Haiku to Edited 3 - Haiku

Roundtable Haiku--Haiku to Edited 3, Fall 2006

dead friend’s possessions
he’s still not here

We can't get a sense of what the possessions are or where they are that triggered off this feeling. We need an image that suggest why he is being missed.

 

Late night
Quiet house
The refrigerator lives

late night
in the quiet house

refrigerator comes alive

does he love me?
the last petal falls…
no answer

does he love me?
no answer
the last petal falls

bedtime at last
stumbling over
the laundry pile

bedtime at last—
laundry to fold
in my place

looking for shade
under a shadow
that's no longer there

we need something there to hang onto. a tree or a missing tree and a context of where & why we're there

looking for shade
the cemetery tree
no longer here

in the flames
my future revealed
I smile

revealed is weird. we need a context of why or where we are. in the backseat of a police cruiser, an arsonist watching his work?

bonfire flames
my past revealed
I smile

rush through the store
my arms full to bursting with groceries
people stare

the last line doesn't do much except add a commentary or observation. we need more hint of why the rush is on.

day old bubblegum
still pops
unsweetly

this is a half haiku. the last line is not another image. this haiku needs context of place or significance beyond the taste in the mouth

library stacks
day old bubblegum
still pops

curtains open—
new players
on an old stage

this one is good but not following the order of perception:

on an old stage
curtains open—
new players

autumn midnight—
hisses and growls
pour from the zoo

why midnight? what does autumn have to do with hisses and growls? and "pour" is a strong verb but not right here. we've also got plurals in the second line which suggest this is not a perception of an instant

autumn moon
over the zoo fence
a hiss, then growls

train whistle sounds
two student
share their true forms

this may be too Millikin local for others to get. again we need more context to hint at significance here. train whistle is a good image, but we don't need to say it sounds.

friends whisper
walking the tracks
train whistle

students talking
along the tracks
train whistle

distant train whistle
a roommate's secret
in the dark

 

Home
Sitting alone during prom
Nobody loves him

this haiku needs some images to see where he is at home and to show the not happening

prom night
at home in the easy chair
in a tuxedo

windshield wipers
swish my thoughts
to and fro

the verb in the second line ruins this haiku. it's not true. it draws attention to itself as if it's the important thing when it's not. this haiku is not about the swish. it's about the to and fro

windshielf wipers
my thoughts
to and fro


© 2006, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.