I’m for the voiceless,
the anti-establishment
and the dead-end streets.

*
When I first wrote the above haiku, it was called “advocate” and it was more or less a statement of aspiration. But before aspiration came inspiration. That inspiration arrived in the form of various people, some of whom I’ve met, others I’ve only heard or seen from afar.

Louis “Studs” Terkel was one of the latter. He was a gifted man who spent much of his life telling stories of the working class and other folks sometimes referred to as the “uncelebrated.” He celebrated those people, quite practically giving voice to the voiceless.

Studs Terkel passed on yesterday, and rather than try to write something new, I thought it best to re-use an old haiku written with him in mind.

image: valkyrieh116

don’t judge my cuisine;
I forage for what you leave,
and eat like a king.

this is what happens
when we fail to understand
the value of life.

decry infidels,
heretics claiming we should
care for each other.

it’s been years since I
felt the need to simplify.
need to simplify.

image: Children at Risk Foundation