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:
On my block, cars do
their alternate do-si-do
for the street sweep
---
I took a taxi
which took forever and all
my folding money.
---
Some flowering quince
brighten up my room, while they
taunt my allergies.
---
An old jelly bean
found in my jacket pocket
still tastes pretty good.
---
Mournful elegies
echoed through the cathedral.
Loved ones laid to rest.
---
Eliminate stress,
by breathing deeply. Then, you
focus on ... (nothing).
---
In a wooden shack,
on the outskirts of town, lives
his late uncle's wife.
---
Will you dance with me?
Come, Let's shake the rafters with
our mutual joy.
---
In a hiding place,
behind some old wainscoting,
dusty artifacts.
---
A sincere heart is,
more likely to change the world,
than well reasoned thoughts.
---
She seldom complained,
was quick with a comeback, so ...
was often ignored.
---
He was confident,
he'd done the assignment, but ...
Wrong chapters were read.
---
His girlfriend's bedroom,
seemed like such a prissy place,
dainty and perfumed.
---
tanka haiku:
The rheumy's office
was quite small and cramped and yet
within, whole new worlds.
Many unfamiliar realms
were first revealed to me there.
---
A wind-swept plateau,
where the sky looms large, as in
a John Ford western.
---
I love you so much,
but can't claim I'll ever know,
all you mean to me.
---
tanka haiku:
When I am dreaming,
I somersault on the beach,
and dash through the surf.
We laugh, then stroll hand in hand,
two soul-mates who have found peace.
---
A toasted muffin,
bacon, juice and cantaloupe,
Sweet Sunday breakfast.
---
Rhythmic melodies
drift from grandmother's bedroom:
Old 78's.
---
Kids were not allowed
in grandfather's library,
but cats wandered in.
-------
A convent garden,
a devout mantis prays for
Jack-in-the-pulpit.
---
There was a large crowd,
lined up 'round Tompkins Square Park,
Bread line? Movie Shoot.
---
Lazy sunlight drifts,
through the parted lace curtains,
of the drawing room.
---
In a quiet room.
a book lies open on a
mahogany desk.
---
Grand-dad used to say,
"If you live, your time will come",
Grandma's never did.
---
I don't know her name,
I'll never see her again,
Her essence haunts me.
---
Torn between lovers,
he was not sure what to do,
then, he beheld her..."
---
Scars are reminders,
That Life can be risky, but
we can, and will, heal.
---
Fog floats on the fields,
dew forms on the split rail fence
Rain in the forecast.
---
When you're feeling lost,
be brave and don't hesitate,
in asking for help.
---
How do you handle,
all the pain and suffering?
Focus on others.
---
Ask for help, focus
on others, Ev'ryone hurts,
ev'ryone can help.
---
tanka haiku:
I confess; I wore
paisley ascots, bell-bottoms
and nehru jackets.
But it was the Sixties, man.
We were all 'fashion forward.'
---
The billowing sails,
The churning, white-capped waters,
grey skies at ebb tide.
---
When painting 'still lifes',
try not to put your elbow,
in the water cup.
---
While crouched underneath,
her conestoga wagon,
Kate did needlework.
---
Sprawled on an ice floe,
you tend to forget that you're
heading for the falls.
---
Blandly defiant,
dead cars give no excuses,
they simply won't go.
---
Some stars in the sky,
stopped shining eons ago.
(We've yet to notice.)
---
In an ev'ning's field,
a scurrying mouse ignores
danger in the trees.
---
young boys quickly learn
the alcohol content of
vanilla extract.
---
A remote forest,
where towering trees shelter,
delicate flowers.
---
Internet access,
Isn't there?! It isn't fair!
Net neutrality!
---
Children whispering,
conspiratorial glee ...
Parents ... be on guard.
----
Breaking News ... My haiku submission has been selected as a finalist for the New York Times Haiku Challenge. Should know in a couple of days if it made the final cut.
Woo-Hoo!
Here's my submission:
A garden pathway
lined with purple violets
absorbs all sadness.
---
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Comments
Congratulations, Mr. Smith! Fingers crossed. I love all your haikus. I don't know how you could choose only one to submit. Great job again this week.
This one should be a poster:
Grand-dad used to say,
"If you live, your time will come",
Grandma's never did.
by Ramona on Sat, 04/26/2014 - 1:44pm
The lesson again:
As if this strange thing was learned
by repetition.
The hard things are soft.
Some things outside heard sharply:
A quiet appeal.
The self as a thing.
We don't know about that life.
We talk about it.
by moat on Sun, 04/27/2014 - 7:56pm
I work tomorrow.
Stealing time from a question;
Running from something.
by moat on Sun, 04/27/2014 - 8:15pm
All great, moat!
I take a moment
to mourn the passage of time.
I work tomorrow.
---
Running from something
o'er which I have no control
keeps me on my toes.
---
by MrSmith1 on Sun, 04/27/2014 - 8:28pm
She walked on her toes.
Cadence to an odd new song;
Impossible dance.
by moat on Sun, 04/27/2014 - 9:39pm
An impossible dance ...
prance about on tippy-toes ...
Ballet just a ruse?
---
Using auto-tune
mixed with a hip-hop cadence?
It will curl your toes.
---
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by MrSmith1 on Sun, 04/27/2014 - 11:01pm