Haiku Horizons – Lead – Troiku – August 18, 2015

lead with a rope
the donkey will walk
for a while

lead with a rope
not beaten with a lead pipe
even donkeys work

the donkey will walk
carrying great leaden packs
patiently and long

[for a while]
like people – it can be lead
but not forever

© G.s.k. ‘15

Haiku Horizons – Lead

A troiku is an invented form by the author and host of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai … go HERE to see how it’s done!

Jostling People – Friday Fictioneers – November 14, 2014

PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Walking along any street at any hour before midnight in a tourist town, is to walk through a miasma of human intimacy.  Hundreds if  not thousand of people, each in their own little group talking.

“… and I said, “Listen I’m not ready …”

Ready for what I wondered.

“… then she let out this horrible shriek …”

Did she see a mouse or was this something more sinister.

“… the Americans have done it again!”

Oh my, now what are they up to?

Bits of life, bits of personal experience jumbled stories.

summer afternoon
oceans of experience
in tiny puddles

(c) G.s.k. ’14

This haibun is linked to Friday Fictioneers

Hurdy Gurdy Man – A Music Sketch – June 19, 2014

That evening I reached Rome later than usual.   I got off the train then looked for some place to sit down to wait for my son to come pick me up. I knew I’d have to wait for about an hour since he’d phoned me to say he’d got caught up in the traffic due to an accident.

I saw the family after I’d found a table in a café near the platform. Their belongings were neatly stacked up near one of the marble dividers so common in Italian train stations.  The woman and her baby were asleep in a sleeping bag laid out on an open cardboard box, the man squatted nearby looking over them. The first thought that came to mind was that maybe they lived there at night.  There were a quite a few of these little “homesteads” throughout the stations of Italy.  By their dress one could tell that they weren’t Italians.

Peopled hurried past, either pretending not to see them or maybe as this had become such a familiar sight, really not seeing them.  However, with other’s there was an air of rejection and unease that seemed to wave out from them, almost as though it were an odor.

A stylish lady in a fur coat with a yappy dog on a leash, shivering picked her dog up and made a special  effort to give them a wide berth as she went by.  A middle-aged couple who obviously were doing quite well in life put their hand before their mouth and whispered to one another: “How shameful!”  Some other people turned their noses up and a couple of kids giggled.

Two Carabinieri stopped near the man and asked for their papers.  He pulled them out, presenting his train ticket too, without hesitation.  The police went on their way.

About 10 minutes later, a train pulled up to the platform, destination Cassino.  The man nudged his wife. They began to put their belongings on the train just as my son came up waving to me with a huge smile.

“Ciao Ma … how was your trip.”

 

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It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these sketches.  I can’t really say why listening to this song by Donovan brought this story to mind. It’s based on many bits and pieces of memories, but no single memory in particular, like a collage it just fell together to make a story.

 

 

 

Salem Aleikum – June 10, 2014 – Haiku

Today on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, Managua Gunn is the ghost writer of the week.  Please follow the link to discover the wonderful adventure he had whilst walking through the woods of Finland!

© Managua Gunn

A simple greeting “Salem Aleikum” opened a window for him towards an exchange of friendship inspiring me to write these haiku.

salem aleikum
may you walk your path in peace
mash’allah effendi

desert winds – tundra
we walk the earth seeking peace
love binds us as one

may our hearts unite
under the bright sun and stars
we are one people