フォト俳句

Something I like to do on Twitter (actually pretty much all I did on there for quite a while) is to take a picture of something with my phone, upload it to Twitter, and compose a “haiku” about it.

Twitter is where I got the title of this blog post, incidentally. “#フォト俳句” is a popular hashtag there, I just found out. I will make note of that for future use. 🙂

In case you can’t read Japanese (I can only read bits and pieces here and there, for the record), “フォト俳句” means “photo haiku.” The katakana “フォト” is pronounced, roughly, “fu oh toh” (which if you say it all together sounds like “photo”) and the kanji “俳句” is pronounced (and means) “haiku.”

I used quotation marks there because my “Haikus” aren’t always strictly Haikus. I.e. I don’t always follow the subject matter guidelines, I don’t always attempt to eliminate “ego” from them, and so on. Go here to find out more.

But anyways, I got to looking back through my Twitter feed the other day, and I have done quite a few of them. Here they are, take ’em or leave ’em.

***

October 21, 2015

Chemicals that burn
The sky while making it so
Gosh darn beautiful

57

***

April 15, 2016

A cup of coffee
With 2% milk in a
Decorative cup.

56

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April 19, 2016

The mostly flat wall
Of trees along the highway
That the mowers cut.

55

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April 20, 2016

Everything, nothing,
The same thing, the opposite,
The bird is quite fat.

54

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May 17, 2016

The feast is over.
The people have all gone home.
You should go home, too.

53

***

June 15, 2016

Butterfly on the
Ceiling of the front porch. Is
The pic upside down?

52

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June 22, 2016

“Kitties, you say? I
Don’t see any around here…
I chased them all off.”

51

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July 9, 2016

Lawnmower cat says:
“Lawnmower without mowing
Deck cannot mow much.”

50

***

July 11, 2016

Noosa Aussie Style
Blueberry yoghurt, where have
You been all my life?

49

***

August 6, 2016

At the ripe old age
of 36, I still can’t
grow a (bleep bleep) beard.

48

***

August 12, 2016

Fat guy weed-eating
Without a shirt on, and a
Molting cicada.

47

***

August 18, 2016

The worst enemy
He ever faced, really, was
Himself, not the cigs.

46

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August 19, 2016

Spiny orb weaver?
Not native to Arkansas,
least I don’t think so…

45

***

August 23, 2016

Man with double chin
Tries to figure out Facebook
Live. “Is there an app?”

44

***

August 27, 2016

Looking at old and
Forgotten phone pics: many
Pictures of the sky.

43

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August 28, 2016

Where was that kitty?
There he was. That kitty was.
Been there the whole time.

42

***

August 30, 2016

“I’m just here for the
Mosquitoes,” the spider said.
“I am on your side.”

41

***

September 3, 2016

“The camp” used to be
Part of my grandparents’ house;
So I have been told.

40

***

September 7, 2016

It is possible
To be allergic only
To specific cats.

39

***

September 7, 2016

I’m not gonna tell
You I’m a good cook, but I
Am not a bad cook.

38

***

September 10, 2016

After getting his
Phone back online, M. sees that
Offline is better.

37

***

September 13, 2016

rainwater collects
on the country road, reflects
the fast clearing sky.

36

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September 13, 2016

shiny black beetle
crouched underneath some clover
hopes he is hidden.

35

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September 16, 2016

Bright red Lycoris
Radiata, reaching up
Through severed tree limbs.

34

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September 25, 2016

Sorry there isn’t
A haiku. I did not have
Time to make one up.

33

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October 7, 2016

Light and darkness, air
And water, trees and sunlight.
A pleasant walk home.

32

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October 16, 2016

La Flama Blanca,
before and after he rolled
Off the 2 X 12.

31a31b

***

October 19, 2016

There… that’s better. (So
I’m a compulsive copy
editor. So what?)

30

***

October 19, 2016

The sky is blue ’cause
sunlight looks different from
different angles.

29a29b

***

October 23, 2016

“Look,” the toilet said,
“I just need a little more
space. That’s all, OK?”

28

***

November 2, 2016

Every moment
Is a work of art painted
By you and your brain.

27

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December 19, 2016

Numb fingers, dripping
nose, wind cuts through my jacket…
A beautiful day.

26

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January 7, 2017

Plain white rice and green
Olives actually taste
Quite good together

25

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January 20, 2017

Stagnant pond water
Only moves when the wind blows
Or the pond’s too full.

24

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January 24, 2017

Unfortunately,
The adage “shit runs downhill”
Ain’t quite cuttin’ it.

23

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Febuary 2, 2017 (written the previous Christmas)

The Israeli girl
At the kiosk in the mall
Is good at her job.

22

***

February 2, 2017

Time heals all your wounds
And coats all your memories
With a glossy sheen.

21

***

February 3, 2017

“It’s windy today,”
the cow said. “I am gonna
get behind something.”

20

***

February 4, 2017

So a new kitty
Ate with the barn cats–hold on!
That’s not a kitty!

19

***

February 11, 2017

Not bad for 8 bucks…
Especially looking
Forward to “Flatland.”

18

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February 16, 2017

Chilly morning fog
Rising up from the water
And disappearing.

17

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February 18, 2017

This is the best kind
Of Gatorade, even though
It sounds kinda gross.

16

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February 21, 2017

“Nom nom, nom nom nom,
(Gulp) nom nom nom, nom nom nom
Nom, (gulp), nom, nom nom…”

15

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February 22, 2017

Nelson Kitty, on
A reconnaissance mission
Looking for trouble.

14

***

March 1, 2017

Nom… (gulp). [“You want some
hay, man? It’s pretty good stuff…”]
Nom Nom nom, (gulp), nom…

13

***

March 16, 2017

Yellow pine pollen
Falls upon a damp brown leaf
And dries in the sun.

12

***

March 21, 2017

What you see here is
Not a butterfly. It’s just
A picture of one.

11

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April 3, 2017

Describe what you see
Without describing yourself.
Clouds, water, and stuff.

10

***

May 7, 2017

I think I need a
bigger umbrella. This one
ain’t quite cuttin’ it.

9

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June 3, 2017

When you realize
You’re spending way too much time
Staring at your phone.

8

***

June 3, 2017

A cardboard box that
once contained Roma ketchup
packets, now empty.

7

***

June 11, 2017

Mosquito larvae
in a Heineken bottle
cap. That one’s squirmin’.

6

***

July 10, 2017

“This is way better
than cat food,” the kitty cat
said. “Get back, it’s mine.”

5

***

July 20, 2017

Bird 1: “What is the
meaning of life?” Bird 2: “(Sigh.)
Not this shit again.”

4

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July 22, 2017

“Meow,” said the cat
to her kitten. “Meow,” the
kitten said to her.

3

***

September 27, 2017

The sky looks blue to
My eye; looks grey through my phone.
Does this mean something?

2

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