I’ve struggled a lot creatively since the start of the pandemic. It’s been harder to focus and almost impossible to finish projects. This is precisely why my website has hosted so many reviews; it feels like that kind of content requires a different part of my brain (that isn’t so mucked up).
With that being said, I can’t wait forever to start writing. I knew I had to pick some sort of creative outlet to at least get things rolling again, even if it wasn’t my “best work.” This is how I landed on the haiku, a form of poetry I was first exposed to back in middle school.
Wikipedia defines haiku as: “a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a kireji, or cutting word, 17 on (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a kigo, or seasonal reference.” While my original introduction to haiku lacked this nuance and only focused on the “5, 7, 5” pattern, it seems like as good a place as any to start.
As such, you will find 13 haiku below. There is no significance to the number; I actually ended up writing closer to 70 haiku (including rewrites) in preparation for this post. Instead, these 13 were the ones I couldn’t bear to delete. Enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Haiku About Pride (3)
Pride is not sponsored
Not owned by corporations
Pride is living truth
We fought for our lives.
They sat idly by, because
“The right ones would die.”
Called a “gay disease”
But the true malady is
Hate of the stranger
Haiku About Work (3)
Meetings, Infinite
Everyone speaks, no one learns
Please, I have to pee.
I chose to fast, but
The doughnuts in the breakroom
Sure have other plans.
Windowsill: birds rest
They peck, squawking: “let me in!”
Why, bird? You are free.
Haiku About Life (7)
Sleep, cousin of death
Void, embracing nothingness
Thanks for the preview
I do not fear death
Instead, I fear ev’rything
I will leave undone.
Life is a vibe check
And I’m just out here trying
To get a refund
How many people
Can I say I truly know?
One (on a good day).
Nothing that I write
Will change the entire world.
But it will change me.
Suffering is not
A virtue; there’s no award
For who hurt the most.
I’m having trouble
Connecting with my past selves.
Who was I, really?
What a treat. You have a gift. Please continue💕💕💕