Most of the poetry I read goes over my head, but haiku is something that tends to stick with me. The compactness of a haiku fits my attention span nicely, though the good ones have an impact much larger than their words. This poem resulted from that day’s #haikuhorrorprompt prompt on Twitter, which was “kerosene.”
Forgive us, Lord, for
when a loved one passes, we
ask ourselves: What next?
Years of devotion lead to this
necessary song that catches
every sad note.
Image: “Have you ever eaten breakfast here before?” by Barbara Gordon. “Reverie Work Ahead” was written by Zeid for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, September 2024, and selected as the Editor’s Choice.
Einstein washes the dishes
He knew he could not change the world
So he tried to change the universe
Knowing it would be absurd
But then again, it could’ve been worse
I’m dumber than a Phillips head screwdriver
or on-ramp or speculum or rain and every diacritical
you can think of, critically or not, can do something
I can’t, I believe in the wisdom of matter,
that every form it takes is a species of intelligence
Outside my window at night I hear sounds.
Sounds of animals having fun. As my eyelids
were shutting I heard a “Who Who”
I was being funny I said “Me” and the owl said “You”