Sending Her Away To College

Farewells made by the bus,
It's finally time to leave,
Depart from being one of us,
With tearful hugs we grieve...
The moment's heavy, sadly-sweet,
Yet, dare we hope that fate will weave,
Another chance for us to meet.

Look To The Ant

Hard work, with technical vision...
Human rationality presides,
Business rules, followed with precision,
In accordance with corporate decisions...
To make things we don't know we need,
To feed what can't be filled inside...
Led by appetite, we proceed,
Like ants developing insecticide.

(Thanks to John D. MacDonald for the inspiration)

Slow Train

I decide against the express...

"Slow the pace, delay the stress"

I think to myself, as I step on board

The slow train to the southern place

Where work awaits -- My office space,

Where ennui, angst, and pens are stored.

Lover's Real Moment

I gaze at her closely,

She looks back at me intimately,

So who farted?

54 & Topped Off

There comes a time, where you know,

(And you don't let it ruin your day)

That you've reached your professional plateau,

And maxed-out your annual pay...

It's no use to get depressed,

Rather, turn the thought on its head,

And toast those things

For which you're blessed,

Then pay your taxes 'till you're dead...

Kingyo No Fun (Goldfish Poop)

Following the famous and powerful

We trail,

Like the poop

Behind the goldfish tail...

Hollowing-out our dreams

and desire,

Just carry the briefcase

And don't dare tire...

Oh joyous is the powerful man,

Who does what he does, because he can.

And woe to us who follow his wake,

Meek-loyally, for a paycheck's sake.

Couples' Fate

Marriage isn't all it seems,

Sleep in the same bed,

But with different dreams.

You hope you reach,

Before love ends,

A place where

Both of you are friends.

And if you don't, of course,

Push the button

Marked "divorce"...

Drone's Day

All hail Father's Day...

The gift of hard-swimming sperm

Diminished from the moment of conception,

The shrinking joy of post-erection,

Duty done, the pregnancy goes to term.

All hail Father's Day...

Dues paid to natural selection,

And debts to settle, we've yet to earn.

Forgetting To Call

The phone calls not made

Oh so busy, chances missed,

Opportunity unplayed,

Remembered now with regret

Like a lover left unkissed,

Small obligations left unmet,

Kind connections all delayed,

Lost in a mental mist.

Rainy Season Skies

The sky of a transitory season

At once neither sunny nor gray

Breeze, cool-humid, in a middling way

Makes me wonder if there's a reason

For mixing things up, like today.

Suspended in moistness, tail-end of spring,

Circling, soft-wafting, the vernal swirl,

Before the cruel heat that summer will bring.

Kef

A state of dreamy tranquility

Called kef, by the Arabs of old,

Who meditated in deserts,

Cleansed by the heat and the cold.

ElzoHarm Art (No.10)

The Flow Of Time

The days go by so quickly

Each numbered and distinct,

Full of promise, spiced with fear,

Streaming and linked...

A string of experience,

Right now, and right here.

And it's all that I can do

To savor sweet moments

Before they play through...

Middle Age Spread

Curious, I stop, dripping wet,

I'm panting, it's hot,

But can't see the pedometer

Because of my gut...

The old friend I've built-up

Over the years,

With burgers and beers,

A simple arrangement

Of needs to appease,

Gastric epiphanies

With bacon and cheese...

But now I must run

and grunt 'till I'm able

To put down the fork

And see past my navel.

A Statement About Today's Poetry

A poet runs-out of dreams and time,

Words frozen, the bad just goes to worse,

Can't find the inspiration or rhyme,

And settles for the easier way of free verse.

Serendipity

The gift of finding

Valuable or agreeable things

Not sought for...

Like peace amidst war,

Or five golden rings...

A gift once received,

Leaves one asking for more,

Serendipity perceived,

Like a karmic whore.

Dream Sequence 6/7/2010

I'm at a meeting hall, seated at the back,

Up at the front sits Marilyn Monroe,

With familiar man, whose name I don't know.

It's a meeting about money,

They want us to give,

But there is something funny

Going on, and when I interject,

Marylin's pose is wrecked

She whimpers and accuses,

The mood grows sad, hearts ache,

And that's when I wake.

More SENRYU

「早くやれ”」 "Hayaku yare"

そう言う事は So iu koto wa

早く言え Hayaku ie

"Hurry-up and do it"

If that's the case then

Hurry-up and say it.

- - - - - - - - - -

露天風呂 Roten-buro　　

化粧落として Kesho otoshite

トドの群れ Todo no mure

Outdoors bath

Without their make-up

A pack of walruses

- - - - - - - - - -

妻不満 Tsuma fuman　

夫我慢 Otto gaman

５０年 Go-ju nen

The wife dissatisfied

The husband enduring

50 years.

- - - - - - - - - -

赤提灯 Aka cho-chin

会議の時より Kaigi yori

意見出る Iken deru

At the "Red-lamp" pub

Vice the office meeting...

Here I can say my opinion

- - - - - - - - - -

メル友に Me-ru tomo

会ってみたら Atte mitara

わが主人 Waga shu-jin

Blind date with an "e-mail friend"...

But when we meet,

It's my husband.

Hunting For Osama

They sit, solidly, on their Cornhusker bar stools,

Facing a great wall of bottles and glass,

Talking and bragging of things from the past,

Toasting the blood, and the heroes, and fools,

Dispersed to dangerous places afar,

With names like Kabul and Qandahar.

The alcohol flows -- mostly cheap lager beer,

Which engorges and cleanses, inspires, inflames,

As the red-necks remember the deeds and the names

Of those, over there, who used to be here...

Putting up hay, riding John Deere,

Chasing their daughters from back-seat to bed...

Then opting for bloody adventure instead,

They've left home to hunt for an evil man,

In the soul-crushing hills of Afghanistan.

There's a point where the guys at the bar take a pause,

The beer-buzz has peaked, but it sure did its job

Of pushing the button, and pulling the knob,

Stoking the feelings and tightening the jaws...

The farmers commune with their boys gone afar,

To the places called Kabul and Qandahar.

The Resignation Of Prime Minister Hatoyama

It's lonely at the top.

And you never hear,

The trap-door drop.

In the end, what what really hurts...

Was all that bile,

About my shirts.

Three Snippets Of Reality

(1) Class reunion,

Smiles, forced-fun, all around...

Expensive, gaudy clothes,

Pressed, smooth, and prim...

The only wrinkles

Are on the faces.

(2) A guest at a formal party,

In a crowded part of the room,

Holding full tea cups in both hands...

Sneezes violently

(With kinetic results)...

Minor social chaos ensues.

(3) Awoken suddenly

From an exhausted sleep

By the ring-tone beep

Of the cell phone

Still held in my right hand.

Office Politics

Home from the office party

Where I poured happy beer

For our new young boss...

Who worked under me, last year.

I slump, drunk and cross,

Pride hurt, will sapped...

Wondering, with the sense of loss,

Of one who has been lapped.

How much longer will this race be run,

Finished, before the running's done.

SENRYU -- 川柳

"SENRYU" is a short, 3-line, type of Japanese poem, very much like a "HAIKU". But unlike HAIKU, which tend to focus on nature, SENRYU are more about human situations, using ironic, sardonic, and darkish humor. Lots of Japanese humor occurs in the minor chord, so to speak.

This blog entry will mark the beginning of my efforts to make Japanese SENRYU more available to English readers. The poems below, come from the Mainichi Newspaper's SENRYU page (link provided). Each is shown in the original Japanese, followed by my attempt at a translation (including the provisional titles).

Link: http://mainichi.jp/enta/art/senryu/

Here's the fist batch --- Enjoy!

= = = = = = = = = =

-- Hesitation At A Crosswalk

信号は青だが

向こうに

妻がいる。

Shingo wa ao da ga

Mukou ni...

Tsuma ga iru.

The light has turned green

But on the other side...

My wife awaits.

= = = = = = = = = =

== Midnight Jitters

誰がいる --

猫のいびきで

眼がさめる。

Dare ga iru --

Neko no ibiki de

Me ga sameru.

Who is there?

Suddenly awoken

By the cat's snore.

= = = = = = = = = =

-- Fashion Choice

主婦太り

はじめの一歩

ジャージから。

Shufu-butori --

Hajime no ippo,

Jaa-zi kara.

Housewife's weight gain --

The first step is,

Wearing those sweats.

= = = = = = = = = =

-- My New Plasma T.V.

鮮明な画面で

見せる

馬鹿騒ぎ。

Senmei na gamen de

Miseru

Baka-sawagi.

The screen is so beautiful

And distinct, showing

The usual stupidity.

= = = = = = = = = =

-- Honeymoon Illusion

夫婦旅

２泊３日が

限度です。

Fuu-fu tabi

Ni-haku Mikka ga

Gendo desu.

Husband and wife trip

2-nights and 3 days

Is the absolute limit.

= = = = = = = = = =

-- Lost Power Of Youth

小便で

字を書けなくて

寂しいな。

Sho-ben de

Ji o kake-naku-te,

Sabishii na.

So sad I can no longer

Write characters on the ground

With a strong piss.

ElzoHarm Art (No. 9)

Behold the giants walking
Magical, in single file,
Through the clouds they wade,
In mysterious rhythm, without talking,
Each spindly stride, a country mile,
Behold the giants parade!

Led by a towering peacock-stork,
Three zebra-tree-men dance,
To old-school funky from New York...
And in the wake of their advance,
Rain clouds form, full of art,
Precipitating inspiration,
Raining-down cool and hip,
Aesthetic inundation,
Which lingers after they depart,
Like the wake of a laden treasure ship.

Behold the giants' ambulation,
Soaking the soul of our arid nation.

Hamster's Progress

Like wading through a weedy lake,

Forward I move through the worldly tasks

Which lie ahead in endless strings,

Each earthly day, some new ones brings...

I slog ahead, stoicly, as duty asks.

At times I stop, though,

Tentative, dazed, suspended...

Inertia prevailing, Momentum upended --

Then resume my pace, calloused and slow,

Saying Yes, but thinking No.

If there's someone watching from above,

Perhaps the thought of being seen,

Receiving gifts of hope and love,

Revives me in my grim routines...

I have meaning! I can feel!

Walking in life's hamster wheel.