Category: HAIKU
The haiku is an ancient (by North American standards) poetic form that consists of 3 lines: the first and last lines have exactly 5 syllables; the middle line has 7. A haiku is supposed to capture the essence of an experience, especially the sensory part. “Intellectualizing” is considered extremely bad form. Therefore, naturally, lots of mine are about Physics!
This Too Shall End
Remember when we
were thankful that we didn’t
live in THAT country?
The one with earthquakes,
famines, floods and hurricanes,
inflation and fires?
The one with corrupt
and brutal dictatorships
as shown on TV?
Those folks are now us,
suffering tragically,
or soon to be us.
Abstraction
At the age of ten,
waiting for the car to come
take me off to church:
Clouds of hungry gnats
circling in the hot sun
focus thought on thoughts.
Self-centered thinker
thinks of self thinking of self…
finds the infinite.
(A description of the moment I became fully conscious.)
Pond Haiku
Eight lotus blossoms,
the garniture of nature,
grace my summer pond.
Pellets strike water,
calling up to the surface
hundreds of goldfish.
Stillness at twilight:
heron standing on one leg
waits for a target.
The pond shrinks with heat,
leaving green algae billows.
The fish wait for cold.
(July 4, 2024)
View of the World
The world view you hold
by expectations becomes
the real world you view.
(23 April 2023)
Tragedy of the Commons
The liar will lie,
though ten thousand search for fact,
so truth is forfeit.
The thief always steals,
though all the rest are honest,
so trust is forfeit.
The hater will hate,
though thousands try to forgive,
so love is forfeit.
The killer will kill,
though ten million try to heal,
so war is coming.
The cynic ignores
emergence of miracles,
so hope is forfeit?
21 March 2023