Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 49
Thursday, May 2nd, 2019[Share on Twitter]
- drives of fancy
They shut the highways
down to rebuild. If only
hovercars swooped in … - cotton candy snickers
Every candy has
a set of improbable
flavors to stump tongues. - the struggle is fake
No victims but me.
No truth but my talking heads.
No vengeance but mine. - a swamp to call one’s own
Turf gives way to mush
as rainy season brings a
never ending soak. - in the foothills of appalachia
A remarkable
city teeming with magic
and nothing to lose. - do i dare eat a peach?
We fail to reckon
what we put in motion with
choices, abstentions. - the three kinds of happiness
Holding a kitten.
Finishing a marathon.
And eating ice cream. - snow dance
Trudge in a circle
around empty milk cartons
while shaking textbooks. - junk in the junk
A place to store junk.
A place to pick up bought junk.
A place to junk junk. - the broken parts of the library
The heat and AC,
the escalators, leaky
ceilings, sewage flow. - ghost of writings past
Struck hard by a muse,
the words flowed with grace and ease
till they came up dry. - common bore
They teach to the test,
the test that measures how well
students fill bubbles. - yada yada yada
Ten years of tweeting
gets you a dumb hashtag and
some aching fingers. - pro-creation
Stop buying and start
making. Imagination
fuels the best presents. - the not me theory of achievement
To motivate folks,
“Well, someone’s gotta do it.”
History is made. - to sleep, and sleep some more
The snooze button is
a mere suggestion. Fatigue
is the only clock. - inner growth
It is not enough
to claim our past misdeeds but
to learn from them, too. - affirmative reaction
A yearbook full of
bimbos wearing blackface who
grow up to be pols. - inside the industry
Surly manager
barks at servers, customers
to spread her bad cheer. - books not yet on tape
The narrator sits
in the booth surrounded by
ghosts of characters. - contentment on demand
No button on the
remote can scare up what we
demand in our souls. - the re-evolution of language
More tech, more letters
and emoji for more weird
acronyms, hashtags. - confession is good for the soul
Let us lay bare our
foibles and weaknesses to
grow stronger for it. - affection disorder
Love (remarkable
and unremarkable) fills
the world with splendor. - gratitude day 0
Let me recall the
ways my life is very good
when times are rotten. - with liberty and gaping wounds for all
I pledge allegiance
to the gun, to the lobby
for which it adores … - a most comfortable rut
The status quo so
ordinary it defies
extremes and insights. - shortcuts to culinary mastery
Is it cooking to
assemble a meal kit? Or
to microwave stuff? - papy r us
It’s a paperless
world till you write a check, send
a letter, swat flies. - soggy state of affairs
The scorched earth has drowned
in weeks of rainfall. The skies
will show no mercy. - the cookie fairy
Boxes of delight
and sugar fly to the door
steps of those who dream. - beyond the bible and pilgrim’s progress
No one can be bored.
No one should be bored. We live
in this peak culture. - state of the union
Corruption upon
corruption, lie upon lie,
so much truth to find. - oscar sunday
Check on the limo,
squeeze into impossibly
tight dress, wave to fans. - the new shorthand
Let us trade our thoughts
in acronyms and smileys,
hashtags and selfies. - mineshaft means
Work in the dark. Breathe
in the dark. Go home in the
dark. Die in the dark. - living dead metropolis
Smashed parking meters,
burnt shells of houses, rubble
roads, murderous wolves. - rip western
A grocer made his
way through growing pains and tough
times, feeding us all. - water worked
The best tear-jerkers
bring joy then sadness, hope then
hopelessness. Then hope. - a most imperfect impression
What do we remem-
ber? What do we recall with-
out flubbing details? - the promise of a park
Where once rubble could
emerge a green space. Instead,
a new interstate. - say it with gifs
Silent cartoons that
pop with personality
on screens big and small. - look higher
If an employee
fails, check out his boss. If a
child errs, probe parents. - the harm from words
The testimony
of the oppressed yields tears and
yawns from oppressors. - common senses
An outlook shaped by
media and moms, values
and voices. We think. - at the end of her trope
She swooned at the ball.
She waited helplessly for
him. She cried and cried. - verbing weirds language
Real adults know that
“adulting” is not a word.
So very childish. - revisionist reality
What was history
becomes modern trauma when
the facts are questioned. - strip mining for data
A soul laid bare for
computers to harvest our
tastes, sins and secrets. - how ai wins
They will not need to
own us, just impersonate
our online presence. - fitzgerald and me
Let me tell you a-
bout the very rich. They are
different from you. - beyond trauma
When surviving is
no longer the most urgent,
take some time to heal. - all the broken happy ever afters
What about us? What
about all the times you said
you had the answers? - the hatred behind closed doors
Teens say the word and
giggle. They learned it from their
community clans. - an eternity and a day
Life’s too short. Or is
it too long? Depends on which
end you’re living in. - library of regress
Leaky ceilings and
broken escalators in
the home of our books. - wagers of sin
Always bet on your-
self. Unless you suffer from
a gambling problem. - season’s greetings
Warm thoughts turn to warm
days, warm ways. Rejoice in the
demise of winter. - snooze and snooze again
Just five more minutes.
Hide under the covers till
reality wins. - work of the past, work of the future
Hard labor to desk
jobs to lives of uselessness
in front of bright screens. - the classics
Where titans conquer
and peasants falter, where man
meets himself and weeps. - the great gatsby
Self-made man worships
ritzy ditzy blonde, felled by
American dream. - a portrait of the artist as a young man
Coming of age in
Dublin, straying from and to
the Church, a soul freed. - the chronicles of narnia
Seven books proclaim
loudly: Have you heard the Good
News about Aslan? - moby dick
Like “The Old Man and
the Sea,” but with a bigger
fish, meaner captain. - the passing of the family dog
He begged for scraps, dug
up the yard, chewed on shoes. And
will be sorely missed. - 1984
Winston smoked out by
police. Oceania
wages war on truth. - fahrenheit 451
Books make good kindling.
Fear the written word, but not
the flames it brings forth. - a song of ice and fire
When you play the game
of thrones, you win or you die.
There’s no middle ground. - trolling millions
You can fool a lot
of the people a lot of
the time with Facebook. - watching hoops on 11 screens
With each basket, the
cheers grew louder, the drunks got
drunker. Go, team, go. - digging for ones and zeroes
Tiny bots with no
degrees dive deep into the
data mines for days. - not a name but a data point
White, female, 30,
Baptist, 5-foot-4, middle
class, 110. - more data points
Shops at Target, hits
yoga every Thursday, drives
a black Explorer. - data points in action
Sell you this, at the
right time, right size, right price, through
manipulation. - track and field
Joggers and doggers,
strollers and rollers, walkers
and talkers go round. - where new cars graze in place
Shiny vehicles
occupy every parking
space and fire lane. - the resurrection of the receiver
All it took was a
simple unplug and plug to
bring it back to life. - the forest, but not for long
Groves of pines, maples
and oaks sacrificed themselves
for a new Marshalls. - the soul-sucking news cycle
Stay informed and go
nuts vs. ignore it all:
A false dilemma? - rare catch
Fish parts wrapped in rice
and seaweed, with a little
wasabi and soy. - alexa is listening
Jeff Bezos, you are
eavesdropping on my private
convo with my cat. - regrets and remissions
Sometimes, a money
order is just as good as
an apology. - taxing situation
Fill out the form, fill
out the checkbook, look at the
receipts, check the math. - notre dame
A majestic church
where eyes turn heavenward and
souls sing and rejoice. - uncurrent currency
Money orders, beads,
barter, two-dollar bills, fine
metals, shells, squirrel pelts. - corneal implode
Eyes burning with specks
of pollen, stings of contacts,
strains of tiny words. - chicken coop co-op
Poor possum. Trying
to eat farm fresh, but cannot
get to store on time. - silence breeds creativity
The golden sound of
nothing yields a delight to
ears and minds and hearts. - the promise of easter
Can we be reborn?
Can we atone for sins and
grow into new selves? - leaves behind
Trees shiver in their
nakedness. How long before
their new coat is done? - the haunted rite-aid
Aisles empty, lights on,
ghosts of shoppers chit-chat with
ghost of bored worker. - the war over grass
Puff puff pass. Send ’em
all to prison to enrich
the rich, slam the poor. - the russians aren’t invited
To our socials and
our media, to our votes
and our candidates. - viva los measles
Spotted tongue, spotted
skin, spotty info, hot spots
for bedded bodies. - the heroes we deserve
Enthralled by big screen
spectacle made from comic
book pages sprung to life. - the worst seat in the house
Stumbling around in
darkness hitting stairs and rails
sitting in a lap. - quicksand of emotion
Sinking ever so
slowly into malaise and
comforting sadness. - what was once television’s provenance
YouTube the teacher,
the babysitter, the stealth
corruptor, the void. - spoiler phobia
Don’t tell me about
the show. No no no no no—
dammit, tweet screwed me. - comfort drink
A shot, a beer, then
three more shots and an IV
drip of tequila.
• • •
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