Wednesday, November 25, 2009

3WW (CLXV)

Image of a woman and child, peering out of their window, in India.Dear Gentle Reader,

It's 3WW time, again.

This week (CLXV) the words are give, obvious, and thanks.

Apparently I am feeling contrarian today. And grumpy.

Or I'm a good observer.

Let's hope it's the first. I fear, though, that it's the second.

Anyway, as usual, each haiku gets its own American sentence title.




"I don't give handouts--try work." he snarled to the girl on his way to Church...

"Give thanks, not money"
he whispered, low, in the pew,
obviously right.



Maybe Eliot Spitzer thought that he was the one giving favours...

Obviously she
thanked me for my gifts. Time, me,
money. Dressed. And left.


Forget Rochefoucauld's Maxim 216; I want adulation, now.

Give obviously.
Fuck Rochefoucauld. It only
counts if you get seen.


Tschuess,
Chris


Oh, and the music, for today, is a poppy little rap number about homeless folk, unlike the lucky two in today's picture.

Click to hear Mr. Wendal, from 1992, by Arrested Development

Amazon.com iTunes

Tschuess,
Chris




22 comments:

anthonynorth said...

Nicely done. Especially the middle one.

Fireblossom said...

While I enjoy haiku written by others, I am not friendly with the form myself. Writing them makes me feel as if I am turning into Gary Snyder, and I break out in hives.

Sepiru Chris said...

Thanks, Anthony.

Fireblossom,

Well fortunately for us you do so well with your own forms. (Lorelei.)

Gary Snyder; that makes me smile.

I suppose he liked Deep Ecology; I like the deep concatenation of meanings and allusions that are possible with haiku, and, generally, ought to be mandatory.

But, not always.

Hives, though? See, I obviously have things wrong, but I could see you hanging with the Beat Poets. I could see Joan Jett hanging with the Beat Poets. But maybe I'm missing some context; this is the problem with reading so much, one sometimes misses the obvious.

Thanks for comin' over.

Tschuess,
Chris

murat11 said...

Grumpy Wednesday, hermano, grumpy! I know how you feel, though: happens to me often with the SS girls over at Sunday Scribblings. The 3WW folks are obviously cousins of Cotton and Increase, at least this week. I do like the dewy spritz of the Spitzer haiku. "Time, me, money" is hilarious. Nice conjugal rhythms. :-D

Love the photo. Nothing contrarian there. Lovely.

Sepiru Chris said...

Dear Murat11,

It is a grumpy Wednesday. Thom (the curator of words at 3WW) -- I am going to have some words with you...

Give Obvious Thanks are a bit tough on haikuists. But, Murat, you are right. Their cousins, Cotton and Increase, might be tough. But then I could groove on underwear and Cotton Ginnys and the revolutions, economic or sexual.

Hmm. I think I could do OK with Cotton Increase, although less Cotton might increase other things like, maybe, libido.

Although there is always the warning of Corinna (remember her) from Piet Hein's world...

FORETASTE WITH AFTERTASTE

Corinna's scanty evening dress
reveals her charms to an excess
which makes a fellow lust for less

...

But, as usual, I digress.

I am delighted that you like the "dewy spritz of the Spitzer haiku."

I mean, how can I not quote that.

Conjugal rhythms, indeed, my friend. In deed.

It is my favourite, too.

Tschuess,
Chris

gautami tripathy said...

Being grumpy is ok. It gets out the poetic me!

I like the middle one best.

And I would very much like to have TEA with you. I love the stuff!

:D

Anonymous said...

haha i love the last one :D
and thanks for dropping by my blog, chris.
http://littlekhargosh.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/falling/#comment-252

Dominic Rivron said...

Your "man in church" one hits a particularly twisted nail on the head! Good one.

when the musics over said...

I am ignorant of Rochefoucauld's Maxims. But I do love the tales of the righteous! Sharp whitted offerings for 3WW this week, Chris!

Happy Thanksgiving to you! Is it duck in your part of the world?

PS the Pratsie said...

u have the art for real wonderful posts !! loved the first haiku :)

Teresa said...

So sorry you're in a grumpy mood, Chris. I hope Pommes was not using your leg as post to sharpen his claws and that those beastly scars from the "coral liposuction" have all healed.

Personally, I liked the first haiku; it conjures images of "A Christmas Carol" and Ebeneezer Scrooge to put me in a right, proper holiday spirit (no soup kitchens for me!).

I would have thought Cotton and Increase would 'mather' have been associated with that one than with all the shocking concupiscence of number 2 or the blatant profanity and conspicuous courage of number 3. (I had to google that Rochefoucauld: "True bravery is shown by performing without witness what one might be capable of doing before all the world!" Maxim 216)


Of course, now that Murat's pirouetting in the "big (new) house," he's probably an expert on conjugal rhythms and can better appreciate the subtle nuances of number 2.

The music today didn't do so much for me, but I do like the picture at the top of the post.

I also like your digression on the increase in cotton production in Madras during the Industrial Revolution followed by the decrease in consumption of cotton lingerie (a possible cause of hives, which have been known to produce grumpiness...) around the world as a result of the sexual revolution.

Have no fear, dear scribe, we all adore your words. Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to you, the Hero, and the Heroine.

Teresa

PS. I hereby render conspicuous gratitude for your cards! They are pasted up above my computer at work.

Loch Rob said...

The mirror is saying not there yet. Always trying (not quite there) as evidence from the last 6 months or so from my blog and a few posts on OSI. I had almost given up writing and decided to begin again with posts to OSI. The history of my writing recovery is contained therein for the permanent record. Older stuff not posted but in another archive for antiquity. I appreciate your comments and wish you well. I have made 14 or 15 trips to Asia over the past few years and enjoy Hong Kong immensley. Cheers, Rob.

Shadowplay said...

I'm a total haiku ignoramous. And I probably didn't even spell ignoramous right.

However (she said with her index finger tapping her nose) I totally grooved on these mind benders!

By visiting often enough, I hope to become wiser. (I typed 'wider' at first... let's hope that is *not* the case, lol).

(and many thanks for dropping by my little bloggie earlier. great feedback!)

Thom Gabrukiewicz said...

As usual, you have outdone yourself. I know the words were a bit tough for some, I wanted words that sort of "fit" the season. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for going out and making a difference with the folks who contribute. You are very astute with your observations, and I know it helps. Hey, it helps me.

Cloudia said...

Aloha & Happy Thanksgiving, Friend!


Comfort Spiral

Sepiru Chris said...

Dear Gautami,

Tea it is, or maybe even chai, next time I am in Delhi. Maybe you will share your favourite poetry bookmonger location with me.

I'm glad that you enjoyed one of the offerings this week, Gautami.


Dear Littlekhargosh,

You're welcome and I'm glad one of the selections went down smoothly. I wonder what this tells us about you... :)


Dear Dominic,

Twisted is always a favourite of mine. ...Except when it involves convolvulus...


Tschuess,
Chris

Sepiru Chris said...

Dear MichaelO,

Teresa has provided Maxim 216, in English, in her comment, two comments below yours.

In the original it read

"La parfaite valeur est de faire sans témoins ce qu'on serait capable de faire devant tout le monde."
or
"Perfect valour is to do without witnesses what one would do before all the world."

Anyway, you asked what people in Hong Kong eat for Thanksgiving...

I wrote you a post (accessible by clicking here) (or by going to tomorrow's post) to answer this question.

Happy American Thanksgiving.

Tschuess,
Chris

Sepiru Chris said...

Dear Prats,

Thank you very much.


Dear Teresa,

Wow. Where to begin? Thank you for all the kind and clever words that you always seem to have to spare.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and I wish you all the very best.

I know what you mean about the blatant profanity... I paused a long while, well, a long while for me writing haiku, but I decided that that haiku, and the tone, warranted the profanity.


Dear Loch Rob,

I wrote you a response on your blog. Enjoy the moment. It's tough, but a good place to start figuring that out is from this master of the moment whom I know... Check out Cloudia's site, she commented here. She is the mistress of now and peace in the now.


Dear Shadowplay,

I hope you DO become wider if the words fill you up.

I like the idea of verbal expansion... which is obvious from my comments, generally, and from my responses.

Haiku is my attempt, in one sphere, to tighten up my use of language.

A quick primer on haiku can be found way back in the archives... here. Actually, it is an essay that meanders around haikus. But I like it. (I ought to.) If you have time, check it out, maybe...


Dear Thom,

Well thank you very much... Although I suspect my assistance is more moral support. Chap book, Thom. Chap book...


Dear Cloudia,

And a very Happy Thanksgiving to your good self, too.

Aloha to you.



Tschuess all,
Chris

Fireblossom said...

I LOVE the beat poets! I'll have you know that I have a signed copy of "Howl". In my 20s I was crazy for Ginsberg, Corso, and Ferlinghetti, as well as Kerouac. I just never liked Snyder at all.

So, your insticts weren't wrong, my friend. ;-)

Sepiru Chris said...

Dear Fireblossom,

I always love to right.

*twirls*

Thank your for that.

*strikes a pose, puttin' on the ritz*

Tschuess,
Chris

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

The first one struck a chord with me and encapsulates a lot of what I don't like about many organized religions: give money, ask God for things (no matter how much you already have), and be stingy with your thanks.

Not all religious people are like this, of course, but there are elements who encourage such behavior.

one more believer said...

hilarious chris... all of em...