Wade on Birmingham

Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 11

By
  1. yin and yang
    Much is given, much
    is asked. Somewhere, the harvest
    matches the hungry.
  2. pastoral inhabitants
    Farm roll call: goats, cats,
    peacock, chickens, puppies, cows,
    llamas, pigs and worms.
  3. composed at a keyboard
    Can we break grip of
    technology’s distractions?
    Are we not machines?
  4. navigating by heart
    Even driving in
    circles can be fun with the
    ideal passenger.
  5. how to draw a princess
    Make the hair long, with
    a flowing gown. Or have a
    four-year-old draw it.
  6. blazing around
    A hundred degrees
    don’t make you smarter, but they
    do make you suffer.
  7. the waiting room
    Loved one treated in
    back room. Can’t surrender to
    simple helplessness.
  8. dry, dry again
    No one noticed the
    rains came less and less, leaving
    an untamed desert.
  9. evening summit
    On the mountain, the
    city seemed at peace with the
    world and with itself.
  10. did you hear …
    Even in the face
    of tragedy, work gossip
    Is oddly soothing.
  11. reunion in the rain
    Old guard, new guard and
    older guard converge to swap
    newsroom war stories.
  12. muchas smooches
    They started out as
    wary companions, but then
    had a liplock lunge.
  13. joker’s domain
    Bat-foe swipes more than
    piles of cash, but also hearts
    of hero’s legions.
  14. love the tourism, hate the tourist
    Long shorts, fanny pack,
    flower-print shirt, rumpled guide-
    book, tennis shoes, cap.
  15. they thought we were a couple
    Diner next to me
    shares pot of rice, slices of
    family and work.
  16. god is in the details
    The faithful prayed for
    guidance, and found their answers.
    How I envy them.
  17. the guru
    Do this, the leader
    said, to find your bliss. A bliss
    that cost everything.
  18. driving down king street
    The mall stores and road
    blocks line the crooked asphalt
    valley of commerce.
  19. harbor day
    Boats crawl along bay
    espied by rubberneckers
    and perched landlubbers.
  20. i need direction to perfection
    Yeah, you’re gonna bring
    yourself down. I got soul, but
    I’m not a soldier.
  21. our bodies, our shelves
    We chase each other
    around the bookstore sharing
    laughs and tunes and sweets.
  22. dance of the superphones
    They gather in halls
    and cubes, dressed in shiny new
    cases, chirping forth.
  23. oh the humidity
    Phantom storm leaves damp
    spots on sidewalk, traces of
    cleansing washed away.
  24. for the glory of sport
    Jocks from four corners
    of globe come to Beijing to
    beat up Asian nerds.
  25. a dream about bees
    Beneath yellow-black
    bumblebee carcasses lies
    carpet of grasses.
  26. the less fortunate
    Our comfortable
    existence rarely crosses
    paths with downtrodden.
  27. rejecting the satellites
    “Hello, cancel my
    subscription to beamed-in crack.
    I’m snorting Netflix.”
  28. seamless sky
    Dull gray blanket wraps
    tightly around parched landscape
    slowly drying out.
  29. the hardest summer of all
    Misfortunes, mayhem
    strike over and over. When
    will sad season end?
  30. aunt lulu
    Aunt Lulu stepped off
    the front porch to shoo the stray
    dog eating her weeds.
  31. upscale downtown soiree
    Sculpture garden blasts
    DJ’s grooves as ingenues
    take summer’s last gasp.
  32. modern movie magic
    Great cinema comes
    when theater avoids rings,
    chatter and glitches.
  33. sing along
    Make up the lyrics
    and forget the ones that come
    originally.
  34. the little girl in me
    I want a pony,
    one I can call “Princess” and
    feed carrots by hand.
  35. unmasked worry
    Scrunchy face makes for
    tension frowns and furrowed ruts
    betraying uncalm.
  36. post-modern corporate riddle
    What’s worse: being axed,
    facing the ax, or grinding
    through a sucky job?
  37. the stadium village
    Stuffy warehouses
    feed on wandering strangers
    beneath the forum.
  38. toss, turn, repeat
    So much is riding
    on this, as eyelids refuse
    to close for slumber.
  39. a long political season
    Maybe we could vote
    tomorrow and end the long
    stream of ads, pundits.
  40. past and present
    The days and months and
    years pile up, until you’re left
    with what could have been.
  41. body betrayal
    Mind is willing, flesh
    is so-so. Soul is full of
    grace. Posture is poor.
  42. words that are outdated or i loathe
    Cyber. Staycation.
    Brand management. Pre-boarding.
    Green. Operative.
  43. sweet corn
    Peel the silk, reveal
    the husk. Boil briskly, serve
    hot, buttered and crisp.
  44. crumbled peaks
    Heaps of mountains dot
    sea of horizon like huge
    bowl of earthen flakes.
  45. control
    The steering wheel guides
    aimlessly along the slick
    rainy road to hell.
  46. trapped in a big box
    Engorged consumers
    waddle down aisles brimming with
    surplus luxuries.
  47. tribal colors
    Tees and shakers shine
    with the hues of two nations
    on the gridiron.
  48. red harvest
    Basket of apples
    bounces unsteadily in
    bed of old pickup.
  49. i run for life
    I run for your moth-
    er, your sister, your wife. I
    run for you and me.
  50. looking at a tree
    Sinewy trunk splits
    and rises. Smooth bark mixes
    black and tan in shade.
  51. rage virus
    Hands shake, with thoughts of
    contempt, cold-blooded murder
    on the brain. Code black.
  52. the stuffiest places on earth
    Art crowd swishes through
    tight humid corridors to
    gaze at tragic works.
  53. laceration fascination
    Crystal slivers pierce
    pale surface, drawing forth thin
    rivulets of life.
  54. life is but a dream
    Blurry mornings blend
    into hazy afternoons.
    I’ll sleep when you’re dead.
  55. huffery puffery
    The political
    landscape has no horizon,
    just an endless fog.
  56. rocky outlook
    Hilltop outcrop holds
    cultured fish swimming in a
    pond unto itself.
  57. b & e 1
    He came by bike to
    smash his way into a man’s
    (once secure) castle.
  58. b & e 2
    Clothes strewn about. Bits
    of glass in crunchy heap. All
    touched by stranger’s hands.
  59. b & e 3
    The memory test
    begins. What’s missing? What’s left
    behind? Think, think, think.
  60. b & e 4
    Tough new deadbolt goes
    in, while the broken lock sits
    on the piano.
  61. b & e 5
    You can’t tell someone
    invaded this space, save for
    dark ghostly footprints.
  62. listen and learn
    Narrator explains
    through car speakers, nearly drowned
    out by sirens’ wail.
  63. the birth of the cool
    Rash of heat subsides
    as autumn breezes in the
    back door with a grin.
  64. bad cop
    You be the one who
    smiles and plays nice. And I’ll be the
    the complete bastard.
  65. forecast of doom
    Whether it’s the cost
    of goods, the betting line, or
    the rain, we’re all doomed.
  66. gals can do anything
    Except kill insects,
    produce a Y chromosome
    or laugh at this verse.
  67. digital unity
    Convention abuzz
    with ideas and intros
    through the corridors.
  68. talk to the casing
    Conversation in
    this era: chatting with back
    of phone or laptop.
  69. get on up
    The real test isn’t
    measuring potential, but
    what you do with it.
  70. but i’m willing to give it a try
    Please give me something,
    because someday I might know
    my heart. Know my heart.
  71. pigs and lipstick
    I prefer them pigs
    without makeup, looking all
    natural and what.
  72. the movement
    They manned the ramparts,
    ever watchful for the march
    of hostile forces.
  73. uncoded
    Faulty memory
    becomes real identity
    thief. What’s my PIN code?
  74. friendly coaching advice
    No matter how loud
    I yell at the flat screen, the
    QB doesn’t hear.
  75. catalog of malnutrition
    Hot dog, hot dog, chips,
    Coke, Coke, trail mix, cereal,
    milk, nuts and dessert.
  76. fanciful fall
    Roasted leaves descend
    limb from limb, settling in for
    their winter respite.
  77. waiting for the bus
    Gray dawn draws upon
    sprawling hills for momentum
    up the long skyway.
  78. pale to the victors
    The odd thing about
    being on the winning team
    is the mounting dread.
  79. this thing called reading
    Hello, stack of books.
    Please don’t stare at me as I
    lose myself in noise.
  80. the big bailout
    It’s like we’re all on
    the Titanic, with lifeboats
    carved from slabs of salt.
  81. hunch in the numbers
    Human concourse moves
    with stooped backs checking on cell
    devices for bits.
  82. faint sliver
    A slice of moon hangs
    by the sycamore, dusted
    with sprinklings of stars.
  83. be proud of who you are
    A person is more
    than the worst thing he’s ever
    done in his whole life.
  84. the undecided
    We’ve had 23
    months, 10 days, five hours. You
    still can’t pick a prez?!
  85. temptations abound
    Who knew that fatty
    foods could be so fattening?
    asked the growing crowds.
  86. media blackout
    Keeping up with the
    world seems less important than
    washing the dishes.
  87. the dark realization
    The universe does
    not care about its creatures.
    It just expands on.
  88. repeating mysteries
    Numbers, cards, crosswords.
    Mind numbs within endless set
    of combinations.
  89. there once was a time
    We prospered, gas flowed,
    homes felt safe, rivers ran clear,
    and our nation led.
  90. wash me
    Grime infests the edge
    leaving less windshield covered
    in tree sap and dust.
  91. bus to nowhere
    The city bus rests
    along the curb, disgorging
    its stranded riders.
  92. changing of the guard
    The old soldier stares
    across the battlefield and
    declares victory.
  93. state of mind
    Head words jumble can’t
    confusing it’s keep more there
    a straight clear making.
  94. land of tiny laptops
    Army of kiddie
    computers endures boot camp
    to serve little grunts.
  95. despite economic indicators
    Privileged tents ooze
    with fixins and piped-in games
    without a slowdown.
  96. the learning continues
    The lesson plan starts
    with a dispersion of facts
    and ends with breakthrough.
  97. to a crisp
    Wrinkled leaves await
    their chance to set sail from branch
    for a winter’s nap.
  98. too many directions
    The phone rings. The files
    pile up. The project changes.
    All on a Tuesday.
  99. something’s amiss
    Tension. It sits in
    the air like a panther on
    the prowl in the dark.
  100. like a bomb went off
    The next day, bodies
    were everywhere. Another
    layoff claims 14.
  101. pep talk
    Troubled times call for
    an unhealthy devotion
    to what’s possible.

• • •

Read more Wade’s 101.

1 Yip for “Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 11”

  1. Amy
    Thursday, January 29, 2009, 4:02 pm
    1

    Pigs and Lipstick made me laugh.

Leave a Yip

Subscribe without commenting