dozen haiku more
by strannikov
what Dante began,
what Rilke, et al., scraped out,
what Baudelaire spat.
learning from failures
(many all my own) never
to try: only do.
sipping café noir
just inside the abattoir
of her stained boudoir.
clouds of conjured smoke
frame my late mother's portrait,
she the chimney-lunged.
from his padded cage
the panther lets no one watch
his silent rage howl.
seeing the Beatles
play on the cusp of color--
nineteenth century.
shadow of grey ghost
climbs the topless lighthouse stairs,
treacherous waves crash.
those girls don't live here
who now used to--goofy sweet
crazy mad and young.
who needs a lighthouse?
flashing tits at soundless ships
guides them safely on.
once took days to hear:
now Morrison's Astral Weeks
flies in minutes past.
lemmings drawn to flames
all come down to no good end,
moths drowned in calm seas.
tonight's sky is full:
lunatics to their own moons
sing separate songs.
Dante got it right:
no one understands a thing
who can't remember.
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Author's Note
Since I expect not to post a further collection of haiku soon, readers will discern that I don't write so many.
That said: I gleaned from comments to the previous offering that haiku can be offered in sets, and so with conscious effort I assembled this collection, kinda sorta.
Allusion to Dante: Paradiso V, 40-42. (I found the citation in Machiavelli's letter to Vettori of 10 December 1513.)
Other stories by strannikov
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*
I meant to say
*****
*******
*****
tonight's sky is full:
lunatics to their own moons
sing separate songs.
Dante got it right:
no one understands a thing
who can't remember.
This pair resonate for me.
sipping café noir
just inside the abattoir
of her stained boudoir
Astral Weeks was a pivotal moment in the world - mine any way. Good to see it noted here. A good set. Especially connect with the last one.
OK, here are mine:
a ghost's grey shadow
climbs the topless lighthouse stairs,
treacherous waves crash.
those girls don't live here
who now used to--goofy sweet
crazy mad and young.
who needs a lighthouse?
flashing tits at soundless ships
guides them safely on. *
*
Last three. ***
those girls don't live here
who now used to--goofy sweet
crazy mad and young.
So many good ones here. *
Nice group. Just enough irony.*
This is excellent. The 'lemmings' one is best. Nice double metaphor, and it actually, unlike most modern attempts at haikus, follows the standard Japanese haiku patterning of stresses. Good to hear Dante referenced in a haikue set as well.
Seems while you thought you were aiding and abetting Danté, Rilke abducted you by ink.