MrSmith1's picture

    Another Day Late Year-End Review at the Haikulodeon (Pt. 2)

     

     

    Part Two of the Haikulodeon's Year-End Review.  The Best of your comments in haiku form. 

    Thanks to all for such a wonderful assortment of haikus.

     

    ****

     

     

    Talking with strangers
    seeing I did not get it
    let me know my size.

     

    moat


    ---


    Let me know my size,
    but please keep in mind that I'm
    constantly stretching.

     

    barefooted

     

    ---

     

    inside his wallet
    a five-spot making the rounds
    scotch, with a beer back

     

    Oxy Mora


    ---

     

    Inside his wallet
    was a lonely place to live,
    Single sawbuck sighs.


    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    In between the lines
    was a lonely place to live ...
    so she used crayons.

     
    barefooted


    ---

     

    In between the lines,
    she'd written stage directions.
    Smart understudy.

    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    In between her lines
    she practiced for the next one
    "Hark, a noise yonder"

     

    Oxy Mora

     

    ---


    Hark! A noise yonder
    echoes through the dark of night
    Gather the horses!

     

    MrSmith1

     

    ---


    inside his wallet
    a five-spot plans its escape
    "the usual, Flo"

     

    Oxy Mora


    ---


    The usual flow
    receives the usual ebb ...
    The moon rules the tides.


    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    They are so so pure
    They smell so so very nice
    They are without sin

    There is purity
    This new babe will be middle
    A fetus decides

    Surrounded by girls
    This time it might be a boy
    Daddy loves his girls

    It might be a boy
    Mommy feels a 'difference'.
    A boy lies within

    No sonogram yet
    But Daddy loves his babies
    And yet I shall pray

    Watching families
    Develop before my eyes
    I feel there is hope

    Watching these children
    Develop with parents who care
    Gives me so much hope


    Richard Day


    ---

     

    Many a great man
    has been brought low by the smell
    of baby powder.


    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    She was just a child
    when an angry world destroyed
    her innocent glow.

    Cynical and hard,
    she fought back against questions
    that would plague her dreams.

    As the years collapsed
    into desperate struggles,
    life began to change.

    Quietly, she learned.
    With steadfast resolve, she grew.
    She was worth the time.


    barefooted


    ---

     


    I gave you my heart.
    You only wanted my seeds;
    Flash of waxy rind.

     


    moat


    ---

     

    I gave you my heart ...
    even though its sweetness died
    a watery death.

     

    barefooted


    ---

     

    I gave you my heart
    and now my blood is pooling.
    Form follows function.


    MrSmith1


    ---


    I gave you my heart.
    Tuck it in your shirtwaist and
    gaze at it often.


    MrSmith1


    ---

     


    I sent my baby
    A birthday card for her First
    Singing telegram

    I wrote her my take
    You will soon find out that you
    Are the middle child

    And that's just okay
    But you shall always
    Be in the middle of my

    Heart, my heart will be
    With you, and always
    One year is a mark

    Time goes on and on and on
    Time goes and I love this girl


    Richard Day


    ---

     

    She's hurting tonight.
    The brother she loves is lost
    inside homelessness.

    But it's too simple,
    too innocent to say he's
    washed inside the dark.

    He walks his own path,
    finds a way to make her laugh;
    even as he cries.


    barefooted


    ---

     


    Wouldn't it be nice
    If we could step back just once
    From now to back then

    All the adult fears
    worries and complications
    turned back to a game.

    Once it was "play right"
    And all we had to risk was
    Losing or be spanked.

    Wouldn't it be nice
    To face the world with support -
    "Mommy, I'm so scared..."

    Blood is thicker than
    Water, and sticks around all
    These tough, trying years.


    PeraclesPlease


    ---


    She knows through her tears
    the brother she loves is lost
    in a haze of drugs.

    feeling so helpless
    is bewildering to her
    she's been strong so long.

    Devastated by
    her own ineffectiveness
    she sits, not moving

    She cries for him now
    and later for herself for
    she knows he is lost.

    lost until and / or
    if ever her brother finds
    the path back to Life.

     

    MrSmith1


    ---


    he said I love you
    in a yellow subtitle
    so, how does she know?


    Oxy Mora


    ---


    Keith Partridge singz it
    Shirley Jones plays tambourine
    Yellow feathers coo


    PeraclesPlease

     

    ---

     

    Shirley Jones could sing
    without help from Partridges ...
    or that stupid bus.

     

    MrSmith1


    ---


    Sometimes she would lead
    Sometimes she would sing backup
    Danny did the drugs.


    PeraclesPlease


    ---
     

    'cuz a woman's heart's
    intuitive; subtler
    than a sub-title.

     

    MrSmith1

     

    ---


    Constitution Day
    the date Ramona arrived,
    as well as myself.

     
    Oxy Mora

     


    ---


    Strict interpretists
    Birthed on Constitution Day.
    Original intent?

     

    PeraclesPlease


    ---

     

    Who ya callin' strict?
    A living Constitution
    aches with growing pains.


    barefooted


    ---


    People trying to
    form a more perfect union
    must work together.

    Providing for our
    domestic tranquility
    ain't no game of jacks.


    MrSmith1


    ---


    Stripped contortionists
    Constitutionally blocked -
    Philly bustier? Ding...

     


    PeraclesPlease

    ---


    Striped contortionists
    On the other hand, often
    are quite encouraged.


    MrSmith1


    A leotard change its
    stripes? spotted the diff'rence right
    away. Some G-string.


    PeraclesPlease


    ---

     

    All the Amendments?
    Yes, we were making stuff up.
    The ad reads like this:

       Serial monogamist
       seeking a perfect union.

    moat


    ---


    A bill of rights ad?
    "Serial monogram-ist
    must love acronyms."
          ( USA, NATO, FEMA,
           FBI,  FDIC )


    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    Juicy strawberries ...
    covered in melted goodness ...
    healthy chocolate?

    Call it what you will,
    decadent sin or pleasure,
    but who really cares?
        …life is about the mixture
        that creates the perfect blend.


    barefooted


    ---

     


    Moistened, red petals
    softly lifted toward the sun ...
    asking for its kiss.

     

    barefooted


    ---

     

    The fire is on fire
    until the fuel runs out
    and it burns itself.

       Bank the coals like a jail bird
       evading the search party.

     
    moat

     

    ---

     

    tanka haiku:

    When you decide to
    give a flame a hot-foot, you're
    fighting fire with fire.

        but 'til the fuel runs out, you'll
        not remember which ember.


    MrSmith1


    ---

     

     

    Heat is compounded
    by the confusion of flame,
    and it burns itself.

        Seek a measure of moisture
        chilled by the secure snowbank.

    barefooted


    ---

     

    I was in trouble.
    When she removed her diphthong,
    mah face cawt fie-yer.

     

    moat


    ---

     


    Conflagration is
    the conflation of flame with
    oxygen compounds.
       Except, of course, hydrogen,
       which will rain on your parade.


    MrSmith1

    ---

     


    Shattered, broken bones
    dance between the memories
    of pain and pageant,

    all the while feeling
    the necessity to live,
    even as they die.

        
    barefooted


    ---

     

    Sometimes it's over.
    Sometimes it doesn't implore
    an explanation.

    Because it's limping.
    Because it needs to be shot
    to bleed an answer.

     
    barefooted


    ---


    It was a good day,
    he wanted to give up but
    decided not to.


    Oxy Mora


    ---

    Spilling onto the
    wooden deck behind the house,
    wild purple asters.

     
    MrSmith1

     

    ---


    Love is like Monday.
    It takes up what was laid down
    and draws you back in.

        The steps are new and awkward.
        Echoes off old walls warn me.


    What kind of lover
    comes to the doo wop party
    wearing bell bottoms?

     
    ---


    Yes, there is nectar.
    But your beak need not explore
    each flower that blooms.


    moat


    ---

     

    If I were so right
    How can I remain so left?
    I am not so right

    I am not so right
    Because I find myself here
    not so right I guess.

     

    Richard Day


    ---

     


    Oak leaves were falling
    A north breeze swirled around
    We stacked the firewood.

     

    Oxy Mora


    ---
     

    We stacked the firewood
    then trudged through the mud to the
    hen-house to get eggs.


    MrSmith1


     
    ---

     


    An oak tree was felled
    Split firewood took the first breath
    Fresh and sweet, what's this?


    Oxy Mora


    ---

     

    Pardon, sir, but that
    bag doesn't seem to quite fit
    the look of your suit.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Pardon, sir, will that
    knapsack make Hackensack or
    even hobo kin?

     

    Oxy Mora

     

    ---

     

    Latest job attire.
    Bernie Sanders won it all
    Down-sized Goldman Sacks

     

    Oxy Mora


    ---

     

    If Justice is blind,
    the service comes at a cost;
    The scale must be held.

    Power is a thing,
    with properties and essence:
    Like something you touch.

    I want to kiss you.
    Your glance repels and welcomes.
    Love is not easy.


    moat


    ---

     


    Though Justice is blind,
    the all-seeing eye takes note
    of our transgressions.

    Give glory to God
    in all you do or speak, keep
    His word within reach.

     

     MrSmith1


     ---


    If life were easy
    Anyone could do it see?
    Justice is not blind

    We must really see
    Who the participants are
    And also hear them

    Blind justice is bad
    We need judges who will see
    The bad from the good.

    (I get a kick out of this)
    I think I am stuck in Mobile


    Richard Day


    ---


    Stuck in a mobile?
    call Alexander Calder
    and he'll get you out.


    MrSmith1
     

    ---

     

    Blind means impartial.
    The fold of cloth applies some
    pressure on the wound.


    moat

     

    ---

     

    Blind also means a
    place from which you can shoot ducks.
    Mallard lives matter.

     
    MrSmith1

     

    ---

     

    I want to lie down,
    just like a cat, no good thoughts,
    no plans, no regrets.


    Oxy Mora

     

    ---

     

    I dug a well deep
    well, I can dig deeply if
    I really want to.

     
    Oxy Mora

     

    ---

     


    I dug a well deep
    until I reached the surface.
    So much in between.

     

    barefooted

     

    ---


    I dug a well deep,
    so deep I became unwell
    be well, stay shallow


    MrSmith1

     

    ---

     

    Red hair, a black cat,
    green as the spot to slumber.
    Blind relaxation.


    barefooted

     

    ---


    There was a black cat
    It was a very dark knight
    I didn't see it


    A Guy Called LULU

     

    ---

     

    With her 'familiar'
    The red-haired witch dreams fondly
    Of Halloween night

     

    flowerchild

    ---

     


    Hags hoard hellish heaps.
    Goblins gobble glucose globs.
    Toothless trolls trade tolls.

        Such a night of ceaseless fright,
        Tells me: Floss that overbite.

    moat


    ---

     

    I heard that he whored
    a herd in a hoard, which ain't
    hard for hordes to hear.

     
     

    MrSmith1

     


    ---


    Looking for room mates,
    females only, no smoking,
    thorns need not apply.

     
    Oxy Mora


    ---


    Looking for room-mate;
    Garden apartment / low rent
    No dogs. Must like pink.

     
    MrSmith1


    ---


    As generations
    bloom, we must always prepare
    for new arrivals.


    barefooted


    ----

     

    Sometimes while sleeping,
    reality hijacks dreams
    and specifies fear.

        Waking leaves us shaken, but
        often fortunately stirred.

    barefooted


    ---


    Sometimes while sleeping
    I visit alternate worlds
    to try other lives.

       I often wake with a start,
       but seldom with a finish.


     MrSmith1


    ---

     

    Stirred, but not shaken
    is possibly the best way
    to describe solace.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    But shaken, not stirred,
    is what WILL get you to a
    Quantum of Solace.

    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    It's time to bed down.
    Honey, did you bring the tent?
    No, I thought you did.

    Forget everything
    Stretch this moment forever
    life is a sunset.


    Oxy Mora


    ---


    Some of us question,
    others find their certainty.
    In the end, we're awed.


    barefooted


    ---


    First, we hemmed and hawed,
    Then, we understood; we're flawed,
    In the end, we're awed.

     

    MrSmith1


    ---


    First, we hemmed and hawed,
    but eventually let
    go and just guffawed.

     


    barefooted

     

    ---


    Dillied and dallied,
    til the damn bowling alley'd
    Opened, then we played


    PeraclesPlease


    ---


    Roundly applauded -
    with however you called it,
    must have spelled relief.

    Rambunctious laughter
    Leaves one smitten with rapture,
    Feels draining after.


    PeraclesPlease

    ---


    The masthead beckons
    Us mere haiku acolytes -
    Should we be beacons?

    But don't just shout "Gawd!",
    as comes out a trifle odd,
    a bit overwrought.

    Heidi and her goats,
    Haiku yodel-ay-ee-hoo,
    hike the mountain path.


    PeraclesPlease


    ---

     

    Japanese bombing
    Cut short lovers' honeymoon -
    Most inauspicious

    American bombing
    Cut short war in Pacific
    Was it terrific?


    PeraclesPlease


    ---

     

    American bombing
    Horrific or terrific
    depends where you stood..

     

    MrSmith1

     

    ---

     

    I feel like a seed.
    Floating, drifting, drying up.
    It must be autumn.

    Then I find winter.
    Chilled, yet hydrated I grow.
    A secretive sprout.

    What's this? Is it spring?
    Allow me to lose myself.
    There's just so much dirt.

    I gave it my all.
    Dying, drooping, summer heat ...
    'til they start again.


    barefooted


    ---


    I have never heard
    It just aint right until now
    It just wasn't right

    Low down cryin' shame
    It surely was never right
    What it is you did!

    This is delightful
    The dark is always 'fore dawn
    ANTICIPATION

     
    Richard Day


    ---

     

    I saw the shadow
    when the light was behind me:
    Dark thing advancing.


    moat


    ---

    I saw the shadow;
    paralyzed with doubt and fear
    I recognized me.

     

    barefooted


    ---


    Line up excludes me.
    So I do not qualify:
    A person at large.

     

    moat


    ---


    A person at large.
    Line me up; disqualified.
    Seeking a homeland.


    barefooted
     

    ---


    A person at large,
    escapes their hum-drum routine
    enjoying small things.

     

    MrSmith1

     

    ---


    I saw the Shadow ...
    weeds of crime bear bitter fruit,
    Evil lurks in men.

     

    MrSmith1


    ---
     

    Will this be the night?
    She turned to me, lips parted,
    "You seen a green flash?"

     

    Oxy Mora


    ---


    Will this be the night?
    Well, the sun IS setting ... and
    lights are coming on.


    MrSmith1


    ---


    It seems so soothing
    when beauty consumes you 'til
    another day dawns.

        Then again, repetition.
        Obviously tomorrow.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Blizzards began here
    On the nineteenth of this month
    Snow everywhere

    Thought Purgatory
    Was someplace in Wyoming
    But it is right here

    I am bad enough
    Or not good enough to be
    In Purgatory


    Richard Day

    ---

     

    A celebration!
    Well, still in the making, but
    soon to be new born.

        Is a promise forever?
        It's a fam'ly Thanksgiving!


    barefooted


    ---

    Twins came at same time
    As Thanksgiving Day that year
    Two turkey oven.

     

    PeraclesPlease


    ---


    A wonderful year;
    no doubt filled with all the shit
    true love can provide.


    barefooted


    ---


    On the bleakest day,
    There is still, in our hearts a
    Chance for thanksgiving.


    MrSmith1


    ---

    We're all still waiting
    for the new to reach the old ...
    and for baby, too.

    Operator, please!
    Long distance information
    is sorely needed.

    A mother and child
    are sleeping in peaceful bliss.
    There is nothing more.

     

    barefooted


    ---

     

    A rooftop fiddle
    plays as street music rumbles ...
    racism endures.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Racism does not
    endure, it is always on
    the verge of dying.
       Good people will always be
       the enemy of hatred.


    A rooftop fiddle,
    balanced precariously
    still plays, 'Tradition'.

     
    MrSmith1


    ---

     


    Sunrise meets sunset,
    balanced precariously.
    Tradition changes.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Where there's tradition,
    there's pride for the way one lives
    L'Chaim ... To Life!


    MrSmith1
     


    ---


    It's far too simple
    to avoid what is unknown;
    best to embrace it.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    To avoid what is
    unknown is to stop asking
    questions.  Keep learning.

    Life is a question
    Our quest for knowing is the
    path on which we walk

     


    MrSmith1


    ---


    Life is a question
    that doesn't always depend
    upon whom it asks.

        Most of the time, we find the
        answers are debatable.


    barefooted


    ---


    What are you in for?"
    Multiple counts of haiku.
    "A life sentence then?"

    Great expectations
    lash the sailor to the mast
    or steer towards the rocks.


     moat


    ---

     

    What are you in for?
    Involuntary haiku ...
    Ahh, forced perspective.


    MrSmith1


    ---


    Maybe words themselves
    are wrapped up in the power;
    like small magicians.


    moat


    ---

     


    Outside conditions,
    when driven by a beat of
    seventeen drums, roar.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Drums snare our foot steps,
    lifting knees, bracing shoulders;
    What a strange parade!


    moat


    ---


    Lifting and bracing,
    we walk along our parade ...
    and choose the drummer.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Like small magicians,
    words wield power creating
    subtle illusions.

     
    MrSmith1


    ---

     

    Subtle illusions
    differentiate the dream
    from the heartfelt life ...

        both require innocence;
        neither one a conclusion.


    barefooted


    ---

     

    At Eight after Ten
    she decided to turn him
    up to Eleven.


    barefooted


    ---


    Skinny legs hold up
    the curious bystanders ...
    what's up over there?


    barefooted


    ---

     

    Thanks to all for a wonderful year of haiku banter.  See you next week!

     

    *****

     

     

    Comments

    THIS IS JUST DELIGHTFUL!

    Of course I am part of the 'crew'! ha

    I hereby render unto Mr. Smith the Dayly Poetry Gig of the Year Award (for 2015), given to all of him from all of me.

    this is just delightful.

    All my friends are cited!

    Damn, you made my day!

    This has nothin to do with nothin, as usual. ha!


    Thank you, DD.    I posted this in two parts because, as I went through the comments of the past year, there were just so many wonderful responses, I wanted to include as many as possible.


    Here's to a haiku-filled 2016.  May we have as much fun as we obviously did this past year.


    This is wonderful.  

    Happy New Year Mr. Smith. 


    Five seven then five

     Makes it strict to contrive, yet 

      Stories come alive.

     

    Happy New Year, Mr. Smith


    Five seven then five,

    Mr. Smith keeps words alive;

    gives us room to strive.

    Perhaps I should say

    that syllables find their way,

    but that would betray ...

    The man behind them.

    For if we were without him

    Dag would surely dim.

    Thank you, kind sir. You give me a weekly place to relax, review and restart while nonetheless allowing me to stretch in ways most necessary. Noone anywhere can do quite what you do - for us and for everyone. We're selfish in expecting to read you each Friday and catch our breath if we rarely don't ... all likely, I suspect, because we need you.

    So I lift my virtual glass to you, Mr. Smith, with love. Happy 2016!


    Thank you for the kind words, Missy!


    Thanks, Guy called Lulu!  Happy New Year!

     


    Takes a lot to laugh, takes a trained Haiku to cry...

    A lot washed over by time - had to pinch myself, was that me?

    Thankie, everybody, say thank you - even you, Gilbert!!!


    The form is simple;
    Fitting words into set frames;
    Thinking thoughts alone.


    Excellent, moat!


    Smith, you ar the best. Thanks for making this so much fun, and, Happy New Year.



    It's fun playing here ,,, so many talented writers!


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