Haiku Roundtable • Fall 2010
Dr. Randy Brooks

Diary of a Serial Killer

by
Grant Dartman

Introduction by a fellow haiku writer:

Grant's haiku . . . where to begin? Some are funny, ironic, biting, while others hit the reader deep in the heart and paint the mind with vibrant images. I remember in class Grant would always talk about he didn't like his style, how he wanted to be "more serious." I never understood this: Grant's haiku seemed effortless to me, and that was something that I had always yearned to have in my style! Grant's haiku are the ones that I wish I could write: nothing is superflous and the words strike the reader immediately. He's always stretching himself, seeking out new subjects and forms, and for that, his haiku are extremely commendable and a pleasure to read. I can always count on his haiku to make me laugh or make me see the world around me in a new way.

—Susie Wirthlin

starry sky
she undresses
at gunpoint

Black Skies,
my grandmother quietly
coughs

Vise-lie grip,
I finally meet
her father

in the sunrise
he finds the meaning
of life

rising smoke
she grills
his meat

Toothless smile,
he thanks God
for today

scarlet dress
she looses
her way home

single mom's Halloween,
with her little
Superman

burning light
she slips off
her ring

silent night,
my mother sings
my grave to sleep

chemo,
I hang the lights
alone

ashes in the lake,
my father and I
drift apart

Grant Dartman & Tyler Lamensky

crimson leaves fall,
he packs away
the unused crib

Grant Dartman & Tyler Lamensky

Christmas caroling.
my Jewish grandma
snorts