Welcome to Haikutrax. Home to one-line haiku, and a new form I invented: The Haiku Triad
GHOST LEAVES
maple tree the ghost leaves from last year in the moonlight
future plans both of us running away from the same thing
red sky a cardinal's song at 11 o'clock
april news I'm tired of hearing about biden's poll numbers
a friendly reminder is a thinly guised warning
phone, lint, and some quarters found in pockets of time
car wash I'll let the rain take care of it
more fatalities the war novel without a surprise ending
fragments of news stories
passing car a groundhog stands its ground
the blank pages of a book asking me to finish it
unmade bed my quick descent into chaos
one fall day mistaken for spring
the mice nesting in fragments of news stories
paralysis too many hours start with the same sentence
tax for parks if you want service, you have to pay for it*
exercise bike I need a change of scenery
*Proposition P, Jefferson County, MO, which will most likely be defeated because Jefferson County voters almost always vote 'no' on any tax no matter what it's for.
April is the Month of Sorrows
a silent epidemic Emmilee Risling is still missing*
Tiananmen Square and Bucha April is the month of sorrows**
Xiong Yan the Chinese government neither forgives nor forgets***
clear blues skies not everyone gets a chance to enjoy spring
trees in bloom if my father were here, we'd be hiking
*Indigineous women face murder rates almost 3 times higher than white women. Friends and family of Emmilee are hoping she's still alive, and that they will find her.
**Bucha, Ukraine
***Xiong Yan was a dissident who escaped the Tiananmen Square massacre. He is running for public office. Evidently, the Chinese government feels threatened by his candidacy. They hired a private detective to frame him but that backfired.
the past curls into its grooves of darkness
pic of putin behind bars what should happen but never will
the earth's not the problem it's one foot opposing the other
coat pockets, water, and a notebook I'm ready to wander
youth is on the greener side of the fence
flickering lights the electric bill looking up at me from the table
cedar beam the past curls into its grooves of darkness
night walk in the fog clears my head
where he used to live the bicyclist pedaling through Chernobyl
The Vodka Notebooks
mixed drinks and slurred words from the vodka notebooks
"putin's ear" I don't want anything he's got
russian nationalism every country has its own brand of it
spring blooms of the callery pear crowding out the serviceberry
windy day a repeat of yesterday
headache: the body's manifestation of reading too much bullshit
trump and putin's alternative facts it's hard to say who copied whom
the devils' playbook as if the devils needed one
"oh, say can you see," no, but I can hear the yellow warbler
"four dead in ohio" fast forward to more dead in ukraine*
*Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young song title
this one's been recorded
(Had to remove links to this article. Apparently, links to articles get your blog flagged. Especially, if the links are outdated.)
First, I'd like to state that I don't have anything against police officers. I wouldn't want their job. Every call they never know what they are walking into. Second, I'm not for defunding the police. Give them better training. Make sure they have access to counseling. They should all have body cams turned on while they are on duty. The body cams are for their protection as well as a visual record of what really happened. Third, police officers make mistakes as they did when responding to Raymond Rachal's call for help.
A customer who was drunk came charging through a barrier that separates the front desk clerk from the hotel guests. Rachal defended himself and subdued the guest. He then called the police.
I've worked the front desk at a hotel. I don't know what I would have done had some guest charged after me in this manner. Guests aren't allowed to cross the barrier where clerks are working. It's a safety issue.
Unless you're a bank robber, you wouldn't go beyond the teller barriers at a bank where the tellers are working. And you don't do that at a hotel.
However, if I would have called the police, I would have gotten a different reception from the responding officer because I'm white not black. They would have listened to me. They failed Rachal. It's clear from the video Rachal never pushed back at the officer who was pushing him.
Not only that, Rachal was arrested and not the white customer who caused the incident to begin with. Eventually, the charges against Rachal were dropped. He never should have been charged.
I don't know what was going through that officer's mind but the mindset that's out there needs to change.
front desk clerks we take the peaceful evenings for granted
january guest log we have the right to defend ourselves against violence
because you're drunk isn't an excuse you made that choice
hotel security camera thankful this time it was on and working
extra pillows and more towels no one ever has enough of anything
sometimes meth if they only stay a few hours and bring trash bags into the room
another day in america the victim calls you for help and you arrest the victim
injustices often follow those who pursue justice
this moment
ceramic greenware part of mom's unfinished diary
shoulder pain the same trauma from the same accident
sunset I waited all day for this moment
what does a leaf feel like before it falls
detachment becomes something you're attached to
switching rooms in the dust of abandonment
the paintbrush never questions my choices
freeze warning my blanket thinner than I remembered
it's what lessens all of us
broccoli casserole I think of you while chopping onions
two-hat day one for the wind and the other so I don't have to hear it
floodwaters not givin' a damn about any of our haiku
welcomed at first the formalities to technicalities to hostilities
the same ol' dirt road y'all make me weary
in the distance I can see the bitterroot mountains
double down zelenskyy "nothing less than victory"
every war it's what lessens all of us