Food, Home and Style

Haiku You – Poetry for the Impoverished

There’s something about hard times that makes a weary soul wax poetic. The haiku is the ideal form for expressing the deep feelings stirred by the downturn. Its compact form (typically a 5-7-5 metrical pattern), simple language and habitual twist give a sense of the unexpected that seems to fit uncertain times.

I got inspired last night while doing my taxes…

Can’t get paid today –
But who am I to complain?
Color me freelance.

This, admittedly, is nothing compared to what our colleagues at Unemployment Haiku Weekly are turning out. The new blog brims with poignant pieces that deploy a mischievous sensibility, paired with exquisite drawings depicting the down-and-out. In one piece, the poet offers a plaint to the 80s hair-band Loverboy…

You’re wrong, Loverboy
Everyone is not working
For the weekend, dude

If the lyrical reference eludes, you obviously weren’t buying albums in 1983.

Our friend Jamie Metzl, an Asia expert and writer, among many other talents, sent over his spare take on the recession’s impact:

Generations’ work
Rivers swallow skipping stones
Prada, I.R.A.

Prefer to wear your haiku on your sleeve? We spotted some groovy t-shirts at Café Press that use the less-common-but-equally-fab 4-4-3-4 metrical form.

No money. No job.
Bailout plan to
save all….still
No money. No job.

We couldn’t have said it better.

Tags: haiku, Loverboy