welcome to the haikutimes
Issue #123, Birthday/birth-ku, Boulder, Colorado, January, 2006. Haiku and images from Boulder's front range and beyond during the month of January 2006, wherein two birthdays, 42 years apart, are duly celebrated. Haiku and photography by Jonathan Machen.
that's slope intercept
three college students walking
talking about math
at the post office
two cent stamps refuse to budge
from vending machine
homeless guys argue
about this and that
from hiding place
curly white-haired man
picks rocks from his shoes
the traffic roars by
bright breezy morning
january seventeenth
tasting my freedom
passing silent
strangers in the forest
anonymous
wandering birthday
with pen, sketchbook and camera
toasting windy sky
elusive squirrels
outpacing camera
black ears skitterish
days before giving birth
fascinated by
backpacking gear
riding past
magnificent house
i return to trailer
those who can afford
to live here cannot afford
to simply be
plate of steaming
noodles in the morning sun
glistening on road
town at peace
january winter wind
washing all clean
paige grumpy
bowling ball in her crotch
don't take that picture
finally finished
with storing the baby gear
now for the real thing
burnt wood
speaks of death but also
renewal
no trespassing sign
yet heart fully opens
to landscape beyond
welcoming the spirit
of that about to be born
i tromp through the woods
rocks, chickadees
barking dogs, a quiet day
all mixed into one
drinking in
crystal silence
on top of the rock
in early labor
paige strapped into monitor
at zero station
a month ago
she packed for this moment
now i'm scrambling
matter-of-factly
facing her discomfort
while father so nervous
like any other day
people out walking their dogs
lets have a baby
pressing heavy
like unborn child in belly
sun hugs horizon
gaining her body
yet losing sleep
a fair trade-off?
most people going to work
we're going to change
our lives forever
my butterflies
scant equivalent
to pain of childbirth
the condition
known as 'false hospital
affects women pregnant
at 40 weeks
who are ready
but not quite ready
to induce
or not to induce
that is the question
sun sets on snow ridge
her two-minute contractions
like the mountains beyond
"without the epi
i'd be dead" she says as she
slowly chews on ice
pain unknown to men
the normal lot of women
for thousands of years
needle in her back
slows extreme discomfort:
anesthetic peace
computer graph
revealing contractions
i.v. stand beeping
cast of characters
slow moving, concerned doctors
nurses dressed in blue
a miracle
in the midst of mundane
chilly winter morning
three thirty six pm
alone in the warming hut
racing up to the skihill
for a few last turns
membranes still unstripped
finger-bone chill
taking off the mittens
to adjust my skis
flimsy blue curtain
in between chattering teeth
and doctor's scalpel
he appears
in an instant
i am in tears
umbilical cord
wrapped in unconscious tangle
around ruddy feet
pink, warm belly
black, sticky merconium
embodiment of extremes
view from hospital
spans the last 24 years
my mountain rambles
not twenty minutes
have passed and he still wants food
what are we to do?
late afternoon sun
streaming through
west-facing windows
this once
bachelor pad
now a nursery
"you're like a fountain"
i say to paige, "no" she says,
"like a jersey cow"
now a whole week old
content in milky slumber
moment to moment
"Hey, where can I get a hat like that?"
Orion Wolf Wild-Machen, born January 27th, gazes at popa jonathan's head. Photo by Paige Wild. For those of you dying to see more pictures of Orion and his entry into the world click here and navigate to the appropriate albums...thanks.
that's slope intercept
three college students walking
talking about math
at the post office
two cent stamps refuse to budge
from vending machine
homeless guys argue
about this and that
from hiding place
curly white-haired man
picks rocks from his shoes
the traffic roars by
bright breezy morning
january seventeenth
tasting my freedom
passing silent
strangers in the forest
anonymous
wandering birthday
with pen, sketchbook and camera
toasting windy sky
elusive squirrels
outpacing camera
black ears skitterish
days before giving birth
fascinated by
backpacking gear
riding past
magnificent house
i return to trailer
those who can afford
to live here cannot afford
to simply be
plate of steaming
noodles in the morning sun
glistening on road
town at peace
january winter wind
washing all clean
paige grumpy
bowling ball in her crotch
don't take that picture
finally finished
with storing the baby gear
now for the real thing
burnt wood
speaks of death but also
renewal
no trespassing sign
yet heart fully opens
to landscape beyond
welcoming the spirit
of that about to be born
i tromp through the woods
rocks, chickadees
barking dogs, a quiet day
all mixed into one
drinking in
crystal silence
on top of the rock
in early labor
paige strapped into monitor
at zero station
a month ago
she packed for this moment
now i'm scrambling
matter-of-factly
facing her discomfort
while father so nervous
like any other day
people out walking their dogs
lets have a baby
pressing heavy
like unborn child in belly
sun hugs horizon
gaining her body
yet losing sleep
a fair trade-off?
most people going to work
we're going to change
our lives forever
my butterflies
scant equivalent
to pain of childbirth
the condition
known as 'false hospital
affects women pregnant
at 40 weeks
who are ready
but not quite ready
to induce
or not to induce
that is the question
sun sets on snow ridge
her two-minute contractions
like the mountains beyond
"without the epi
i'd be dead" she says as she
slowly chews on ice
pain unknown to men
the normal lot of women
for thousands of years
needle in her back
slows extreme discomfort:
anesthetic peace
computer graph
revealing contractions
i.v. stand beeping
cast of characters
slow moving, concerned doctors
nurses dressed in blue
a miracle
in the midst of mundane
chilly winter morning
three thirty six pm
alone in the warming hut
racing up to the skihill
for a few last turns
membranes still unstripped
finger-bone chill
taking off the mittens
to adjust my skis
flimsy blue curtain
in between chattering teeth
and doctor's scalpel
he appears
in an instant
i am in tears
umbilical cord
wrapped in unconscious tangle
around ruddy feet
pink, warm belly
black, sticky merconium
embodiment of extremes
view from hospital
spans the last 24 years
my mountain rambles
not twenty minutes
have passed and he still wants food
what are we to do?
late afternoon sun
streaming through
west-facing windows
this once
bachelor pad
now a nursery
"you're like a fountain"
i say to paige, "no" she says,
"like a jersey cow"
now a whole week old
content in milky slumber
moment to moment
"Hey, where can I get a hat like that?"
Orion Wolf Wild-Machen, born January 27th, gazes at popa jonathan's head. Photo by Paige Wild. For those of you dying to see more pictures of Orion and his entry into the world click here and navigate to the appropriate albums...thanks.
solo/group kukai
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen