Temptations

Mouth full of sandwich

"Eat fresh, eat healthy," they say

Daydreaming of fries 

Finals Week

Writing a haiku

It's cold and finals are due

Procrastination

Meatball Sub

Oh, my meatball sub

My dearest friend, meatball sub

Must you burn my mouth?

Coffee Time

Heads droop sleepily

Veins pure of sweet stimulus

Not enough coffee

~~~

Machine's bitter brew

Whirring and purring away

Grants my cup of Joe

~~~

Cold bones rise slowly

Achingly heed their habit

Down a warmth potion

~~~

(LOL, I did this in MS Paint)

You can follow me on Twitter @WestonHasty.

Sky Silk

It was warm the night
The sky silk descended
To lie upon the grass contrite
And left the moon empty scented

Later, the puffs would cry
And early that next morning,
The wind would shudder and sigh,
The salty dew left in mourning

The tart taste of tragedy
Stuck to the backs of throats
An unmoving and firm gravity
Weighed down on empty coats

It was warm the night

The sky silk descended

A child screamed in delight

A fun festival intended

Ten thousand of the faceless

In a moment ended in a flash

Would suddenly coalesce

And, in collection, swallow ash

Later, the puffs would cry

Great stinging droplets

That never did learn to fly

So unlike any of the rockets

It was warm the night

The sky silk descended.



******



You can follow me on Twitter @WestonHasty.

Summerku

Smooth and creamy swirls

Enticed by the biting cold

Ice cream in summer

~~~

Giddy, the girl ran

To her papa, arms outstretched.

Hoisted in the air

~~~

Blazing ball of sun

A cloud brings forth a vain hope

But rolls further on

~~~

You can follow me on Twitter @WestonHasty.

It Wasn't Then, Was It?

It wasn't then, was it?

That he knew. It was always

That he had loved her.

~~~

It wasn't then, was it?

That he surrendered himself.

He was always hers.

~~~

It wasn't then, was it?

Sitting there, at her bedside,

In the hospital,

When the tears watered his cheeks,

That he would give up on her.

~~~

You can follow me on Twitter @WestonHasty.

The Storm ~ Haiku #46-53 ~ Haiku Challenge + 1

Turned Away
(#haikuchallenge 3/29/16)(set)

She had deep set eyes
That had seen life's offerings
And denied them all

---

She

Skin of radiance
Moon's jealousy reflected
Lo, how she dances

---

Noticed

(#haikuchallenge 3/30/16)(try)

The bubbly maiden
Need not try so very hard
To catch the man's eye

---

The Storm
(#haikuchallenge 3/31/16)(storm)

A storm brewed within
Mighty, powerful, angry
And the tears flowed forth

---

Reckless
(#haikuchallenge 4/1/16)(fool)

It was not the fool
I saw dancing in the street
But a mad driver

---

Little Slivers
(#haikuchallenge 4/2/16)(carpet)

Tiny little slivers
Reach up towards the heavens
Nature's green carpet

---

The Game
(#haikuchallenge 4/3/16)(game)

A gentle caress
A shy laugh and fertive look
They're playing the game

---

A Meeting
(#haikuchallenge 4/4/16)(play)

Two small white rabbits

Meet to play every evening

Chasing each other

You can participate in the #haikuchallenge by following @baffled on Twitter.

You can follow me @WestonHasty.

Grey ~ Haiku #38-45 ~ Haiku Challenge (March 22-28, 2016) + 1

I have to say, Grey Wind and Gravity are my favorites of this selection. As for the rest, well, I seem to have had a theme in mind for this week of haiku. Grey Wind originated while I was trying to write for the #haikuchallenge (feel), but wound up going a different direction. The rest actually fit the required word.

You know, there's something very therapeutic about writing haiku. I like to imagine haiku in the poetry world is what Sudoku is in the number-puzzle world; it's brief and condensed, but can be a real thinker.

Or, maybe, I'm just talking out my arse. Whatever the case, I wrote another eight haiku:

Grey Wind

The wind howls through grass
And whispers between the trees
This grey evening

---

Not Felt
(#haikuchallenge 3/22/16)(feel)

Can you say you feel?
Can you say you ever loved?
When you looked at me?

---

Gravity

(#haikuchallenge 3/23/16)(always)

The ever-presence
The gravitational pull
Always brings us down

---

The Hole
(#haikuchallenge 3/24/16)(pull)

Why do you stay down?
Pull yourself up off the ground
And out of that hole

---

The Hole II
(#haikuchallenge 3/25/16)(deep)

Why don't you listen?
Come on, it can't be that hard
Six feet's not that deep

---

Black Umbrellas
(#haikuchallenge 3/26/16)(tardy)

The heaven's tears fall
The descent coming tardy
The ritual's over

---

Drive Home
(#haikuchallenge 3/27/16)(now)

Now our song comes on
Through the rain and the static
Is it clearer there?

---

Unasked
(#haikuchallenge 3/28/16)(question)

I'll hold on to you
I'll keep you safe in my heart
My unasked question

You can participate in the #haikuchallenge by following @baffled on Twitter.

You can follow me @WestonHasty.

Haiku Challenge (March 15-21, 2016) ~ Haiku #30-37

I think, perhaps, I have commitment issues. Try as I might, I simply can not stick to a poetic routine. Perhaps routines work against the poetic inspiration? Regardless, I have decided to keep using the #haikuchallenge prompts, even though I have completely failed the concept of writing a haiku daily.

That being said, this post picks up where I left off from the previous post, with an additional poem that has nothing to do with the #haikuchallenge. I wrote Unsaid pt. 2 as a continuation of my thoughts after writing Unsaid. There's this concept I have been wanting to work with, and that is telling narrative through haiku. Or, to be more accurate, to tell haiku-inspired narrative, as my haiku are non-traditional and mostly haiku in form only. With that in mind, Blurred II is a continuation of my thoughts from Blurred in a previous post.

As usual, I encourage feedback in the comments below this post or via twitter @WestonHasty. One of these days, perhaps, I'll write some traditional haiku to shake things up a bit.

Unsaid
(#haikuchallenge 3/15/16)(send)

"Hi" the message reads.
Just do it. Hit send. Hit send.
Delete and delete.

---

Unsaid pt. 2

It would have been easy
Hitting send and just waiting.
The blinking cursor |

---

The Journey
(#haikuchallenge 3/16/16)(almost)

"Almost there." He said.
A busted, decrepit car.
"Almost..." Choked whisper.

---

Blurred II
(#haikuchallenge 3/17/16)(need)

Defining a need.
Connection, Interaction
and Conversation

---

Horizon
(#haikuchallenge 3/18/16)(far)

The distant mountain
Not so distant at sundown
Far, the here will be

---

Milk Carton
(#haikuchallenge 3/19/16)(ran)

Left unattended
No less happy here than there
And so the boy ran

---

Circus
(#haikuchallenge 3/20/16)(horror)

Feral Hit And Run
Cacophony of Silence
Roadside Horror Show

---

The Bridge
(#haikuchallenge 3/21/16)(bridge)

Shelves lined long with tomes
That musty odor that hangs
A sign reads, "The Bridge"

 

You can participate in the #haikuchallenge by following @baffled on Twitter.

You can follow me @WestonHasty.

Haiku Challenge (March 8-14, 2016) ~ Haiku #23-29

Tackling the #haikuchallenge has really challenged me to push my creative thinking. It's amazing what kind of impact a single required word can have on the entire poem, and I often struggle to decide how to approach a challenge. My poem Brew, for example, required the word "blend", and for the life of me I could not decide what to do with the word. Funnily enough, Brew has a completely different tone than my other poems for this week, which all seem to be dystopian themed.

Once again, I've experimented a great deal with these poems, so feel free to comment/critique as you see fit down below. For next week, I might try to focus on doing some traditional haiku. Maybe.

Blurred

(#haikuchallenge 3/8/16)(need)

I need and I want

Food, wi-fi, water, job, air

The list that goes on

---

Policy

(#haikuchallenge 3/9/16)(vote)

The board gathers 'round

A chorus of ayes and nays

The vote settles it

---

A Letter

(#haikuchallenge 3/10/16)(thought)

A "Thank-You" for the

Safe Streets, High Ed., Full Bellies

And the Thought Police

---

Cold

(#haikuchallenge 3/11/16)(else)

Warmth dissipated

Snow falling on a still chest

"I - I said 'or else'..."

---

A Rose by Any Other Number

(#haikuchallenge 3/12/16)(number)

"Number 3-5-9?"

Breath caught, all eyes on me

"Yes, that is my name!"

---

Brew

(#haikuchallenge 3/13/16)(blend)

Winter wonderland
Followed by heat waves and rain
An Illinois blend

---

Force
(#haikuchallenge 3/14/16)(protect)

Guns, Greanades, and Gas
Riot Shields, Battle Armor
Protect and Defend

You can participate in the #haikuchallenge by following @baffled on Twitter.

You can follow me @WestonHasty.

Haiku Challenge (March 1-7, 2016) ~ Haiku #16-22

The following haiku were written as a part of the #haikuchallenge on Twitter. I did some experimenting on some of these. I don't typically rhyme in my haiku (at least, not intentionally), but I made every line rhyme in Sol. In The Regular, Determined and Lost Sight, I experimented with the idea of dialogue in haiku, which is something I have not personally seen or tried before. Feel free to comment/critique down below and let me know which was your favorite!

Storytime
(#haikuchallenge 3/1/16)(fable)

The Little One's snug
Beside the bed I take seat
A fable in hand

Sol
(#haikuchallenge 3/2/16)(summer)

A great ball of blaze
Shimmering, shining through haze
Summer Sun's long days

The Regular
(#haikuchallenge 3/3/16)(regular)

Eyes up, "Who's this guy?"
Bumbling, stumbling through the door
"He's the Regular"

Determined
(#haikuchalleng 3/4/16)(weak)

"Weak." He told himself,
Rising up from off the ground,
"I'll never be weak."

Lost Sight
(#haikuchallenge 3/5/16)(prospect)

"They're all terrible."
"Have you seen the new prospect?"
"No, and why bother?"

Sleepy
(#haikuchallenge 3/6/16)(long)

Wide, gaping mouth-hole
Long, airy exhalation
Truly, a great yawn

Curious
(#haikuchallenge 3/7/16)(ask)

"Why?" the child might ask.
An answer time and again.
Inexhaustible.



You can participate in the #haikuchallenge by following @baffled on Twitter.
You can follow me @WestonHasty.

Haiku Challenge (Jan. 14-17, 2016) ~ Haiku #12-15

I wrote the following haiku as part of the #haikuchallenge on Twitter from a while back. I only made it four days in, but I thought I'd put up what I wrote, anyway.

Ruthless Jack
(#haikuchallenge 1/14/16) (fumble)

Frosty's frozen hands
Fumble for and grip my throat
Tightly on this night

Violent Winds
(#haikuchallenge 1/15/16) (bent)

The howling torrents
The bent trees and darkened skies
And the Earth turns still

Bribe

(#haikuchallenge 1/16/16) (bribe)

Bitter, icy cold

Could I only bribe Summer

Bribe with my shivers

Faith

(#haikuchallenge 1/17/16) (faith)

The Sun dips below

But the Children need not fear

Have faith in a dawn



You can participate in the #haikuchallenge by following @baffled on Twitter.
You can follow me @WestonHasty.

Low Battery ~ Haiku #11

Light growing dimmer
Panic levels rising fast
All comes to an end