Wade on Birmingham

Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 9

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  1. have holly jolly kwanzaa
    The shops are abuzz
    with bargain hunts and a few
    unhappy returns.
  2. bargain has-bin
    Crazy deep discounts
    drive shoppers wild with armfuls
    of clearance goodies.
  3. empty gaze
    Vacant stares greet my
    eyes from all points, including
    my own reflection.
  4. party in the kitchen
    Among the cupboards,
    we huddle to bask in each
    other’s friendly glow.
  5. long-distance edification
    The signal phases
    in and out, but the caller’s
    voice stays in my head.
  6. we’ll take a cap of kindness yet
    Pop pop pop goes the
    gunfire, the champagne corks
    of our rowdy hood.
  7. resolution the first
    Resolve not to make
    great leaps but tiny steps to
    take each passing day.
  8. creaking combustion
    The old car groans in
    agony with winter’s brute
    force driving down temps.
  9. mad memos
    Cryptic notes provide
    little insight for workings
    of deranged psyches.
  10. hue and cry
    How many ways are
    there to say purple and pink?
    Shades of meaning blur.
  11. tip of my … something
    Wait! I was going
    to tell you something else, but
    it has slipped my mind.
  12. shades of contentment
    We think we’re happy,
    for a little while, at least,
    and then the sun shines.
  13. dining in
    The best-tasting snacks
    at the movies are the ones
    smuggled from outside.
  14. groggy going
    Late-night escapades
    catch up with you in the cold
    light of getting up.
  15. booked up
    I like reading so
    much, books surround me and keep
    me turning pages.
  16. spreadshot
    Tables, columns and
    rows intersect in measured
    formulas and grids.
  17. but 100 in May
    The South’s version of
    global warming: balmy day
    in January.
  18. the cold unchecked
    The sickness spreads and
    lingers, a lumbering weight
    that drags down spirits.
  19. re-re-rejection
    No. Easy to say,
    not easy to hear. Good thing
    it’s only my heart.
  20. heuristically programmed algorithmic abacus
    The system, not quite
    in place, will handle all our
    messy, unkempt lives.
  21. thirty calories of karma
    Prospects good, said the
    fortune in the cookie. A
    slip can’t control me.
  22. winter’s gaze
    Flakes drift before our
    panoramic windows, a
    brief show against gray.
  23. the future is now
    The future is vids
    in 3-D and prosthetic
    souls and gummy meds.
  24. tax seasoned
    Either I owe the
    government, or it owes me.
    Form 1040 waits.
  25. tiny tribute
    This verse goes out to
    all the little people, since
    dwarfs are our future.
  26. the meaning of …
    To find meaning, look
    around and deep within. To
    have meaning, be good.
  27. formulaic free-for-all
    Check and recheck yields
    same wrong results. I cannot
    get it to add up.
  28. style files
    Note the hem of my
    pants and the starch in my shirt.
    Ready for runway.
  29. the new west
    The cowboy strolled in,
    plunked down his hat and whistled
    for diet whiskey.
  30. evil twin
    Looks like us. Walks and
    talks like us. But plots revenge
    on all that is good.
  31. what to look for
    Her eye catches the
    glistening ice crystals and
    sunrise all at once.
  32. it will not go away
    Some days weaker, some
    days stronger, but never quite
    back to perfect health.
  33. a proper polka
    Couples shuffle on
    dance floor, dodging flailing kids
    and clumsy steppers.
  34. writers’ strike, day 85
    Scribes hold out hope for
    fair compensation. And I’m
    forced to watch “Big Shots.”
  35. he said she said
    Witty banter comes
    in packs of two, flavored with
    sweet nothings and spice.
  36. super bowl prediction
    Who’ll win the big
    game on Sunday? Beer vendors,
    clips and Tom Petty.
  37. before you know it
    Maybe year could slow
    down somewhat and give us a
    chance to breathe in, out.
  38. the persistence of trouble
    Bad habits crop up
    even with push to improve
    on daily living.
  39. what’s the spread
    Teams may clash on field,
    but table shows harmony
    of homemade dishes.
  40. so much for free time
    Boundaries between
    work and recreation blur
    so much, it’s all work.
  41. super monday
    Water cooler buzz:
    funniest Bowl ads, and who
    you’ll vote for Tuesday.
  42. 1040, over
    The check was in the
    mail, a small reward to the
    earliest filer.
  43. the wednesday wash
    Growing discontent
    spreads throughout the land, burning
    down useless relics.
  44. rising like a cloud above the land
    One cool remove, one
    cool remove, neither come nor
    go nor stay … away.
  45. so close
    The night falls without
    mercy, yet the day started
    out with such promise.
  46. influenza fallout
    Not so much the flu
    bug but the misery it
    brings to attitudes.
  47. coping
    The mechanism
    involves talk therapy and
    chocolate ice cream.
  48. fine lines
    Father Goose delights
    with crafty verses for a
    flock of listeners.
  49. travel brochure
    Pack your bags and go.
    Discover distant places.
    Pack your bags and go.
  50. whole-hearted half-marathon
    She ran and ran so
    the little girl could find a
    way to run herself.
  51. have a heartache
    The heart keeps pumping
    even in the absence of
    another beating.
  52. moving fast
    Sometimes, life isn’t
    a blur looking back but a
    blur ahead as well.
  53. friday night at the coffeehouse
    No troubadours, just
    slurpers and their laptops at
    work while playtime waits.
  54. her needs outweigh the many
    A sense of whimsy,
    she said, all others need not
    apply. Her mind? Set.
  55. chore of babylon
    Cleaning, vacuuming,
    ironing, correspondence.
    These things won’t get done.
  56. a credit card offer or two
    The mysterious
    stranger who once lived here still
    receives his junk mail.
  57. outfidel
    It seems to me you
    lived your life like a cigar
    in the wind. Cough cough.
  58. learned, burned
    Hard lessons come to
    us, whether awake or just
    going through motions.
  59. cacao connection
    Not everything can
    be fixed, but chocolate can
    work sudden wonders.
  60. torn
    Work awaits, and yet
    compels me not. All kinds of
    distractions persist.
  61. up the academy
    Best Pictures often
    fail to match hype. Let’s throw an
    awards cavalcade!
  62. creaks and gasps
    Age has funny way
    of catching up to you at
    least convenient years.
  63. words fall through me
    Falling slowly, eyes
    that know me. I can’t go back.
    It’s time that you won.
  64. mystery machine
    We can’t pretend to
    know the universe when we
    don’t know others’ hearts.
  65. mark of the sharpie
    Trusty pen betrays
    without warning. How do you
    get ink out of pants?
  66. extra 24
    Will February
    never end? Bonus day brings
    a leap of trouble.
  67. trapped in the atl
    The flight is delayed
    two hours. Even cattle
    cars keep to schedule.
  68. cardiac cramp
    Feeling of dread starts
    somewhere inside, expanding
    to swallow hope whole.
  69. lion’s march
    Light changes as fresh
    days spring to life. Welcome the
    warmth, savor the sun.
  70. waiting room habitat
    The weary patient
    lugs his belongings on a
    wobbly cart in tow.
  71. mentally junked
    Cluttered room nothing
    compared to cluttered mind. Maid
    should sweep brain’s cobwebs.
  72. network 2008
    It’s my money, and
    I want it now! (But shouting
    won’t make it happen.)
  73. election bulletin
    So far, it’s down to
    white dude, black guy and white gal
    to run the country.
  74. deck shuffle
    Traffic patterns wind
    past pedestrians and rows
    of poorly parked cars.
  75. internalized deadlines
    Rushing to meet those
    artificial cutoffs while
    not achieving much.
  76. a flat cloud of dust
    Two-dimensional
    world goes gray with boulders of
    nasty allergens.
  77. inventory of a four-door
    Ice scraper, glove, old
    chestnut, napkins, sticky notes,
    dog biscuits and grime.
  78. half a song
    Lyrics blossom like
    syllabic shoots. Music stays
    stuck in hidden notes.
  79. used to be a gold watch
    An icon moves on
    after decades of service.
    Cake, nuts, punch are served.
  80. metadoins
    Status update: The
    user is writing haiku
    and hitting “Post” now.
  81. the pits
    Musicians entombed
    beneath stage level just to
    avoid frightened fans.
  82. sixty-three are doomed
    Madness, madness, we
    say, when brackets fill with teams
    who don’t stand a chance.
  83. cloverrated
    Real rocks, shamrocks, too
    many don’t know how to rock
    the Saint Patty’s Day.
  84. by the basket
    Plastic eggs, plastic
    grass and chocolate bunnies
    rest in woven reeds.
  85. kids kavalcade
    Restaurants close, but
    theaters and malls are packed.
    It must be spring break.
  86. feeling vernal
    Hello, Spring, where ya
    been? We’re ready to shed our
    sweaters and head colds.
  87. hoop it loud
    Squeak and dribble, squeak
    and pass. Dunk! Squeak and … oomph! Ouch!
    Whistle! Bounce and net.
  88. getting seated
    The fans arrive with
    anticipation of night
    filled with surprises.
  89. bunny business
    The children scatter
    in the hunt for hidden eggs
    somewhere in the field.
  90. everything in its place
    Never has being
    organized been so easy
    or so demanding.
  91. and call me in the morning
    When head throbs, either
    pill or powder to cure. What,
    no migraine patch yet?
  92. sniffles to come
    Nostrils wince with sore
    anticipation; pollen
    prepares to erupt.
  93. gasaholics anonymous
    No one wants to pay
    four bucks a gallon nor do
    they want to drive less.
  94. proudly made in a honduran sweatshop
    Add a syllable
    here, drop a word on this line.
    That’s phoning it in.
  95. go outside
    How can the mall be
    packed on a beautiful spring
    day? Retail prison.
  96. binary hexadecimal meter
    Hidden among lines
    of code is a digital
    epic on first life.
  97. free answers
    Questions are many,
    answers are free. Want to know?
    Ask, but don’t be dumb.
  98. daed si luap
    .elib suorocnar htiw
    tiebla ,ereht si evol eht
    ,ecrovid ni nevE
  99. not so bumpy
    Bad days, good days, and
    somewhere in between, we chat
    and keep spirits up.
  100. a guy walks into a premise
    The comedian
    prowls the small uneven stage
    hunting for guffaws.
  101. botanical stroll
    Softly, the traffic
    swirls by in the distance, while
    all around is green.

• • •

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