tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32398373079397231532024-02-08T10:00:46.871-05:00TWIT HAIKUwelcome to twit haiku, the website for anti-luddites! Give me your tired, your poor,your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me-OOPS! wrong heading.
submit haikus, those 17 syllable poems, and anything else, limited to 140 characters or less. thank you.Robynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-3670493086065695112010-04-15T20:26:00.000-04:002010-04-15T20:26:26.358-04:00Totel MaskHe's waiting. <br />
Churning, trembling, watching the clock numbers change,<br />
I know everything that will happen when we put our public faces on the wall for the night.Robynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-75376731119935948572010-04-02T14:11:00.002-04:002010-04-02T14:11:16.461-04:00NoAsk. If you don't ask, <br />
the answer is always no.<br />
Ask Improve the odds<br />
to 50/50.<br />
Take a chance on you.<br />
<br />
No, Daddy, you're wrong.<br />
I asked. The answer is still no.<br />
No no no no no.<br />
<br />
by robyn 138 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-78381667735514908532009-11-25T00:34:00.000-05:002009-11-25T00:35:34.994-05:00Lament of the Broken: Cyclocross Haiku etcI want to lick the<br />mud from pink polka dotted<br />cyclocross skinsuit.<br /><br />Grass berms climb the stairs<br />through mud over obstacles.<br />Urban assault boys<br />kick the crap out of<br />sissy tire roadies.<br /><br />I have to try it.<br />Grab my mountain bike, clip in.<br />Take off after them.<br /><br />My deductible<br />is met. Future injuries<br />will be paid in full.Robynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-33551522008329429062009-11-10T07:46:00.000-05:002009-11-10T07:47:14.078-05:00Behind A Steamy Mirror, Look.4 verses, average 60 per verse, so total is over but...<br /><br />Awake, but by choice<br />Tonight avoiding sweet dreams<br />for sad memories<br /><br />A relationship?<br />Versus having relations?<br />Act honestly? You?<br /><br />I know you. Inside.<br />Hear what is behind your words,<br />selfish child; bully.<br /><br />Learn some compassion<br />You can't come into my life,<br />break my toys. No more.<br /><br />by anon, 231 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-25219454056384395592009-11-04T22:47:00.001-05:002009-11-04T22:47:58.106-05:00I'm not joining AA, no way, no how.My veins are a still,<br />moonshine replaces corpuscles.<br />Barkeep, set me up;<br />run me a tab.<br />I'm a joyful drunk.<br /><br />by anon, 95 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-7732834473720655542009-11-04T10:49:00.002-05:002009-11-04T10:56:25.605-05:00WIRED Issue 14.11 - November 2006We'll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.") and is said to have called it his best work. So we asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves.<br />Dozens of our favorite auteurs put their words to paper, and five master graphic designers took them to the drawing board. Sure, Arthur C. Clarke refused to trim his ("God said, 'Cancel Program GENESIS.' The universe ceased to exist."), but the rest are concise masterpieces.<br /><br />Failed SAT. Lost scholarship. Invented rocket.- William Shatner<br /><br />Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?- Eileen Gunn<br /><br />Vacuum collision. Orbits diverge. Farewell, love.- David Brin<br /><br />Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.- Joss Whedon<br /><br />Automobile warranty expires. So does engine.- Stan Lee<br /><br />Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time- Alan Moore<br /><br />Longed for him. Got him. Shit.- Margaret Atwood<br /><br />His penis snapped off; he’s pregnant!- Rudy Rucker<br /><br />From torched skyscrapers, men grew wings.- Gregory Maguire<br /><br />Internet “wakes up?” Ridicu -no carrier.- Charles Stross<br /><br />With bloody hands, I say good-bye.- Frank Miller<br /><br />Wasted day. Wasted life. Dessert, please.- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />“Cellar?” “Gate to, uh … hell, actually.”- Ronald D. Moore<br /><br />Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.- Vernor Vinge<br /><br />It cost too much, staying human.- Bruce Sterling<br /><br />We kissed. She melted. Mop please!- James Patrick Kelly<br /><br />It’s behind you! Hurry before it - Rockne S. O’Bannon<br /><br />I’m your future, child. Don’t cry.- Stephen Baxter<br /><br />1940: Young Hitler! Such a cantor! - Michael Moorcock<br /><br />Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.- Richard Powers<br /><br />I’m dead. I’ve missed you. Kiss … ? - Neil Gaiman<br /><br />The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly. - Orson Scott Card<br /><br />Kirby had never eaten toes before. - Kevin Smith<br /><br />Rained, rained, rained, and never stopped. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />To save humankind he died again. - Ben Bova<br /><br />We went solar; sun went nova. - Ken MacLeod<br /><br />Husband, transgenic mistress; wife: “You cow!” - Paul Di Filippo<br /><br />“I couldn’t believe she’d shoot me.” - Howard Chaykin<br /><br />Don’t marry her. Buy a house. - Stephen R. Donaldson<br /><br />Broken heart, 45, WLTM disabled man. - Mark Millar<br /><br />TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there … - Harry Harrison<br /><br />Tick tock tick tock tick tick. - Neal Stephenson<br /><br />Easy. Just touch the match to - Ursula K. Le Guin<br /><br />Special Web-only edition: We were unable to include these 59 stories in the print magazine.<br /><br />New genes demand expression -- third eye. - Greg Bear<br /><br />K.I.A. Baghdad, Aged 18 - Closed Casket - Richard K. Morgan<br /><br />WORLD'S END. Sic transit gloria Monday. - Gregory Benford<br /><br />Epitaph: He shouldn't have fed it. - Brian Herbert<br /><br />Batman Sues Batsignal: Demands Trademark Royalties. - Cory Doctorow<br /><br />Heaven falls. Details at eleven. - Robert Jordan<br /><br />Bush told the truth. Hell froze. - William Gibson<br /><br />whorl. Help! I'm caught in a time- Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel<br /><br />Nevertheless, he tried a third time. - James P. Blaylock<br /><br />God to Earth: “Cry more, noobs!” - Marc Laidlaw<br /><br />Help! Trapped in a text adventure! - Marc Laidlaw<br /><br />Thought I was right. I wasn't. - Graeme Gibson<br /><br />Lost, then found. Too bad. - Graeme Gibson<br /><br />Three to Iraq. One came back. - Graeme Gibson<br /><br />Rapture postponed. Ark demanded! Which one? - David Brin<br /><br />Dinosaurs return. Want their oil back. - David Brin<br /><br />Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot. - David Brin<br /><br />Temporal recursion. I'm dad and mom? - David Brin<br /><br />Time Avenger's mistaken! It wasn't me... - David Brin<br /><br />Democracy postponed. Whence franchise? Ask Diebold... - David Brin<br /><br />Cyborg seeks egg donor, object ___. - David Brin<br /><br />Deadline postponed. Five words enough...? - David Brin<br /><br />Metrosexuals notwithstanding, quiche still lacks something. - David Brin<br /><br />Brevity’s virtue? Wired saves adspace. Subscribe! - David Brin<br /><br />Death postponed. Metastasized cells got organized. - David Brin<br /><br />Microsoft gave us Word. Fiat lux - David Brin<br /><br />Mind of its own. Damn lawnmower. - David Brin<br /><br />Singularity postponed. Datum missing. Query Godoogle? - David Brin<br /><br />Please, this is everything, I swear. - Orson Scott Card<br /><br />I saw, darling, but do lie. - Orson Scott Card<br /><br />Osama’s time machine: President Gore concerned. - Charles Stross<br /><br />Sum of all fears: AND patented. - Charles Stross<br /><br />Ships fire; princess weeps, between stars. - Charles Stross<br /><br />Mozilla devastates Redmond, Google’s nuke implicated.- Charles Stross<br /><br />Will this do (lazy writer asked)? - Ken MacLeod<br /><br />Cryonics: Disney thawed. Mickey gnawed. Omigawd. - Eileen Gunn<br /><br />WIRED stimulates the planet: Utopia blossoms! - Paul Di Filippo<br /><br />Clones demand rights: second Emancipation Proclamation. - Paul Di Filippo<br /><br />MUD avatars rebel: virtual Independence Day. - Paul Di Filippo<br /><br />We crossed the border; they killed us. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />H-bombs dropped; we all died. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />Your house is mine: soft revolution. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />Warskiing; log; prop in face. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />The Axis in WWII: haiku! Gesundheit. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />Salinger story: three koans in fountain. - Howard Waldrop<br /><br />Finally, he had no more words.- Gregory Maguire<br /><br />There were only six words left. - Gregory Maguire<br /><br />In the beginning was the word. - Gregory Maguire<br /><br />Commas, see, add, like, nada, okay? - Gregory Maguire<br /><br />Weeping, Bush misheard Cheney’s deathbed advice. - Gregory Maguire<br /><br />Corpse parts missing. Doctor buys yacht.- Margaret Atwood<br /><br />Starlet sex scandal. Giant squid involved.- Margaret Atwood<br /><br />He read his obituary with confusion.- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />Time traveler's thought: "What's the password?"- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />I win lottery. Sun goes nova.- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />Steve ignores editor's word limit and- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />Leia: "Baby's yours." Luke: "Bad news…"- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />Parallel universe. Bush, destitute, joins army.- Steven Meretzky<br /><br />Dorothy: "Fuck it, I'll stay here."- Steven MeretzkyRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-49786710208444406652009-11-04T10:48:00.001-05:002009-11-04T10:48:56.082-05:00Six Word Novels-it ain't nanowrimo, folks, but it's grand!The Six-Word Novel<br /><br />Ernest Hemingway: "For sale: baby shoes, never used."<br /><br />Irvine Welsh: "Eyeballed me, killed him. Slight exaggeration."<br /><br />Robert Olen Butler: "Saigon hotel. Decades later. He weeps."<br /><br />Norman Mailer: "Satan--Jehovah--fifteen rounds. A draw."<br /><br />Tobias Wolff: "She gave. He took. He forgot."<br /><br />Augusten Burroughs: "Oh, that? It's nothing. Not contagious."Robynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-29043692030650569902009-10-13T13:19:00.000-04:002009-10-13T13:20:36.708-04:00the truth as i see ita life is something.<br />what your heart does not know; sad,<br />you can never trust.<br /> <br /> <br />i love you mommy.<br />why did you do this to me?<br />i'll miss you. goodbye.<br /> <br />by georgeRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-88147694299386096052009-09-30T07:48:00.000-04:002009-09-30T07:49:04.493-04:00Assorted HaikusOne: First, do no harm.<br />Easier said than done. It<br />bleeds touch, breath, sight.<br /><br />Rule two: All else is<br />commentary. Smoke, mirrors<br />tricks and slight of hand.<br /><br />Three: It will all work<br />out. How? When? In my lifetime?<br />Clock is tick, tick, tick....<br /><br />In all this, silence.<br />Refuse to engage, answer.<br />Guilt, wisdom or fear?<br /><br />Can I borrow a<br />cup of sugar, book, scissors,<br />someone else's life?<br /><br /><br />by robynRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-25638711189408616812009-09-21T18:18:00.001-04:002009-09-21T18:19:39.247-04:00The Rime of the Ancient BicyclistSee! Here! I have an<br />albatross upon my head.<br />Not only there, but<br />around my neck, too,<br />squeezing the breath out...<br /><br />by robyn<br />93 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-24093464000839038062009-09-20T16:16:00.001-04:002009-09-20T16:19:53.915-04:00In Pittsburgh, It Takes Just 17 Syllables to Tell the G-20 How You Really FeelFrom the wall street journal, sept 17, 2009<br />http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB125303596299912693-lMyQjAxMDI5NTEzODAxMzg1Wj.html<br /><br />Haiku Contest Draws the Proud, the Lyrical and the Annoyed; 'We Won't Be Greeting You'<br /><br />Tanja Cilia, a newspaper columnist in Malta who hates politics but loves the Japanese poetic form known as haiku, recently found the perfect outlet for those diverse feelings.<br /><br />She entered Pittsburgh's G-20 haiku contest. Conceived by Pittsburgh Filmmakers, a nonprofit that promotes film and other arts in the city, the competition sought the best haiku inspired by next week's summit of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations.<br /><br /><br />"I tend to enter any competition that involves haiku," says Ms. Cilia, a 50-year-old who has written haiku on a range of topics, including how to teach physics to a dog. Her entry for the G-20:<br /><br />Matinee idols <br />At the G-20 Summit... <br />See them in Pittsburgh! <br /><br />Ms. Cilia says meetings like the G-20 are "a lot of hot air," but she's glad it gave her a chance to put pen to paper.<br /><br />The haiku contest isn't the only event linked to the meeting. There also will be a beer summit, which includes tasting beers from G-20 summit countries, and a project to let people flash messages at the delegates, using Morse code, from the windows of an office building across the river from the summit. Messages sent to a Twitter account called "heyg20" will be translated into a "multicolored Morse code light show, illuminating not only the night sky but also the concerns of the world's citizens," says Osman Khan, a Pittsburgh-based artist coordinating the effort.<br /><br />Mr. Khan says the fact that few people can read Morse code is actually in keeping with the larger symbolism of the project: "It's the same lack of transparency that the summit is showing us."<br /><br />Haiku is a traditional Japanese poetry style that today is written in more than 60 languages, according to some estimates. In its English adaptation, it often contains 17 syllables over three lines of verse. The first and third lines contain five syllables, the second line, seven.<br /><br />The nearly 160 poems submitted in the Pittsburgh contest include hopeful messages, congenial welcomes, Pittsburgh Steeler cheers and a mix of political messages and pleas for peace. Some appear to disregard the G-20 theme entirely, like one composed by a onetime inmate at the Allegheny County Jail:<br /><br />I can't feel my face <br />I thought it's been a whole day <br />Still the awful stench <br /><br />Poet Sandra Gould Ford conducted the poetry program last winter for county-jail inmates where that haiku was composed. She says she submitted about a dozen haiku that she thought were particularly good. The one about the "awful stench" is "quirky," she says.<br /><br />Richard Engel, the marketing director for Pittsburgh Filmmakers, says no haiku was disqualified for being off message, or even for having an irregular syllable count. If a haiku "is good, it's good," he says.<br /><br />There's no prize for the winner, either -- only what Mr. Engel says is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have a haiku displayed on a theater marquee a few blocks from where the summit is being held. The spot will be visible to leaders of the world's biggest economies. Among the participants: President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.<br /><br />Some poets expressed frustration with the inconveniences and traffic problems expected to arise from the security clampdown attending the summit. Mary M. Shirey, a 77-year-old retired high-school English teacher, wrote:<br /><br />Known for friendliness, <br />We won't be greeting you, <br />Thanks to congestion. <br /><br />Other entries, like this one from Jean Kirby, a Pittsburgh software engineer, were more earnest:<br /><br />what country am I <br />dying of hunger and thirst <br />number twenty one <br /><br />Ms. Kirby, who says she just started writing haiku this past year, is thinking of having that one printed on T-shirts.<br /><br />Jim Kacian, founder of the Haiku Foundation in Winchester, Va., and author of 14 books, mainly of haiku, notes that Pittsburgh won't be the first place where haiku has appeared on theater marquees. A 1994 program, he says, put haiku on theater marquees in New York's Times Square.<br /><br />Over the past quarter century, Mr. Kacian says, haiku increasingly has been used for social commentary. Mr. Kacian hasn't seen any of the Pittsburgh submissions, but he doesn't have high expectations.<br /><br />"We recognize there's Little League baseball and Major League Baseball," he says. Pittsburgh's contest "would be Little League."<br /><br />Don't tell that to Madelyn Rice. She's 11 and just started sixth grade in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mount Lebanon. Maddy, as she likes to be called, says she appreciates all kinds of poetry, but thinks writing haiku is special "because it's not like writing normal poetry, where it usually needs to rhyme." Her message to the world leaders is that they need to promote peace, an idea that came to her, she says, from watching the nightly news. Her entry:<br /><br />Countries having peace <br />This is just a dream right now <br />But it can happen <br /><br />The winning haiku, to be announced Thursday, was penned by Angele Ellis, a Pittsburgh community activist and author of a book of poetry delving into issues of her Arab-American identity. She wrote:<br /><br />we harvest leaflets <br />blown like autumn leaves: our hopes <br />speak truth to power <br /><br />One haiku that didn't take home the gold came from local Manny Theiner. His entry had a hometown feel, and included the word "yinz," Pittsburgh slang for "y'all."<br /><br />No movies tonight <br />The drama is in the streets <br />See yinz on Monday <br /><br />Mr. Theiner, an organizer of live-music events, declined to discuss his haiku, telling a reporter who reached him by phone, "If you aren't calling to tell me I won, there's nothing for me to talk about."<br /><br /><br />An Ode to the G-20<br />The nonprofit group Pittsburgh Filmmakers has solicited G-20-themed haiku ahead of the Sept. 24 to Sept. 25 meeting there. Here are some entries: <br /><br />Hey you 20 peeps <br />Please make wise decisions now <br />Human needs not greed <br />--Jude Vachon <br /><br />World leaders arrive <br />Protesters are also here <br />Pittsburgh welcomes all <br />--Carmen J Biondo <br /><br />G-20 arrives <br />Autumn global agreements <br />World markets survive <br />--Denis Good <br /><br />Ten billion people -- <br />Environmental debate <br />Won't feed all those mouths <br />--Stanley Harms <br /><br />A Haiku Contest? <br />Perhaps I should enter it. <br />Nah, I'm too sleepy. <br />--Adam MacDonald <br /><br />Neighbors of the world <br />Welcome to our three waters <br />Share with us your peace <br />--Kelly Lynskey <br /><br />We may lose our jobs <br />But no matter what happens <br />We won't lose our hope <br />--Joshua Hoey <br /><br />Lights, camera, action! <br />Will change make its grand entrance? <br />Now? For Good? For All? <br />--Josh Futrell <br /><br />World leaders meeting <br />Visiting here and bringing <br />Protests and traffic <br />--Iysha Evelyn <br /><br />Our hard times have passed <br />We've continued to stand strong <br />Like our steel, we'll last <br />--Nichole McGuire <br /><br />Pittsburgh is our town <br />This week, it bridges the world <br />Welcome, one and all! <br />--Jamie FritzRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-50076092188780212002009-09-03T01:26:00.000-04:002009-09-03T01:27:05.733-04:00Tears are Salt RainWhen you cry, voiceless<br />How can I? What do I? [deep breath]<br />You rip my heart out,<br />Chasing yours, trying, wanting<br />anything to be your net.<br /><br />by robyn, 137 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-3536683449231665842009-08-20T10:26:00.000-04:002009-08-20T10:27:18.246-04:00the fresh water spring <br />has never tasted this sweet, <br />Milagros<br /><br /><br />This wonderful human being saved my life. I am a lucky manRuss Golatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05634954503093959084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-28198321853802241272009-08-12T13:08:00.000-04:002009-08-12T13:09:10.387-04:00My Right FootMy third toe, right foot,<br />It's name is Bill. It still moves<br />any way I want.<br />But one day, maybe <br />soon, or not, it won't.<br /><br />by robyn<br /><br />105 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-30933410068619067212009-08-12T13:07:00.000-04:002009-08-12T13:08:33.212-04:00Every Breath You TakeHummingbird heartbeats,<br />same beats as mine, that's word count.<br />Four, three, two, one. TIME!<br /><br />by robyn<br /><br />96 charactersRobynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3239837307939723153.post-22614316833153396932009-08-06T00:34:00.004-04:002009-08-12T10:59:36.461-04:00WELCOME TO TWIT HAIKUYou like haiku? tenku? sonnets? flash fiction? six word novellas? Submit anything, anything at all to TWIT HAIKU. Keep it to 140 characters or less, we'll print it here. You want to include your real name, email, blog, we'll post that, too. Pens ready? LET'S GET BUSY!Robynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836345873601125705noreply@blogger.com0