Wade on Birmingham

Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 24

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  1. post-production absurdities
    In writing the script
    and shooting the film, do they
    dream of awards shows?
  2. they’ll never flap in this town again
    Nominees’ tummies
    eat high-powered butterflies
    for nervous breakfast.
  3. a taste of glamour
    Let us peek in on
    our glitterati in their
    native habitat.
  4. collection obsession
    What we don’t have gives
    way to what we want to have
    until we’re buried.
  5. martini time
    Gin, and a hint of
    vermouth
    , with maybe olive.
    Drink liberally.
  6. surplus day
    This day can be the
    start of something new or the
    closing of doors past.
  7. the winter of shorts
    Spring may come in like
    heat wave, but who would notice?
    Global warming wins.
  8. the politics of bombardment
    The barrage of ads
    clogs the airwaves like mutant
    lint, blinding viewers.
  9. the neighbors are at it again
    The cops weren’t called as
    the couple’s disturbance was
    just angry texting.
  10. faded melodies
    If I squint my ears,
    they can detect a love song
    crooned so long ago.
  11. loss is loss
    She looked to the bed
    on the floor, empty, quiet,
    someone was missing.
  12. puppy couture
    No dog is complete
    without a hat or scarf and
    no more dignity.
  13. confessions in a closed office
    Perfectionism
    is killing me slowly. A
    mistake that endures.
  14. inspirations
    Beauty, melodies,
    a joke, solitude, childhood
    memory, deadlines.
  15. try, then give up
    If at first you don’t
    succeed, turn on the coffee
    pot and drink a cup.
  16. leaves of clover and shoes of horses
    Sometimes, the only
    luck you need hides inside the
    twinkle of an eye.
  17. ranch of the dust bunnies
    Uninhibited
    and roaming freely across
    the vast hardwood plains.
  18. five on five
    Dribble and pass, run
    and shoot. Block and pick. Never
    back down on the court.
  19. faster she breathes
    Their fingers touch, and
    her breath quickens. Can she hear
    his pulse racing, too?
  20. the squash adoption
    The motley squadron
    of harvested produce waits
    to fly to kitchens.
  21. egos with knives
    The chef bellowed at
    the dishwashers. The waiters
    scurried for cover.
  22. listened out
    The words ran slower
    and slower, hanging in the
    air like sonic clouds.
  23. leaves of the trinity
    The unwashed and the
    rogues came to hear preaching from
    St. Patrick himself.
  24. fading pages
    Read all about the
    rag that went from riches to
    irrelevancy.
  25. bundles of neuroses
    We stand naked in
    hopes that the other one sees
    beauty in our flaws.
  26. an author, of sorts
    The young scribe had earned
    thousands of downloads and Web
    notoriety.
  27. green pancakes
    Breakfast took on a
    tinge of spring to celebrate
    friends and renewal.
  28. for who i am
    Seeing myself through
    her eyes gives me pause. Am I
    neurotic and weird?
  29. age isn’t just a number
    They picked their cherished
    songs from the jukebox that spanned
    the many decades.
  30. a square lens
    The photographer
    seized bits and pieces of joy
    for her phone scrapbook.
  31. a fine listener
    The tall bottle poured
    another glass of cab while
    she shared her day’s news.
  32. the hanging judge
    The bench welcomed back
    the renegade magistrate
    who thumped with the best.
  33. the fullest plate
    Lives can be filled with
    opportunities, loved ones,
    or distractions. Pick.
  34. stances are
    He kept the world out
    with folded arms and earbuds,
    aloof and unmoved.
  35. the rejection notice
    Dear poet, your verse
    is worse and makes us averse
    to publishing it.
  36. casual tuesday
    Style has given way
    to casual chic to a
    casual grotesque.
  37. lamb on deck
    Such a warm spring feels
    great now, but will be hellish
    come late summertime.
  38. beware the fools of april
    The unfunny spill
    their trite amusements upon
    a suspecting world.
  39. a piece of the action
    Racers drive by in
    a blur. Return every few
    minutes. Blind finish.
  40. a generation of brats
    Coddle away, you
    misguided parents. We will
    all suffer later.
  41. the temporal triangle
    The clock runs backwards
    while waiting and waiting in
    the doctor’s office.
  42. forgotten silence
    Only when the mind
    can slip free can we feel the
    embrace of stillness.
  43. inane clown posse
    Fanatics spend their
    time perfecting painted sneers,
    gruesome visages.
  44. rolling thunder
    His legs lost in war,
    he greeted park visitors
    with poisonous slurs.
  45. putting out embers
    The CEO called
    the manager who texted
    the peon who slept.
  46. the somewhat good ol’ days
    Listen up, children,
    to hear tales of days that came
    post-prosperity.
  47. the littlest disasters
    Mayhem and mistakes
    swarm misbegotten souls who
    topple under stress.
  48. one fun pass, please
    A boy builds his dreams
    from cardboard boxes and lets
    the world in to play.
  49. three bites
    The French take three bites,
    I have been told, to stay thin.
    We just bite bigger.
  50. a country boy from the city
    He could not mask his
    down-home ways with fancy suits
    and urbane patter.
  51. don’t forget to tip your nerds
    The gurus and the
    campers held forth over beers
    and bright ideas.
  52. broadway in nashville
    The neon remains
    unlit as travelers walk
    past bar after bar.
  53. inner journey
    The voyage takes us
    to an unknown land, the soul
    without signposts.
  54. render unto others
    Calculating my
    fair share costs more than simply
    emptying pockets.
  55. not even a wide spot
    The cashier eyed the
    road wearily, waiting for
    her next lost driver.
  56. digital ghosts
    How we must look as
    we talk to unseen people
    for unseen reasons.
  57. afternoon pick-me-up
    Slowly, the drones came
    to the counter seeking their
    steaming hot fixes.
  58. another round of flapjacks
    The girls and boy chirped
    for more pancakes as fast as
    Mama could fry them up.
  59. wastes of time
    Each second squandered
    by 7 billion people
    devours lifetimes.
  60. a park under siege
    Gangs roamed the city
    park, but Batman was nowhere
    nearby. Gotham falls.
  61. no child left to leave behind
    The town elders held
    grudges. Pupils went blind from
    miseducation.
  62. skirmishes in the race war
    The invisible
    fault line shakes the residents,
    wrecks institutions.
  63. turned around
    The photographer
    snaps their family moment,
    backs to nosy eyes.
  64. calm and clear
    The hundreds lost to
    raging winds would have loved to
    see this sunny day.
  65. furrows in the yard
    Negative space, where
    trenches of dirt become lines
    of sprouts and sunshine.
  66. headspace
    The crowded go to
    extremes to find peace, quiet,
    places to think hard.
  67. dirt nip
    Compost heap awaits
    transfer to battleground where
    it aids seed forces.
  68. anthems to the old
    No one celebrates
    the collected wisdom or
    gumption of elders.
  69. the corner market news
    The sweet potatoes
    spied on strawberries that were
    minding their business.
  70. mat chat
    The universe speaks
    through the body in yoga.
    It says, loudly, “Ow!”
  71. lettuce be thankful
    Waves of fresh green and
    red and yellow and orangish-
    brown swirled the produce.
  72. ears everywhere
    Long before a vibe
    became a reality,
    the crier had sensed.
  73. open-door policy
    They came on foot, by
    bicycle and car to gawk
    at the stranger’s wares.
  74. presence
    Focusing on now,
    time does not stand still but fades
    from our existence.
  75. lines on a map
    The squirrels run rampant
    across political zones
    and property lines.
  76. the need to play in a word sandbox
    Syllables pour out
    like grains of sand, building book
    castles, word spires.
  77. standards beyond standards
    Perfection remains
    an elusive minx, never
    to be caught or tamed.
  78. gadget fever
    Shiny and new and
    still in the box, beckoning
    with beeps and flashes.
  79. spas like us
    The mud is relaxed.
    The towels, fluffed and piled high.
    Bring us a chai tea.
  80. beginner’s curve
    Pressure for the slow
    witted and tardy, racing
    to stay average.
  81. the war on learning
    Who can excel when
    children fight viciously and
    parents defend them?
  82. the boy in the mirror
    Looking into the
    glass, I spy a trembling lad
    staring at the floor.
  83. what to do with ripe tomatoes
    Plump tomatoes blush
    with naked abandon, as
    they get downright sauced.
  84. open, not closed
    The best things in life
    aren’t always free, but open
    to all who seek them.
  85. literature in stereo
    The author gently
    unwinds his novel into
    her waiting earbuds.
  86. on the nature of sass
    Only later would
    the gentleman come to learn
    that her sass was love.
  87. try, try, then give up
    Persistence can win
    in the end, but surrender
    can subtly subvert.
  88. paralysis
    People parade by.
    Everything happens without
    guidance from within.
  89. beach countdown
    Sandy shores await,
    once the bags are packed, the tank
    is filled, the work done.
  90. while her grandmother was under the knife
    Waiting for news from
    the surgeon, the granddaughter
    passed time giving blood.
  91. around sunset
    The duo played some
    Beatles songs and hummed along,
    sitting on the porch.
  92. an endless supply of ones and zeroes
    The ink-stained wretches
    looked at computers in awe
    and with creeping dread.
  93. lazy bones
    Neither the spirit
    nor the flesh are willing when
    it’s a long weekend.
  94. the untamed horizon
    Beyond what they could
    see was a place of danger
    and great mystery.
  95. beyond service
    In their graves, they rest
    quietly after fighting
    for those to be born.
  96. summer at the swimmin’ hole
    Skinny dipping ain’t
    for kicks, but to get cool as
    fast as possible.
  97. bugs’ bounty
    Trespassers in the
    yard must pay a toll in blood
    to winged collectors.
  98. a right proper sandwich
    Southern BLT
    comes without the B or the
    L and tastes just fine.
  99. waiting on the ac
    The wheel burns, the air
    smothers, the seat belt latch scalds,
    and the vinyl stings.
  100. hot on the trail of the ice cream truck
    He has popsicles
    and ice creams galore, but you
    have to catch him first.
  101. sandy sojourn
    Only place hotter
    than home is the beach. Why do
    we go there for fun?

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