Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 28
By Wade Kwon[Share on Twitter]
- functional extrovert
His grin seemed off, a
plastered sentiment beneath
weary darkened eyes. - piracy in the 21st century
Not doubloons or gold,
but a digital copy
of a “Twilight” flick. - working hard or hardly resting
The taskmaster would
brook no break, choosing instead
to whisper, “Don’t stop.” - the mule in spring
The mule inched forward
imperceptibly while the
asses watched agape. - baker’s choice
Her kitchen became
a flour-y disaster
zone, but, oh, the tarts! - lost in transubstantiation
Eating and drinking
one’s savior could cause severe
deus diabetes. - strawberry delight
Sweet harvest, bounty
of red, sunlight trapped in juice
beneath curvy skins. - four-legged tornado
The misbehaving
pup shredded assorted clothes
and tinkled at will. - viral notion
The vice president
asked the marketing chief, who
assigned it to interns. - rounding third
A runner made for
home, egged on by teammates, fans
and adrenaline. - nose to the ground
The forest floor sent
the tail wagging with the scent
of hidden creatures. - condition blue
Gorgeous springtime sky
gives no hint of tornadoes
on the horizon. - prone to rupture
The vessel for his
madness leaked oily fluid
onto the blank page. - horror in boston
Marathoners cross
the finish line, only to
find death, destruction. - the unheralded organizers
Their free time is spent
hunting chairs, making flyers
and scrounging for pens. - like a nuclear bomb
Flames pierce stillness of
night, followed by explosion
flattening Texas. - the modest goddess
Naked, unguarded,
she possesses my soul with
her gentle glances. - negative vibes
Senses register
troubled spirits. Air thick with
hope and frustration. - goodnight, beantown
Rest, you weary sons
of liberty. Know that your
neighbors will keep watch. - post-post-postmodern
Art is everywhere.
We are art, everything is
art. Is this art? No. - plot dealers
They glance around once,
twice, before revealing the
merchandise: free books. - a sisyphus for the rest of us
Eventually,
the boulder wore down into
a pebble, then speck. - the buzzer is broken
Weary shopper takes
a seat on the metal bench.
Clerk isn’t in sight. - security in insecurity
A bundle of nerves
kept him both isolated
and in constant touch. - bart on the loose
Colorful boxer
bounds over sidewalks and steps
to art lovers’ grins. - step 3: profit!
The plan was to do
this, but quickly turned into
that. Was that the plan? - a land without sidewalks
Even the full moon
could not light the way along
dark streets and odd homes. - they came, they saw, they left
Dark windows kept the
crowds at bay. Though they knocked for
service, no one came. - home sweat home
A house in need of
a woman’s touch, followed by
laboring in love. - fight of the bumblebee
Pup snatches bees in
mid-flight, snacking on buzzing
drones, stingers and all. - the guardian of time
The jaded keeper
sat impatiently in the
swirl of cosmic night. - embrace of the teeming
Have a card, take a
card. Leave a card, toss a card.
Shuffle off and die. - dare to hoe
Rows wind through the dirt.
Squirrels tear through the rows. Birds peck
at the black remains. - big dogs on campus
Institution of
higher learning rewards good
dogs with free boarding. - troubadours and lattes
A lone guitarist
plays for coffee and change to
crowds of day people. - a tent popped for two
The wind wouldn’t quit.
Night fell in droplets, as they
huddled reading verse. - no one understands but her
I am weak, but she
makes me strong. I am confused,
but she guides me through. - how to be a juggler
Keep those balls in the
air. Make it seem easy. Don’t
look away too long. - countertop blizzard
The kitchen looked as
if a chef had hit it with
a flour grenade. - cutter’s corner
The gentleman with
the unruly mane took his
seat, while the rest jawed. - where shows go to die
This fall’s lineup will
make audiences laugh, cry
unlike latest crop. - the aural void
Silence. A rushing
of waves. The moan of a train
whistle. Then, silence. - let me love you till the end of time
A heart calls out for
a twin, one that lubs while the
other dubs. Lub-dub. - the hidden heart
Beneath the hard shell,
a faint ticking could be heard
whenever she smiled. - cheap and dirty
Piles of merchandise
wait to be adopted, then
thrown in the garbage. - a dog, a cat, an exit
The kitchen floor still
has rings where their supper bowls
held their attention. - draft epitaph
Father, husband, son,
scoundrel, drunk, beggar, drifter,
human. Rest in peace. - a waking nightmare
His eyes opened, and
she was gone. Never had a
dream seemed so lifelike. - before sunrise
He scanned the foggy
horizon, searching for … he
wasn’t quite certain. - quadruple life
Her heart belonged to
art and people and crafting
and passions unknown. - hidden in the beginning
Evil monster is
lame. (yawn) She’s unseemly czar,
known sociopath. - cardiojacking
Knock knock. Get out of
my heart. (pause) Oh, you can stay
a little longer. - they dared intimacy
When he was naked
and vulnerable, she held
him ever so tight. - the intersections that matter
The path isn’t clear.
We may choose a direction,
but wander astray. - duty and honor
We could do better
by our vets, living or dead.
Today, tomorrow. - as they should be
Fate is fickle and
unkind. She leads us to hope
disguised as dead ends. - foolish and free
Soon, others joined the
movement, not caring about
societal norms. - modern coupling
No proposal, but
registered at the pawn shop
and the brewery. - dual torches
We used our phones as
flashlights, stepping cautiously
along the cliff face. - stripped bare
Without pretense or
even thought, the lone figure
began days anew. - how campaigns are won
Dirty deals in back
rooms while smiling and laughing
for the citizens. - cure all
The potion hadn’t
been tested. Who knew what side
effects would bite back? - humid enough for ya
Face, neck, brow lousy
with sweat. Even indoors. With
air conditioning. - 73 ways to make introverts squirm
So many reports
on introverts makes me want
to hide somewhere dark. - famous last words
Fortune favors the
bold. Who dares wins. God helps those
who help themselves. Charge! - nowhere to go but
In the pit of deep
despair, every direction
leads upward and out. - you are the product
What you click, what you
share, what you read, you are a
hot commodity. - a spare arm or leg
The starfish doesn’t
know he has an odd number
of appendages. - of pegs and holes
Would you ever read
the instruction manual
for a new sweetheart? - e-pen to e-paper
I always thought my
first book would be about love
or haiku. It’s not. - you gotta see the baby
Newborns achieve wild
instant fame through their unpaid
phone paparazzi. - the extended solo
He played and riffed till
his fingers ached. Fading out
into a silence. - almost all grown up
By the time the old
traveler settled down, he
embraced adulthood. - rise of the cyber impostors
Online, everyone
is me and I am hidden
among the fakers. - branch dressing
Tendrils snag any
low-hanging limb, tangoing
their way to the sky. - condition clear, condition red
A furious wave
of panic rose within, then
left. Trembling remains. - the power of the power pen
The ideas the
words tumbled forth pouring waves
of unwieldy prose. - in the bones
The weariness of
existence permeated
his flagging body. - the stories we tell ourselves
The stories we tell
ourselves have the most cruel and
misleading outcomes. - a meadow afar
Dappled fields glisten
with careless splatters of dew
as the morning wakes. - this is freedom
A blistering hot
summer day, walking to the
mini-mart carefree. - we are all voyeurs
Peeking into the
lives of others, laughing, in
shock, judging, with scorn. - a common tongue
Whether through laughter,
food, music or alcohol,
we bond with others. - the slope of no return
The faint ant of a
climber hugged the bump on the
marble of the Earth. - the ruins in progress
The aging house gave
up the fight, part by creaking
part, and no one saw. - a notion of the past
Those who fail to learn
the lessons of history
are oblivious. - timer tyranny
The countdown left no
room for second guessing, just
for precise action. - down at the laundry hole
Jeans go for a swim
in cool suds. Shirts bob, and odd
socks play hide and seek. - down by half
Half a year flies by,
and with it, half the hopes and
dreams we had in mind. - freedom without responsibility
What would it mean to
roam without a care, a thought,
a plan for living? - more fun than a barrel of pixels
The entertainment
center needed only a
lamp, chair, stack of books. - narrative pulse
The pages would flip
by more rapidly as we
neared the chapter’s end. - society under glass
What is freedom when
we face surveillance online
and everywhere else? - caught looking ahead
The moment of the
present was interrupted
by future what-ifs. - a personal space that is not entirely unhappy
Imaginary
circle repels the wailing
of spoiled sad sacks. - mists of midsummer
Little feet hopped the
sprinkler, unaware of the
light rain trickling down. - that look in their eyes
In their heads, they are
counting the days till the next
holiday from work. - the minute hand askew
Terminally late,
the prince of the suburbs huffed
out of breath to work. - on the road 2013
Jack Kerouac would
never get lost as long as as
his smartphone has bars. - the futures that never came
Imagination
fueled anxiety and a
nagging sense of doom. - an external bug
The toddler undid
hours of work with a mere
lick of the laptop.
• • •
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