tomorrow we mourn
all the beauty that evades
our senses today

days when we were green
summed up our wildest dreams:
just wanting to be

Comments

• March 11, 2010, EllenS writes: but lately I've been
  grey as a cloud, no thunder,
  just life without hue
• March 12, 2010, howard writes: sorry to hear that, Ellen (if your haiku is autobiographical). my past couple weeks haven't been that sunny either.
  
  i was prompted to scribble this one after attending my aunt's funeral last week. seeing all my cousins and so many other people i hadn't seen in years (decades, in some cases) reminded me of a time long past. i just remember the anxiety i had to be older, and now, it seems like i should have relished my youth a bit more ;)

the essential self –
the one beneath the surface
is all that matters

Comments

• March 8, 2010, susan writes: I love this. So true.
• March 8, 2010, howard writes: thank you, Susan. the way people see themselves and each other is one of my most often-used themes. it probably comes from having 5 beautiful nieces, and my concerns about what the world tells them they should be.
• March 8, 2010, Al Denton writes: I cringe at the thought of how my daughter will be affected by this in when she's older. I'm crossing my fingers that more of us will take this approach by then.
• March 11, 2010, apreziosi writes: I'm trying to remember where I heard it, but the idea is that your oddest behavior defines who you are. We're on our best behavior when we're around others, but those odd things that we do is our inner self coming out to play.
• March 12, 2010, howard writes: and yet my inner self sometimes seeps out, even when i'm around people i'd like to impress with better behavior ;)
  
  lucky or cursed?
• March 12, 2010, susan writes: Not lucky or cursed. it happens to all of us when we are around a member of the opposite sex. ;-)

celebrate those who,
having seen you at your worst,
love you anyway

Comments

• March 7, 2010, EllenS writes: This is quite wonderful
• March 8, 2010, howard writes: thank you, Ellen. sometimes it's easy to forget that the people deserving of your love are the ones most willing to show it unconditionally -- at least from my experience.

for Susan — don’t let the bastards grind you down

the world will judge you –
remember it’s only fear
laced w/ignorance

Comments

• March 3, 2010, apreziosi writes: True. People who cast judgment are making themselves feel better for their own life.
  
  I use that "bastards" line every once in a while. My reference is from an old M*A*S*H show when Hawkeye yells, "Don't let the bastard win!" when he's in danger of losing a patient on the table. The bastards are everywhere, and if I had one character trait that I could change it would be that I would care less about what other people think of me.
• March 5, 2010, howard writes: the bastards line has many proper uses. sadly, this is because you are right. they are everywhere.

For those keeping score, we’ve now received contributions from an almost-four-year-old human and a cat. If you haven’t yet submitted your own haiku or short poem to the secondhand series, really, what more excuse do you need?

Click here to view the entire series so far. And, if you’ve finally been shamed into sending one of your own, click here to find out how.

nap. sun on my fur.
nap. eat tuna in bowl.
nap, nap, sun, dream, purr.

Comments

• March 1, 2010, holly the cat writes: Thank you Howard. I am a happy kitty today.
  paw hugs, head bonks.
  
  Holly the cat
• March 2, 2010, EllenS writes: I Loooove This.
• March 2, 2010, EllenS writes: And PS - Holly looks like she could be BeckyBoo's sis. So pretty.
• March 3, 2010, howard writes: you're welcome ;)
• March 3, 2010, howard writes: yeah, i see it too, Ellen. i've never seen a cat's life so succinctly described

(another old one set free from its font prison)

getting left behind
is sometimes necessary
– cocoons understand

While this haiku could be about anything (and it is, in fact, about many different things), I’m posting it now to offer my thanks to more than a few people who have gone to Amazon.com and purchased my book in the past week. I should probably also thank the folks who bought it before.

So thank you, whoever you are.

Your feedback is also appreciated. Please feel free to let me know you bought it, and what you think of it.

to many I owe,
and to each one far too much
to ever repay

Comments

• February 22, 2010, susan writes: You deserve it. It is a very good book of poems. May I speak for your readers and ask for volume two?
• February 22, 2010, howard writes: thanks again, Susan. volume two may take a while yet ;)

articulate lass
at the corner donut shop
– pushing the fasnachts

Comments

• February 18, 2010, Anthony writes: My word for the day: fasnacht. My sparse religious upbringing sent me scrambling for the dictionary. In parts of Maryland, the treats are called Kinklings, which also works haiku-wise. :)
• February 19, 2010, susan writes: I really don't know
  what a fasnacht is
  but I like eclairs.
  
  How's this Howard?
• February 19, 2010, janinedeemer writes: That's funny, I work for the corner donut shop, Yum Yum's Bake Shop!! LOL...
• February 19, 2010, howard writes: i like it. and i didn't know what a fasnacht was until the girl at the Yum Yum asked why i didn't want one. guess you learn something new every day -- probably why i tried so hard not to learn too much in school, so i'd have room to add more later ;)
• February 19, 2010, howard writes: really? one of the Warminster ones, or the one up on 309? mine is at York and County Line -- soon to become another bright, shiny CVS. yeah, i'm not happy about that.
• February 22, 2010, janinedeemer writes: I'm at the Quakertown one 309 and 313.
• February 22, 2010, howard writes: i don't make it up that far every day, but now i may have to ;)
• February 22, 2010, janinedeemer writes: That's my second job, I'm there Tues, Thurs, Fri nights and 10-4 on Sat.

(for books and other things)

better to pursue
a tattered volume than an
empty dustcover

Comments

• February 17, 2010, apreziosi writes: That's the same thought I have when I consider whether to pursue some primpy bimbo or a woman of substance. I always prefer substance over form.
  
  I suppose the book analogy works regardless of cover?
• February 17, 2010, mikaelah writes: great images
• February 18, 2010, howard writes: A - i suppose it does.
  
  Mikaelah - do you mean the picture or the imagery from the haiku? either way, thanks.
• February 18, 2010, mikaelah writes: I was going with the images in the haiku...and now that you ask I am drawn back in ... weighing the two... empty dustcover/tattered volume... the suggestion being that the tattered volume has more to offer...I have my tattered volumes that I drag everywhere with me like a Linus blanket...just to carry I guess...versions of the velveteen rabbit... I don't drag around the dustcover but I notice that some of my friends are appalled when I throw away the dustcovers because they just get in my way. I notice that while I care for books I am not appalled when they get scuffed up...same with friends. Always a pleasure to visit here ...

The secondhand haiku has returned. This time Anthony (whose 17-syllable tribute to Harry Kalas kicked off the series) sent one in the old-fashioned way. For those not familiar, Anthony is the man at the helm of My Sick Mind, where he is also known to spin the occasional haiku. I enjoy and recommend his insights into the seemingly mundane, which he posts quite regularly.

If you aren’t familiar with the secondhand project, please click here to view the entire series and get a little background. If you wish to add some of your own haiku goodness, click here to find out how.

sending cards is cool –
and some have forgotten that
they’re still making pens

Comments

• February 15, 2010, apreziosi writes: Thank you for the kind words. There are few mundane topics that escape my view! It seems that the more mundane, the more worked-up I get. Character flaw or interesting quirk?
• February 15, 2010, howard writes: you're welcome, of course.
  
  the way i see it, there are no mundane topics, just mundane people. that you have a knack for making these things interesting is a testament to your capacity for insight.
• February 15, 2010, PJ writes: Nice haiku, Anthony, and I adore your handwriting too.
• February 15, 2010, apreziosi writes: Thanks PJ.