Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 17
By Wade Kwon- down the looking glass
More movies will use
3D as gimmick, but need
2D beforehand. - rock star knitting
Electric needles
shred leather yarn into a
bitchin’ Afghan shawl. - an hour here, an hour there
Folks may gripe about
springing forward, yet they fall
back on time-wasters. - vast improvements
Big changes afoot.
Everything old must make way
for up and coming. - march missteps
The tango of spring
and winter, as each fights to
lead across the land. - beyond the edge of midnight
Prowl the city streets
looking for action, looking
for some distraction. - ice and hardwood
Balls and pucks, dribbles
and dekes, madness arrives in
many forms this month. - printemps, salut
With the arrival
of spring, the nose itches and
aches. Damn allergies. - mother nature’s prerogative
Why not sunny and
warm, followed by snow and rain
and chills? Seasons change. - one cure
Easier to fix
health care than the cancer of
partisan rancor. - dirty dreams
The garden will be
lush with vegetation and
sweat from planting hands. - plan for spring cleaning
Throw away every
thing. Done. Now the house is as
clean as it can be. - internal barometer
Spring demands penance
through sneezes and sniffles. An
allergy humbles. - strangers no more
Banishment of the
unfamiliarity
begins with hello. - school spirits
Each sip enhances
and also suppresses new
alcohol knowledge. - the south: a primer
Sweet tea, hey y’all, fried
foods, slow drawl, warm greetings, hot
summers, bless your heart. - work station, early monday
The hallway remains
quiet, even as the drones
file in for the week. - people are
People are funny,
warm, mean, cryptic, loving, true,
hateful, rude, human. - cutting your losses
Some would rather hold
on to a losing hand than
fold and shuffle up. - the unexpected
The end of a long
day brings not relaxation
but a renewed hope. - the talkative introvert
The shy will speak, the
dead will rise, and blood will pour
from heaven’s earhole. - an iPad for an iPad
Uploaded on the
holy e-tablet are the
1010 commandments. - a rabbit’s tale
Eggs to hide, baskets
to deliver. A bunny’s
work is never done. - egg-pocalypse
Each still-hidden egg,
a ticking time bomb rotting
in its hand-dyed shell. - a coy season
Spring sometimes likes to
hide herself between winter
and summer, too cute. - life is a game show
Questions get harder.
The prizes, bigger. No help
from the audience. - that’s how rumors get ended
People will talk, but
then someone actually
listens. Game over. - a day of tasks
Somehow, it always
gets done. Leftover items
seem to disappear. - this modern life
Robot slave who takes
out the trash and feeds the dogs
and raps: Where are you? - putting made easier
Virtual greens on
widescreens lie in wait for crowds
of upscale gawkers. - on two wheels
The land zips by, but
with a tactile breath. Helmet
on, feet pedaling. - stuffy
Pollen-encrusted
world keeps the nostrils clenched and
the oxygen scarce. - the sweet tea brigade
Gallons of sugar
water soothe on hot days. And
then, the kidney stones. - the ides of april
Beware, for the day
comes at a steep cost to tax
cheats and laggards, too. - unqualified but unabated
The advice is free,
even if the adviser
is making it up. - a night on the town
A quick wave, a long
conversation, a crushing
handshake, a deep nod. - a slight sizzle
The tell-tale texture
of a perfectly prepared
lamb chop. A cook knows. - circles
Your circle and my
circle intersect without
subtracting ourselves. - craft on demand
Fast, good or cheap, pick
three. No, wait. Pick two. Or pick
one, cross your fingers. - the puppy episode
A floppy-eared, four-
legged visitor heads your
way with slobber, barks. - spare the earth, spoil the parasites
Nonstop assault on
Mother Earth: matricide or
just plain suicide? - the end of days
The time comes in a
relationship when all that’s
left is small goodbyes. - at first, i was afraid
I was petrified.
It took all the strength I had
not to fall apart. - porch song
Gazing upon the
long stretch of highway, bare feet
tickled by the breeze. - services out of town
The trunk is lightly
packed with belongings and grief.
Time to pay respects. - sunset from the summit
Never felt so close
yet so far from God’s design
trapped in this ballroom. - every place is bridgeport
Past the strip mall lies
the former Walmart and the
row of used car lots. - parade of smarts
The brains took turns at
the mike to divulge what the
world will look like soon. - crude retort
The sugar white sands
cannot escape the oily
wrath of poisoned tides. - river rampage
Music City drowns
beneath stormy onslaught. The
river runs through it. - unanswered questions
How did I get here?
What’s it all about? Is that
all there is? Why me? - the happiest of wags
Space dog careens through
the den, sending poor earth cat
into a tizzy. - a pint for courage
One more tug of beer,
a sip and a gulp. Ready
for trouble, as such. - advice and insults, free today
You should look into
mutual funds, you slimy,
brainless, lame asshat. - and then the room started spinning
Before the lights went
out, the faces closed in and
the sweat came pouring. - the taco truck
The oven has holes
for the cooks to peek out from
while frying themselves. - stunned but not stunned
Even at its worst,
there’s still room to be surprised
at a brand new low. - losing the signal
At one point, loud and
clear. But since the storm, the line
crackles with static. - sails unfurled
The dock but a speck,
the ocean swallows us as
we surge through the waves. - if it weren’t for the last minute
Deadline is far off,
no need to panic. Except
when it sneaks up fast. - the yardstick
Do we measure our
worth against the past, against
others or don’t count? - tomato invitation
The vines stretch for more
room, expecting fruit to burst
forth any day now. - insurgency
Rules are issued. They
rebel. Lines are drawn. They cross.
Top down. They fight back. - social creatures
Hiding in a cave
is no match for venturing
out into the light. - guessing game
Thoughts unspoken give
first clues to internal gaps
in the narrative. - rib tickler
Meat really shouldn’t
fall off the bones. Otherwise,
you’re stuck with just bones. - pooch parade
Down the lane, packs of
dogs march to the beat of a
thousand wagging tails. - the joy of hex
Place a curse upon
the object of your disaf-
fection. Stir, stir, stir. - rectangular input
Moving from screen to
screen, absorbing images
and words and content. - sentimental, at times
The faded dusty
photo reveals a moment
of pure tenderness. - doused in chlorine
Bobbing along in
the deep end, dodging divers
in cannonball mode. - lessons in comic form
Don’t try to kick the
football. Don’t try too hard at
work. Dennis? Menace. - after lost
Castaways stuck on
weird island. Only hope for
rescue is dying. - the thin line between light and dark
The winds blow. The rains
fall. The line snaps. Thus ends our
civilization. - mutually assured disaffection
The trust died when she
lost faith and he kept fighting
their reality. - influence
The office nerd has
no say in the product launch
but knows good pizza. - dark water
Hurry, gotta beat
the traffic to the beach, where
the oil awaits. - t-shirts for me
I’m the realest bitch
you know. No-drama zone. Honk
if you love silence. - steady on
The compass needle
spins with drunken lurches, but
the course remains true. - posthumous honor
For those who died in
service, our feeble thank yous
must suffice for now. - if goldfish voted
Not sure why they try
to sway your vote just 10 feet
from the polling place. - balls and strikes
The pitch. Foul tip. The
pitch. Ball one. The pitch. Strike two.
The pitch. Out at first. - dairy patrol
What equinox? The
real summer starts when the ice
cream truck jingles forth. - waves of grains
Hundreds of miles from
the beach, still finding sand in
shoes and cars and bags. - counting fireflies
Flashing blips poke the
darkness straining to get in
sync with each other. - the flow of notes
The saxophonist
blares out riff after smooth riff,
shades on the whole time. - there is only try
The odd thing about
second chances? They can help
remove all regrets. - your guess is as bad as mine
How do we handle
conflict? Smoothly. How do we
keep going? Blind faith. - polished to perception
The best manuscripts
artfully hide a series
of drafts and rewrites. - hooky
Run free. Escape the
corporate dungeons for a life
richer in mischief. - the modern ghost
The modern ghost haunts
not rundown shacks or scary
graveyards. He brings dread. - a festival forgotten
The park once teemed with
teens and old folks in chairs till
the money ran out. - about a radish
The oddball in the
salad bowl has something to
say, if only asked. - patriotic cloth
The fabric of a
nation isn’t measured in
stitches but people. - the longest days
Sweat forms the moment
grownups step out to check if
the lawn needs water. - the shortest nights
Repeat location;
the crickets and fireflies
transmit them in code. - a cloak of civility
Must the default be
attack and denigrate? Or
can we listen, too? - house call
The patient is in
her pajamas, with an un-
prescribed ice cream float. - american voodoo
If it happened, we
didn’t do it. If we did
it, pure accident. - the corners in life
The corners are cloaked,
with a fist or a tiger
or a dream in wait. - dueling virtuosos
Violin and flute
aren’t foes, but bad notes sound out
a different tune.
• • •
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