Sledding in Woodside Queens 2013

35. Sledding in Woodside/
With the people of the world/
Human gravity/
#haiku

http://bit.ly/V7d1pW

2/10/13

50. The snowy hillside/
In Woodside’s Doughboy playground/
Is peppered with fun/
#haiku

51. Here Colombians/
Bengalis, Tibetans as/
Americans slide/
#haiku

52. Snowy experience/
ReCaptured digitally/
Are sent to tropics/
#haiku

53. iPad made movies/
Of happy Americans/
Are sent far away/
#haiku

54. Woman with hijab/
Gucci covered iPad films/
Her smiling children/
#haiku

55. Korean father/
Roars down the tree covered hill/
Ecstatically loud/
#haiku

56. Mexican fam’ly/
Unloads children & their sleds/
Then tackle papí/
#haiku

57. Americans all/
We enjoy democracy/
Of our acceptance/
#haiku

36. Sledding with children/
Overshot my playfulness/
Collided with age/
#haiku

37. Clenching rope handles/
Spinning beyond all control/
Damaged ring finger/
#haiku

38. Regretting my ride/
Because I injured myself/
Shows a lack of faith/
#haiku

39. Staying young inside/
More important than safety/
For immortal* souls/
#haiku *eternal

40. Aging bodies recede/
To within our comfort zone/
Abandoning youth/
#haiku

41. Aches and troubles/
Of old immaturity/
Are truly priceless/
#haiku

42. Youthfulness’s worth/
Though dangerous to old men/
Keeps their spirits fresh/
#haiku

43. Adventure’s value/
Is an internal journey/
Exploring within*/
#haiku *our souls

44. The pains in my body/
Temporarily remind/
My mind I’m alive/
#haiku

45. This throbbing finger/
Beats the rhythm of my heart/
Where I can feel it/
#haiku

46. I regret nothing/
Because I’m educated/
By experience/
#haiku

47. While I don’t like pain/
It reminds me I’m alive/
Here to live for now/
#haiku

48. Wedding tourniquet/
The ring keeps my red blood in/
The heart of my life/
#haiku

49. Ring’s Symbol becomes/
An active agent in life/
I cherish it so/
#haiku

Suspended in Now

11. Visit principal/
Over our suspended son/
Angry at school, boy/
#haiku

12. Defiance conforms/
To the personalities/
Confined by the rules/
#haiku

13. Supporting your child/
Sometimes means backing his school/
‘Gainst his righteousness/
#haiku

14. Resent procedure/
Of institutional might/
Still we require rules/
#haiku

15. Lines between “Ego”/
& organization’s needs/
Blurred by insecure/
#haiku

16. Rules offer guidelines/
But can be crude instruments/
When Ego’s involved/
#haiku

17. Papers need grading/
Though some students aren’t learning/
No matter the score/
#haiku

18. My Ego’s involved/
My prejudices stirred up/
Obedience rules/
#haiku

19. Accepting the rules/
From both sides of equation/
Will repress* Ego/
#haiku *stifle

20. Life is a blessing/
That is too hot to contain/
In neat containers/
#haiku

21a. Suspended in Now/
We struggle with G_d’s agar/
That keeps us alive/
#haiku

21b. Suspended in Now/
We submit to G_d’s agar/
That keeps us alive/
#haiku

Grading Black Lit Finals Haiku

Grading Haikus

16. Reading Endlessly/
Final exams showing much/
(Of their distractions)/
#haiku

17. Lectures and readings/
Turned into raw sausages/
Squeezed into Blue-Books/
#haiku

18. Some evade learning/
Like the startled trespassers/
Avoiding the light/
#haiku

19. Then I read a test/
That defiantly points out/
I could have taught more!/
#haiku

20. S/he takes my lectures/
Builds an elegant thesis/
That outshines my own/
#haiku

21. Some students clearly/
Overstand literature/
And have been waiting/
#haiku

22. Harriet Jacobs/
Wrote *Incidents* way back when/
For TH!S young person/
#haiku

23. Race Repression in/
One-Hundred-&-Fifty-Years/
Have not changed at all/
#haiku

24. When Jacobs declared/
“Pity me & pardon me”/
She predicted now/
#haiku

25. Students are still moved/
By prejudice & the truth/
Of so long ago/*
#haiku
*Written so long ere

26. Reading this brilliance/
After seven hundred words/
Of summary: great/
#haiku

27. S/He revives my soul:/
Insight & Understanding/
Validate my work/
#haiku

28. I hope one day you/
See your work validated/
By a students’ thoughts/
#haiku

The Prophet Redux

8/22/12 7:48am

I woke up late (at 6) and washed the dishes I’d left from last night. I had wanted to wake early and go to the Y, but I did not set my alarm.  After I washed the dishes I sat down and read Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet while applying the heat pad to my ankle. Very nice except where I chose to sit the rising sun was shining directly in my eyes.

I have always loved The Prophet, ever since that day (well it was a late night) that the messenger (Oscar? Ben? Bill? I can’t remember his name) sat me down and explained why this was the life of all life, book of all books. I think he thought it was a secular bible.  There was another book that he was obsessed with, something new agey (this being 1981, it was an outlier) that he also liked, it might have been RamDass or something that stupid. In any case he spent an hour or two after midnight evangelizing this text as I drained a 40 of Ballantine Ale (or three). As I said “I’ll be right back, I need another,” he confessed to me that he was a heroin addict. I’m not so sure why it mattered that I knew that, but I definitely filed that bit of intelligence away (people not to be trusted any more) he became even more passionate about The Prophet.  We stayed in Washington Square until 3 or 4 in the morning talking about that book and the ideas that it provided.

I have very few clear memories of Ben after that day. I saw him once on Madison in the 20s and on 5th below 14th (Funny how early in their addiction addicts can be found in the Village). I last saw him in midtown, near triple-six-Fifth, the DC building. He was looking run down. I wonder if he survived. Most addicts from ‘81 died of AIDS.

I wonder why people have always wanted to talk about books with me? I was a simple drunken messenger back then. But still people wanted to talk books with me. I’d been pretty good at avoiding the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religious fanatics who want to talk about “Their Book.” But when I was in early recovery in Harlem and in other unusual places people have always come up to me and wanted to discuss philosophical texts. I must have a bookish mein to myself.

I’ve always considered that night in Washington Square and the book by William James The Varieties of Religious Experience that an Addict at Gracie Square gave me in ‘86 odd. But somehow I felt like Siddhartha, someone with a huge destiny because people brought me books to read in unlikely places (these are not the only 2).

In my paper journal I wrote about The Prophet, but I don’t have time to retype that here now. Sad, really.  Previously I had loved “Marriage” because of the idea of separation and love: “For the pillars of the temple stand apart.” But now, these days, with teens, the passage “On Children” really moved me. I am comforted and tortured by the passage that says “For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.”

Thing 1 has proven herself to be a totally independent thinker, who suffers instruction unhappily.  However she does follow rules, like most older siblings, and has made her trajectory towards the future clear. Thing 2 -TACITURN youth- has little communication with us, though he seems to know that we are excluded from his future.  He suffers our interruptions unhappily, knowing this. Thing 3 has become prematurely knowing.  She is the tween sister of two teens and has started salting away their mistakes for her future use.  Clever, she is.

Reunited Life

51b. Family returns/
Bringing our maelstrom of love/
Interdependent/
#haiku

52b. We need each other/
To be our essential selves/
Family shapes* us/
#haiku *makes

53. Meeting children’s needs/
Makes this father feel complete/
Service is heaven/
#haiku

54. Having my partner/
To process occurrences/
Makes me less lonely/
#haiku

55. Returning children/
Search for juvenile routines/
Rebuilding their youth/
#haiku

56. As they get older/
Children’s motives gain nuance:/
Sophistication/
#haiku

57. Even the youngest/
Seeks to rebuild memories/
Of fanciful pasts/
#haiku

58. Home is memories/
Of familiar occasions/
That happened one place/
#haiku

59. The flavors of home/
Shape the unconscious palate/
Of the familiar/
#haiku

60. Being together/
Re-completes each family/
Reuniting life/
#haiku

61. Together we’re whole/
Needing all the components/
Of a family/
#haiku

62. Parts fit together/
With some important friction/
Tempering each part/
#haiku

63. Without the friction/
Family loses its warmth/
We need some conflict/
#haiku

64. Appreciate warmth/
Growing egos must demand/
Though it is tricky*/
#haiku *painful

66. The clay of children/
Is fired slowly in a kiln/
Warmed by love’s friction/
#haiku

67. We are slow-cooking/
Life in tender perfection/
By being gentle/
#haiku

68. Demanding of life/
Immediate perfection:/
Unrealistic/
#haiku

Haiku Review: *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao*

39. Finished _Oscar_Wao_/
Got lots of thinking to do/
Wish I had loved it/
#haiku

http://instagr.am/p/NrXsb_J3uY/

40. _The_Wonderous_Life_/
Of_Oscar_Wao_ intrigued me/
Because of Oscar/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

41. Stereotypes fail/
To capture real people trapped/
By ethnicity/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

42. Black Latinos can’t/
Publicly Enjoy nerd-dom/
So _Oscar_ was great/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

43. Background Machismo/
Of Dominican Culture/
Was troubling though/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

44. Yunior’s machismo/
Which kept him from happiness/
Struck me as honest/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

45. Lola seemed more sane/
Than the female characters/
Bit too real, really/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

46. Grandmother and mom/
Ybón and Ana performed/
Their #wondrous “roles” well/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

47. I have been #Oscar/
To each of these female “types”/
It’s painfully true/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

48. We #nerds don’t compute/
To “normal” people riding*/
Their #stereotypes/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz *using

49. Living up to “type”/
Hard for “real men” who don’t fit/
“Their” #stereotypes/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

50. These #stereotypes/
Harm AND benefit people/
So we all succumb/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

51. _Oscar_Wao_ said this:/
#Dominicans are much more/
Than #merengue shows/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

52. Though Junot Díaz/
Resurrected #nerds’ great tale/
He hindered his girls/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

53. Women stuck to script/
Of course where #nerds run afoul/
Of culture is #sex/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

54. Yunior’s desperate need/
For sexual approval/
Ruins his life too/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

55. But society/
Notes the #nerd not the #player/
As does _Oscar_Wao_/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

56. I liked _Oscar_Wao_/
But wish we could escape this/
Damned conformity/
#haiku #oscarwao #junotdiaz

Fate/Faith #Haikus

20. Another big day/
With important tasks to do/
(like ev’ry other)
#haiku

21. Savor the mundane/
Revel In tribulations/
For it’s all we have/
#haiku

22. We’re alive today/
Here for some special reason/
That needs no knowledge*/
#haiku *understanding (incomplete)

23. The organism/
We are little cells within/
Needs all our actions/
#haiku

24. The complex machine/
We are tiny parts within/
Works better with us/
#haiku

25. Flat tire is the sign/
I was searching heaven for/
Patience is virtue/
#haiku
(@ Icon Enterprises) [pic]: http://4sq.com/QzejWz

Flat tire is the sign/ I was searching heaven for/ patience is virtue/ #haiku (@ Icon Enterprises) [pic]: 4sq.com/QzejWz—
WesternQueensLand (@wqueens7) June 29, 2012

26. I’m climbing my fate/
Pushing more effort up there/
For what I don’t know/
#haiku
(@ New York City) [pic]: http://4sq.com/KHGPRx

I'm climbing my fate/ Pushing more effort up there/ For what I don't know/ #haiku (@ New York City) [pic]: 4sq.com/KHGPRx—
WesternQueensLand (@wqueens7) June 29, 2012

27. Perfect surprises/
Align symmetrically for/
Those who look around/
#haiku
@ Midtown Comics

http://instagr.am/p/MeQLZdJ3td/

Perfect surprises/ Align symmetrically for/ Those who look around/ #haiku @ Midtown Comics instagr.am/p/MeQLZdJ3td/—
WesternQueensLand (@wqueens7) June 29, 2012

*FATE

Kids, Culture, Commodity and Identity Haikus

Kids grow digitally

1. Watching friends’ kids grow/
On my kids Facebook pages/
Makes me more grateful/
#haiku

2. Gothic tragedy:/
Predictable reaction/
To suburban living/
#haiku

3. Accepting blonde hair’s/
Identity erases/
The soul within you/
#haiku

4. Rejecting image/
Society gives your hair/
Needn’t include dye/
#haiku

5. Your spirit can make/
Your appearance transparent/
If you live your Soul/
#haiku

6. transforming your hair/
Is primitive camouflage/
Lacking any verve*/
#haiku *depth

7. We are struggling/
Towards our identity/
Against our culture/
#haiku

8. Smart people see roles/
Ascribed to physical looks/
As diminishing/
#haiku

9a. So “goth”-”thug”-”punk” kids/
Have figured out culture’s lies/
And bought rebellion/
#haiku

9b. So “goth,” “thug” or “punk”/
Kids Have figured out culture/
Trying to fight back/
#haiku

10. But real rebellion/
Cannot be Internet bought/
Prefabricated/
#haiku

11. Prefabrication/
Of rebellion just rejects/
Superficial styles/
#haiku

12. “Deb” or “thug” or “punk”/
or even the “Anarchist”/
Leave power’s power/
#haiku

13.

Nocturnal Creation

Nocturnal creatures/

1. Nocturnal creatures/
Thrive in bustling cities/
Finding their freedom/
#haiku

2. Maybe it’s the light/
Or perhaps it’s the crowding/
But the night frees them/
#haiku

3. People out at night/
Are the non-conformist ones/
Trying to stay young/
#haiku

4. Since vampires aren’t real/
They only suck their own blood/
A pint at a time/
#haiku

5. Daylight conformists/
Cede them the darkness follies/
For a safe routine/
#haiku

6. Daylight people have/
The myth of security/
To mask all our fears/
#haiku

7. But darkness and light/
Bathe an uncertain planet/
In equal measures/
#haiku

8. “Seeing is believing”/
But we look at the future/
Absolutely blind/
#haiku

9. Daylight is a lie/
Showing us but fate’s grim mask/
With its lying smile/
#haiku

10. destiny is fate/
And death is all that awaits/
Life is what we have/
#haiku

11. So enjoy your life/
Each and every moment/
Give your life meaning/
#haiku

12. The meaning you give/
To this messy existence/
Is the best worship/
#haiku

13.

~waiting for the bus and rain~

1. Waiting for the bus/
As the skies begin to rain/
Just looking around/
#haiku

2. Nervous quickened strides/
Gamble by not running/
To beat the rain drops/
#haiku

3. People’s nonchalance/
Is the thin false bravado/
Facing summer rain/
#haik

4. Man lights cigarette/
Determined to beat the rain/
With flaming pleasure/
#haik

5. Made-up women pop/
Cheap umbrellas for first drops/
Protecting their paint/
#haiku

6. The Damp crowded bus/
Over-run with aromas/
Sticks like damp vinyl/
#haiku

7. Woman next to me/
Smells friendly like vanilla/
Perfume or a drink?/
#haiku