Category Archives: The public arena

News and politics

“40, 69, 30 years ago” haiku, redux

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Another concert batch of sorts, for the 40th anniversary of the Concert for Bangladesh. It also was Jerry Garcia’s birthday and the 30th anniversary of MTV.

From Aug. 1, 2011

August 1, a day
To recall a great concert,
Grateful guitarist

Harrison, Clapton
Ringo, Dylan and others
Joined Ravi Shankar

For Bangladesh, they
Rocked Madison Square Garden
Put on two good shows

“Because I was asked
“By a friend if I would help”
Is how George put it

Spiritual songs
And spirited music played
For 40,000

Guitars gently wept
Lyrics didn’t come easy
As Ringo found out

But Leon Russell
Blew the roof off the garden,
Dylan cast his spell

Billy Preston sang
“That’s the Way God Planned It,” and
Maybe he was right

40 years ago
Aid was slow to reach the poor
But hearts were lifted

40 years ago
They said help is on the way
Let’s say it again

And let’s remember
Jerry Garcia, who would
Have been 69

Trouble followed him
All of his life, but still he
Left a legacy

As a kid he lost
Part of a finger and then
He lost his father

Learned the piano,
Banjo, guitar, pedal steel
He was on his way

Smoked marijuana
As a teen in San Fran’s hills
Music, drugs, Jerry

String along, strung out
Artist, musician, oozing
Creativity

By one count the Dead
Played two thousand, three hundred
And fourteen concerts

It couldn’t have been
Easy amid the chaos
That was Jerry’s life

Three wives and four kids,
Diabetes, heroin
— But always music

Pass the methadone
And the Cherry Garcia
What a long strange trip

Let’s shed a tear, play
Some Dead, remember a soul
Who left us too soon

Something else that died
Too soon: MTV, first aired
30 years ago

Music video
Rightfully was all the rage
MTV led way

But somehow nonsense
And unreal realities
Slowly replaced tunes

And without the M
It’s just another channel
Just, you know, TV

A little one-two punch

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First Tuesday haiku:

Elected this date:
JFK, Sonny Bono
Ah, democracy

“Answering a different bell” haiku:

Goodnight, Smokin’ Joe
Even the champions can’t duck
That last big left hook

Haiku saving time

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Don’t forget to switch your clocks tonight. And these are followed on the blog by re-posts from June 21st, the day with the most daylight, and with a nighttime suite I wrote back in February about things that happen, however cliched, in the wee small hours.

Spring forward, fall back
Big deal! I do that most days
Turning off alarm

1895
Bright idea first came to
George Vernon Hudson

Entmologist,
Astronomer bugged by waste
Of all that daylight

Lived in New Zealand
So there was one huge problem:
Sheep didn’t get it

William Willett golfed,
Had same thought, 1905,
To extend tee times

Germans made the switch
1916 to save coal
During World War I

Brits then the U.S.
Followed, pretty soon nations
All around tried it

Farmers don’t dig it
But sporting goods stores sure do
Maybe it’s a wash

I love the daylight
But the nighttime’s the right time
For some things, nudge, nudge

So, if I post this
1:15 a.m., will you
Get to read it twice?

Spring forward, fall back
We’re fooling Mother Nature!
No, fooling ourselves

The light that matters
It shines 24/7
In your heart, your eyes

R.I.P. Andy Rooney, two views haiku

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‘Bye, Andy Rooney
“Don’t you hate it when your wings
“And halo don’t match?”

‘Bye, Andy Rooney
“Don’t you hate falling back for
“Demon Saving Time?”

Mother’s Day, redux

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May 8, 2011

Mother’s Day, our chance
To be happy we’re alive
And thank Mom for that

Hug Mom if she’s here
Remember her if she’s gone
She’d like that, you know

Moms never leave us,
Really, so stand up straight and
Wear clean underwear

Mother’s Day echoes
Greeks’ goddess celebrations
Of fecundity

More recent versions
Gave servants a day to see
Mom, visit hometowns

Others used the day
To advance righteous causes
And unite women

Julia Ward Howe’s
“Mother’s Day Proclamation”
Still speaks loud and clear

Howe called for mothers
To stand for peace, raise their voice
Against war’s carnage

And Anna Jarvis
Cemented the tradition
Of sending flowers

Mother’s Day, not just
A Hallmark moment — but don’t
Forget cards and gifts!

Mothers everywhere
Do their best to raise us right,
Send us on our way

It’s hard every day
What’s enough help? What’s too much?
Juggle and balance

Joy and exhaustion
Mingle when kids are little
Pride plays its part, too

Wipe noses, wipe butts
Sometimes you wouldn’t believe
The job description

Insanity can
Take center stage in teen years,
But adults emerge

At whatever stage,
It’s the most important work
We pause to salute

Mother’s Day, the day
To remember who gives life
The first act of love

Sept. 11, redux

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From the 10th anniversary, and the day after.

Sept. 11

Some say change takes time
I say it’s always instant
What is, then is not

And what’s gone echoes
Fading to a whisper or
Rising to a roar

Fire, blood, twisted steel
Crashing planes, falling bodies
Seared in memory

Unspeakable loss
Heartbreaking heroism
Echo, re-echo

A wound that won’t close
Can seem so immediate
Despite passing years

Someone you love gone
Missing forever, some piece
Of you lost for good

A decade passes
For you was it a second
Or eternity?

Sept. 12
Day after haiku

America stops
And honors the memories
Of thousands fallen

America stops
Exhales fear, suspicion, hate
Inhales courage, strength

America stops
And all faiths pray together
One country, one peace

America stops,
Reflects, resolves that love, hope
Mark the next decade

Americans stop
And link arms in unity
Show that we still can

Americans stop
Can we start moving again
As one great nation?

It was a fine day
But just one day. This new day
Demands all we have

Kauffman Center dedication, celebration, redux

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Let’s wrap up these often somber re-postings with some from a gloriously happy weekend.

Sept. 19

The Kauffman Center
For the Performing Arts shines
The jewel on the hill

Julia Irene
Carried her mother’s spirit
Made her dream come true

Soaring inner space
Curves and lines in harmony
Draw eyes, hearts upward

Superior sound
Space sculpted to caress notes
Nurture nuances

Ballet, Symphony,
Opera, Placido: first night
Will be remembered

Prince Charles even sent
Greetings; the crowd was all ears
And so was the prince

Symphony returns
And Kansas City jazz swings
For second great night

Cowtown on the moooove
Tens of thousands make the scene
Herd all round downtown

Beacon of culture
Symphony of glass and steel
Defying hard times

And it’s just starting
Next chapter in the story:
“Kansas City, Star”

http://kauffman.kansascity.com/

Rapture (as in feeling fine) haiku, redux

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Harold Camping says
He was just 5 months early
World ends tomorrow

So it’s my last chance
To share these haiku from May
When he foresaw doom

From Friday, May 20:

Oakland minister
Says Saturday’s the Big One,
Beginning of end

Harold Camping out
Of his cotton-pickin’ mind
Predicts Judgment Day

Harold Camping out
Past reality’s edge, where
The buffaloed roam

So he was wrong back
In ’94 when he said
This before. So what?

Is he any more
Off than any preacher who
Claims to have THE truth?

Is he any more
Immoral than others who
Sell false certainties?

This geezer’s gonna
Stop our party? Yeah, him and
What Armageddon?

Aren’t these the same folks
Freaked about the deficit?
Explanation, please

The ones who say God
Will protect and save them but
Are armed to the teeth?

Atheists are poised
To rub their noses in it
When Sunday dawns bright

No gloating for me
But if some folks wise up I’ll
Toast their end of daze

End of the world? Nah.
Apocalypse whenever,
I say. Meanwhile, Peace!

Revelation addendum:

On the other hand
If you’re gone and I’m still here
Can I have your car?

—————————–

Since the original prediction, R.E.M. has broken up. Could THAT be what Harold Camping was picking up vibes from? We’ll never know!

Food haiku, redux

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Harvard has a new food plate, and it looks better than the USDA one that came out in June to replace the food pyramid. Here’s my take on that first one, from June 3.

Food pyramid? Dead!
Replaced by a carved-up plate
Appetizing? No!

Maybe that’s the point
So we’ll eat less, but I have
So many questions

Wine must count as fruit
And beer’s under grains? I know
That’s where doughnuts go

Carrot cake’s under
Vegetables, that’s obvious
With zucchini bread

That dairy circle
Is ice cream, right? Expanding
Waistlines want to know!

Hosni Mubarak’s
Gotta be bummed. First his job,
Now the pyramid

And does this mean all
Middle Eastern food is out?
Cancel the hummus!

What about tapas?
How many small plates will fit
In this danged big plate?

Too many questions!
I’ll keep the pyramid — with
A cherry on top

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/