MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
Here's this week's heap of haikus:
4th of July-ku:
The rockets' red glare,
bombs bursting in air, gave proof
that fireworks are cool.
(3rd line re-write for the diphthong challenged: "fireworks are cool.")
---
tanka haiku:
John Fluegel played fife,
Tobias Giltner fought, in
The Revolution.
Here's to our ancestors who
fought for our Independence.
Tobias Giltner and John Flugel were two of my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War. There were also members of the Phippenny and Hammond families in my tree that also fought as well as members of the Smith family on my mother's side. As far as I can tell, my father's Smith family came down to Ohio from Canada, although, if I recall correctly, some of the Burgoons on my father's side also fought.
---
At his wife's urging,
He posed with her step-father.
Happy July 4th!
(Photo circa 1920. My maternal grandfather and step-great-grandfather.)
---
Summers of my youth
seem so distant now ... only
memories remain.
(mid-1950's ... me and my mom at the beach.)
---
A day at the beach
in the old days; more like a
wet pajama fest.
(circa 1917: My maternal grandparents are third and fourth from the left.)
---
On July 4th of
1903, two boys posed
for my Facebook page.
(My maternal grandfather is on the right)
---
There was a time when
waving striped thing-a-ma-jigs
was quite a fun thing.
---
When you're at the beach
with your best friend, you let her
carry the shovel.
---
That summer, I learned
two things; to whistle and how
to blow bubble gum.
---
Toshiro lit the
firecracker while his sisters
watched with excitement.
---
tanka haiku:
Two days out and the
Er-i-e is a'risin' ...
Whiskey's gettin' low ...
Scarcely think I'll get a drink
till we get to Buffalo.
(198 years ago, July 4, 1817, work began on the Erie Canal. )
---
I wandered along
the tow path of the canal
'til I found New Hope.
---
Hot dogs on the grill
burgers on the patio ...
blame the clumsy chef.
---
If you're wondering
why you can't find a seat ... it's,
a bit confusing.
The work of artist Doris Salcedo created from more than 1,500 wooden chairs
---
tanka haiku:
When you define the
world in a limited way,
change will upset you.
Know that possibilities
are endless ... and God did that.
---
Was bound for glory,
then I got waylaid by Life,
now I'm bound for bed.
---
double haiku:
I advocate but
I do not insist. All hearts
will change when ready.
The flag that I plant
is but a marker, that says,
seeds were buried here.
---
He buttoned a fly,
which, he thought, more manly than
zippering a moth.
---
Procreation blues:
Long lost memories scratching
our id's bids for kids.
---
Stored in the garage,
like the sleds on which we slid,
broken toys we hid.
---
With tiny fingers,
reaching for ten tiny toes,
she learned her 'piggies.'
---
Like a fog horn's drone,
my GPS annoys while
giving directions
---
Echoes of sunrise,
fade from the bluing sky; the
moon goes back to sleep.
---
Sweet aggravation,
and a love that kicks my rear,
feels like home to me.
---
His life was a mess,
but his imagination
was immaculate.
---
Will you ever wake?
Or will you dream forever?
Will you ever know?
---
On a Summer’s day,
an old jalopy sputters
down a dusty road.
---
A starry night, wind
rustles the dandelions.
We cautiously kiss.
---
As the dawn breaks, a
boat with peeling paint, drifts on
the shimmering lake.
---
What is on your mind,
the weight of the world ... or the
lightness of being?
---
A cool Summer night;
he whistles a sad song as
he strolls down the street.
---
Pertinent scrawls on
University walls are
"Art" ... to some degree.
---
When you feel you've been
thrashed, trashed and stashed away, you
don't sashay, you pray.
---
Aided by a breeze
a cardboard cup strolls along
West End Avenue.
---
There's a sweetness that
lives in my lover's eyes, which
melts my fears away.
---
I am trapped in a
universe I can't control.
Worse, I'm a cockroach.
---
Life has informed me,
Life has deformed me, yet it
hasn't reformed me.
---
Happy Fourth of July to all you Patriots out there ...
Remember, if it feels Revolutionary, your head may just be spinning.
****
Comments
I hope everyone enjoys their holiday week end. I plan to sew pj's.
by trkingmomoe on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 4:50pm
Many people would say, "Sew what ..." But I know that sewing Peanutbutter and Jelly can be a sticky, difficult and thankless task. Try using rye bread, it holds the stitches better than wheat ... and thank you for doing the seamingly impossible this holiday weekend.
by MrSmith1 on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 4:57pm
Whenever someone said, "So?", my best friend would quip, "Sew buttons on ice and watch 'em slide off!". I've no idea what that means, but it's stuck with me like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever since.
by barefooted on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 5:04pm
HA! I Love that!! "Sew buttons on ICE and watch 'em slide off!!"
by MrSmith1 on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 5:27pm
I have to have them made by Monday morning when a grand child leaves for summer camp. He was given and opportunity to go.
by trkingmomoe on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 5:55pm
"PJs for Summer Camp? Wow, you must be Rich!" ... My mind goes back to the Boy Scout camp I went to in my youth, which was located on a remote part of Long Island; Camp Baiting Hollow. We didn't do PJs, we slept in our underwear in tents that had two cots per tent with wood floors ... The camp did have toilet facilities and showers in a central location if you absolutely could not do without modern plumbing ... and it did have a dining hall where they served kool-aid for every meal, but it also had trails and swimming and skeet shooting and all sorts of boy scout type activities. I hadn't thought about that in years. Thanks. Funny thing; I found out a few years ago, that one of the family's in my tree that I had been most curious about, my mother's maternal grandfather's family, had owned property around the turn of the 20th century, in a town very close to this Boy Scout camp. Weird. Sometimes I feel I am re-tracing steps, trying to re-discover my roots without even knowing it ...
by MrSmith1 on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 7:26pm
This is church camp with cabins for boys and cabins for girls. I am making him some sleep pants and shorts. He can wear a tee shirt with them. I found a sleeping bag at goodwill for $4.99 that was in excellent condition. That way he won't have to make a bed. I am sending a light blanket and top sheet so he don't have to sleep in the bag just on top of it. The sheet will keep the bugs off of him. He will be on the Suwannee River. He leaves Monday morning and will be back Friday night. it will be 4 nights. It will be fun for him.
by trkingmomoe on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 9:43pm
Hey, enjoy your fourth.
What do they mean by the "fourth"?
Maybe the fourth word.
by Oxy Mora on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 9:34pm
tanka haiku:
You can March forth on
March fourth and even ask, "May
One?" on May 1, but ...
You can't ever drink a Fifth
of July on a Sunday.
by MrSmith1 on Fri, 07/03/2015 - 10:04pm
Cause June busted it?
by Oxy Mora on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 12:18am
It's August Wilson. (It's August's will, son.)
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 12:31am
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 2:26am
April, Lavigne is deMilo.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 2:57am
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 4:51am
Oy. That's really bad. Congrats, PP. You given me a new low to shoot for. hahahaha.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 8:33am
Then try a dish of Jimmy Fallon Dough.
by Oxy Mora on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 9:16am
I told the prostitute to get up, so I look forward to the horizon.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 10:35am
I can't get over you, dear, so do you mind answering the phone?
by Oxy Mora on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 11:31am
Boy, were they angry!
Extra show, but no more dough.
The Rockettes' red glare.
by Oxy Mora on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 12:06pm
You are sadly mistaken, Oky, if you think you are going to bait me into doing that old "Jose can you see?" joke. I can't do it. Donald Trump bought it and will be delivering it in a speech tonight in New Hampshire.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 2:25pm
by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 5:05pm
nugneH! First of all, do you mean Vogon, Volgan or Vulcan? .... You sound as if you are describing a Klingon Poetry Slam. Anyone who confuses Klingons with Vulcans does not deserve access to the internet. Secondly, this is a thread which strives for beauty, not babble, delicate, high-minded expression without pandering to the Bulwer-Lytton fans of mediocre meanderings. In the spirit of fun, the Haikulodeon will put up with only so much brazen banality. Sir, you dishonor our work by coming here, insulting me and the nature of haikus and figuratively pulling the curtains down and scribbling obscenities on the walls. With all due respect, PP, go make a literary pig sty and wallow in its ugliness somewhere else, for you have worn out your welcome here. Good day.
P.S. If you collect stamps by swallowing them, no wonder you have indigestion.
Sorry. did I type that out loud or just think it?
Edit to add: I just re-read this and realized it might be misunderstood. It was meant to be a posting that poked fun at the way people get offended so easily on the internet and then post an over-the-top response. Sorry if I offended anyone, esp. PP, for real.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 11:27pm
Damn Greeks.
by Oxy Mora on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 6:13pm
Damp Creeks. Stupid Auto-Correct.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 6:35pm
I am glad for the edit cuz I'm never sure about anything. Now I can just enjoy that good run of word smithin' that was above it.
by A Guy Called LULU on Sat, 07/04/2015 - 11:47pm
If there's a soul on this site who would totally grok your comment, it's Peracles.
Not to mention "delicate, high-minded expression without pandering ..." - around here? Dead snark giveaway.
by barefooted on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 12:23am
What's that Greek doing in a delicate essence?
by Oxy Mora on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 12:55am
Understanding of some
mediocre meanders
is why I like Dag ...
Wait. That is NOT what
I meant ... What I meant was ... well
you people "grok" me.
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:37am
The Mediterranean backstroke.
by barefooted on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:39am
trying new dance craze
the Mediterranean
Backstroke in the sun
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 12:29pm
Delicate essence
is what Greeks do with shampoo;
Lather, rinse, repeat.
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:41am
lather, rinse, repeat;
just follow the directions;
tell me what to do
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 12:20pm
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:46am
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:51am
I take back my apology.
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:47am
I think I'm distending.
by barefooted on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 1:53am
I thought this was the never distending story.
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 2:05am
by PeraclesPlease on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:19am
the best distensions
the babble of written words
cloud over haiku
by Elusive Trope on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 11:28am
Better to burn out than dysphase away, mai tai hairspray.
by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 5:23am
yell hairspray hairspray
watching the street crowd react
looking for hairspray
by Elusive Trope on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 6:24am
Reports reduced to
watching the street crowd react;
Journalism? No!
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 7:45am
Reports reduced to
shreds of paper, confetti,
nothing left to read
by Elusive Trope on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 10:18am
Mental disorders
are all in your head, hair-sprays
are all ON your head.
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 7:41am
I wear my emotions on my sleeve,
my weaknesses down on my knees,
my psychoses are my pet peeves,
and behind a trail of my beliefs.
You think I'm schizo, whether on or in,
but I'm quite certain I'm OUT of my mind.
by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 8:34am
Nut-so or Schizo
it strains at the wits so,
I use Ju-jitso
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 10:20am
and behind a trail
of my beliefs, overgrown grass
bending to a breeze
by Elusive Trope on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 10:22am
Nice. but check your syllable count.
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 11:52am
I count 5-7-5
by Elusive Trope on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 8:14pm
of my beliefs, overgrown grass - 8
1, 2, 3,4 5,6, 7 - 8
P. S. Why are the replies suddenly not full screen and showing up squeezed so weirdly to the far right margin?
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 10:02pm
by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 07/08/2015 - 4:30am
by PeraclesPlease on Wed, 07/08/2015 - 12:10am
As Alex Trebek
would caution you, replies should
be in haiku form.
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 11:56am
by PeraclesPlease on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 2:09pm
(Sigh) Second hand futon?
moving out, he put
his desk on craigslist with his
2nd hand futon.
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 07/07/2015 - 4:39pm
bottle rockets just
bombs bursting in air, gave proof
I detest fireworks
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 10:05am
like walking a beam,
the tow path of a canal
requires some focus
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 10:10am
carry the shovel
carry the rake and hand trowel
with the garden gloves
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 10:14am
with no one aboard,
boat with peeling paint drifts on
its own journey home
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 10:18am
These are all lovely, trope. Nice work, indeed!
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 10:57am
Thanks.
by Elusive Trope on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 12:17pm
You must be like me.
Or mostly for the most part.
That is how it is.
She trembled before the show,
knowing the cost of the play.
Dark dreams connect me
to your crazy bright patterns:
Words stuck on your shirt.
Listening starts out of time;
Late, but just behind the words.
by moat on Sun, 07/05/2015 - 6:48pm
Laugh with me, honey,
let's just feel the lemonade
and ride the porch swing.
The mosquitos are smiling ...
moonlight glaze upon our skin.
by barefooted on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 1:33am
Sweet and wonderful, Missy!!
Riding the porch swing,
we kiss while listening for
your father's footsteps.
The moonlight creates
shadows which tease my desire
your allure is pure.
by MrSmith1 on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 4:10am
the moonlight creates
it's own world across the field
shifting all night long
by Elusive Trope on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 6:52am
so much commotion,
let's just feel the lemonade
think of nothing now
by Elusive Trope on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 6:49am
Memories ...
by barefooted on Fri, 09/21/2018 - 11:02pm