Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 36
By Wade Kwon[Share on Twitter]
- rehearsals, day 17
He would speak into
the remote for hours. The
dog was not impressed. - just another day in the walmart parking lot
Wrong-way Willie went
barreling up the one-way
lane dodging shoppers. - the reset button
Push it and start all
over. Push it and wipe those
cares away. Push it. - the alpha and the part that comes after alpha
That half of the year
went by so quickly that this
half will surely drag. - after solving the artist royalties problem
Taylor Swift fixed my
iPhone at the Genius Bar
while singing “Bad Blood.” - driving to fun park usa
Junior and Little
Miss stare at the streaming flick
while Mom stays alert. - magic in the library
Each shelf held the key
to worlds unexplored and dreams
and nightmares and frogs. - missing mutt
He felt a dog-sized
hole in his life with an ache
for a wagging tail. - l-o-v-e in the u-s-a
No court, no law can
stop the force of love as it
spreads from heart to heart. - dear brutus
The fault lies not in
our stars but in ourselves, that
we are underlings. - the middle is always chaos
The start looks like fun,
and the end looks perfect but
far off. Keep going. - this is going to be the best half-year ever
Lose 10 pounds, join a
book club, eat healthier, watch
“Game of Thrones,” try meth. - the prison explosion
Time to figure out
who we’re mad at and who we’re
really afraid of. - firecracker follies
Bang! Pop! Rat-a-tat-
tat! Up and down the street boom
the sounds of freedom. - this land is our land
America smokes
pot, marries anyone and
plays so much soccer. - littlest victories
Odometer rolls
and the 12th free sandwich and
palindromic times. - flying fingers
The violinist
practiced to make performing
look so effortless. - from cradle to bigger cradle
Helicopter mom
and dad kept Junior tethered
long past puberty. - back of the industrial park
Freight slipped onto docks
unnoticed, cargo bound for
here or overseas. - lost in the grind
I can crunch numbers
or test theories, but my best
side is creative. - the stash
Frozen balls of dough
turn any sad day into
fresh-baked cookie time. - a state of limbo
A life that is full
and empty, blessed with friends but
without constant love. - melt into the sidewalk
The dog just ambles
and pants, dragging the leash and
human in the heat. - the power of nerds
Postmodern culture,
a mashup of comic books
and highbrow humor. - box office heroes of summer 2015
Dinosaurs, Mad Max,
the Avengers, Minions and
a girl’s emotions. - less comprehension in less time
Words flash faster and
faster, books and novels speed
by the keen reader. - writer’s blech
What is the term for
trying to write but held back
by lack of talent? - even majorities are minorities
Everyone’s a vic-
tim, everyone else is to
blame, martyrs for life. - the anxious mind
A churn of worries
that never comes to pass in
a state of alarm. - follicle frolic
Hair grows so subtly
you can barely feel it ooze
out of your scalp holes. - armed with popcorn and candy
The kids scrambled to
their seats to escape the heat
with movie magic. - citations no extra charge
Inspiration comes
from the unlikeliest spots,
like term paper sites. - make room for hashtags, too
The Library of
Congress must build shelves to store
tweets and emoji. - not hot enough for that
The gluten-free ice
cream truck circled round the block
with zero takers. - fast asleep in the urban jungle
Car alarm at 2
a.m.: Let me sing you the
song of my people. - little girl lost
A voice, distinct and
true, silenced too soon by a
misguided lifestyle. - friday evening downpour
Skies darken, thunder
erupts and sheets of rain wash
the earth thoroughly. - among the charlatans
A sense of purpose
may never ring true yet can
guide us to safety. - the neighborhood crank
A loner with an
agenda finds almost no
support for changes. - concrete rain
Bits of freeway fell
in storms of debris as cars
shook the bridges loose. - the pizza accords
First party agrees
to extra cheese, while second
party requests ham. - the meltening
The molecular
structure of all things breaks down
in this goddamn heat. - shuffle off this mortal coil? check.
The to-do list will
never be done. The good news
is we’ll all be dead. - the longest con
Living a robust
perpetual denial
about growing old. - annual assigned reading 3-day cram session
IfIhurryI-
canreadallmysummerbooks-
beforeschoolstartsback. - a town without a watchdog
Graft flowed to outstretched
hands, while the downtrodden fought
for their measly crumbs. - early onset adulthood
When spouses become
singles. When daughters become
caretakers. And on. - beyond needs fulfilled
What gives you pleasure?
Is it intellectual,
physical or more? - settling in by the pool
A tall iced tea and
a glossy magazine was
all she required. - as seen on body cams everywhere
The thin blue line is
spattered with blood red streaks and
black-and-blue lesions. - the poison of nostalgia
Living in the past
seems to be the drug of choice
among lost people. - the skim
Each dawn brings a fresh
opportunity to fleece
everybody else. - liquid butter cut-off
Summer ends when we
run out of blockbuster flicks
to watch with popcorn. - not quite ready for the bell
Reluctant pupils
enter the classroom with heads
full of fireflies. - long after graduation
The gossip girls shared
conspiratorial laughs
in the locker room. - stillness along the ocean
She looked out onto
the gulf one last time, ready
for the next voyage. - a good mom
Nothing would keep her
from scolding, feeding, reading
to, raising her girls. - the festival of fall approaches
A carnival of
colorful trees and hazy
nights heads for our block. - every saturday over coffee and carburetors
The parking lot filled
with classic hot rods, gearheads
and fans of sweet rides. - sensation of singing
The lyrics rolled by
on monitors for us to
belt out tipsily. - fourth wave feminism
Ladies choose to be
objectors, objectified,
their bodies their selves. - emoji nation
We started out with
Shakespeare and ended with a
suggestive eggplant. - chores, then domination
I’ll be ready to
conquer the world as soon as
I wash the dishes. - the most awkward sales pitch ever
It comes with something …
let me ask my manager
and not call you back. - a reasonable exit strategy
Put down the empty
glass and slip out the back door
with hoarded brownies. - the cost of fame
He made a deal with
the devil, then acted shocked
at the devil’s scam. - misanthropic awakening
The more you get to
know people, the more you want
to crawl back in bed. - jersey sore
The coach yells at the
team. The players run their drills.
Practice never ends. - dare defend
Fields of cotton, lush
forests, manmade lakes, kind hearts
in Alabama. - shop and chop
The big dinner needs
sliced and diced vegetables and
meats at the ready. - proration 2015
It’s the second week
of school, and they’re already
out of chalk and milk. - dinner party achievement unlocked
The satisfaction
from a well-cooked gourmet meal,
but mostly fullness. - scattered but not forgotten
Refugees from the
storm found new homes far from the
shores of destruction. - the wandering governor
He flew across the
land with his wife sometimes and
his mistress sometimes. - twisted mobility
The scooter helped her
up and down the hall, if not
back on her own feet. - harvest of shame
The biggest garden
foe was not cat nor bunny
but incompetence. - electoral collage
They rigged the ballot
so only predetermined
elites could win votes. - the farm’s last stand
The last jar of peach
preserves and basket of plump
tomatoes has sold. - and don’t forget thursdays
Friday night is for
football, as is Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. - work-life balance
First comes work, then comes
life, and bringing up the rear
is balance. Then … death. - shells
The exterior
hides everything — joy, sadness,
pain — within ourselves. - mired in perceptions
Paranoia bears
a strong resemblance to a
nonstop awareness. - left to our own devices
We can do almost
anything we put our minds
to, except focus. - a post-9/11 world
More patriotic,
more alert, more fearful, more
wary, more grateful. - smiles for meters
Is happiness a
constant? A pool that slowly
drains? A deep, deep font? - the strain of babysitting pupils
Fights stopped: Around 5.
Phones confiscated: 13.
Lessons taught: 0. - before you know it it’s mlk day
It’s time for Hallo
weenThanksgivingVeterans
DayChristmasNewYear’s. - the sweetest orchard
Harvesting from the
candied apple tree, wearing
gloves and sneaking bites. - digital scrapbooking
My jukebox: YouTube.
My photo album: Facebook.
My memory: Shot. - golden ghouls
The grandmas on the
block like to dress scarily
for shakes and giggles. - the real bogeymen
We act out of fear
to protect ourselves and our
kin, which breeds more fear. - sidewalk campaigning
Cleanup and paving
crews show up every 4 years
before elections. - a time of falling leaves and pumpkin spice and christmas sales
When does fall start? Ask
a weather forecaster, a
poet and a child. - introvert’s paradise
Coffee and good books,
jazz and blueberry pancakes.
Not a soul for miles. - the funniest person online is a pickpocket
Authorship is dead.
Digital miscreants take
anything for fun. - strength in numbness
My superpowers
are procrastination and
working on deadline. - stork 2.0
A drone came to my
front door to deliver a
newborn and cigars. - the decimal decimation
If we scrimp and save
and hold off on paying some
bills, we can eat soon. - a crowded field
Fall TV endures
as a launch point and graveyard
of few sparks, quick ends. - it’s a quiet afternoon at the taco truck
The cook preps his stuff,
while another fixes the
awning. A third drinks. - desperate men call for desperate measures
The mass of men lead
lives of quiet despera-
tion, As they deserve.
• • •
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