Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 21
By Wade Kwon[Share on Twitter]
- the eggs-ecutioner
One yolk screams in pain,
while the other lies stunned in
silence. Fried to death. - eyes of the storm
Cameras caught the herds
of twisters stampeding through
the defenseless towns. - like so many matchsticks
House after house, a
school here, a church there, toppled,
tossed, decimated. - the cruellest month
Goodbye, April. You
were needlessly heartless and
ripped the earth apart. - the thin multihued line
They came with shovels
and water, prepared for the
worst and found horror. - they got him
Navy Seals take out
Public Enemy No.
1. Justice at last. - where the streets have no names
The teen worker stoops
to spray-paint the asphalt with
the name of the road. - walk on
Can’t say where it is,
but I know I’m going home.
That’s where the hurt is. - what lies beneath
Among the rubble
lies broken china, ruined
clothes, maybe some hope. - on guard from the looters
The men with guns keep
watch from looters, yet all that’s
left are bricks and boards. - setec astronomy
The surprise became
anticlimactic when the
big secret wasn’t. - you are my sunshine
She passes me notes
throughout the day that light up
my darkest hours. - how to bag in paper
Heavy at bottom,
cold with cold, squishy at top.
Not really that hard. - march of the mortarboards
Come forward and get
your piece of paper. It’s a
ticket to somewhere. - gotta get down on friday
What happens when pop
culture collides with online
notoriety? - the shortest spring
For a week or so,
the outdoors were a delight …
till summer heat hit. - no hazing
The jazz club had a
hot band, whiskey shots and no
smoking permitted. - the out-of-towners
In the car they hopped,
carefree adventures ahead
on the highway out. - a toddler’s worship
The little boy in
the jumpsuit ran among the
pews in search of God. - to prowl the jungle
The little creature
dreamt of hunts in the wild and
running free, bounding. - the recipe that takes the longest
Three ounces of a
missing ingredient means
one more shopping trip. - doomsday never happens on a weekend
God would put doomsday
on a Monday so He could
see who went to church. - written in the wind
Lovely words have no
place in a visual, non-
stop society. - bright city
The glare overtakes
the view, pierced by the solar
flashes from afar. - the tough road
Easier to tear
something down than build something
up. Be a builder. - x-ray vision
Knowing people so
well prevents mishaps, even as
others are lured in. - heat spell
Sizzle, sizzle, burn
and fizzle. Need a drink to
mix with a swizzle. - wikileaks 2021
Pics of everyone’s
genitals, old cell numbers
and who we slept with. - the methodology of caring
Form a committee,
then another, make a chart …
Or help as needed. - mindset
The body is slumped
in the cubicle chair; the
mind lies on the beach. - the lighter load
The load in life seems
pretty heavy, till you see
someone being crushed. - spokes people
Armies on cycles
hug the turns and revel in
open-air freedom. - words with friends
The coven shared its
secrets, whispers of truth that
were concealed as dirt. - some sacrifice
It’s easy to show
support of troops who have passed.
Support the living. - color me bad
Being saintly does
not fit; neither does being
evil. Good and bad? - states of being
Schrödinger’s cat slept
and yet did not sleep in the
afternoon sunbeam. - 3-digit days
Hot isn’t the same
as Alabama hot, which
demands AC, tea. - trimmed to the dirt
They hacked at the land
till all that was left were spots
of light green and brown. - love takes courage
If hate takes fear and
magnifies it, love takes cour-
age and rewards it. - sermon on the hillside
Father Donovan
blessed the sacrament, and the
choir rose to sing. - empty rooms
No one has lived in
the stately cottage for months
as the weeds grow round. - the respectable
The respectable
never sully themselves with
the commoners much. - school lunch 3.0
No more tater tots
or chocolate milk, just healthy
food no child will touch. - a gamble with the law
Politicians and
gangsters huddle to try to
beat the legal house. - trust issues
Trust isn’t given,
it’s earned. Or is it other
way around? Faith … fate? - fountains of youth
A mad dash through the
sprinkler, and then another.
Giggles rain like drops. - comfort breeds forgetfulness
The plight of the storm-
tossed is lost amid keeping
track of mundane tasks. - games of chance
Bingo, poker, craps,
roulette, slot machines, blackjack
and state politics. - 511 days till election day
The debates have kicked
off. Why should they wait till last
minute to sling mud? - till you’re safe and sound
Could you not be sad?
Could you not break down? After
all, I won’t let go … - the forecast of doom
Snowstorms and ice, hail
and tornadoes, three-digit
temps. Two seasons in. - it’s good to be queen
Gazing upon her
subjects, she could not help but
feel pity, contempt. - texts from last week
“Going 2 teh store.”
“Will U get me some cookees?”
“I M not yr slave!” - spaceship mirth
Golf ball of giants.
Is it below par? No way.
The club must be huge. - drippy days
The ice cream started
running through the cone’s tip way
before the first lick. - all summer in a day
Margot spends hours
trapped in Venusian closet.
Ultimate sunscreen. - dark as a rule
Navigation would
be impossible save for
headlights in blackout. - the march of digital progress
Ancient browser wrecks
coded work of art. Time to
upgrade, damn Luddite. - elevated tweetup
The birds perched on the
power line, gossiping on
the juiciest flaps. - mother nature has the power
Power blinks out once
more. No TV, no laptop.
And there goes the milk. - the unwelcome stranger
Immigrants welcome,
as long as they smell OK,
work hard, have papers. - approach at 0 feet altitude
Cars stuck in holding
pattern circling for pick-ups
of worn passengers. - the untended yard
The most noxious weed
wasn’t in the ground, but out
spreading seed elsewhere. - snack attack
The tiny candy
bar pacified the tummy.
Until the second. - halftime 2011
Break out the bands and
the cheerleaders. We’re down by
a lot, but not out. - the watermelon patch
It comes in red and
green and cures the craving for
spitting seeds around. - the past in pixels
The one gallery
brought back moments from childhood,
both joy and sorrow. - a weird distance
Seeing people you
thought you knew well puts a weird
distance between you. - the freedom to
Speak, move, assemble,
disagree, vote, worship, bear
arms, have a free press. - summer harvest
Into the basket
leapt the tomatoes off the
vines, the corn from stalks. - the lightweight
It took one beer to
do him in. One more sip and
he would’ve passed out. - faux foe
Not the virtual
enemy that has all the
luck, but your own fears. - the house of no repute
The foreclosed abode
waits to be adopted as
the weeds take over. - cheap lunch date
They shared a tuna
sandwich, apple slices and
an entire park. - desert without sand
The hills shimmered in
the blistering sun. Green turned
to waterless brown. - pack of pugs
They patrol the rooms
together, snorting, sniffing,
waiting for scratches. - trees skinned alive
Above the blue tarps
are the missing treetops, shorn
clean by tornadoes. - barstool brigade
The old timers sat
and drank their cheap beer, whiling
away their problems. - the twist
The twist turned out to
be that everyone lived quite
normally henceforth. - trappings and such
Mere trappings do not
make the man, but only serve
to ensnarl his soul. - coming attractions
The lights went down, the
previews began, the viewers
hushed, the magic flowed. - over the hills and through the woods
We wandered through the
forest like lost children who
never want to leave. - doorstep to doorstep
The tiny package
moved through the pipes on its way
to obsolescence. - her name is mud
The babbling brook calls
to her as it digs into
the dirt and the dust. - only so much hustle
Go! go! go! until
the couch beckons, lulling you
into deep slumber. - listmania!
Too many to-dos
pull brain like taffy, stretched thin
and icky sticky. - a new horizon
The ship sailed on, blind
to the typhoons and monsters
that lie in her path. - sunflower sunrise
Flowers brightened the
morning at the market like
a bouquet of rays. - hearth strings
The melodies of
a violin filled the house
and it felt like home. - subtext is everything
Gentle questions hide
another agenda from
those innocent ears. - a distant boom
Summer thunderstorm
rolls by with great acclaim, leaves
trail of low echoes. - the soul of a soul singer
She couldn’t escape
the pain of living, yet her
smoky voice lives on. - the dare
When a coward asks
you to call him a coward
to his face, do it. - box lunch, lunch box
The bento had not
been to Japan, but carried
a taste from far off. - and they still bring the mail to you
Bills and flyers, cards
and offers and misaddressed
junk cram the box full. - almost all natural
Her diet involved
fruit, vegetables and water,
with a few milkshakes. - subtle interrogation
The unwitting soul
knew nothing of subtext while
answering the text. - the years, they go by so quickly
The candles pile up
atop the cake, the regrets
flow like unchecked tears. - factions
The gangs eyed each group,
wary of agendas and
motives not their own. - cozy sheets
Bed calls out, don’t leave,
in a sultry soothing tone,
but work screams louder. - withered fortunes
Myrna watched her life
savings evaporate in
the wink of a lie.
• • •
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