Global Haiku • Spring 2022
Dr. Randy Brooks

Searching for Meaning

by
Audrey Button

Over the course of 2022, I explored writing haiku at Millikin University in the Global Haiku class taught by Dr. Randy Brooks. The only experience that I had before this class writing haiku was in elementary school when I was first learning about poetry. Back then a haiku was strictly written in the five-seven-five format, but after this class I have learned that there is so much more to haiku. I have explored what it means to live in the moment and how to tell them to other people and evoke a similar emotion to what I felt when I experienced it. My title for this collection is Searching for Meaning. This title came to me based on my haiku:                  

                   a night sky
                   searching for meaning
                   a star winks back

This year I have done a lot of self-exploration as I prepare for graduation and going out into the “real world.” I felt that this haiku accurately explained my personal journey of growth over this year and how I often find myself lost in thought while looking at the stars. They remind me that life does not have to be so serious, that in the grand scheme of everything I am just one spec and my actions do not affect everything around me as much as it might feel that they do. The star winking back is the universe’s way of telling me that it is ok to just have fun and make memories that make me happy.

learning constellations
a firm hand on my back
why can’t this last forever

turning seasons
grief
checks in

paws under the door
scratching to get in
sit with me for a second

rhododendrons
my love
for you

gazing into
brown eyes
tv static

grocery shopping
what I do
for love

fingers intertwine
ivy climbing
the oak tree

LIGHTHOUSE

I traverse through the bush roses and ferns that open to a solitary lighthouse that emerges from the peak of the cliff. Grey skies and misty air crash against my face. The haunting fog shrouds the ocean in the distance, and I understand the purpose of the lighthouse. Veins of granite guide me to the cliffside to observe the power of the sea. Crashing waves wear down the boulders in the ocean, creating straight lines that look too perfect. If only I could sit here forever.

light rotates
i catch glimpses
of you

rose’s imperfection
only a florist
would notice

we dance
on the glass
we broke

        b   r     e    l
   m         d           l
u             r              a
               y
               d    y
                   r

storm clouds
lightning cracks
between her brows

big dipper
hello
my old friend

new moon
you turn
your back

twisting your words
now we both
can’t see straight

Doja Cat
we shake
ass

bathroom talk
we all
cry together

park bench
out of all of them
you sit next to me

a familiar tune
i teach him
how to dance

my new hobby
how long
will it last

tiny paws in the snow
the dogs decide
it was a bad idea