welcome to the haikutimes
Issue #77, December 18, 2003 Haiku Staff writers Patrick Lynn, Jonathan Machen, Sara Benson and Robert Power comb Pearl St. mall for haiku on a chilly night in Boulder while staff writer Krista Morien succumbs to the shopping urge.
the mall-ku crowd
under streets of lights,
courtyard green and red,
photographing civil war
heroes in silhouette
against an evergreen curtain
of shiny lights.
we write haiku on the
chilly mall.
sara's jaw
is sore from
an ice skating fall,
krista gives us
gold block-print cards,
susan languishes
with a flu in lafayette,
robert huddles in the cafe.
a conga player from seattle,
visiting dysfunctional
relatives in denver,
keeps an indistinct rhythm
in front of the peppercorn display.
he asks me if i am from
time or newsweek.
no, i reply,
just seeking the unusual
in the usual.
punk japanese youth
leaving embers in their wake
skateboarding the mall
telling a story
the laughing man puts an armlock
on someone not there
in the used bookstore
django reinhardt and
the smell of all those pages
ice rink gets chilly
after gaggle of schoolgirls
departs en masse
no need to travel
each moment rolls into the next
and nothing happens
woman in wheelchair
belts out christmas carols
to frozen shoppers
all the chattering
blends into the background hum
my mind goes along
that same tourist guy
milking tourist sympathy
for 20 years now
not much goin' on
people at christmas parties
leaving mall empty
warm restaurant diners
ignore women on wheelchair
warbling carols
at the coffee shop
three men talking business
one has his eyes closed
a fuzzy shadow
and the cookie monster
connected by my mind
first, the second line:
stutter on a choked cliche -
or a christmas song
black red and sage green
the colors in the cafe
people wear the black
the radiance
of a thousand cups of coffee
burst upon my mind
a moment to pause
my mind greets it with emptiness -
nothing remembered
though it looks like i'm
christmas shopping - i'm really
on a haiku walk
the small rubber nose
hops around the counter
uncontrollably
disabled woman
sings like a lark in her wheelchair
on the mall
outside with the smokers
watching the holiday shoppers
drive by
Let the blossoming of snow flakes open our mind
the sea of hearts are falling back to the oneness.
first and second graders
at sanchez elementary
crowd into the music room
before their christmas concert,
sparking each other with enthusiasm,
a level of excited chatter
which builds until the music teacher
slices the noise with
a pattern of hand-claps,
quickly and attentively
echoed by the children.
the auditorium is full
of doting parents,
breaking the routine of the day
coming to hear their children
sing songs.
some parents slip in late
looking like they just got off work
everyone enjoys the moment
for what it is,
eating sugar cookies,
before leaving for the holiday.
Copyright 2003 Haikutimes.com
featuring: Robert Power, Patrick Lynn, Sara Benson, Jonathan Machen
photographs and layout: Jonathan Machen
the mall-ku crowd
under streets of lights,
courtyard green and red,
photographing civil war
heroes in silhouette
against an evergreen curtain
of shiny lights.
we write haiku on the
chilly mall.
sara's jaw
is sore from
an ice skating fall,
krista gives us
gold block-print cards,
susan languishes
with a flu in lafayette,
robert huddles in the cafe.
a conga player from seattle,
visiting dysfunctional
relatives in denver,
keeps an indistinct rhythm
in front of the peppercorn display.
he asks me if i am from
time or newsweek.
no, i reply,
just seeking the unusual
in the usual.
punk japanese youth
leaving embers in their wake
skateboarding the mall
telling a story
the laughing man puts an armlock
on someone not there
in the used bookstore
django reinhardt and
the smell of all those pages
ice rink gets chilly
after gaggle of schoolgirls
departs en masse
no need to travel
each moment rolls into the next
and nothing happens
woman in wheelchair
belts out christmas carols
to frozen shoppers
all the chattering
blends into the background hum
my mind goes along
that same tourist guy
milking tourist sympathy
for 20 years now
not much goin' on
people at christmas parties
leaving mall empty
warm restaurant diners
ignore women on wheelchair
warbling carols
at the coffee shop
three men talking business
one has his eyes closed
a fuzzy shadow
and the cookie monster
connected by my mind
first, the second line:
stutter on a choked cliche -
or a christmas song
black red and sage green
the colors in the cafe
people wear the black
the radiance
of a thousand cups of coffee
burst upon my mind
a moment to pause
my mind greets it with emptiness -
nothing remembered
though it looks like i'm
christmas shopping - i'm really
on a haiku walk
the small rubber nose
hops around the counter
uncontrollably
disabled woman
sings like a lark in her wheelchair
on the mall
outside with the smokers
watching the holiday shoppers
drive by
Let the blossoming of snow flakes open our mind
the sea of hearts are falling back to the oneness.
first and second graders
at sanchez elementary
crowd into the music room
before their christmas concert,
sparking each other with enthusiasm,
a level of excited chatter
which builds until the music teacher
slices the noise with
a pattern of hand-claps,
quickly and attentively
echoed by the children.
the auditorium is full
of doting parents,
breaking the routine of the day
coming to hear their children
sing songs.
some parents slip in late
looking like they just got off work
everyone enjoys the moment
for what it is,
eating sugar cookies,
before leaving for the holiday.
Copyright 2003 Haikutimes.com
featuring: Robert Power, Patrick Lynn, Sara Benson, Jonathan Machen
photographs and layout: Jonathan Machen
solo/group kukai
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen