Haiku Kukai 1 Favorites
Global Haiku • Millikin University • Spring 2020
ice Taylor Parola (4) |
runny nose |
snaps and creaks |
perhaps the wonder |
fighting and teasing |
frozen lake Taylor Parola (3) |
life is Hope Klessig (5) This haiku reminded me of wanting a constant change. A snow globe has the ability for someone to shake it, yet it will always settle back to its original state. I think this can relate to everyday life. People or things can come by and shake you up, yet you will always remain your true self. This constant want of change can happen, but at your core, you are still you. This really showcased an imagery of the whirlwinds that can surround you, and the effect it can leave on your true being. Bre Johnson, Spring 2020 |
mistletoe hangs above us Hope Klessig (2) As we went over this in class I felt a sense of realization of time. This haiku opens your mind to view the idea of time and how short it is. It also plays the role of how in the right moment time slows down for moments we want it to. It’s a satisfying felling of control over a natural event. Even though we know time never stops we continue to hold onto as much time to the moments we want to cherish. Dalton Glasco, Spring 2020 |
stockings hang |
scrape slosh Olivia Tharpe (3) |
layer after layer |
cozy comforter Olivia Tharpe (8) |
waking up in the morning |
walking slowly |
as many branches as there are Niki Curatti (5) |
no one around Ashley Christensen (3) |
the season to be young Ashley Christensen I loved this one because it is so true. Winter is really the season to be young. You are so excited for the holidays and you are young enough to be excited every time it snows. I specifically remember when I was younger, I would always ask my mom if we could make ice cream out of snow. I only remember doing this one time, but for some reason it stuck with me. We went outside and got fresh snow and put vanilla extract in it (I think). I could be remembering this wrong, but ever since I was little, the snow held such a fascination for me. Olivia Tharpe, Spring 2020 |
conversations end Bre Johnson (4) This haiku I think has a very cute charm to it. I imagine people passing each other on a college campus. Everyone is in a rush to get out of the cold, but they pass people on their way to class and engage in a quick interaction, perhaps not even stopping but just slowing down slightly. The interaction ends and they turn back to face where they are going. You cannot see that the two people have stopped to talk to each other necessarily, but the two sets of footprints going opposite ways show that they passed each other. The history is there, but what happened in that interaction is unknown. Kevin Escobar, Spring 2020 |
peacefully standing Ashley Christensen I really like this one because of the second line "alone." The author chose to put that word on its own line and ironically enough it was the word "alone" standing alone. I also like that at first you could picture yourself peacefully standing anywhere you wanted, then you had to be alone, but when it changed to "just the snow and me" it seemed like I had gained a friend. Hope Klessig, Spring 2020 |
an angel |
pale light |
brunch Jared Chapman (3) |
snowflakes |
bundled up in layers |
mixed match Hailey Wimberly (2) |
frost outlines Kevin Escobar This haiku makes me think of being a kid, walking by a store with your mom, and pining after that one coveted doll or toy that you’ve always wanted, only to be immensely shocked and equally elated by the unwrapping of it on Christmas morning. I love the imagery of a handprint. It’s easy to see a handprint on glass and think "ew, gross, I don’t like it" but quite another to picture a sweet 3 year old knowing nothing of anything bad in this world, believing that if they gaze at what they’d like long enough it will magic itself into their tiny little fingers. There is a soft innocence in this haiku that rings very true for me. Grace Newton, Spring 2020 |
the snowman stares Kevin Escobar (8) I love this Haiku because it is so easy to visualize and create in your mind the time of day, the surroundings, and the moment in which you see it. There is a nostalgic familiarity in the idea of seeing a snowman melt. The seasons are changing, and you can finally wear the cuter, lighter coat you love instead of the heavy black one you usually have to wear. The memories of a snowy white wonderland are still fresh in your memory. The promise of warmth and spring are looming, and the end of class is soon approaching. I love the very visceral sense this haiku has. It is easy to imagine and easier to enjoy. Grace Newton, Spring 2020 |
cold and naked Kevin Escobar (3) |
long car ride Hailey Wimberly (13) This haiku brought me straight back to my childhood. Sitting in the back seat, my parents in the front seat, my brother to my left, driving to my grandparents’ house, drawing on the windows, revealing a world passing by at what seemed like lightspeed. The next day, the dried fingerprints and drawings remain, but a whole different adventure is at hand. Niki Curatti, Spring 2020 I cannot remember the author to this Haiku. But I think the reason why the entire class and I liked this Haiku was because of the imagery that immediately popped into our mind. We all have had moments where the the fog and the heat and cold mix on the window and we get the time to write whatever we wanted to on there. Or draw whatever our heart desired most. Sometimes it was even practicing writing letters backwards. Paige Boomer, Spring 2020 |
snowflakes fall |
carrot nose, top hat |
inch Hannah Watts (3) |
snowballs |
hot chocolate Erika Castanon (9) |
gingerbread house |
rosy cheeks |
awestruck |
icy sidewalks |
wintry wind |
late Jared Chapman I wake up for school. The sun is yet to come up, so I am surrounded in darkness. The same darkness that was there when I went to bed last night. My warm oatmeal is there to fill up my stomach and warm me. Still half asleep, I get in the shower to jolt me awake. Once I am out, I dry off but do not dry my hair, because it will only make it frizzy. I put on a colorful sweater, jeans, and fuzzy socks to stay warm in the winter weather. My grandma is in the bathroom using one sink, while I use the other to brush my teeth. This morning my grandma will not be taking me and my brother to school. We’ll be taking the bus. My hair is still wet once stepping outside to take the venture down our long driveway for the bus. While, we wait my brother and I feel how my curly hair has turned to hard and stiff strands. Hailey Wimberly, Spring 2020 |
can't feel Jada Miller (6) This haiku gives me a picture of a person who has a problem and maybe the person is trying to suppress so they can’t feel the pain. Pascaline Muhindagiga, Spring 2020 |
snow angel Jada Miller (7) |
late for work |
a frail old man Kevin Escobar (5) |
children at war Kevin Escobar (9) |
three sets of tracks Kevin Escobar (4) |
bouncing white cubes Michael Santos (3) This haiku was sooooo clever. At first I pictures ice cubes, then I was confused on "floating in a brown sea," but the final line made me have an "ah huh" moment. I love the imagery given. It's interesting to picture hot cocoa as a sea with white cubes which are the marshmallows floating in it. I also love the word choice of "bouncing." It gives a super clear image of what the cubes are doing. Hope Klessig, Spring 2020 |
snow day Michael Santos (3) This was another haiku that brought me back to being a kid. We would stand in our living room and watch the morning news with our parents, all to meticulously watch the bottom of the screen and hope that our school’s name would scroll across the bottom. If we saw it, we would hoot and holler and throw on our snow pants to head outside. Meanwhile, our parents would sigh at the thought of them having to find a babysitter. Niki Curatti, Spring 2020 When I read this haiku, I felt two separate emotions. I felt a mother or father figure that was like shoot, a snow day which implied they were going to be stuck with the kids instead of working or having some alone time. On the other end, I felt the children who were so excited and happy to see the weather channel with a listing of their school that showed ‘canceled’. I think that it is interesting that poems can make you feel different emotions and feelings on every line. It can easily transition feelings and images based on word choices and punctuation. Ashley Christensen, Spring 2020 |
the fog is eeire Paige Boomer (6) I enjoyed this haiku because it reminded me of times when I’ve been in the fog. There are times when you may not know what lies a foot in front of you, and that makes your heart skip a beat. You get excited because as adults it is rare that we have moments of surprise and curiosity. Regardless of that fear, we continue. We want to learn, explore and feed that suspense that we seldom feel daily. Shania Dvorak, Spring 2020 |
people watch |
a friend from afar |
park place Morgan Timmons (7) |
Morgan Timmons (3) |
taking a moment Shania Dvorak (5) I really enjoy this haiku because I think it beautifully illustrates the moment right when the first snow of the season starts falling. Everyone is going about doing their own thing, but then they take a moment to just absorb the fact that it’s snowing. Everyone might have different reactions to the snow. The children might be super excited that they get to go play in the snow, while the college student dreads having to walk to class in the snow. But no matter what the person’s reaction is, there is that moment of realizing that it is snowing and finding how that realization affects you. Kevin Escobar, Spring 2020 |
the ice Shania Dvorak (10) After reading this haiku I just had a feeling of like it really hitting me. I think of this haiku almost as a relationship or a relationship forming. I think of it almost an unintentional love forming between two people. Just like slipping on ice, its fast, unintentional, and almost terrifying. I just get the feeling of like “oh...YES” when I read this - like something about the language just really hits me. You do not get the full point or story of the haiku until you read the last line. It keeps you wondering and it enables you to create a story of the haiku for yourself. Morgan Timmons, Spring 2020 This takes to the land of mystery and how life works. We go through life looking for the perfect someone thinking we need to do all the right things to find our perfect connection. Yet at a random moment we find this connection with someone we never would have looked for. We feel as if we walked carefully on the ice, we wont fall unless we rush things, yet at the slightest moment the ice decides when we fall just like fate. So is fate real?? Dalton Glasco, Spring 2020 |
how many times |
chatter lingers Bre Johnson (2) |
sand between my toes Taylor Parola My imagined felt response to this kukai haiku was relaxation and excitement. Summer is my favorite time of the year and if I had the choice I would make it summer year round. I love the feeling of sand in between my toes and being able to just lay there on a beach towel while letting the sand form underneath me. I also love going to the beach with my friends and just spending the day catching up with each other’s lives and not worrying anything else. I have a group of friends from high school that I am still close with and every summer we do our best to get together as a group and spend a day at the beach at the start of summer and then at the end of the summer as well. We all carpool down to Shelbyville beach and spend the day in the sun and then end the day by getting ice cream at Druby’s. Hannah Watts, Spring 2020 |
the light stretches |
going to college |
he beat me to death Pascaline Muhindagiga (5) |
no more vacation on the beach |
1,2,3 Pascaline Muhindagiga (10) Response 1: I enjoyed this haiku for several different reasons. I enjoyed the number counting in the beginning of the haiku for sure. I also enjoyed how the author stopped counting and said the words “I’ve lost count.” I thought that was really clever. I enjoyed this poem because I can relate to it. I can relate to this poem because I’ve recently ended a relationship and the person that I ended the relationship with has said the last two lines to me. So, I definitely can relate to this haiku on a personal level. Jada Miller, Spring 2020 This haiku stood out to me because of the numbers in the beginning. Starting the haiku with counting already makes it read slowly. This is quickly followed by a statement “I’ve lost count,” which makes me think that I am disoriented counting whatever I am counting. It is then concluded with the statement that ties it all together. The use of numbers in the beginning makes the entire haiku playful, but also longing. The counting drags on, which makes me think that the reader is truly longing for someone. Jared Chapman, Spring 2020
|
my hair falls |
the music fades Paige Boomer (11) I think of this haiku in two different ways. The first way is placed at a concert or a music festival and you are so engulfed in music that it feels like everything around you disappears or freezes and you feel like it's just you in that moment. The second way that I think of it as being out with a good group of friends and it feels like it is just you and your friends in the moment, having a good time. I picture it in slow motion and with a dark scene, but with multicolored lights around the room just surrounding one person or that group of people. Morgan Timmons, Spring 2020 An image pops into my mind of almost a view of time freezing. The image and feeling of everyone around you stopping in silence, yet you are still remaining yourself and being free. This sense of calmness and refreshing are like a cloud over me and provide this idea that even when things are going crazy and wild around me, time can almost feel like it is freezing and allow me to continue living freely. Bre Johnson, Spring 2020 I like this haiku because it speaks to the constantly positive spirit I would like to think I have. I am not much of a dancer myself, but I see dancing as a metaphor. The world tends to have a really short memory when it comes to things are popular and important on second and then not the next. And it is hard to say positive in such a changing and negative world. People who choose to see the glass as half full rather than half empty are the same people "dancing" when the music fades and the people leave. This haiku celebrates the consistency of the motivated and happy. It takes a lot to keep dancing. Michael Santos, Spring 2020 I really liked this one because I imagined it was a summer night and everyone was dancing having a good time. I imagined dusk and the sound of cicadas. I imagined falling in love with someone and dancing with them. I imagined the way it smells in summer with the sweetness of the flowers. I also imagined lights hanging from the trees and everyone is so happy. I am usually the last one to leave different events. There are always people I want to talk to, or things I want to do. I love to dance and to be out with friends, so this is something that would probably really happen to me. I would be the last one there, dancing. Olivia Tharpe, Spring 2020 |
fireflies bounce Niki Curatti (4) |
a smooth jar of peanutbutter Niki Curatti (8) |
tears fall on the pillow |
Valentine’s Day Morgan Timmons (3) |
Lincoln Logs and |
across the restaurant Dalton Glasco (6) |
streetlights begin flickering Dalton Glasco (7) This haiku reminded me of my childhood. When I was younger, I played outside with my siblings and neighbors every day after school. We would play outside until it started to get dark and our parents yelled out the door that dinner was ready. I was able to see the faces of my neighbors and hear my mom’s voice while reading this. I felt like this haiku was able to bring me back in time and I really enjoyed that feeling. Taylor Parola, Spring 2020 When I read this haiku I felt happy thinking about a reflection on one’s childhood. When I read flickering I felt the anxiety or realization of a child thinking shoot, I need to hurry up and get home before mom and dad see that the street lights have come on. I felt a sense of joy because it made me reflect on simpler times where the only stress in life was making sure you made it back home from playing with friends before curfew. I really like how the author chose the word flickering to describe the light. Ashley Christensen, Spring 2020 |
tee it high |
a train Erika Castanon (5) This haiku stood out to me because I could relate to this haiku at this current moment in my life. I live in Decatur and struggle with waking up to the train every night. When reading this, it reminded me how I am a very light sleeper and have been struggling to sleep through the night. I was able to relate to this haiku the most at the moment in my life and that’s why I enjoyed it. Taylor Parola, Spring 2020 This haiku made me smile because it reminds me of all the nights, I hear the train. I’ve heard it every night since I came to Decatur, and when I go home, I sometimes have a hard time sleeping because it is so quiet. I like hearing the train, it may rouse me from my sleep, but I enjoy the reassuring sound and the reminder of the consistency it represents. It’s odd to think that whenever I am woken up, I get annoyed, but for some reason, never with the trains. Shania Dvorak, Spring 2020 |
French music Hope Klessig (4) So I really liked this Haiku because it made me think of a French playlist that I listen too and the music is just aesthetically pleasing to listen too and I really enjoy this kind of music when I need to relax. This song made me think of driving through the night listening to this kind of music and then sinking into my bed after a long day. Paige Boomer, Spring 2020 |
books on a shelf Hope Klessig (3) I like the image this haiku evokes. I see a library full of books and specific shelf. All the books have been organized by the Dewey decimal system and each books unlocks a story. Even though the books might be different sizes or colors, all together they create a picture. Or in this case a puzzle. Perhaps the puzzle is simply what book is right for the reader. The author of the haiku picks a book they like and intern feel like they have solved said puzzle. I like how this haiku makes me think of both puzzles and books. Michael Santos, Spring 2020 Fifth period comes and I am bored. I ask Mr. Owen, study hall teacher, if I may go to the library. Up three flights of stair I am at peace within shelves of books. So many options. I am overwhelmed in the greatest way possible. I pace up in and down isles and peer at shelves twice over. Pulling out intriguing covers, I flip them over to glace at the back and read short summaries. “I will come back if I don’t find something better” I say in my head. The librarian sees I am unsure and ask if I’d like a recommendation. I bring her the ones I have it down to and ask her to pick. She tells me read the one in my right hand and she’ll put the other on reserve for me. Hailey Wimberly, Spring 2020 |
text phone Hope Klessig (2) Response 2: When reading this haiku, I thought about the several times I’ve texted and called my father and didn’t receive an answer. My dad is a very busy guy, but I hate the fact that he doesn’t have time for his children. I feel like he makes the time for everything else in the world, just not his children. There have been times where I’ve called and actually needed him, but he didn’t answer my call nor text. I certainly related to this haiku on a personal level as well. Jada Miller, Spring 2020 A person has been texting someone. they wait for the response takes too long so the person tries to call again but the person did not get the any answer. Pascaline Muhindagiga, Spring 2020 |
glass on an edge Hope Klessig (8) I took this Haiku line by line. First, I thought of a glass cup on the edge of a counter, then it started to tilt and sway, and then I realized that the cup was the reader. This imagery of such a fragile object made of glass stood out to me. I think tying this inanimate object to someone who is not in the best place was smart to do. Since the “I” was at the end of the Haiku, I had already felt everything from the first two lines, so it enhanced those feelings of stress and related it back to me as the reader. Jared Chapman, Spring 2020 |
open, close, rub Hailey Wimberly My imagined felt response to this kukai haiku was that this image is very relatable. I instantly was able to picture myself sitting at my desk or sitting in bed late at night working on something. It’s late, but the assignment is due tomorrow and has to get done. You are very tired but must stay awake in order to complete your homework. I often find myself doing these exact same motions when I am tired. I especially find myself doing this if it has been a long day and then when I have spent a lot of time staring at my laptop screen to work on something. The adjustment is needed to wake up those nighttime eyes to be able to continue working. I feel as if this haiku is something many college students can relate too. I also imagine that this could be relatable to those students who have 8 AM classes and they haven’t quite been able to get rid of their nighttime eyes completely yet. Hannah Watts, Spring 2020 |
ticking away Grace Newton (2) |
headphones |
pencils sharpened |
an old roman numeral clock |
the stars Hannah Watts (3) |
little dog barks |
Patrick Swayze Grace Newton (5) |
a box of tissues |
crinkly paper Grace Newton (3) |
a split cast |
© 2020, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.