Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Haikus For The Woman By The Side Of The Road This Morning

Driving down to work,
6:30 AM, sunrise.
At the edge of Monroe.

Colors of muted
Green and brown and grey and white...
and bright magenta.

You stroll by the side
of the highway, in the grass,
wearing your nightgown.

Nightgown? Really? Sure?
Yes. Satiny, Shiny, and
Thankfully not short.

Grass covered your feet
So I couldn't prove the pair
of fuschia slippers.

You seemed comfortable
with your being, no need for
a coat or a robe.

Best of all, in your
hand was the leash attached to
the black, happy dog.

Strolling there with you,
tail high, around his neck
a large white lampshade.

He seemed quite perky.
So maybe the shade was more
a fashion statement.

Thank you for the smile.
I will keep your image with
me throughout the day.

In my dull clothes
Of beige and muted aqua
and brown and camel.

But my mind is now
Magenta and fuschia and
perky white lampshades.

Labels:

20 Comments:

Blogger karmic said...

I loved reading this and is quite lovely. I don't see why the label is "Horrid Haikus" :)

10:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A Diana Haiku; it is a special morning. These are so much better than the sad pet reports, but they are also essential.

The Ole RF-er

12:30 PM  
Blogger Stepping Over the Junk said...

I love it! I love the nightgown part.

5:31 PM  
Blogger Diana said...

Sanjay- Well, I considered 'horrible haikus' and 'wretched haikus' and 'truly vile haikus' but I liked the ring of 'horrid haikus' best. For that is what they are. They are truly awful and meant to be that way, for there are some absurd things in life that can be best described using absurdly bad poetry.

Dad- I, too, prefer the ridiculous to the depressing.

Stepping- I just got the biggest kick out of her. She clearly didn't mind who saw her walking her dog in her nightie. She didn't seem crazy or lost, just doing her thing.

5:35 PM  
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

And I thought you were writing about yourself there for a minute!
Well, you could be that lady for someone else driving by!

(I got results and posted about it..lots I didn't understand but way better than I expected. No suspected strokes anyway which was my main worry and only a little bit of plaque on right carotid) )

8:30 PM  
Blogger Coffee-Drinking Woman said...

Why do I have a sudden urge to get a black dog and fuschia slippers?

12:00 AM  
Blogger CarpeDM said...

Hee! I don't know that I can actually comment. Too busy laughing over the image. I love the Horrid Haikus! One of my favorite features.

12:19 PM  
Blogger Dumdad said...

I wouldn't call this absurdly bad poetry! Absurdly bad would be unreadable and this is anything but.

2:18 PM  
Blogger Voyager said...

I wish I had the nerve to walk the dog in my nightgown and slippers. I can see why you were so delighted by the image.
V.

4:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I may be necessarily biased, but I think the best imagery in these haikus is that of the dog with the Elizabethan collar. Poor puppy probably just had surgery (nut removal?).

By the by: I updated my BLOG. Now I will get to the questions you asked me about a billion years ago.

5:27 PM  
Blogger riseoutofme said...

What a great way to start your day.

Happy people, happy dog, happy colours ....

7:37 PM  
Blogger Diana said...

Teri- Just the accessories for your new house.

Dana- Aw, shucks, honey.

Dumdad- See, I'm trying for something like the movie "Evil Dead". So bad it makes you laugh and even better after beers.

Voyager- So, would you choose magenta or something a bit more refined?

Ariella- If so, he seemed pretty chipper for being recently demoted from 'he' to 'it'. (Yippee! You're back in writing form.)

Rise- You've got that right. And some say all the weird happens in the cities. Clearly not.

11:24 AM  
Blogger Jocelyn said...

You are a veritable William Carlos Williams.

Seriously. I am terrible at this kind of stuff, yet you create these great vignettes and images.

12:03 AM  
Blogger Babs said...

Haiku?? Horrid?? No!!
Fuschia, maybe so, I think
In morning time, pink!


I cannot critique
dog woman, though, as girl
who walks Beast often


in flannel Eeyore
PJ pants, they are comfy
yes!! but in city??

with bunny shirt
and fuzzy leopard slippers??
They laugh hard.

7:27 AM  
Blogger listie said...

I love the horrid haikus, although they are far from horrid. I can just picture her on the side of the road...

1:14 PM  
Blogger Diana said...

Jocelyn- You are ever kind to me but if the ghost of Wm C. Williams turns up and haunts you malevolently for saying this, you have only yourself to blame.

Babs- Out here, in rural America, we think flannel PJ pants are the height of fashion and wear them to the store and the doctor and certainly while walking the dog. We usually pair them with flip-flops, though, and rarely fuzzy slippers, unless it's winter.

Listie- Once again, had I only had my camera, although I probably would have been to bemused to snap the picture before she was distant in my rear-view mirror.

2:22 PM  
Blogger Wanderlust Scarlett said...

That's wonderful! I love that!

At first I thought, what... no photo of this feast for the eyes?

But then I realized that no photo could do justice to the depth and vision of your words.

Excellent writing, thanks for sharing the moment!


Scarlett & Viaggiatore

3:26 PM  
Blogger moegirl said...

Love your haiku! You really are a talented writer.

It reminded me of one of my morning drives about two months ago, when I saw a man waiting for a bus in SE P-land wearing a matador's costume.

1:47 AM  
Blogger Diana said...

Scarlet- How very nice to meet you and Viaggiatore! Sadly, I am not as adept at capturing the roadside moments as you are. Might help if I kept a camera in the car, but then I doubt I'd remember to use it in time.

Stace- You'd think a matador would at least be able to afford a horse.

8:44 AM  
Blogger brooksba said...

Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee! I'm giggling so hard that I can't breathe. This is great!

4:43 AM  

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