Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 11
By Wade Kwon- yin and yang
Much is given, much
is asked. Somewhere, the harvest
matches the hungry. - pastoral inhabitants
Farm roll call: goats, cats,
peacock, chickens, puppies, cows,
llamas, pigs and worms. - composed at a keyboard
Can we break grip of
technology’s distractions?
Are we not machines? - navigating by heart
Even driving in
circles can be fun with the
ideal passenger. - how to draw a princess
Make the hair long, with
a flowing gown. Or have a
four-year-old draw it. - blazing around
A hundred degrees
don’t make you smarter, but they
do make you suffer. - the waiting room
Loved one treated in
back room. Can’t surrender to
simple helplessness. - dry, dry again
No one noticed the
rains came less and less, leaving
an untamed desert. - evening summit
On the mountain, the
city seemed at peace with the
world and with itself. - did you hear …
Even in the face
of tragedy, work gossip
Is oddly soothing. - reunion in the rain
Old guard, new guard and
older guard converge to swap
newsroom war stories. - muchas smooches
They started out as
wary companions, but then
had a liplock lunge. - joker’s domain
Bat-foe swipes more than
piles of cash, but also hearts
of hero’s legions. - love the tourism, hate the tourist
Long shorts, fanny pack,
flower-print shirt, rumpled guide-
book, tennis shoes, cap. - they thought we were a couple
Diner next to me
shares pot of rice, slices of
family and work. - god is in the details
The faithful prayed for
guidance, and found their answers.
How I envy them. - the guru
Do this, the leader
said, to find your bliss. A bliss
that cost everything. - driving down king street
The mall stores and road
blocks line the crooked asphalt
valley of commerce. - harbor day
Boats crawl along bay
espied by rubberneckers
and perched landlubbers. - i need direction to perfection
Yeah, you’re gonna bring
yourself down. I got soul, but
I’m not a soldier. - our bodies, our shelves
We chase each other
around the bookstore sharing
laughs and tunes and sweets. - dance of the superphones
They gather in halls
and cubes, dressed in shiny new
cases, chirping forth. - oh the humidity
Phantom storm leaves damp
spots on sidewalk, traces of
cleansing washed away. - for the glory of sport
Jocks from four corners
of globe come to Beijing to
beat up Asian nerds. - a dream about bees
Beneath yellow-black
bumblebee carcasses lies
carpet of grasses. - the less fortunate
Our comfortable
existence rarely crosses
paths with downtrodden. - rejecting the satellites
“Hello, cancel my
subscription to beamed-in crack.
I’m snorting Netflix.” - seamless sky
Dull gray blanket wraps
tightly around parched landscape
slowly drying out. - the hardest summer of all
Misfortunes, mayhem
strike over and over. When
will sad season end? - aunt lulu
Aunt Lulu stepped off
the front porch to shoo the stray
dog eating her weeds. - upscale downtown soiree
Sculpture garden blasts
DJ’s grooves as ingenues
take summer’s last gasp. - modern movie magic
Great cinema comes
when theater avoids rings,
chatter and glitches. - sing along
Make up the lyrics
and forget the ones that come
originally. - the little girl in me
I want a pony,
one I can call “Princess” and
feed carrots by hand. - unmasked worry
Scrunchy face makes for
tension frowns and furrowed ruts
betraying uncalm. - post-modern corporate riddle
What’s worse: being axed,
facing the ax, or grinding
through a sucky job? - the stadium village
Stuffy warehouses
feed on wandering strangers
beneath the forum. - toss, turn, repeat
So much is riding
on this, as eyelids refuse
to close for slumber. - a long political season
Maybe we could vote
tomorrow and end the long
stream of ads, pundits. - past and present
The days and months and
years pile up, until you’re left
with what could have been. - body betrayal
Mind is willing, flesh
is so-so. Soul is full of
grace. Posture is poor. - words that are outdated or i loathe
Cyber. Staycation.
Brand management. Pre-boarding.
Green. Operative. - sweet corn
Peel the silk, reveal
the husk. Boil briskly, serve
hot, buttered and crisp. - crumbled peaks
Heaps of mountains dot
sea of horizon like huge
bowl of earthen flakes. - control
The steering wheel guides
aimlessly along the slick
rainy road to hell. - trapped in a big box
Engorged consumers
waddle down aisles brimming with
surplus luxuries. - tribal colors
Tees and shakers shine
with the hues of two nations
on the gridiron. - red harvest
Basket of apples
bounces unsteadily in
bed of old pickup. - i run for life
I run for your moth-
er, your sister, your wife. I
run for you and me. - looking at a tree
Sinewy trunk splits
and rises. Smooth bark mixes
black and tan in shade. - rage virus
Hands shake, with thoughts of
contempt, cold-blooded murder
on the brain. Code black. - the stuffiest places on earth
Art crowd swishes through
tight humid corridors to
gaze at tragic works. - laceration fascination
Crystal slivers pierce
pale surface, drawing forth thin
rivulets of life. - life is but a dream
Blurry mornings blend
into hazy afternoons.
I’ll sleep when you’re dead. - huffery puffery
The political
landscape has no horizon,
just an endless fog. - rocky outlook
Hilltop outcrop holds
cultured fish swimming in a
pond unto itself. - b & e 1
He came by bike to
smash his way into a man’s
(once secure) castle. - b & e 2
Clothes strewn about. Bits
of glass in crunchy heap. All
touched by stranger’s hands. - b & e 3
The memory test
begins. What’s missing? What’s left
behind? Think, think, think. - b & e 4
Tough new deadbolt goes
in, while the broken lock sits
on the piano. - b & e 5
You can’t tell someone
invaded this space, save for
dark ghostly footprints. - listen and learn
Narrator explains
through car speakers, nearly drowned
out by sirens’ wail. - the birth of the cool
Rash of heat subsides
as autumn breezes in the
back door with a grin. - bad cop
You be the one who
smiles and plays nice. And I’ll be the
the complete bastard. - forecast of doom
Whether it’s the cost
of goods, the betting line, or
the rain, we’re all doomed. - gals can do anything
Except kill insects,
produce a Y chromosome
or laugh at this verse. - digital unity
Convention abuzz
with ideas and intros
through the corridors. - talk to the casing
Conversation in
this era: chatting with back
of phone or laptop. - get on up
The real test isn’t
measuring potential, but
what you do with it. - but i’m willing to give it a try
Please give me something,
because someday I might know
my heart. Know my heart. - pigs and lipstick
I prefer them pigs
without makeup, looking all
natural and what. - the movement
They manned the ramparts,
ever watchful for the march
of hostile forces. - uncoded
Faulty memory
becomes real identity
thief. What’s my PIN code? - friendly coaching advice
No matter how loud
I yell at the flat screen, the
QB doesn’t hear. - catalog of malnutrition
Hot dog, hot dog, chips,
Coke, Coke, trail mix, cereal,
milk, nuts and dessert. - fanciful fall
Roasted leaves descend
limb from limb, settling in for
their winter respite. - waiting for the bus
Gray dawn draws upon
sprawling hills for momentum
up the long skyway. - pale to the victors
The odd thing about
being on the winning team
is the mounting dread. - this thing called reading
Hello, stack of books.
Please don’t stare at me as I
lose myself in noise. - the big bailout
It’s like we’re all on
the Titanic, with lifeboats
carved from slabs of salt. - hunch in the numbers
Human concourse moves
with stooped backs checking on cell
devices for bits. - faint sliver
A slice of moon hangs
by the sycamore, dusted
with sprinklings of stars. - be proud of who you are
A person is more
than the worst thing he’s ever
done in his whole life. - the undecided
We’ve had 23
months, 10 days, five hours. You
still can’t pick a prez?! - temptations abound
Who knew that fatty
foods could be so fattening?
asked the growing crowds. - media blackout
Keeping up with the
world seems less important than
washing the dishes. - the dark realization
The universe does
not care about its creatures.
It just expands on. - repeating mysteries
Numbers, cards, crosswords.
Mind numbs within endless set
of combinations. - there once was a time
We prospered, gas flowed,
homes felt safe, rivers ran clear,
and our nation led. - wash me
Grime infests the edge
leaving less windshield covered
in tree sap and dust. - bus to nowhere
The city bus rests
along the curb, disgorging
its stranded riders. - changing of the guard
The old soldier stares
across the battlefield and
declares victory. - state of mind
Head words jumble can’t
confusing it’s keep more there
a straight clear making. - land of tiny laptops
Army of kiddie
computers endures boot camp
to serve little grunts. - despite economic indicators
Privileged tents ooze
with fixins and piped-in games
without a slowdown. - the learning continues
The lesson plan starts
with a dispersion of facts
and ends with breakthrough. - to a crisp
Wrinkled leaves await
their chance to set sail from branch
for a winter’s nap. - too many directions
The phone rings. The files
pile up. The project changes.
All on a Tuesday. - something’s amiss
Tension. It sits in
the air like a panther on
the prowl in the dark. - like a bomb went off
The next day, bodies
were everywhere. Another
layoff claims 14. - pep talk
Troubled times call for
an unhealthy devotion
to what’s possible.
• • •
Read more Wade’s 101.
Thursday, January 29, 2009, 4:02 pm
Pigs and Lipstick made me laugh.