Wee small haiku, redux

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These came to me around 5 a.m., a day I woke up before everyone else and just imagined some scenes from the previous few hours.

From Feb. 27, 2011

The wee small hours / Street sweeper washes away / What yesterday left
The wee small hours / Streetlamps dim as if to ask / Why are we still on?
The wee small hours / When rodents and roaches do / Some of their best work
The wee small hours / Cigarette turns to ashes / Dying like the night
The wee small hours / Bourbon melts ice cubes the way / She melted his heart
The wee small hours / Action’s harder to find than / A ghetto cabbie
The wee small hours / Train whistle marks 1 a.m. / All is on schedule
The wee small hours / Siren says it’s 2 a.m. / And all is not well
The wee small hours / An ER doc wearily / Stitches up some kid
The wee small hours / Scratchy Sinatra platter / Still spins its magic
The wee small hours / Couples drunk on love and wine / Can’t tell which is which
The wee small hours / Her fingers linger on him / Take their own sweet time
The wee small hours / Cramming guy’s midnight oil / Is three hours gone
The wee small hours / Exhausted student looks up / What “nocturnal” means
The wee small hours / Scribbler sketches the darkness / With some wee small words
The wee small hours / Agnostic insomniac / Can’t believe in sleep
The wee small hours / The owner then the dough rise / At the doughnut shop
The wee small hours / Life is primitive B.C. / That’s Before Coffee
The wee small hours / Jazzercizers rise early / Slap on the Spandex
The wee small hours / Do their disappearing act / With coffee, the dawn

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?”

Anniversary 22 haiku

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I was married Nov. 4, 1989. Amazingly, I still am. Thanks, Tina.

Groom walks down the aisle
That crazy percussive sound
Was his knees knocking

Twenty-two years passed
I’m not sure now what I feared
Shouldn’t have worried

Went without a hitch
— Except for the one we planned —
And we’re both still here

Thanks Yael, Alison,
Gary for standing with me
My two brothers, too

And Bob for singing
“From a Distance” for Tina,
For me, and our world

The Kelley Hunt Band
Rocked out at the reception
It was quite a day

Lots of memories
And two great children later
I count my blessings

Random haiku

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Chill rain, warm salt sweat
Commingle in runner’s rite
At pulsing temple

Dry gusts, humid breath
Weather patterns roil and clash
Cloud around his head

First flake of fall snow
Crystalline beauty, perfect,
Catches day’s last light

First flake of fall snow
Beguiling Goddamned gangster
You know he’ll bring friends

B.o.A. woos me
Kills debit card fee — too late
I’m feeling withdrawn

Here I sit, forlorn
So sweet, so ready, just like
Halloween candy

Lover’s sighs, baby’s
Laughs, fulfilling work’s rhythm
Monotony thrills

Coffee’s gurgling drip,
Lunch counter’s din, dinner’s peace
Monotony thrills

Valentine’s Day, redux

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Written for Valentine’s Day, 2011.

Feb. 14, 2011

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Time for love letters filled with
Gooey promises

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Play some romantic music
And join my chorus

It’s Valentine’s Day!
“Let’s do it; let’s fall in love,”
Louie Armstrong sings

It’s Valentine’s Day!
This very day I proposed
Twenty-two years back

It’s Valentine’s Day!
“I’m Still in Love With You,” sings
Righteous Rev. Al Green

It’s Valentine’s Day!
“Our Love Is Here to Stay,” sings
Billie Holiday

It’s Valentine’s Day!
“We’ll Be Together Again”
Sing lovers who part

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Nothing should compare with what
True lovers can share

It’s Valentine’s Day!
You don’t need Cupid’s arrow
I’m all aquiver

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Tell the doctor to go home
Ain’t no cure for love

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Try “Once” if you want to watch
A romantic film

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Watch “About a Boy” and see
How love defines life

It’s Valentine’s Day!
You don’t have to be “in love”;
Enjoy your friendships

Caution: Blue (or at least blues-man) lyrics ahead:

It’s Valentine’s Day!
And my heart is double parked
So baby let’s roll

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Don’t leave me stuck in neutral
When the light turns green

It’s Valentine’s Day!
My battery’s fully charged
Turn the ignition

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Trust me baby, it’s all good
What’s under my hood

With apologies to Rodney Dangerfield:
It’s Valentine’s Day!
Meet me after school — you know,
When you have no class

OK, the cynicism finally sets in:

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Will you be mine forever?
At least till morning?

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Still looking for Mr. Right?
Or Mr. Right Now?

It’s Valentine’s Day!
Hug your sweetie; love your spouse
Just don’t let them meet

It’s Valentine’s Day!
February’s half over
You gotta love that

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

Memorial Day, D-Day, the Hyatt, Loved Ones Gone, redux

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Continuing some re-postings from holidays and other important days on the calendar. These two batches go together well, and I’m following them with a third one on the Hyatt tragedy’s 30th anniversary, and a fourth about loved ones gone. I know I do better with humor — or at least that’s what the muse usually brings me — but I’m proud of all of these.

Memorial Day, May 30, 2011

Headstone and bouquet
Flowers watered by the tears
Of those who survive

We honor duty,
Bravery, courage — and pray
For an end to war

They served and they died
Deserved more than medals for
Sacrificing all

They defended us
Our homes, our lives, our freedom
Stop to remember

We owe them this now
To live life to the fullest
And to work for peace

Headstone in the grass
Only one moves in the wind
But both wait for us

D-Day, June 6, 2011

D-Day. On duty:
Radio Man 2nd Class
John Hack, U.S.N.

Dad played his small part
Never talked about it much
Maybe in Morse Code

I’m glad he waited
Till after the war to be
A hero — to me

Nothing second class
About how he loved us all
And worked for our good

He lived quietly
Died the same way, enjoyed life
The way a dad does

Memorial Day,
As it should, each year honors
Those who died fighting

D-Day let’s toast too
Those who survived and came home
So we could be here

Hyatt haiku, from July 17

30 years later
It still seems like yesterday
The night the sky fell

The loss still stunning
The terror still real, and still
No answers for “Why?”

Life goes on — for some
For others it ended then
We recall, regret

Death comes to us all
Few get to choose how or when
In sorrow, we learn

From Sept. 1
Haiku for loved ones gone.

We don’t think we could
Love them more; somehow we do
After they are gone

Yet they’re never gone,
Not really; their souls echo
Louder than the flesh

In our flesh they live
In our memories never die
And help us go on

How do they still know
What we need? And how did they
Leave their best behind?

It’s all a mystery
But of all the mysteries, this
Is one of the best

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/

You gotta love it

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A tip of the hat,
John B. Stetson, size 7
To Lyle Lovett

Lyle Pearce Lovett
Came out writing songs, this date
In ’57

Wonder how he looked
As a baby? He’s truly
One of a kind now

That sweet, goofy grin
First ‘do like ball of black yarn
The cat had played with

Handsomely homely
Married Julia Roberts
How did she catch him?

That one didn’t last
But his talent surely has
Consistent brilliance

Killer band, backups,
Or just Lyle, his guitar
You’ll be entertained

Transcending showbiz
By mastering all its tricks
To showcase his art

Fine storytelling
Meaning — or at least fate — pulled
From slightest details

Insightful writing
Claiming life’s joys and sorrows
By lampooning them

So what’s it all mean?
Not sure he would say he knows,
But you have to try