Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 35
By Wade Kwon[Share on Twitter]
- weeds among the weary vehicles
The roving robot
wrangled wandering carts from
lot purgatory. - a period of unconsciousness
The hyphen lay still
between parentheses, just
out of his comma. - worlds apart
Let’s live in our own
universes, unchecked by
facts or sanity. - shirk ethic
Let the other guy
do it. Coffee breaks won’t take
themselves, now, will they? - a professional grump
It’s not for the pay.
The consummate grump does it
for the love of pain. - new new beginnings
This is the Monday
I start my diet, early
rising, workouts, prayers. - dine and dish
The kitchen crew spent
an afternoon lunch break with
laughter and rantings. - reset the chairs
Each seat would drift down
the sea of carpet, floated
back by tides of hands. - they who would do good but not good enough
The discussion on
hunger ended with guests’ half-
full plates in the trash. - emerging tendrils
The ground cannot hold
back the seeds reaching for the
unlimited sky. - half-caf, no-foam race relations
She handed out both
lattes and observations
from pale to dark brown. - give our regards to the chef
The first try was meh.
The second, somewhat better.
The third, edible. - even pups make believe
Two wolves battle for
territory and fat sheep
atop the canyon. - the wiggly tooth
The incisor found
no rest along the bottom
gum, so he cut out. - protecting the garden
Squirrels, rabbits and cats
circled protectively round
the blooming bounty. - the death of signal
The report is due
any minute. The wifi
commits suicide. - my heart, i give it to you
I spill my guts for
you to digest, not for real
but in many words. - steady the quiver
Bow before the bow.
Let the vile target tremble
till the point is made. - something but net
The accountant fed
each receipt, each napkin, each
stub into the gross. - app happy
When to breathe, where to
go, what to eat, how to move
and when to upgrade. - a masterpiece in three cuts
A snip here, a cut
there, soon it will be worthy
of an audience. - kale the wonder drug
Mash some up with your
pills. Rub some on your skin. Snort
it as a powder. - burnt roof-of-mouth syndrome
Eat the pizza while
it’s hot or suffer through the
bitter cold slices. - seat 48c
The tiny door slams
shut 10 times an hour, then
the sound of pissing. - fear of missing any
Goodbye to each lost
second, wasted minute and
ill-chosen hour. - and a bunny shan’t lead them
No lowly rabbit
or other creature would serve
as risen prophet. - not even to order flowers
She resisted the
necessity of calling
anyone at all. - to bare it all in an mp3
A jumble of words
into lyrics, a splash of
chords into a tune. - dare to be somewhat above average
The salaryman
dreamt of a slightly nicer
car and taller kids. - peas, love and understanding
From a little pot
grew a stem and some leaves and
pods in the offing. - the organizers
One wanted matching
T-shirts, the other wanted
spontaneous trust. - running lines
The tenor jogged up
and down the stairs before back
onstage to sing swing. - harvest of shamelessness
The country folk came
to gawk at the city folk
and sell peach preserves. - the queue for the 3d printer
Crosses, models, globes,
weapons, abstract sculptures, pens
and 3D toner. - no accounting
Piles of receipts plus
stacks of pay stubs minus debts
equals large headache. - road warrior 2015
Uber takes the wheel,
Siri takes dictation, and
hipsters take the bus. - shut the front door
The introvert stayed
at home and lived happily
forever after. - click play to save money
Do-it-yourself heart
surgery seemed easy thanks
to YouTube lessons. - the body, the antenna
Radio waves flow
through vessels and nerves, tuning
in the crooner’s soul. - seek pleasure or seek safety
Keep your head down or
go after your wildest dream,
the choice of each day. - what price oil?
Punch the ocean and
drown the men to keep our tanks
full of gas and blood. - down in the data mines
They chipped away at
boulders looking for nuggets
of consumer trends. - distracted guardians
The angel on his
shoulder was texting, while the
devil was sexting. - coswar
Nerds in Spandex line
up for popcorn and trade tales
of comic legends. - two days’ grace
Lie in meadows and
breathe in fragrant winds and bask
in joyous freedom. - the clinking of glasses
A happy noise rings
out over and over with
bubbly drinks and smiles. - a new routine
He considered a
change to his morning habits
while he overslept. - a tragedy, as told in bruises
Her arms marked where he
shook her; her neck, where he choked
her; her ribs, his jabs. - green scene
The fertilizer
nourished all. Even the weeds
grew thicker, lusher. - the post-drizzle unveiling
The crew swept away
the giant handkerchief to
reveal a dry field. - stenographers in progress
The room was quiet,
save for the clickety-clack
of keys lightly tapped. - invasion of the countertop ants
Ten ants crushed, and then
another 10 take their place
to steal tiny bites. - living history in short, violent booms
The North and the South
clash on modern battlefields
thanks to old blue laws. - blessed are the mighty
What good is holy
comfort at the expense of
the least among us? - sip and slur
The flask appeared quite
suddenly to offer a
brief but needed jolt. - fight night
All it took was one
demolishing blow to the
skull to finish him. - the good kind of tired
Chores done, projects checked,
birdhouses built, contracts signed
and love songs written. - when the car goes bump in the night
By the side of the
freeway, they swore at the hole
in the flat tire. - parade of homies
Paco didn’t mind
the jeers of rivals. To him,
they sounded so sweet. - hot head
Ultraviolet beams
cooked the bare sections of his
smooth ivory scalp. - a mother’s love
Tender, but also
fierce. Protective, but also
nurturing. Boundless. - infected with ideas
She wanted to change
her life, her job, her house, her
outlook and her hair. - of quiet desperation
The decades ticked past
with little to show heading
to oblivion. - the radio with a thousand presets
The driver couldn’t
find the station for reggae
or sports talk or folk. - everyone’s an expert
Let others decide
how much makeup, how to rear
kids and best yogurts. - conversation with a distracted black dog in the park
Who’s a good boy? bark
bark Are you having fun? bark
bark Come back! bark bark - low-information managers
They scurry from cube
to cube, seeking approval,
dispensing rumors. - in his bones
The weariness found
refuge deep inside his bones,
never to depart. - a sip of tea
The steam lazily
drifted ceilingward, with dark
eddies swirling round. - the platinum age of heroes
Comic panels spring
to life on 50-inch screens
with little Spandex. - thanks, dave
Late night no longer
a time to sleep, but a chance
to laugh and unwind. - the black eye of the gulf
It dwells below the
depths, a cesspool of mankind’s
oil addiction. - sea breeze
Not so much currents
of air as a lullaby
made of atmosphere. - the lonely dunes
I walked along the
lonely dunes and found myself
at one with others. - a holiday, not a holy day
Let us honor the
fallen without piety
or such idol worship. - extended salute
Honor our war dead
by taking proper care of
their grieving loved ones. - numb to criticism
Enough jabs and tweaks
at the hide make it callous
to compliments, too. - the countdown to moving out
Each lazy day brings
the ripe collegian closer
to new surroundings. - self-flagellation
Why are you hitting
yourself? Why are you hitting
yourself? To improve. - harmless rain
It trickled. It poured.
It seemed to never stop. The
ground soaked it all in. - minister of offense
Get in front of the
story, and keep the players
eligible first. - the suggestive jester
She would tell a joke.
Her audience would laugh, then
giggle thoughtfully. - the curiously cute scarecrow
The curiously
cute scarecrow failed to ward off
vermin but scored stares. - summer city scavenging
They posed in front of
the alleyway mural with
their mischievous smiles. - have a day
The cashier is too
cheerful. The phone rep is too
cheerful. Tone it down. - featuring miss snuggles
The teddy bear had
a starring role in the tyke’s
staging of “Snow White.” - selfie fixation
The mirror she used
had a lens and a thousand
faces looking back. - the neighborhood hoarders
The house next door has
more than enough mousetraps and
boxes full of clocks. - rich in nostalgia
Rich in nostalgia,
but poor in decency. Earth,
age 5 billion years. - pray for rain
The dust choked the life
out of everything. The end
days were upon us. - a furnace on four wheels
Open the door to
a blast of compressed hot air,
then stick to the seats. - the miracle of sewage into potable water
Tubular filters
purify waste water in
under an hour. - sleep is a fickle mistress
Many concepts turn
into fickle mistresses
because we lack sense. - the finest print
The elders stared in
wonder at the wee words all
but unreadable. - a mind made of weary
His overtaxed brain
revved down to minimal speed
and seemed to have stalled. - the verbal exhibitionist
Not keen to make friends
but perfectly at ease while
gabbing to thousands. - the summer of me
Popsicles and walks
in twilight and fireflies
and sandy beaches. - zapping the summer doldrums
Does boredom still come
round when the sun’s high and kids
worship Xboxes? - no ac, just 94-degree weather
They sweated themselves
dry in the burnt surroundings
of the living room. - guns win gun war
Let us not weep for
those shot down as long as we
worship firearms. - system of tepid beliefs
I don’t know if I’m
strong enough to stand for some-
thing, for anything.
• • •
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Sunday, June 21, 2015, 12:06 am
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