Rooftops: A Collection of Haiku

Rooftops
My last, greatest step
That will take me far away
And break my mom’s heart

What do rooftops silently witness? The quiet thoughts. The big questions. The absurd. The heartbreak. The laughter. The step.

In Rooftops, poet Xanthos Likes explores the in-between moments of life, those fleeting moments when we’re stuck between growing up and breaking down, between saying goodbye and holding on. Custom artwork by Zerin Likes and Lily Gao, brings the poems to life.

This beautifully illustrated haiku collection blends thoughtful reflection with sharp wit, offering a rooftop view of the world that’s at once funny, heartfelt, and true. Whether it’s navigating the loss of a friend, longing for freedom, or wondering why we can't all be potatoes, all of it is captured in 17 syllables.

Rooftops - A Collection of Haiku by Xanthos Likes, with artwork by Zerin Likes and Lily Gao, is evocative, emotional, and artistically driven—a blend of minimalist poetry and visual expression that will resonate with readers drawn to themes of introspection, transition, and emotional truth.

~ 100 original haiku poems with custom artwork
~ quiet reflections on youth, loss, and becoming
~ minimalist poetry meets visual storytelling
~ a poetry gift book for graduation, healing, or self-expression
~ introspective verses paired with vivid illustrations
~ written for the in-between moments of life
~ expressive art by Zerin Likes and Lily Gao
~ a tender, honest exploration of emotion and change
~ rooftops as metaphor, memory, and movement

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Xanthos Likes' witty sense of humor is evident in his book Corporate Fish. Xan is a skillful Haiku master.

He's a computer programmer who graduated from Georgia Tech after returning from a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.

He graduated from Marist School in Atlanta, GA. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America Organization.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATORS
Lily Gao is a freshman at Princeton University, and she's an independent painter, illustrator, and photographer. She experiments with all types of art and enjoys working in traditional, digital, and photographic mediums. When she is not in the art studio, you can find her in a dance studio, enjoying the outdoors, or packing orders for her nonprofit stationery business, Paper Cloud Studio Co.

Zerin Likes graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Art with minors in Korean, Art History, and Chemistry. She enjoys bookbinding, printmaking, and film photography. She loves to spend her free time with family and friends, watching shows or going on walks.

She is currently a conservator and is working to publish her own books.

Xanthos Likes' witty sense of humor is evident in his book Corporate Fish. Xan is a skillful Haiku master.He's a computer programmer who graduated from Georgia Tech after returning from a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. He graduated from Marist School in Atlanta, GA. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America Organization.