Measuring My Life in Haikus

Insomnia

2006-05-26T03:28:00.000-05:00

Four a.m.--- from my
Window I watch the broken
Streetlight flicker out

haiku, poetry, night, insomnia

Dipping my toes back in.

2006-05-03T15:19:00.000-05:00

So here's my tentative return. I don't know if I'll be posting daily for a while, but a start is a start. Here's a quartet of haiku and one other thingamajig.

"Come Home Please"

Daddy come home please
Make the monsters go away
Please daddy come home

"Emptiness"

I keep expecting
Daddy to joke, tease, or yell
But life is silent

"Sunday"

Sunday-- I should be
Repenting, but I prefer
Bed to confession.

"Tottering Towards Normalcy"

Baby steps: toddles,
Falls, and crawls--- I make my way
Back to the world.

"Daddy"

Daddy,
I’m kind of pissed
That you disappeared like this.
I can’t sleep without the sound
Of your snores echoing through the house.
We’ve collected all the pictures,
And I smudge your face with my fingers,
But it’s only a photograph
And I’ll never touch you again.
I just want to hear your voice.
I wouldn’t care if you yelled at me.
Couldn’t you have given some warning?
I never thought you’d die at all,
Let alone so suddenly.
(Please please please
Let me wake up and it’s all been a dream.
You have to give me away at my wedding.
You have to hold your grandchildren.)

haiku, poetry, grief, fathers, loss

Why You Haven't Heard From Me Lately

2006-04-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

I haven't been writing any haiku. I haven't been writing anything. My dad died on March 31st (it will be two weeks on Friday), and I've just been in shock and mourning. My mom and I are both holding up as best we can, but things have been crazy hectic, as well as draining and sad.

I'm going to try to write something tonight, I think. I don't know if I'll succeed. It may take me longer than this to get my words back.

P.S.--- I have the most random ads on the Google Adsense. I don't know why it thinks readers of my poetry want to kill moles. Or get rid of fishy vaginal odors. It's bizarre.

Thirst

2006-03-30T11:20:00.000-05:00

"Thirst"

Spring! I’m so thirsty
I could drink gallons of sun
Rivers of green grass.

haiku, poetry, spring

She's... baaaaaack!

2006-03-29T13:08:00.000-05:00

I haven't been writing my haiku like a good girl lately. I don't know. I've just been kind of sick and depressed and uninspired. I'm feeling much better today, though, and I plan on sticking around from now on.

"Finally"

Sunshine heralds spring
First miniature leaves pop up
I breathe blue sky in

haiku, poetry, spring

Water, water everywhere.

2006-03-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

"Worst Part of Spring"

Unrelenting damp
Soaking sidewalks black, squishing
Grass to mud, rising

haiku, poetry, spring, water

In spring and fall, I often think about leaving.

2006-03-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

"The Politics of Migration"

Geese are coming home;
I just want to fly away.
What can I trade for wings?

haiku, poetry, migration, birds, geese

Egads!

2006-03-23T18:20:00.000-05:00

So my trip to NYC and surrounding areas went great. I ended up taking more of a break from this blog than I had originally planned, however. A weeklong unplanned vacation, pretty much. Anyway, that's all water under the bridge now. I'm back and ready to get writing those haiku!

Here's one:

"Nose"

City smells like pretzels,
Sewer, too many bodies,
And unwashed children.

haiku, poetry, smells, city

Ciao for a bit!

2006-03-15T23:18:00.000-05:00

Didn't get a chance to write anything today. Am bad.

Anyway, I'm off to NYC and Long Island for Spamalot, the St. Paddy's Day parade, and various other festivities. Should be back Saturday night, but I'm probly going to be a zombie, so you probably won't hear from me until Sunday or later.

Have a good weekend, all!

Spring my ass! (in poetic form)

2006-03-14T17:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not in a good mood today. I haven't been in a good mood since last night, really. My fibromyalgia has been really bad since last night, and my stupid stomach is all off again, and I just generally feel like shit. The weather hasn't been helping, either. It was warm all weekend, and yesterday, too, but then it started raining yesterday and by last night it was pouring, thunderstorms, etc. And now today we're back to cold and snowing. I was very foolish in thinking that there was any chance spring had arrived. Blah.

Anyway, two haiku today, inspired by my foul mood and the foul weather.

"Disappointment"

Tricked, believing spring
Here to stay--- ice follows rain,
Snowflakes chill my limbs

"This Chill Between Us"

I’m thinking of you
As snowflakes kiss muddy ground
Lips too cold for spring

haiku, poetry, spring, snow

A Splash of Red

2006-03-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

"A Splash of Red"

Red breasted robin
Leaves a fiery trail
Across gray spring sky

haiku, poetry, spring, birds, robin

Snowdrops

2006-03-12T19:24:00.000-05:00

I seem to have taken a week off from my mission without really intending to... sorry! Basically, I was sick again (stomach complaints argh) and got bogged down in work, real life, etc. as well.

On the bright side, spring seems to be finally arriving in Binghamton! Watch, as soon as I say that, it'll start snowing tonight. But on the bright side, it's been warm (55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit). Yesterday it was sunny, too, but today was all cloudy and blah.

Cordelia and I saw our first robin of the year yesterday. She barked at it. There's also a bunny living under our back deck and, in another sign of spring, the snowdrops are blooming in the backyard.

Hence, today's haiku.

"Snowdrops"

Snowdrops bloom--- fragile,
White as the winter behind us,
Growing into spring.

haiku, poetry, spring, flowers, snowdrops

The Meaning of Life

2006-03-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Meh. For Lyd, although it's not very good.

"The Meaning of Life"

She asked me about
The meaning of life, didn’t
Know what to say--- blank

haiku, poetry, the meaning of life

Brrrrr!!!

2006-03-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

It's been very cold here in Bingo-land. More like January weather than March weather. Nonetheless, I went out on Friday night and partied it up like a good college student, then yesterday I went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade, which is always about two weeks early in Binghamton for no discernable reason.

"In Praise of Leftovers"

Grumbling stomach leads
Me downstairs, searching sniffing
Chicken rice dreams

"Too Cold for a Parade"

Cheeks blistered and cold
Watching policemen march by
And politicians smile

haiku, poetry, food, cold, spring, parades

Three is not a crowd.

2006-03-02T20:47:00.000-05:00

I was still kind sick yesterday, but I'm feeling much better today. Which is very good, because I was starting to worry that I had the bird flu. Anyway, the first two I actually wrote yesterday in a fever-inspired haze, but collapsed before I could post them. The third I wrote today, inspired by the horrible horrible no good very bad weather we suffered from today and the way I've been feeling lately.

"(Like the Old Song Says) You Go To My Head"

Not the kind of girl who
Gets drunk off one beer but your
Smile is tequila

"Can't You Almost Smell It?"

Small feet, big snow crunch
We run through yards, girl and dog
Sniffing for spring scents

"March Blizzard"

Sky is a mess of
White— I open my mouth, swallow
Cold snow, salty tears.

haiku, poetry, relationhsips, lust, seasons, winter, spring, snow, depression

I skipped another day.

2006-02-28T16:59:00.000-05:00

I'm siiiick. I was too ill to write anything yesterday, and while I'm still not in tip-top shape, I managed two for today.

"February"

Two dozen or more
Gray snow days--- I lick chapped lips
Wish winter away

"Eternity"

Behold bitter truth---
Fucking groundhog’s right again
We’re stuck with winter

haiku, poetry, February, seasons, winter

(What Remains of Winter) Winds

2006-02-26T14:09:00.000-05:00

"(What Remains of Winter) Winds"

Not a spring breeze yet---
Wind blows cold, making last year’s
Leaves dance in the yard

haiku, poetry, winter, wind

Posting this while I can!

2006-02-25T14:55:00.000-05:00

God, my freaking Internet connection has been going in and out constantly since yesterday. That's why I didn't get a post up yesterday. So here's yesterday's and today's, respectfully, and hopefully my wireless will last long enough for me to post them. (You can totally see my computer woes echoed in the second poem.)

"Rejuvenation"

Standing under the
Shower, hoping the steam will
Make me human again

"Stop Going In and Out (Of My Life)"

You’re unreliable
Like my wireless connection
You waver away

haiku, poetry, showers, relationships, Internet connection

Tired of This

2006-02-23T14:35:00.000-05:00

"Tired of This"

Gray skies and cold feet
Slush on the road before me
One more winter day

haiku, poetry, winter

Scene

2006-02-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

Eh.

"Scene"

Staring at my nails
Chipped gold polish, wondering
Why I’m so alone

haiku, poetry, loneliness

Mistaken for Spring

2006-02-21T23:59:00.000-05:00

Just sneaking this in before midnight... hee. It's kind of a metaphor, OMG.

"Mistaken for Spring"

Late February:
Thought I saw a sparkling bud
On your tree--- only rain

haiku, poetry, spring, seasons, relationships

That ain't no haiku!

2006-02-21T01:00:00.000-05:00

I posted some free verse poems over at my other blog. Go check it out, peeps.

links

Pictorial accompaniment...

2006-02-20T17:21:00.000-05:00

So, these are some pictures I took of Syracuse with my lovely digital camera. I thought I'd put them up as ilustration for this poem, originally posted on February 12th.

"For Syracuse"

Strange, but there’s beauty
In the burnt out factories
And the dirty snow

Syracuse, photos, poetry, haiku

Another set of two.

2006-02-20T17:02:00.000-05:00

I was too hungover to write any poetry yesterday. I will let you know that my 21st birthday party was fabulous, however. ;)

Anyway, here's two to make up for yesterday, you know the drill, blah blah blah.

"Aftermath"

We’re all glued to the
Bed, lost amidst tangled sheets
And empty bottles

"To All the Nap Addicts"

Another nap is
What I need: soft bed, flannel sheets---
Hibernation nation.

haiku, poetry, parties, hangovers, naps, sleeping

Happy birthday, Mar!!!

2006-02-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

It's my 21st birthday today. Whoopee. This poem actually has very little to do with that, although I suppose in a stretch you could say it's about growing up. ;)

"Classified"

I need to find a
Real fucking job, to keep me
In booze, books, and shoes.

haiku, poetry, jobs, growing up, birthday