Lovelorn Poets

From Anchorage to Zebulon: In Search of Missed Connections

Lovelorn Poet in Seattle, WA: Haiku For Howlers

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party

party

Halloween parties
encourage misbehavior.
Remember last year.

 

Live and learn.
I may have said and done some things last year that I shouldn’t have.

But, by definition that did make the whole night ‘memorable’.

The potent combination of costume (read disguise) on the outside,
and unknown quantities of party punch hidden under clouds of dry ice,
is a true witches’ brew.

The result is lunacy and mayhem (and a hangover).

So I pledge to only watch, and not to be, “that guy” again this year.

And, honestly, I am still so sorry that I grabbed your sister’s butt.
You both wore the same costume, and I SWEAR I thought it was you.

Here’s an early haiku from the Seattle Missed Connections about Halloween! So excited to be able to share this now as the holiday is right around the corner.

Lovelorn Poet in Asheville, NC: To The Boy With Bad Haiku

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hiaku by kurt bauschardt

hiaku by Kurt Bauschardt

This isn’t haiku.
You’re simply breaking statements
into syllables.

Haiku is image,
quick, concrete, a captured bird
released to paper.

Kerouac
said English needs less
syllables

to give forms
life, while Japanese
requires more.

Kerouac
-an awful poet-
true this once:

sharpen words
to draw rare birds in.
Work to pare.

These aren’t haiku.
Just quick instructions broken
into syllables.

her two cents 225px

 

 

 

It’s relatively easy to write a silly, or downright bad, haiku, and Missed Connections certainly had it share of them. I don’t remember seeing, and I clearly didn’t save, the original haiku this writer is referring to. Their response, on the other hand, was certainly worth holding on to.

Lovelorn Poet in Seattle, WA: Pillow Haiku For Hopefuls

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fear

fear

It’s a pillow fight
between rejection and fear.
They’re concrete pillows.

No one is completely fearless. Not even… me.

What keeps us up, crashes our wagon, or freezes us solid and blocks us from taking action?

Despite my outward appearance of total, uber-confidence and cool demeanor, “even internet posters have their moments of doubt”. (thanks Tom Robbins)

Over the years we learn to hide our fear so well, sometimes we can’t even see it ourselves; and our own feelings are like a stranger’s to us. (thanks Eugène Ionesco)

I prefer to face my fears, weaknesses, and insecurities and call them out. This way, I know what I am dealing with. And somehow that shrinks them down to a size I can step on. 😉 (thanks Shiva)

Do our defeats bring us down? or prod us into trying harder, or smarter, or just again?

In a way, I am like those toys that right themselves and bounce back up ready for another round.

Game on.

Here’s an early haiku and story from the Hopefuls series. Of the many “spin-offs” that occurred on the Seattle Missed Connections, I have to say the original was my overall favorite.

Lovelorn Poet in Seattle, WA: Happiness Haiku For Hearts

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good

A trip to the Vet
reminds us that happiness
is part of being.

And beings. It is the humans and pets in our lives that enrich our days
and make our work and struggles worthwhile.

It’s about being; not having.

We get our lasting satisfaction from being a good dad, a good friend,
a good partner or lover, or companion.

The warmth of a newer, faster or shinier object is no match for puppy kisses
when we get home, or holding someone close all night long.

Too often we imagine that an easy to clean juice extractor, or a car that reads us our emails will
prove to be the one last missing, fulfilling thing. That thing we imagine we need to be happy.

Too often we search for the elusive one consumer item or gadget
that the ads say will change our lives and make each day sunny and perfect,
only to have Sysiphus’ rock overpower us, and we find ourselves back at the bottom of the hill again,
searching for the next shiny thing we need.

 

One of the nice things about the “old” Missed Connections forum was that it allowed for creative expression – and getting a positive message (especially one in haiku form) that reminded readers about the root of happiness, was never a bad thing.

Lovelorn Poet in Seattle, WA: Working Haiku For Hearts

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work

work

When the world gets rough
we believe what works for us
if it’s true or not.

This sounds more cynical than it really is.

I mean it to say that we stay optimistic even when everything looks dark
and that we cling to hope like a life preserver in a sea of doubts,
waiting to be discovered and rescued.

Of course, this can go both ways. Either it helps us to get through hard times
by hunkering down and waiting for the storm to pass.

Or, it means we hang on to a lost cause, and bring about our own misfortunes
by refusing to face the truth.

You never know which one it is until it’s over. Endurant or injudicious.

Sometimes you have to just take a chance and hope that the path you have chosen
will work out.

You can’t just stand in the rain forever.

 

True words that apply not only to our “hearts” and relationships but to our minds, thoughts, and actions as well.

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