Here's this week's heap of haikus:

 

Up against the wall
she's haunted by images
tattered and tawdry

(Photo courtesy of me.  I took it in Oklahoma City in 1972.  Since then,the wall's been torn down, the girl and I broke up, she got married, had 5 kids and is now a successful artist and  grandmother.   I left the camera in a NYC taxicab about 30 years ago.  Only memories, and this photo, remain to keep things as they were.)

 

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(More from the series, At Rest:)

 

Hidden by some trees,
a colonial graveyard ...
ancestors at rest.

 

(Photo courtesy Tom Contrino)

 

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Sad to admit, but;
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. killed off
The Girl in H.E.R.

(Photo courtesy Tom Contrino)

 

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Josias Maxwell
started out life as odd, but
ended up even.

 

(Photo courtesy Tom Contrino)

 

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The art of tombstones
means you're often dealing with
graven images.

 

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"Yo, Fluffy ain't here
no more.  We's runnin' de joint.
We're Gangsta Kitties."

 

(Photo courtesy of Kristina Rebelo)

 

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The teacher threw a
book at the sleeping pupil.
Knowledge can hurt you.

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Tell me, did Renee
Zellweger join the Witness
Protection Program?

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Hush little baby.
Crying upsets those who've learned
to put up with shit.

 

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We may never know
what winds blow thoughts through our minds,
which swirl up our past.
 

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When you have a lot
that's on your mind, let your day
begin quietly.

 

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A humid morning,
across the street, some workers
sip coffee and smoke.

 

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From whimsey to snark,
our sense of humor's evolved
in a funny way.

 

 

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tanka hai-clue-less:

 

Ev'ry so often
he got a prank call that he
did not understand.

Why would teenage boys care if
Prince Albert was in the can?
 
 

 
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At the O.K. Corral,
The Clantons found living in
Tombstone can hurt you.

 

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Sweet love's gone away.
Where I do not know.  I just
pray she will return.

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Though snow has fallen,
please keep this one fact in mind;
it can not get up.

 
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Tis no surprise that
loveliness knows loneliness;
looks intimidate.

 

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Sunday ev'ning and
I dread the week to come; full
moon and rising tides.

 
 

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Dad stumbled upon
the marble his son misplaced ...
Quite a somersault.

 

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Stubble on my chin
Clothes I've worn for two full days ...
Still sick as a dog.

 

 
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Fragrant aromas
awaken sweet thoughts of you
my long ago love.

 

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I nervously wait.
The doctor studies my chart.
Will there be good news?

 
 

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alliterative tanka haiku:
 

Pa peddled papers,
Ma mostly mixed martinis.
Sis sewed sombreros.

I, inadvertently, inked,
(in innocence), irked insights.

 

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 tanka haiku:

Ev'ry circumstance
is an opportunity
to learn and to grow.

Do not shrink in fear, step up
to the plate and swing away!
 

 

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On a moonlit night,
in a cottage near the dell,
at last, he knew love!

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Strolling through the park,
I can feel my focus shift.
Nature affects me.
 

 

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Anguished and in pain,
she never thought that her life
would end up like this.
 
 
 
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Pies on windowsills
send aromas wafting through
the nearby schoolyard.
 
 

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A bowl of walnuts,
sits on a coffee table,
made from relatives.

 

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Whispering your name,
in my darkest moments, gives
me soothing solace.

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Has our course been set?
Options eliminated?
Make that U-turn now!

 

 

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More than what's needed
is the downfall of all things,
( and why balloons burst.)

 

 

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Fear's like a radish;
small bits spice things up, but too
much will make you sick.

 

 

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He's close enough to
stare, and old enough to know
what's worth staring at.

 

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One of the special
things about autumn are the
honey crisp apples!

 

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