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:
In the morning light,
a sailboat on the Hudson,
moves as in a dream.
---
I sometimes wonder,
is it still flying a kite,
if I let it go?
---
Fridays after work,
She'd really let her hair down,
And would dance till dawn.
---
"Few half-way measures,
Get as much coverage as
A partial eclipse."
---
And then, tempers flared!
punches thrown, faces bruised, then ...
cooler heads prevailed.
---
Eating blackberries
on a Summer's afternoon
makes me feel care-free.
---
Immortal souls that
live in mortal bodies ... God
being ironic.
----
His heart was left in
San Francisco, his wallet
was left in Madrid.
(Happy 90th birthday this week to Tony Bennett.)
---
A drizz'ly morning's
walk through a nearby woods, cleared
my mind of its gloom.
---
Though she pined for him,
she could not find a way to
gracefully forgive.
---
As the dusk draws nigh
chickens roost and dogs bark at
approaching shadows.
---
Do you still explore?
Search for meaning in things? Solve
a jigsaw puzzle?
---
A moonlit whisper,
two lovers in silhouette,
embracing passion.
---
Hazarding a guess,
he offered an opinion,
which was met with snark.
---
Underdone egg with
no emotional center ...
it's simply, no yolk.
---
I once poached an egg
that should have been scrambled ... But
now that egg is toast.
---
Silent flutterings,
and pirouettes in mid-air ...
butterfly's ballet.
---
Lonely Avenues
driving up Riverside, I
Feel those West End blues
(Happy-would-have-been 115th birthday this week to Louis Armstrong.)
---
I'd Venture to say,
at some point, all guitarists
try playing "Wipeout."
---
I stood on the path
behind the Master's house and
waited for the maid.
A shy young lass with
rosy cheeks will come my way
after serving tea.
(The House of Piette à Montfoucault by Camille Pissarro - 1874)
---
In Life, two choices;
remain bewildered, or seek
clarification.
---
The dark before dawn;
lonely hearts beat quicker in
anticipation.
---
tanka haiku:
Where is that diner?
The one that serves those pancakes
with ice cream on top ...
Near the junction of Route Three
and the cardiac bypass.
---
Sometimes the world so
overwhelms us with beauty,
our hearts nearly burst.
---
Grabbing his drumsticks,
he played a paradiddle
that would beat the band.
---
Live near a garden,
for spirits of the Earth are
flattered by flowers.
---
A warm Summer's night;
he whistles as he strolls through
the woods near his home.
---
A careful dipping
of the brush, will ensure a
steady flow of ink.
---
Not ev'ry almond
will taste of perfection, but
all hold the promise.
---
It's been said that in
the wasted pursuits of youth
live our old-age dreams.
---
Fear is a fabric
that folds under stress, and when
in hot water, shrinks ...
---
Bonus poem:
Eggs over easy,
Time after time,
Water under bridges,
Pearls before swine,
Age before beauty,
in sickness and health
life is a blessing
without or with wealth
****
---
Comments
He's cooking dinner
while she reads the latest news.
They'll discuss later ...
perhaps over ice cream scoops
or the brownies that she made.
by barefooted on Sat, 08/06/2016 - 9:41pm
Good one. Missy!!
Ah, Domestic bliss!
She relaxes while he cooks,
they discuss the news.
And later, after dessert ...
they will sleep contentedly.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 08/06/2016 - 10:00pm
This has nothing to do with anything; but T. Boone Pickens got to me.
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/05/11/t-boone-pickens-endorses-donald-trump/
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And T. Boone Pickens
Supports T-Rump nowadays
For no good reason
I'm 87
No green bananas for me
It is all over
Mom died finally
And she was 87
FDR her hero
And I always had
Another 24 years
Well that is now gone
And three years later
I do not have this cushion
And the end is nigh
Seasons come and go
Reason comes and goes for some
And the end is nigh
T. Boone should help me
Senility lies in wait
And the end is nigh
As death approaches
Will I give it up like this?
Fuck the world, good luck!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I do not know what this means except my cushion is gone and T-Boone is in gaga land.
I do not wish to die in hate.
THE END
by Richard Day on Mon, 08/08/2016 - 8:58pm
Replace a cushion
by carefully removing
all the old worries ...
and filling it with pleasure
found along the path you've walked.
by barefooted on Mon, 08/08/2016 - 9:17pm
Wonderful, Missy!!
All the old worries
have been resurrected by
my return to earth.
while souls in heaven's hammocks
enjoy eternal slumber.
by MrSmith1 on Mon, 08/08/2016 - 10:46pm
No green bananas DD!!
Here is my advice ....
Stop reading Breitbart's site and
do NOT watch Fox News.
T. Boone Pickens is
NOT a role model for you,
nor anyone else.
My mom often said
that she knew the end was near
she was, of course, wrong.
Each year was her last,
from 50 to 93 ...
Her parents died young
She thought she would too
but she had 30 more years.
So, do not worry.
Our ends should come as
a complete surprise or as
an interruption.
They should NOT just be
a cessation of effort.
Keep playing, don't quit.
THE END ... (not really...)
by MrSmith1 on Mon, 08/08/2016 - 11:06pm
A complete surprise. hahahaha
That is correct.
hahahahah
I cannot stop laughing.
This place and you and Missy keep me laughing.
I thought about T. Boone and how he really changed America.
There is dispute here of course, but he went into Natural Gas (no fracking per se) but then he went into wind energy.
Then, in the last couple years he sold out the wind project. For money? He had all the money in the world.
But the wind energy survives. Somewhat because of him.
And now he says he is for T-Rump. What the hell I aint gonna be alive to see it anyway?
Again, I do not wish to die in hate.
Thank you again, for reading my trite.
ha
Oh and some gnat got through the screens again and is attacking me.
The story of my life. hahaha
by Richard Day on Mon, 08/08/2016 - 11:20pm
Remember, DD ...
No new gnat knows naught
Nifty Northern gnats gnaw nuts.
neither numbs knightly gnus ...
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 12:26am
Behold! A new day.
What gibbering glop
Plops from politics?
My cat demands
Attention! Just like
Pols; but prettier.
by Janicket on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 9:03am
Excellent first attempt, Janicket! Welcome to the Creative Corner of Dagblog!
My theory about haiku writing is that it is more fun and more of a challenge if we use the traditional haiku form of 17 syllables, laid out in three lines consisting of 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables ... or a tanka in the 5-7-5-7-7 format.
Original haikus are always welcome, and we also play a game of taking one line from someone else's haiku and building a whole new haiku around it.
Again, nicely done. I hope you'll continue to play with us. I post new heaps of haikus every Friday afternoon.
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 12:29pm
Drat! I screwed up the second one, didn't I? Let's try that again:
My wee cat demands
Attention! Just like all those
Pols, but prettier.
See, I knew it was
Five, seven, five for classic
Form; didn't count right.
Gah. Also, facepalm.
A useful gesture, forsooth
When dumb shit ensues.
But then, my most favorite style
Of rhyming is limericks; while
It's silly and often
Beneath starchy boffins
It's good for a laugh and a smile.
It's also a much-misused form
Whose meter scheme oft is deformed
By failure to follow
Its strict scansion; hollow
The limericks out of that born.
Okay; so my rhymes here are bad
I know it; as Trump would say: "Sad!"
But gimme a break!
One sometimes must take
Some liberties if one would find just the right word to finish a fiendishly convoluted yet dashingly clever and cheekily smart inspiration one had.
by Janicket on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 8:45pm
Nice work, no matter how you poeticize it! ;-)
by barefooted on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 9:44pm
Excellent. As for limericks, feel free to toss in limericks whenever you feel inspired. I love a good limerick and composing original ones isn't as easy as it looks. And by all means continue to strive to be fiendishly convoluted yet dashingly clever. We like that here.
by MrSmith1 on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 10:47pm
Several years ago I started a linking limericks thread at the Straight Dope (I'm EddyTeddyFreddy there); got some marvelous posts from other Dopers in it -- and some sadly, embarrassingly bad ones, too. Some people just can't seem to grasp how strict the basic scansion is for a limerick. Yes, you can use both long and short syllables, and mix them at will, but the underlying rhythm is crucial to correctness of form.
ba-DUM ba-DUM ba-DUM
bada-DUM bada-DUM bada-DUM
ba-DUM-dum ba-DUM
bada-DUM ba-DUM
ba-DUM bada-DUM bada-DUM
and so on -- how hard is that? Impossibly hard, so it would seem, for some earnest folks who got the rhyme scheme okay but were clueless on rhythm. And without that, a limerick limps and lurches and falls flat on its face.
by Janicket on Tue, 08/09/2016 - 11:58pm
sometimes I hunker
in the bunker under me.
then I walk the streets.
what is shown is what I see:
many lives are not like me.
by moat on Wed, 08/10/2016 - 8:23pm
Good one, moat!!
While the daylight shines,
many lives are not like me,
darkness unites us.
by MrSmith1 on Wed, 08/10/2016 - 10:24pm
No time is distant
Whole worlds change in an instant
Baby genius drools
by A Guy Called LULU on Wed, 08/10/2016 - 11:14pm
HA! Good one, A Guy called LULU!
Baby genius drools
stupid parents wipe her mouth
Evolution! HA!
by MrSmith1 on Wed, 08/10/2016 - 11:26pm
Baby genius drools
exasperated spittle
when asked to tell time.
by barefooted on Thu, 08/11/2016 - 1:18am
Ha! Wonderful, Missy!!
You can not tell Time.
Time and space are know-it-alls;
"They 'know' ev'rything."
by MrSmith1 on Thu, 08/11/2016 - 7:24am
Golly! It's Friday.
Haikulodeon time now?
New thread for more posts?
Perhaps I could put up my own,
But I'm new here, and not as well known.
So, MrSmith1,
Are you willing to run
A new Haikulodeon zone?
by Janicket on Sat, 08/13/2016 - 5:46pm
Janiket, welcome!
We are glad to hear from you.
My real name is Jan...
Great to see you here!
by CVille Dem on Sat, 08/13/2016 - 6:47pm
Sorry Janicket, I did not see this comment until just now. The Haikulodeon uses Friday afternoon in its titles because that is when the blog is posted each week. Depending on my day on Friday, usually in the late afternoon. I do cross-post on my own blog-site, www.TheHaikulodeon.com, but the most fun and best interactions are here among my friends at Dagblog. I'm not sure what exactly you are suggesting. The Haikulodeon is a word I invented, and don't intend to lend it out to anyone for their use. Feel free to comment on my postings here or on my blog-site, but I would suggest that the most visibility and the quickest responses will come when you comment on the most current week's offerings.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 08/13/2016 - 8:01pm
Ah, I see. I was thinking perhaps you posted a new entry every Friday offering and inviting haiku. That's all.
by Janicket on Sat, 08/13/2016 - 9:30pm
I do. What is it that you don't understand about that?
Each Friday afternoon, I post a bunch of haikus. Anyone is free to post their haikus as comments. People have been doing that for over 4 years on this site.
We also sometimes play a haiku game where we take one line from someone else's haiku and write an entirely different haiku using that one line in common as a jumping off point.
Usually, as my last post of each year I feature all of the wonderful haikus written by other dag-bloggers. This past January, there were so many great haikus, I had to post two blogs. You can read them HERE and HERE.
If you check back through the archives of this site, you can see the vast numbers of haikus that have been written by others and posted by them in the comments section of my blog.
by MrSmith1 on Sat, 08/13/2016 - 10:47pm
Ah. So if I click on your name, rather than just into dagblog, I will find the latest Friday haiku post. I did not know that, being a stupid and ignorant newbie. Sorry to have been so stupidly ignorant. I will not further annoy you.
by Janicket on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 11:03am
Oh stop with the victim routine. I don't believe you're stupid or ignorant and I'm not calling you stupid or ignorant. I'm trying to help, but you seem determined to misunderstand. If I'm mistaken in that assessment, my apologies.
All you need to do is scroll down the Dagblog main page and look on the left side for The Creative Corner. The left side of the page starts with From the Readers, then comes The Creative Corner, then From the Dagbloggers, then Hits of the Day.
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 11:28am
My apologies if you weren't annoyed with me, but your responses came across that way. This advice to seek out the Creative Corner is what I needed to find what I sought.It's unfortunate you didn't mention that in your first response to me; much misunderstanding could have been avoided. I'm not trying to misunderstand you; I just needed a quick guide to how this place works, since it's not necessarily transparent to someone who hasn't spent however many years here.
by Janicket on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 11:45am
It's Dick's fault - it'd be the Haiku Korner by now, but Dick keeps inserting his missives on the human condition, and these run a lot longer than 5 lines so we forget what we were doing and then we get all weepy and suicidal. Which lets Haikus lighten the weight a bit, and we start the Wheel of Compassion all over again, except minus the.. ehm, compassion.
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 12:25pm
As usual, PP, you have lightened the air in the room ...
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 12:52pm
Look at me! I can
Fly! Oh wait, you said lightened,
not lighter. Boom, splat!
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 4:41pm
I guess I'm succinct.
which. at times, may come across
as being annoyed.
Sorry. Let's move on, shall we?
I look forward to reading.
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 12:50pm
And I, having been
unjustly slighted for not
"Getting it" elsewhere
Am somewhat prone to
Mistaking terseness for what
Was not, in fact, meant.
So: Reset! And so
Find a memory hole, and
Stuff this stuff inside.
by Janicket on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 1:09pm
There is no get to
Get it, no just - adjusts us.
My path: indifference.
How words on paper
Draw emotion puzzles me.
Jerk or tear jerker?
by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 2:08pm
Ha!! Good one, PP!!
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 4:31pm
Good!
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 08/14/2016 - 4:30pm