It's too bad I can't

It's too bad I can't

package and sell my regrets...

I'd be a rich man!

#HaikuChallenge (package) 55

Never out of time

Never out of time
Never out of ideas
Never through trying

#HaikuChallenge (out) 54

How am I feeling?

How am I feeling?
I rarely know what I feel—
only that I do

#HaikuChallenge (feel) 53

Our inner monsters

Our inner monsters
must be fed and acknowledged—
that keeps them docile

#HaikuChallenge (monster) 52

Positive people

Positive people
repel me therefore I am
likewise positive.

#HaikuChallenge (positive) 51

Nature doesn't rush,

Nature doesn't rush,
yet everything still happens.
Why do we not learn?

~after Lao Tzu

#HaikuChallenge (yet) 50

I have determined

I have determined
strip poker is the best of
all zero-sum games.

#HaikuChallenge (game) 49

Though we are apart

Though we are apart
this holy weekend, we are
all children of God.

#HaikuChallenge (apart) 48

Are all decisions

Are all decisions
either-or propositions?
I, for one, hope not.

#HaikuChallenge (either) 47

I saw Dad cry once.

I saw Dad cry once.
When they sealed grandma's casket
a single sob escaped him.

#NaPoWriMo (day 18, grief)

Grandpa always said,

Grandpa always said,

    "If you don't like the weather

     give it five minutes."

#NaPoWriMo (day 10, weather)

The only way to

The only way to
get the right answer is to
ask the right question.

#HaikuChallenge (ask) 46

Send me your money

Send me your money
and I'll send you salvation—
tax deductible!

#haikuchallenge  (send) 45b

The sad, sweet sounds of

The sad, sweet sounds of
the dying Leviathan
sent chills up my spine.

#HaikuChallenge (send) 45a

Humans seek to name

Humans seek to name
What we cannot understand
Fear of the unknown
        A name gives power
        Or the illusion of such

#tanka

you were never mine

you were never mine
you followed your heart elsewhere
                         i live with your ghost

#HaikuChallenge (ghost) 44

I call for an end

I call for an end
to false divides among us—
black, white, red, and blue

#HaikuChallenge (end) 43

I hope I'm around

I hope I'm around
long enough to forgive and
to be forgiven.

#HaikuChallenge (around) 42

This is Paradise

This is Paradise.
Bombs fell here on the Sabbath.
That's why rainbows frown.

#HaikuChallenge (where*) 41

*The original second line read where bombs fell on the Sabbath.

Long Live Longmire

"I'm just a phone call
and twenty minutes away,"
said Sheriff Longmire.

#LongLiveLongmire

If we trade away

If we trade away
freedom for security
we deserve neither.

~after Benjamin Franklin

#HaikuChallenge (trade) 40

Swatting and cursing—

Swatting and cursing—
Spring announces itself with
A mosquito bite

#HaikuChallenge (bite) 39

Sometimes I believe

Sometimes I believe
the last original thought
belonged to Adam.

#HaikuChallenge (original) 38

What kind of future

What kind of future
do we deserve if we won't
acknowledge our past?

#HaikuChallenge (future) 37

Join me in mourning

Join me in mourning
the  death  of  civility—
Cry for what we've lost

#HaikuChallenge (cry) 36

Sometimes I believe

Sometimes I believe
the strangest story of all
is the one I live.

#haikuchallenge (story) 35

What rough beast slouches?

What rough beast slouches?
I'd say one with bad posture...
or scoliosis.

~after W. B. Yeats

#HaikuChallenge  (what) 34

That rough-hewn giant

That rough hewn giant

Elegant in his anguish
Are no such men left?

#HaikuChallenge (elegant) 33

Expect rough landings—

Expect rough landings—
You lost the instruction book
and learned the hard way.

#HaikuChallenge (rough) 32

Spring is in full bloom

Spring is in full bloom
but I'm not going outside.
The air is toxic.

#HaikuChallenge (not) 31b

Dwell not in your past

Dwell not in your past
Your sins have been deleted
You've been reprogrammed

#HaikuChallenge (not) 31a

Spot, the changeling cat,

Spot, the changeling cat,
Sailed the sable midnight skies—
Unloved but well fed

#HaikuChallenge (spot) 30

Stuck in a Moment—

Stuck in a Moment—
                 NeverEnding Curse of
           the NonLinear Man 

#HaikuChallenge (stuck) 29

My blue eyed baby—

My blue eyed baby—
So pretty in her prom dress
            She grew up too fast      

 

#HaikuChallenge (pretty) 28

Key haiku concepts:

Key haiku concepts:

• Something about cutting words
• Don't count syllables

#HaikuChallenge (key) 27

Outside my safe zone

Outside my safe zone
(otherwise known as my skull)
life is happening

#HaikuChallenge (outside) 26

today I'm okay

today I'm okay
        tomorrow I'll be better
                hope springs eternal

#HaikuChallenge (okay) 25

her lithe body

          her lithe body                 
a blend of wants and needs
         twice forbidden                  

#HaikuChallenge (blend) 24

sunset breeze

sunset breeze
through an open window
whip-poor-will's song

#HaikiChallenge (song) 23

We did not move apart,

We did not         move          apart,
the distance between us  g  r  e  w.
O u r   s i g n a l    r e d s h i f t e d

#HaikuChallenge (signal) 22

She watches over me

She watches over me
and my comings and goings
           —pole dancing angel

#HaikuChallenge (over) 21

my kitchen window—

my kitchen window—
protects me from icy winds
bathes me in Spring warmth

#HaikuChallenge (window) 20

Sparing no effort,

Sparing no effort,
songbirds prepare with great care
treetop Taj Mahals

#HaikuChallenge (prepare) 19

I've tried all Thirteen Ways.

I've tried all Thirteen Ways.   
Blackbirds will not submit
          to observation. 

~after Wallace Stevens

#HaikuChallenge (submit) XVIII

relentless winds sweep bare

relentless winds sweep bare
that flawless blue expanse—
              contrails disappear

#HaikuChallenge (sweep) 17

One more day till spring!

One more day till spring!
I should be celebrating
but my toes are cold

#HaikuChallenge (more) 16

— should've said something.

— should've said something.

      The old man didn't know
      his boxers were showing.

#HaikuChallenge (didn't) 15

Let us remember—

Let us remember—
It takes more muscles to frown
and less sense to hate.

#HaikuChallenge (let) 14

Spring Lovers take heed—

Spring Lovers take heed—
Winter leaves on March's breeze
A chorus of frogs

#HaikuChallenge (note) 13

Seven soldiers aim...

Seven soldiers aim...
SNAP! silence SNAP! silence SNAP!
Doves flee in terror

#HaikuChallenge (snap) 12

stolen newspapers

stolen newspapers
      my connection 

      to their tragedy

Silly question, but

Silly question, but
is my 2-year-old normal?
He's damn near feral

#HaikuChallenge (normal) 11

I feel the chill of

I feel the chill of
Winter where it matters most—
I forgot my pants

#HaikuChallenge (forgot) 10

Does Winter despair

Does Winter despair

when the First Robin of Spring

crashes the party?

#HaikuChallenge (despair) 9

My lips began to

My lips began to
tingle and I felt dizzy;
I licked the wrong frog.

#HaikuChallenge (tingle) 8

Eventually,

Eventually,
the poor snail did recover
fully from shell shock.

#HaikuChallenge (recover) 7

And where will you rest

And where will you rest

your heads when the March wind scours
your homes from the earth?

#HaikuChallenge (rest) 6

The Promise of Spring

The Promise of Spring
is that all will be made new.
             Hope is a lean meal

#haikuchallenge (new) 5

Society says

Society says
Different is Dangerous—
Choose your path wisely

-after Emily Dickinson 620

#haikuchallenge (different) 4

Be on the lookout:

Be on the lookout:
internet haiku poets
are planning something...

#HaikuChallenge (on) 3

TS Eliot—

TS Eliot—
"April is the cruellest month..."
March begs to differ

Those dismembered pines

Those dismembered pines
adorned with tattered remnants
bear silent witness

#RedCross #Tornado
#haiku #micropoetry

Define tornado—

Define tornado—
Wrath of God meets Ragnarok
with a side of rage grief

#HaikuChallenge (rage) 2

Will she still love me

Will she still love me
if I write bad poetry
and post it online?

#HaikuChallenge (still) 1