And when I say final I think I mean it. Twitter has become a very different place than it was four years ago, which isn’t a bad thing as social networks will change according to their very social nature, but it has changed. It’s become a place of redirecting and reblogging and reposting and retweeting and not so much a place of original thought. The notion of original content debuting on Twitter now seems quaint, and while there once was a lot more sharing of stories and poems in the limited format it has clearly become a thing of the past.
And haiku, poor haiku. So abused and maligned. Teachers simply teaching the 5-7-5 without mentioning the subtleties of the form, the use of nature and observation. Authors abusing the form with little regard for its poetry. Which is not to say that I was or have been anything close to a purest, but when you end up cranking out three a day sometimes things get a little… sloppy.
And so the following twitter haiku, or twitku, may be the last ever to appear in my Twitter feed. It’s been fun, don’t get me wrong, and the occasional retweet was nice, but with so much noise on Twitter aimed at passing glances of attention the effort feels a bit lost. And now, without any further ado (and everything previous has been much a-doo)…
27 April
a bird in the garden, and two taken from the local newscardinal sentry / standing guard over the yard / while sparrows argue
cell phones and six-pack / taken at knifepoint, found when / crooks ordered pizza
what’s the connection / video stores are replaced / by daycare centers
28 April
realizing the end of the month was at hand, the ‘ku started to sound philosophicalpolice arrested / man shoplifting baby food / sad, desperate times
egg on the sidewalk / nudged suddenly from its nest / baffles dog nearby
to shorten your life / allow every little hate / to subtract one day
29 April
the neighborhood was alive this day, with trash cans and wild turkeyswind chime gamelan / ballet of empty trash cans / preceding the storm
the dandelion / noxious to adults, perfect / flowers for small hands
cat, frozen in place / scared by the bird in the yard / don’t mess with turkeys
if my dog has fleas / when ukulele tuning / what does my cat have?
30 April
and in the end… lovewrench ourselves from sleep / once used to being awake / force ourselves to sleep
with a simple twist / thousands of explosionettes / joys of bubble wrap
when no one’s watching / lie on the grass and pretend / earth is your jet-pack
money will follow / if the thing you love to do / is to make money
filling a bucket / drop after drop over time / in writing, in love
For those who might have missed previous installments for National Poetry Month, the Week One, Week Two, Week Three and Week Four roundups of my twitku for 2012. Final count: 92 twitku for the month. I probably could have pushed and forced out seven more for the 99 I was hoping for, but pushing them out wasn’t the goal. One a day was the goal, and three a day was the average, and that’s just fine. A few of them were even okay.
So that’s it, Poetry Friday. At the end of March I was debating whether to continue with posting original poetry to these weekly roundups but I knew I wanted to do one more (last) round of daily haiku while I thought it through. I have other areas of my writing to focus on, and while i don’t intend to turn off the poetry tap my appearance during these weekly roundups may become less frequent. We’ll see. I’m playing this by ear for the time being.
That said, if you’re a regular visitor, thank you. And thank you again for all the comments over the past year and a half about the poems you enjoyed. Feedback, it’s a good thing.
Right, so let’s see what the rest of the poetry world is up to. The Poetry Friday roundup this week is hosted by Elaine over at Wild Rose Reader.
You sound tired, Dave! I wish you luck with getting recharged. We have had a lot of upheaval and I could use some of that myself. Love your “ballet of empty trash cans.”
My favorite from this week: “filling a bucket / drop after drop over time / in writing, in love”. I am surprised to hear you say that about Twitter. I still get some good links and ideas there, mostly about using technology in teaching. I’ve also found that sometimes browsing for new folks to follow brings on a whole new slew of interesting stuff.
I like the jetpack one. I guess I’m not the only one who does that. :-)