Wade’s 101: Haiku retrospective 54
By Wade Kwon- the line between fear and paranoia
A phobia here,
a conspiracy there, it
all adds up to squat. - the majority leecher
A toady who does
it all for those in power,
lickspittle for life. - everyday hustle
We all out here with
our game faces on, ready
to make that paper. - time of the prepper
A cellar fully
stocked with canned goods, candles and
assorted ammo. - the tips, not the protesters
Lots of bystanders
have tips for protesters, most
of them horrible. - rise of the sidewalk cafes
Bistros and hot dog
joints claim limited spaces
for al fresco feasts. - tangible gratitude
Marbles in a jar,
scribbles on slips of paper,
lines in a Word doc. - facial security blanket
The mask made him feel
only a little safer
in an unsafe world. - cans of lysol in the carport
She took grocery
deliveries at the side
door and sprayed them down. - salt strife
Waves mindlessly lap
the shore, as tourists make the
most of a crap year. - all summer in a season
Let the festival
of sweaty tees and violent
thunderstorms commence! - the spare minutes
Time to breathe deeply,
to compose a love note, to
gaze in bright wonder. - covering while uncovered
Modern media
fired upon by police,
targets of ire. - any sports is better than no sports
Empty stands, no one
hawking $7 cups
of beer. Players … play. - the looting of america
From the corner stores,
but especially from the
swank corporate board rooms. - on the plaza in the early evening
She hobbled by with
a friendly greeting and a
bare foot in pain. - just another pandemic in america
How casually
we conduct our business while
the virus rages. - social undistancing
Despite our caution,
it’s good to see people once
more. We need contact. - furloughed and frustrated
Everyone needs a
job yesterday. The rent’s past
due, the kids need shoes. - the fun police
The mere suspicion
that someone somewhere feels such
unauthorized joy. - the floor is lava
The floor is lava.
As is everything else. Yeah,
the world’s on fire. - this is just to haiku
I ate the icebox
plums saved for breakfast forgive
me so sweet so cold - can’t have pets
Allergic not to
dander or fur but to un-
conditional love. - the vocal minority
They took their pouty
entitlements and their hurt
feelings and raged on. - 7/4 3/5
A declaration
of freedom for some, leaving
all others behind. - the opposite of schadenfreude
That pang of envy
when someone, anyone marks
a great achievement. - under wraps
Look, I get it. You’re
frustrated by the whole mask
dilemma. Wear it. - cause and effect and effect and effect
The numbers climb. The
hospitals struggle. The world
trudges on weakly. - love in the time of corona
Will COVID Cupid
find coronavixen who
takes my breath away? - regret neutrality
It isn’t enough
to not be racist, but to
be anti-racist. - the launch
The developers
lock in the code. Fans look on.
All systems are go. - protection not persecution
What does it look like
when a society re-
thinks its policing? - representation matters
I want to see those
who look like me and those who
have yet to be seen. - jeremy bearimy, baby
This 2020
has been a hellscape of at
least 35 months. - moments of glee
Profound joy sneaks in
between the bouts of anger
and pure depression. - be now
This is the now. This
is the moment we are in.
Now this is the now. - a devious undeviating satire
Comedic grace: She
takes his words and makes them her
own, makes him her own. - mom and pop sore
The anxiety
of watching your dream wither
away to nothing. - the pandemic p&l statement
How do we pay rent?
Pay employees? Stay open?
Live to fight again? - the disquieting fear
Burrowed deeply in
our brains, driving us to run
from all the known threats. - the empathy spectrum
Sacrifice for all
others vs. in it for
only me me me. - browser breaking point
Click. Save. Read later.
Click. Save. Check out later. Click.
Click. Too many tabs! - that homeostatic feeling
Even constant pain
becomes background noise in a
body on the move. - booted from the swanky italian restaurant
He played with gusto
to the sun-soaked parking lot
amidst the Audis. - project pandemic pick-me-up
Business is down. Why
not renovate the inside
before shoppers return? - surrounded by patients zero
Every cough suspect,
every forehead possibly
ablaze, bugs abound. - we jazz july
Another blazing
tornado-dodging virus-
ravaging summer. - maskholes
They threw little snits
at each store asking them to
wear face coverings. - the strivers
Striving to be loved.
Striving to be accepted.
For equality. - only one shot a year
They decided to
postpone the event and pray
they’d come back next year. - hang on to the summer
Ice cream cones and long
drives, starry nights and fire-
flies, storms and breezes. - first will and testament
Let’s hope that courage
is contagious and that our
leaders aren’t immune. - back-to-school shopping 2020
Bulletproof backpack,
face mask, hand sanitizer,
tiny body bags. - school of hardest knocks
This fall, send the kids
back to school in person and
let God sort ’em out. - other people’s impatience
Some of us are born
to wait and wait, while others
make waiting painful. - a totally chill pandemic
Neighbors having big
parties, coworkers touching
all the coffee cups. - cities under siege
Protesters marching
peacefully and lawfully.
Shock troops on the way - let freedom ring
Climate deniers,
school shooters, killer cops. This
is America. - an unmissed connection
Deep empathy brings
hope to the forlorn, the love-
less, the also rans. - reliable sources
Experts and mainstream
media, but also your
high school dropout aunt. - the emotional roller coaster
Why do the tears come
so readily? Before, I
was a stoic man. - down with democracies
Disinformation
arrives in harmless tweets and
brash targeted ads. - spiral unspiral
Neutral leads to sad-
ness leads to shame leads to wor-
ry leads to calmness. - how we decide
Rational does not
mean selfless or detached from
any emotion. - no good choices, back-to-school edition
Set them in front of
a screen, or set them loose in
a germy classroom. - an alabama loophole
Schools practice social
distancing for teachers, kids
(except for football). - radical monarchs
Shy caterpillars
transform into cool pillars
of social justice. - in search of
We look for humor
in dark places and comfort
in strange bedfellows. - america’s national pastime*
The crack of the bat,
the roar of an empty sta-
dium in strange times. - virtual fans
They yell, they cheer, they
boo. But then, no drunken brawls
or doing the wave. - lessons in world geography
The other countries
did it right in beating the
pandemic. We balked. - a natural enmity
People are good. But
that one guy definitely
is out to get me. - pandemic plan zero
We’ve tried absolute-
ly nothing, and yet the num-
bers keep going up. - poems to the wind
Freestylin’ verses
to the masses with brains and
social media. - the zoom cocktail hour
A bevy of drinks,
a so-so wifi signal,
a lot of crosstalk. - amoral adversary
The virus doesn’t
punish bad behavior or
reward good. It just is. - chaotic neutral
Alignment is not
only good and evil but
also the method. - what does a family look like?
Are they blood ties or
select friends and lovers? The
mind and heart see all. - the trouble with first drafts
Balancing speedy
writing with a nagging need
to edit right then. - try someone else
On the street and at
the crossroads, they beg. The re-
ply is always no. - on brand
He positioned the
camera just so, making sure
his fans saw it all. - cupid’s victim
A young girl mused on
her infatuation with
bright eyes, aching heart. - ’90s jukebox
The melodies and
riffs take me back to my young-
er, more hopeful self. - aa scheme
A real poem should
rhyme. Which is why this is a
real poem this time. - popsicle sticks and glitter
She carefully plans
the art projects so her girls
can dream, make messes. - the road to the white house
Hearts and minds up for
grabs as we squabble over
fault in the margins. - bugaboo
It seems risky to
re-open society
as the virus roams. - the law of diminishing fucks
The moment we step
out to embrace our feelings
no matter the risk. - surrender to the storm
Each hurricane brought
fewer relief trucks in the
nation’s new climate. - essential workers, inessential wages
We prize work, but
not equally, not fully.
Our values must change. - casualties of indifference
The suffering has
no meaning. The dreams and lives
lost were for nothing. - built-in bruising
We react without
thinking. The suffering is
truly optional. - eat dessert first
Such is a nation
that manages its sweet tooth
better than its health. - a foreign notion
When will we stop the
white domestic terrorists
who hide in plain sight? - declaration of dependence
I told her this year.
I haven’t thought about lost
love in a long time. - take this job and inhabit it
Work is everything:
self worth, time suck, lame hangout,
comparison stick. - four-wheel money machine
It’s tough to work when
other drivers treat your car
like a piñata. - awash with sensations
She tracked her feelings
as they racked her body in
tumultuous waves. - she brought in a gun
She brought in a gun,
and everyone in the whole
restaurant just froze. - unnoticed rituals
Actions designed not
to make the time pass but to
ease anxiety. - dread of the drops
The falling rain brought
on the worries big and small,
not soothing comfort.
• • •
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