Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 4
By Wade Kwon- diner’s choice
Tell me all about
the specials, and bring me an
appetizing dish.
- snakes off a plane
World holds its breath as
terror almost strikes again.
Calamity? Tamed.
- noon shall pass
Choice at lunchtime is
extracubicular jaunt
or eating at desk.
- what kind of object are you?
If I were a book,
the intro would say how much
I hate weird questions.
- oh bugger
Squashed roaches vex me,
but not as much as live ones
running loose and fast.
- liquid asset
Even in long drought,
rain comes eventually
to those who need it.
- not-so-terrible two
Niece scampers away
from unfamiliar giants
tromping through kitchen.
- take that tone
Know that your phone call
is important to us so
please hold on till dead.
- new orleans saints
They tell the stories
of despair and rebuilding.
Give them a hand, please.
- sixpackistan or bust
Rock-hard abs don’t mean
much when life at gym becomes
mere fitness routine.
- tank’s giving
Road trip! Except we
need everyone one to chip in
their trust funds for gas.
- gray agenda
To be tickled pink
makes no sense to colorblind
humorless dullard.
- ahoy, myopics
Dropped contact lens kills
depth perception but makes for
funny pirate face.
- howl 2006
The best minds of my
generation are busy
writing fan fiction.
- repeated repartee
I jibe, you jibe back.
We just jibe despite your lack
of wit or hygiene.
- toxi-city
Breathing chunky fumes
hard habit to break even
with poisonous air.
- lured in
Devil’s temptation
looms in basket of sweets or
pack of cigarettes.
- a registry grows in bloomingdale’s
His and her towels
or three silver forks make for
wedding gift washout.
- pulpy love
Who decided that
paper would be the best way to archive it all?
- statue of limitations
Did you see Emmys?
That show you hate won something
no one will recall.
- trendy beatdown
Platinum knuckles
beat brass ones on style alone.
Pummel with panache.
- empowered suits
Even all dressed up,
natural selection becomes
ugly rivalry.
- fast food notion
Mall teems with workers
hungry for office respite
and food court fixins.
- they aren’t together anymore
Photo album lies.
Happy couples mock today
after past breakup.
- for sarah
“Oh Spock,” Kirk declared,
“I grok you with all my heart.
Live long and do me.”
- fun optional
Long weekend turns out
to be long on extra work,
short on free moments.
- dull roar
Head buzzes with all
kinds of possibilities
or lack of caffeine.
- clock block
Such is the nature
of time, when you check your watch
and life has flown by.
- train of thoughts
Track leads to same old
stops across town, while riders
hit sites unscheduled.
- rolling along
Dusty plains speed by.
Open countryside offers
zen of wide open.
- evening respite
Forgiving breeze brings
preview of cooler days and
longer winter nights.
- are you happy when you’re sleeping?
I dreamt I saw you
walking up a hillside in
the snow … counting crows.
- why we might
Flirty banter draws
me to her with a sly wink
and a naughty nudge.
- never forgetting
Five years ago, we
lost friends and compatriots
on 9/11.
- nosh nap
Falling asleep in
the kitchen is a sure sign
that you’re sleepeating.
- autumnal yearning
Anticipation
of crunchy leaves, warm sweaters
makes us fall for fall.
- falling backward
If I seem stressed, it’s
because I haven’t caught up
with myself quite yet.
- bon appetit
Kitchen scent lures in
famished foodies for repast
beyond delicious.
- drudge report
Even with a lot
of planning and foresight, it
still comes down to work.
- coo d’etat
It’s the little things
that bring out nurturing in
all things babyish.
- passenger 11d
Loud-mouthed jerk creates
air of hostility in
tight circumstances.
- what to buy
Shopping list reflects
desires of shopper and
recipients, too.
- dump hay
Don’t know why it’s called
hump day. Don’t really want to
know why it’s hump day.
- aware of fatigues
Bleary-eyed figure
stalks corridors in search of
much needed slumber.
- billowy festival
Film buffs puff in droves
outside Alabama and
along these Sidewalks.
- great grasp
My hand in yours is
all that I need for freedom
from lonely letdown.
- coarse of political debate
Candidates shill plans
for testing voters’ patience
in choosing suck-ups.
- suffocating surroundings
Stuffy room comes from
allergy to autumn air,
not from boring chat.
- venting too much
Fingers frozen from
cold jet stream buffeting my
arctic cubicle.
- welcome prez b
Can’t afford ticket
to see President, but can
still afford to vote.
- pit of despair
Intangible, this
sorrow deep within, buried
beneath happy skin.
- too much to give up
When life gets crazy,
best to plow ahead without
worrying too much.
- meet the press
Wrinkled army waits
for kiss of steam iron while
tie rack hangs silent.
- orange and blackness
Pumpkin patch glistens
by moonlight as eerie winds
bring a haunting chill.
- dashes to dashes
Run run run run run!
Monday morning minutes too
scarce to stay too slow.
- immunity up for grabs
Pricking of arms leads
to healthier body but
only after ouch.
- i’m not sure
I’m not sure if I
can be the guy who I want
to be in my heart.
- the next generation
- medifare
Teeth grind, eyes blur and
hand blisters. Good week to have
lots of insurance.
- for promis’d joy
The best-laid schemes o’
mice an’ men gang aft agley,
… nought but grief an’ pain.
- menu for one
Popcorn, cereal,
leftover takeout, water …
it’s what’s for dinner.
- year of haiku
Three hundred sixty-
five times 17 beats is
quite a bit of verse.
- tube bottom
Fall season puts me
to sleep with clones of clones of
hits from last season.
- no time for surrender
Must fight malaise of
misery from all sides or
give in to darkness.
- roadmap to tomorrow
Generations of the
future, pay heed: We really
did wing it most times.
- solitary thumping
Beating of heart sounds
hollow with echoes of my
lonely, lonely night.
- century cipher
If it won’t matter
in a hundred years, why does
now feel important?
- holding out for two more weeks
Trick-or-treaters need
to show up soon before I
eat all the candy.
- night plight
Calendar boxes
fill up with soirées for an
October fester.
- bug me not
Workplace contagion
takes down colleagues left and right.
Must hold breath for weeks.
- popping and knocking
An alphabet of
vitamins swallows up my
pre-breakfast routine.
- random rain delay
Even light drizzle
sends cars into long lines of
rubbernecking haze.
- freudian trip
You know that dream where
you’re flying? Turns out you woke
up in a cornfield.
- daylight shavings
Is it OK to
set clocks back now instead of
waiting till next week?
- lickup pine
If I could put U
and I next to each other,
it’s alphabet soup.
- lower low
Takes a while to get
used to colder nights and long
underwear and frost.
- on july 5th we vomit
Free HBO has
price, too: “Independence Day”
on four times, ends same.
- cost of sustenance
Breakfast, lunch, dinner:
I’m craving something beyond
what I can fix fast.
- pressure
Coming in from all
sides, but worst is when it comes
from inside of me.
- parking latte
Countdown on meter
leaves just enough time for a
dessert and coffee.
- orange and black and red and green
Pumpkins, out. Garland,
in. Candy corn, out. Snowmen,
in. Christmas here, now.
- anyplace but home
Road is calling for
me to return out there for
more discovery.
- hard to say
I believe the most
difficult conversations
take place in silence.
- scary sights
Pint-size goblins run
amok up and down streets of
haunted neighborhood.
- lines of attack
My opponent is
a cut-and-run murderous
insider traitor.
- type a nightmare
Dream is still the same:
Late for class without having
studied for big test.
- wrong turn 48
Bad decisions pile
up in mountain of regret
and lousy results.
- plan c
The harder I try,
the harder I fall. So I
try again and hope.
- spinning within
Dizzy feeling comes
with little sleep and sudden
change in surroundings.
- fit for a kingfish
Creole flavors bring
spicy reminders of a
New Orleans before.
- check. mark.
Touch screen may or may
not record your vote at polls …
e-democracy.
- the album
Curling photos fade
but cherished times never leave
our oft-broken hearts.
- pop up
Newborn should be here
soon if he ever decides
to un-bellyflop.
- things i miss
Playground, cartoons, band,
pillow fights, bedroom eyes and
unstructured free time.
- puff ditty
Smoke rings flutter by
as pungent fire, ashes
see-saw to the death.
- push push push push push
Head crammed with to-do
items for two weeks with but
one week to finish.
- on worst behavior
Hard to stay out of
trouble when you mix it up
with whims and whatnot.
- oh crud
One by one, workers
fell victim to sniffles and local viruses.
- from dusk to dusk
Day goes much faster
when you’re passed out, unaware
of world around you.
- passport to anywhere
Journey to far-off
places begins with open
and curious mind.
- gather figure
Here’s to spending time
among close friends and supping
at the same table.
• • •
Read more Wade’s 101.
