It's describing this house that is abandoned and unfit for human living and yet there are people there. Firstly, the author is obviously there, but he hears someone else in the house as well. It presents the idea that maybe the other person hears the author too, and neither of them should be there in the first place. It leaves a lot to be imagined, but I think in this case, that is a good thing. Rick

I saw two different images with this poem. Both involved a rickety old house, its siding rotten and its windows black and crooked, stuck in a nice neighborhood. It can barely stand on its own, and the vibrations from one footstep would bring it down. The second image adds a haunted image. Neighborhood children on the lawn, whispering and afraid to get closer like Scout, Jem, and Dill from To Kill A Mockingbird come to mind. The versatility of this image is what makes me like it the most. Ryne

I got goose bumps when I first read this haiku. I picture an old, antique, abandoned house. It is dark, cold, and dusty, and it doesn’t look like anyone has stepped foot inside of it in a long time. It’s the kind of house that your parents would tell you wasn’t safe, and that you’d fall through the floor if you ventured inside, and they’re probably right. After you read the first two lines, though, and everything is quiet and still, you hear those footsteps. My mind straight away went to ghosts in the house, making the haiku very creepy and mysterious. It reminds me of an old abandoned shed in the middle of the woods by my house that my friends and I once tried to explore in the middle of the night. We never made it up the driveway because we were too scared. Liz

This haiku reminded me of an old huge condemned house that use to stand a few blocks away from my house. It didn’t look like a typical house. There was a caved-in wrap around porch, an unfinished front patio, and different shades in the siding and roofing. The house just looked so spooky and interesting. My friend Larissa and I once tried breaking into it through a basement window. Even the floor in the basement looked like it shouldn’t be stood on or it would collapse. Corinne

last goodbye
waving
as the elevator closes

Rick Bearce (5)

I adore this one because of its open-endedness. So many times people (myself included) feel inspired by the pain and suffering in our lives. Rightly so. But this haiku isn’t necessary a sad one. For me, it’s more about those inevitable good-byes. If we want to grow, we must sometimes leave parts of our lives, often very precious ones, behind. This haiku makes me think of that bittersweet change. But it could also mean many things to many people, depending on which good-byes stand out most in their minds. I think that’s why it’s such a wonderful haiku. Stephanie

I think this haiku successfully captures the pain and difficulty of parting. The need to cherish every last second of togetherness and squeeze the most of those seconds is conveyed through the parting endearments exchanged right up until the moment in which the elevator door shuts. Even the act of a wave is something we’ve created a society to say goodbye from a distance. In our desperation to fight solitude and longing, we use the wave as an extension of our continuing attempts to remain in contact with those we love, even as they are leaving. A “last goodbye” implies that they have attempted to part several times with hugs and kisses and other exchanges, and now, with nothing else at their disposal, they wave, as the elevator door shuts. Brian B

slurps of chocolate milk
I open an eye
viewing my personal I.V.

dad saddened
my eyes full of
alligator tears

Alisha Goebel

I have only seen my dad sad a few times, and the main times that come to mind are when his two sisters recently passed away from ALS. I love everyone in my family equally, but some how my dad has always had this strange control on me. He has the power to make me the happiest or the saddest person in the world. I worry about what he thinks the most and how I can prove myself to him. “My eyes full of alligator tears” resonates very loudly with me. I have never seen my dad cry and as a result, try to never cry either. I picture my dad with this tough armor but I guess I only have the surface of a scaly alligator because sometimes I feel that if I don’t cry for him . . . then who will. Traci

delicious blustery wind
cools my head . . .
i chase after it

migraine’s heat
washcloth’s cooling touch
on my forehead

last year’s pants
exposing chubby ankles—
new grass tickles

Stephanie Dietrich (2)

The adjectives used in this haiku are what make it really come alive to me. The adjectives “Last year’s,” “chubby,” and “new” paint such a clear picture that I have no trouble seeing a toddler, in denim overalls that are just a little too short, running around in his backyard. He bends over to pluck a handful of grass. Allison

beautiful sunrise
half shadowed face
yanks curtain

Traci Rapp (2)

This haiku made me laugh out. This is completely me and my relationship with my boyfriend. Every weekend I am home, I wake up early and drive over to his house. He always says, “don’t wake me up before noon.” So, I go over way before noon, sneak into his room, jump on top of him and yank open the curtains. It is hilarious because he grumbles and acts all mad. I climb under the covers and put my cold feet on his, we shut the curtains and go back to sleep. I instantly smelled his house. They have a wood stove and it always smells like burning wood or smoke when his brother-in-law does something to make the house smoky. Alisha

bundled
beside her
never too close

Adam Stefo (7)

I really liked the feeling that this haiku produced inside me. It automatically made me think of my boyfriend back home and how much I miss him and miss when he wraps his arms around me when we have just come in from the cold. He said to me one time, “I could lie like this forever”, and the last line of this haiku brings me back to the day he said that to me. Elizabeth

I think this is my absolutely favorite haiku of all the ones my classmates have written. It consists of a total of six words, yet those six words painted a beautifully vivid image in my mind. The way that each and every word tells you something so important to the whole image just amazes me. It also captures such an…intense, exciting moment. Gah! It’s left me so speechless that I’m having trouble explaining all this. That moment, when you’re beside someone that completely amazes you. You’re intensely aware of their body in relation to yours, and every motion and inflection has a meaning. That’s where this haiku took me. I’m just amazed. That’s about all I can say about it. Stephanie

I really liked the romance of this haiku. There is a longing to further connect to the girl in question, as it the writer would be content to never leave their position next too her, as if it would be all he or she needed in the world. I feel like the author feels incomplete if they were away from this girl, as if she is the element that balances their world and to be far away is simply not an option. Andrew

your lined hands
shape doughy figure eights—
and me

Allison Lingren (5)

This was one of my favorite of the kukai collection. The words inspire the sight of old hands, wrinkly yet strong working dough at a counter. Next to the lined hands is another, younger pair. Expert figure eights lie beside the tentative, crooked attempts of a beginner. Although faces are not mentioned, I picture the tender smile of an elderly woman in recognition of affection for her baking apprentice. Natalie

the sun breathes heavily
I stretch
cloaked in radiant darkness

humid night
taking the first-year campers
snipe hunting

barefoot in the snow
the dog relieves himself
I join him

Brian Blankenship (11)

This haiku is great. It really reminds me of something I would write (or actually do for that matter). It's so carefree in that the dog is relieving himself, but so is his owner. Not only is it a funny image, but it also represents a happy or perhaps playful atmosphere. Obviously, however is relieving himself is either out of sight of other people or just doesn't care. Either way, I really like this one. Rick

This just made me laugh. Letting your dog out in the middle of the night and that icy feeling that runs up your back while you wait for her to finish. Standing in your pajamas and robe hunching yourself over yourself in an effort not to freeze, while the dog moseys about sniffing until she finds the perfect spot to mark her territory. The absurdity of the situation that we sit out and wait for the animal rather than just yell at it so that it hurries up so that we can crawl back into the warmth of our beds. Adam

cold November night
rocking back and forth
the car with fogged windows

Rick Bearce (9)

The instant I read the last line, I inadvertently gasped “Wow...”; not because of its boldness, but of the twisting of the image from line to line. The second line sent me to the thought of a grandmother rocking with a quilt on her lap next to a fire. On the last line, the change from person to machine didn’t alter the humanity of the poem. It’s still a quiet moment, in the country, between two people. Ryne