Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Weather haibun & suitable haiku
It is snowing and I sit by my window reading a book of winter haiku.Here is a haiku by Miura Yuzuru
Snow on topHere is one by Ono Rinka
Lengthens
The height of the gateposts.
A winter shower driving down--And, finally, we have Nozawa Setsuko
Turmeric flowers
In full bloom.
Heaven and earth
Convulsing in the same breath
Let fall a tremendous snow.
I've always liked to sit and watch snow. It is a good diversion. One feels so much comfort by snow, even though it is, of course, cold and treacherous. It covers the world, making it all fresh and new, yet at the same time killing the last remnants of fall. Roads are slick. People fall on concrete. The snow falls in swirling, beautiful patterns, smoothing even that out. It is calming to sit by the window as the snow falls and read. So I take up my pencil and write in the margin next to the three poems:
Snow falls quietly
As I read by the window
Words settle my mind.
Labels: haiku, poetry, snowHe, weather, winter
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Friday, November 23, 2007
Salt Lake Tribune - A supple muse
And why wasn't I informed of this contest: Salt Lake Tribune - A supple muse?Ah well, we shall have our own contest. Please enter your Jell-o brand gelatin-inspired haiku in the comments. Here be mine:
Carrots suspended,Next poetic project: "A Valediction Forbidding Jell-o""
You jiggle green and orange
Mighty lime Jell-0!
AS virtuous men pass mildly away,(My apologies to Mr. Donne.)
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
"Now his breath goes," and some say, "Jell-o."
Labels: contest, haiku, joke, poetry
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
Travel
The box elder bug,An unlikely commuter,
Flutters to the door.
Labels: haiku, out-of-town, poetry, travel
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Friday, August 31, 2007
Haibun while contemplating an abandoned bus stop
While sitting on my front porch this evening, I was struck by the contrast between the metal bus stop pole complete with its "BUS STOP ELIMINATED" placard and the gentle brown complexity of the tree next to it. I decided to sketch the scene. The sign has its flag-like blue and white UTA metal sign at the top, with its friendly-looking bus, and UTA contact information. Below are the confusing plastic signs indicating that the route is being changed, and then finally, on the bottom, that the route has been eliminated. Here the friendly bus has been crossed out with a disturbing red naught--an "O" with a slash through it. The metal pole the signs are attached to is galvanized and full of holes. It is firmly sunk into the grass of the parking strip by the corner of my lot. The sidewalk runs peacefully by, unaware that it will no longer feel the weight of people waiting to be transported somewhere out from under the shade of the tree that grows a few feet away.My elbow rubs against the banana plant next to me as I capture the scene in my sketch book. The trunk of the tree draws my attention: a white knot-hole of a missing limb becomes all important to me. It whorls out over the page with my pencil.
The shadows in the street cross each other, and the solidarity of the sidewalk runs hard over the bottom of the scene.
My pencil scratches against the paper.
I have been careful to leave room to write this between my rendition of the pole and the tree trunk:
The contrast between
Metal and wood wounds my eye
On this summer night
Labels: haibun, haiku, nature, poetry, summer, transportation
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Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Renga fears
Since most of the renga invitees are going to be busy for the next unforeseeable bit, I fear it will wither and dry like August wheat.Labels: funny, get_to_work, poetry
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Monday, August 20, 2007
Stalled renga
Kendrakoo added a new line to the renga, but it seems to have stalled. Is that like a broken down Datsun? Does anyone even remember Datsun's any more?Labels: admonition, car, poetry, reference
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Renga: Summer
Here is the renga so far. I think it has a couple more rounds in it:Renga: Summer
A hot wind jostles
Dry wheat from its summer sleep
Sweat slides down my cheek [CG]
or are these tears? I have dreamt
a body turned green to gold [LB]
I have yet to lose
a body weary of heat
but losing comes in fast blows
to my consciousness [KT]
yearning for the sleep of fall [LK]
I enter the field
Merging with the golden wheat
One being, one self [CG]
Sorry I got so freaking Zen on the last stanza.
Labels: collaboration, poem, poetry, season, summer
¶ 9:47 AM 3 comments
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Renga & weather update
Renga front: Hightouch, Kendrakoo, and I have added to the renga.Weather front: it is fucking hot.
Labels: collaboration, poem, poetry, renga
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Friday, July 27, 2007
String theory
There's a certain quality of light in the kitchenAt eleven a.m. on a mid-summer morning
That makes me wish my mother and father
Were still alive.
We could sit and drink coffee while the light
Plays out glossy gray over the walnut table,
Their hands would be old and wrinkled now,
And their hair completely white.
We could talk about what my life would be like
If either of them had died when I was so young--
If they weren't here to drink coffee with me
And watch me wonder at the quality of light.
But I know what that's like.
I drink my coffee alone while the late morning
Light shimmers, iridescent, over its surface
Labels: coffee, death, physics, poem, poetry
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Monday, April 30, 2007
Conrad Aiken's Tombstone
Here are two links for you: 1 & 2 oh and what the hell, 3.
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Monday, February 26, 2007
SLC Haiku Bar Reviews: Lumpy's Highland Drive
The Cigar smoke hangsSordidly over our heads
Breathing is flavored ¶ 1:43 PM 3 comments
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Saturday, February 24, 2007
SLC Haiku Bar Reviews: Lumpy's Downtown
Meat market simplyYou go and you sit and watch
Never caring. No. ¶ 2:15 AM 2 comments
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Saturday, February 03, 2007
"So let it be written! So let it be done!"
Ok, we've bandied this about enough, my droogies. I now present to you TEAM ENGLISH : CafePress.com. To quote from the site, "You teach English and love poetry but you are no namby-pamby panty-waist! You ride your bike up 6% grades with ease and have a killer outside jump shot. You split infinitives and undangle modifiers with glee. You bowl consistently over 90 and love to talk shit about those wimps in the Philosophy Department."The only question I have is who is going to be the one to buy Stephen the shirt?
We definitely need to have a TEAM ENGLISH day. Hightouch? Is this a 5 Year Plan Committee mission?
Bowling, anyone?
Labels: English, fun, humor, poetry, revenge
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Monday, January 22, 2007
BBC - Arts - Poetry: Out Loud
Holy bajolie! The things you can find on the Internets: BBC - Arts - Poetry: Out Loud!I probably should go for some of Tennyson's drone in one of the Poe-etcis.
Labels: poetry
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Just when you thought I couldn't get dorkier....
...I go and do something like this*.I will say Tamurlane is one of the most difficult poems to read aloud. Poe's metric line is funky.
*Thanks to Dr. Write for coming up with the excellent podcast title.
Labels: goofiness, podcast, Poe, poetry
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