Here's this week's heap of haikus:

 

Beneath that straw hat,
the headless patriot takes
a brief siesta.

 

Photo courtesy Kristina Rebelo.

 

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A young girl's shadow
searches for its own balloon
hiding in the rocks.

 

Photo courtesy Kristina Rebelo.

 

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A boy pondering
his Life ... has brought his ouija
board to meet his piers.

Photo courtesy Kristina Rebelo.

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The bride's beautiful
but the groom and the best man
seem a bit too young.

 

Photo courtesy Kristina Rebelo.

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Tangled up in blue
Stars and Stripes farblunget ... I
know.   The stars went home.

 

Photo courtesy Kristina Rebelo.

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Don't know about you,
but this reminds me of a
show: The Prisoner.

Photo courtesy Kristina Rebelo.

 

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Autumn at the beach;
looks like a picture postcard.
Vibrant hues, cool temps.

 

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Autumn arrives with
colorful foliage and
orchards to harvest.

 

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In a small garden,
pansies wait patiently for
roses to be picked.

 

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A cold and wet night.
To ease the chill in my bones,
a savory bisque!

 

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Graceful wisps of hair
framed the courtesan's face as
she served me green tea.

 

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What he heard was, "I
love your harp, it's healing!" She
said, You're Hard of Hearing!

 

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Hiking down hillsides,
ground uneven 'neath my feet.
a new slant on Life.

 

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Coffee and crullers,
sitting on the dock, watching
the boats come and go.

 

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A convent garden,
A praying mantis spies a
Jack-in-the-pulpit.

 

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Apologies to Rodgers and Hart-ku:

There's a small hotel
with a wishing well, I wish ...
room service would come.

 

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Smiling through the night?
Laughing through the live-long day?
Anti-depressants.

 

 
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Sad when Summer ends,
and the school year starts anew ...
Said no mom ever.

 

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The dark before dawn;
lonely hearts beat quicker in
anticipation.
 

 

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An int’resting choice;
hiding her psoriasis
under snake tattoos.
 

 

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Giving away the
punch-line of a rival’s joke
is ... satisfying.
 

 

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When do hab a code
dere isn't much do tan do
'cept thniffle and thneeze.

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Do not expect an
elephant to understand
a hummingbird's fears.

 

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In a hiding place,
behind some old wainscoting;
Grandma's diary.

 

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Won't you dance with me?
Come on, we'll shake the rafters
with joyful jiggles!

 

 

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In their living room,
a conversation started
in jest, ends sadly.

 

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Sometime in your Life,
you've fascinated someone ...
other than your mom.

 

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Her incandescent
smile failed to light up the room,
so she lit candles.
 

 

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Carefully follow
the path through the irises ...
serenity waits.

 

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tanka haiku:

Billy and his friend
rode in a first-class berth from
London to Dover

(They pretended they were spies
on a mission to Marseilles.)

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He once walked two miles
through the wind and pouring rain
just to hear her laugh.

 

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 Times-gone-by-kus:

Crank the Victrola,
clear away the rugs and give
the maid the night off!

My gal and I will
dance and smooch as the band plays
'The Sugarfoot Strut.'
 
 

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He'd often quibble
with perceived wisdom, just to
be an outlier.
 

 

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Hanging limply from
an overhead pipe; a sad,
deflated balloon.

 

 

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In Grandma's parlor,
quiet domesticity ...
and a sleeping cat.

 

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There's so much music
in the world we inhabit,
we should be dancing.

 

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Above an old pub,
a performance space attracts
eager young actors.
 

 

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If you need a laugh,
ask a child what adults say
when they're whispering.

 

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Ev'ry stream that flows
through a lush valley, first knows
a barren mountain.

 

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triple haiku:

 

When I am alone
I don't think the world exists ...
but, of course, it does.
 
When I am alone
I am  content to putter
and accomplish zip.
 
It is the thought that
I must rejoin the world that
gets me off my duff.

 

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double haiku:
 

Two ballet dancers
arch their backs and reach their arms
up to the heavens.

 

A plea to God to
understand the suffering
of this mortal realm.

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He was raised by wolves,
but tutored by nightingales ...
so he howls on key.

 

 

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I used to wonder
what makes the world go 'round. Now
I know; it's wonder.

 

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Remember; Thousands
of things will go RIGHT for you,
ev'ry single day.

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Just for fun ... a song from Urinetown, the musical.   "Run, Freedom, Run."
Urinetown won Tony Awards in 2001 for best book and best score.   It ran on Broadway for 3 years and satirizes both Capitalism and Brecht-Weill musicals. 

 

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And finally ...

 

Okay, here's my idea for the next big challenge ...

The Spondylitis Bucket Seat Challenge; Within 90 seconds, and without assistance, can you get in AND out of a car without bending either your back or your neck?

If you try and fail, you have to donate $100.00 to the Spondylitis Association of America.

If you succeed, you've just experienced something that a lot of people with AS have to struggle to do every single day because, like me, their necks and spines are totally fused.  Try it, it ain't as easy as it looks.    ;-)

 

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