Look Out, Haiku . . .

"Darth Vader" Building, Sacramento, CA

—Photos by Katy Brown, Davis, CA

GENUFLECTION THEN (1875-1905)
—Michael Ceraolo, S. Euclid, OH

Euclid Avenue closed
between East Ninth and East Fortieth Streets
(then known as Erie and Case, respectively)
on Wednesday,
                       Thursday,
                                      Friday,
                                                and Saturday
afternoons in a six-week period
in November and December
Sidewalks open
so that thousands could gather to watch
sleigh races between the many
malefactors of great wealth
who lived on the street then known
as Millionaire'sRow
(That there should be such a place in the city
was to be expected:
                                in 1885
half of the world's millionaires
lived in Cleveland,
                            and
most of the mansions they had built
commanded an excellent view of the lake;
that no one minded the disruption
caused by the races seems less likely)
               
                                                            And
the tax breaks provided during
the entire period of the sleigh races
                                                     (the races,
presumably,
                   were dependent on there being snow,
something beyond even the control of these men)
took the most extreme form possible:
there being no income tax—

Distant Geometry
 

DARED, BARED, AND SCARED
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
 
It was the sacred night
Of Halloween
At the maternity ward

Expectant moms
Anxious dads
Little kids bored

Let’s paper this place!
The kids all agree
No longer on cord

Page after page is ripped
From the birth order book
Too lively to remain moored

The new baby arrives
And looks like its parents
Their genes safely stored

Will the newborn be healthy?
Will our budget survive?
Dad faints and is floored

 Golden Bridge

TIME AND AGAIN
—Caschwa

(Response to “Her rejoinder: The conditions were just right 

for it to be better than it actually was.” from Tom Goff’s 
“Of Cinnamon’s Arboreal Inner Skin”, Medusa’s Kitchen, 
1/31/18)

Conditions also echoed by Marshall McLuhan’s
“The Medium is the Massage: 
An Inventory of Effects” (1967)
Pretty good reading, just because

The essence of which has been
Taken up by Madison Avenue
Pushing all manner of goods and
Services onto me and onto you

Based primarily on the ability to
Harness sympathetic vibrations
Reaching the inner skin of consumers
By surrounding them with libations

Hot, fresh cinnamon buns!... unleashing
Our most natural and powerful behavior:
The totally sexy and marketable ritual of
Sample, repeat, savor. . . sample, repeat, savor

 Arches and Squares

THE SECOND COMING
—Caschwa

(Inspired by the writings of
James Lee Jobe)


How can we be ready
Truly, faithfully ready
For Him to return?

After the passing
Of 2 millennia
Much is different now

For one thing
Crucifixes are
So yesterday

Those in power no longer
Show it by hitting targets
One at a time

So yank that gold or silver
Cross off your neck
And trade it in for a

Lovely pendant submachine
Gun with banana clips
For extra ammo

Or maybe some other
Miniature depiction of
Weapons of mass destruction

No longer is He
A Jesus to please us
It is all about the power

To free us from
Guidance or
Learned instruction

So we can merrily continue
To refuse to hear
What needs to be said

 Old and New

LET’S DABBLE
—Caschwa

(Response to “February is
National Haiku Writing Month”)


Words in English–check
Syllables–five, seven, five
Japanese–who knows?

* * *

Beautiful flower
Artificial stem and leaves
The eye tricked again

* * *

This will be epic
So many meanings to muse
Best seller for fools

* * *

My teacher knew five
Languages: English, German,
French, Spanish, Texan

* * *

Born of German stock
Look out Haiku, here I come
Trashing rules and norms

_______________

FLOODGATES OPEN
—Caschwa

(National Haiku Writing Month,

continued)
 

An honor student
Lost privileges at the
Conservatory

* * *

Representatives
For USA meet Russians
Unexplainably

* * *

We now ask whether
Carter Page is a foreign
Agent, or not, or?

* * *

Investigation
Subject to the President’s
Imagination

* * *

Never before has
Counterintelligence been
So trivialized

* * *

Lower our wages
Put all loans under water
We believe in you

* * *

This offensive peep
Show has been made possible
By viewers like you

_____________

PURE CUCKOO HAIKU
—Caschwa

(National Haiku Writing Month,
Part Three)


“Nice to have you on”
Said the talk show host to his
Brand new underwear

* * *

Establish rapport
And gain mutual respect
Then go for the kill

* * *

Midnight snack at ten
Proactive, yes, to be sure
Close enough for jazz

* * *

We just made a deal
With the devil’s food donut
At the coffee shop

* * *

Would you like to see
My vacation photo file?
I brought a pillow

* * *

The ties that bind were
All made in Chinese sweatshops
By abused women

* * *

Genealogy
Not the typical major
Field of study choice

_________________

Today’s LittleNip:

OLIVE OIL
—Caschwa

Virgin olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Extra large virgin olive oil
Enormous virgin olive oil
Went to Hooters, found no suiters virgin olive oil
Need a life change virgin olive oil
Dated extensively virgin olive oil
Met the perfect mate virgin olive oil
Proud mother of twins olive oil

__________________

Many thanks to today’s contributors: Michael Ceraolo, Caschwa (Carl Bernard Schwartz), and Katy Brown for her photos of Sacramento. For more about National Haiku Writing Month, go to www.thehaikufoundation.org/2013/02/01/its-national-haiku-writing-month/. The writing of Haiku in English is very controversial; I think we all have to come to some ideas about it on our own. For starters, check out www.thehaikufoundation.org/2011/09/24/what-is-the-essence-of-modern-american-haiku/.

Poetry readings in our area begin tonight at Sac. Poetry Center, 7:30pm, with Rob Esperanza and Khalpyso plus open mic. Tuesday will be Poetry Off-the-Shelves in El Dorado Hills, 5-7pm, at the EDH Library. On Thursday, Terry Moore and Brandy Borders (plus music) will be featured at Poetic Justice 2018 down at Laughs Unlimited in Old Sac, 8:30-10pm ($10 in advance, $15 at the door). And on Friday, Sac. Poetry Center sponsors a Valentine's Day Reading: love poetry by members of Los Escritoires del Nuevo Sol at the Sol Collective, 2574 21st St., Sac. Host: Bob Stanley; music by Franco Castaño. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about these and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.

—Medusa
 

Celebrate the poetry of symbols!

—Anonymous Photo

Photos in this column can be enlarged by clicking on them once,
then click on the X in the top right corner to come back
to Medusa.