Pocket-Sized Pieces + Poems

A couple of weeks ago, mixed-media artist and good friend Liz Gardner debuted the first eight months of her Pocket-Sized Pieces series at the Hobbs Building open studios event. Basically, Liz is creating a small piece of artwork (roughly 3x3 inches, give or take) for every single day of this year, using thread, watercolors, ink, clear plastic, scraps of magazines and a variety of other materials.

While scanning in her pieces over the summer, I began writing accompanying poems in haiku form (technically, many of them should be called senryū) inspired directly or indirectly by each of her pocket-sized pieces, or PSPs. The poems are not intended to tie the PSPs to any specific interpretation, but rather to present some of the countless ways in which each piece can be considered.

The following is a sampling of PSPs from February, March and April and their accompanying poems. The goal is to put some kind of book or calendar together once they are all complete, in addition to an exhibit. If you like what you see here, be sure to check Liz's Web site to see some more examples of her art and keep up on upcoming events. Enjoy!

(Click on each piece to enlarge)

4/4

the rarest of birds
emerges through a red shroud
silently cooing

4/30

a golden collar
for the kitten with green eyes
and nine hundred lives

4/28

drink carafes of wine
find peace at the piazza
lazy Firenze

4/26

the heart of a dog
is easier to read than
the heart of a man

4/25

angry lover leaves
his laundry basket behind
on Liberty street

4/10

home appliances
forging dark alliances
in my new kitchen

4/12

social networking
interconnected lines show
just how I know you

4/1

vaginal machines
drones bearing pheromones in
service of the queen

3/9

glaciers on the go
projected trajectories
away from the poles

3/8

am Kurfürstendamm
returning from KDW
Kaufhaus des Westens

3/7

composition marked
by a lack of violins
but she still hears them

3/28

attention shoppers:
The Great Shopping Cart Face-Off
is about to start

3/26

escaped from the farm
a sentimental rooster
remembers childhood

3/22

following the flag
undaunted until you fall
off a precipice

3/19

rainbow rivulets
racing to the finish line
to snap the ribbon

3/18

ladies of the night
make a different kind of call
by the light of day

3/15

Earth's out of orbit
all the people in China
jumped at the same time

3/12

spin straw into gold
tell your secrets to no one
but the campfire

3/10

Cinderella team
searches for the right fit for
the silver sneaker

2/26

fair for the veggies
celebration of being
fare for the veggies

2/19

a square of lace torn
from the scrapbook of your past
life as a cherub

2/4

dismembered mallard
Nintendo's not innocent
for Duck Hunt victims

2/13

bloody sea serpent
what did you eat for breakfast?
anyone I knew?

2/15

your heart-shaped glasses
tinted windows to the soul
of a hot summer

2/20

seashells behind glass
tiny turrets, sea torches
on the diamond shores

2/2

swallow a snow globe
then get an X-Ray taken
it will look like this

2/28

mating rituals
between super guys and girls
involve lightning bolts

2/22

echolocations
leading to baroque caverns
black and red flowers

more information, videos and PSPs from January at www.lizgardner.com

Poems from Outer Space

Some people say I've taken the whole haiku thing too far. Others say I haven't taken it far enough. I've decided to err on the side of adventure and take the haiku writing all the way to outer space.

The choice to write in haiku is one of practicality as much as aesthetics. As lovely as it would be to present the planets in sestina, sonnet or villanelle form, haikus are much easier to radio in using lucubrations.net's sophisticated network of interplanetary baby monitors. With an ode, you risk losing a verse without knowing the difference, but the short, consistent syllable count of a haiku increases the chance of successful broadcast.

The poem cycle begins and ends on a terrestrial level, moving on to explore each planet and encounter other celestial activity along the way. Collectively, I like to call these poems "the solar system."

The astronomical art above was skillfully rendered and graciously shared by Mr. Dave Coates.

I hope you enjoy.

HAIKU SOLAR SYSTEM

the moon is rising
I am climbing up a hill
who will get their first?

planetarium
amid star clusters and moons
nine planets appear

Mercury I've heard
conspiracies to melt you
into tooth fillings

fireballs will fall
on the roof of our skylab
head to the spacement

morning and evening
star seductress Venus is
lust of the planets

dark side of the moon
Astronauts who go AWOL
like to gather here

Earth try as I might
I can't manage to escape
your troubled surface

satellite shot down
by Orion the Hunter
with his mighty bow

Red planet promise
Mars Rover Mars Rover I'm
flying right over

in space debris I
find the perfect metaphor
for my mental state

eye of Jupiter
unblinking and shot through with
thunder and lightning

Ganymede the Moon
kidnapped by the Planet King
to be cupbearer

Saturn's rings spin on
in solar Saturnalia
dance of 60 moons

if you get this far
life in outer space is a
Gas Giant party

Uranus you is
the punchline of schoolyard jokes
about anuses

far-reaching orbits
when will I see you again?
moons ask each other

Neptune is a sea
where Neptunians sing tunes
cool blue and distant

dwarf planets hitchhike
a ride on Haley's comet
past the asteroids

Pluto you are still
a part of the family
for kids in Kansas

drink a glass of stars
swallow a constellation
hiccup a pulsar

sun is coming up
I am on the path back home
pass it on the way

thursday tracks and photo retrospective

Above is a picture Jennifer took of our porch at Warwickshire. It's three stories up and covered in trees. At night I'll sit out there, sip summer brew and listen to music for hours. If you'd like to hear some of the music I've been playing lately, you can drop by the the lukebox. And if you're not familiar with this so-called perpetual mixtape, this post from a few weeks back will explain its origins and how to download these tracks in iTunes.

Now I know most of you visit this site to read my long-winded rants and to see the latest photos from miss brothers, but today I'm going to post a few photos of my own, part of a recent flickr set culled from past trips to Berlin, Barcelona, Dubuque, New York, Lawrence, Hamburg and down the street. Here goes, with a wee bit of haiku accompaniment:


Kermit and Peanut
at Hell's Kitchen Flea Market
discussing their lives


aboard the Twilight
The ancient deckhand stares down
the Mississippi


sticker removal
my sunburst telecaster
with a tiny star


swimming skeleton
Berlin's famous decadence
has caught up to him


Eppendorfer Park
Till woke up to discover
he'd aged sixty years


Laura makes a mess
covering the counter in
chocolate syrup swirls


At my uncle's ranch
I trail behind the horses
on the four wheeler


she used to live in
the Valentine neighborhood
but she moved away


trees hills ruins trees
we've got everything you need
to build dead cities

If you'd like to see more pictures, you can go to my flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/lukasfotos to see the rest of the 40 or so pics from the past 2 years that I just put up. Or check out this digital pinhole set by Tara Sloan. It's pretty cool, as you can see below. Thanks for reading and have a splendid day.

Hamburg Haiku and Foto Journey

Upon seeing my 100 Haikus about Bonn, my friend Moritz scoffed that he could not believe I hadn't written at least 10 about Hamburg, my second town of residence in Germany. I've finally prepared a few dozen to share, though they are in some cases little more than captions to some photos from 2004-2006. Photos are by me and a few by Jenn unless otherwise noted. Thanks to Hamburg friends for the inspiration and encouragement. Please let me know of any mistakes you might see.


Boats on the harbor
take tourists between barges
and through the canals


woman is free but
everywhere she is in chains
clamped on golden calves


The beckoning blue
guides you to the U-bahn stop
at Landungsbruecken


Hopes of the squatters
are shripwrecked at the shores of
the Hafentreppe

(Hafentreppe = harbor steps)


the Hafentreppe
a gateway to the harbor
you can buy drugs here


The protestors shout
"Kein Hotel im Wasserturm!"
but to no avail



These are the green vines
that cling to the old brick walls
of the post office


bin viel geschwommen
unter die gruene Lichte
am Holthusenbad


Weinachtsmann of Wurst
slings his Christmas sausage links
to winter shoppers


the Rote Flora
rock shows and vegan dinners
for the anarchists


graffiti dreamland
an activist jungle gym
behind the theatre


Philosophenturm
"tower of philosophy"
I had class here once


Pfanner Gruener Tee
is the elixir of life
drink it by the box


altes und neues
stehen gegeneinander
Kirche und Hochaus


Koenig der Loewen
shuttles the theatergoers
to the musical


steht auf dem klingel
"auf zwei raedern bleibt man jung"
bikeride and believe


pedal past chapels
and the fields of soldier's graves
nameless in the sun


the grabengel weeps
and lingers on the headstone
of her dead husband


all the ice-skaters
skate along to the sounds of
Harry's Eisdisco


Elbetelescop
see across the galaxy
for just 50 cents


alte Elbtunnel
surrealistic frisbee
und lichtenspiele


once you've hacky-sacked
in the bowels of the earth
you can not go back


at the Hafenklang
you never go home alone
der Rhythmus kommt mit


Susannenstrasse
where the Sternschanze starlets
go to drink coffee


wall of astronauts
who have ventured into space
and brought back new sounds


back when I was young
me and Susi had fun at
the Crocodile rock


St. Pauli Fussball
Pirates drunk in the floodlights
nachts am Millerntor

(photo by Ayla Kiran)


at the Grey Havens
bid farewell and chart a course
to Undying Lands

(and a few I don't have photos up for yet)

Every weekend night
prostitutes in puffy coats
line the streets of Kiez

red retro ballroom
ascend velvet rolltreppe
to Revolver Club

Zardos is the place
to drink a cappucino
and buy some records

riding around the
Stadtpark Planetarium
on my bike at night

Auf der Reeperbahn
the spirit of Hans Albers
sings a festive tune


when it's time to leave
I board my private shuttle
to the USA

100 Haikus about Bonn, Germany

After months of intermittent efforts, I have finally finished writing one hundred haikus about my year living along the Rhine. I finished this project in September 2006 to coincide with the five year anniversary of my arrival in Bonn. I am posting them today because it is national poetry day in the United Kingdom, and that's a good as occasion as any.

Eventually, I would like to make these into a little booklet complete with translations, footnotes and photographs. So let me know if you might be interested, and I'll make sure you get a copy. For now, though, I thought I would just let the text stand on its own. Comments and corrections are welcome, as are questions about language or content. Thanks to Adam for encouragement and editing, Cory for penning the inspirational collection "100 Haikus about the Science Library" and thanks to you for reading. And be warned, 100 haikus is quite a few, so it might be best not to try and read them all in one sitting, if you dare try reading them at all.

Trip to the Wetlands

Clyde Ahote's Haikus from the Wilderness

The Baker Wetlands
on the first Sunday of fall
where tallgrass stands tall

A chorus of kaws
the white noise of the blackbirds
circling the tree

Cattail cotton haze
a girl throws a crabapple
into the green sludge

The sunflowers turn
a faded shade of amber
in late afternoon

Jennifer Brothers
considers a sunflower
with her camera

the young man marches
into the marshes wearing
ecogaloshes

Wetlands boundary
follow the raccoon's footprints
to Wakarusa

What then should we do
when we finally make it
to the outside world?

the click-clack of feet
following the red wood road
there's no place like home



Click here for more of Natalya's photos of wildflowers.

Haikus and photos, 8/25 - 9/3

Some Haikus and pics to chronicle the last two weeks or so. All the photos in Missouri (the bulk of the lot) taken by Jennifer; Kansas snapshots snapped by me. Missouri locations include old Frau Meierhoff's stained glass factory and loft in the City Market, and various Joplin landmarks like Arde's Villa, a restaurant which was built on the site of a deserted public swimming pool. The links will lead you to albums from Jennifer's flickr site. Worth checking out.

Kansan locales include Maggie's Farm in North Lawrence, Kansas State University, and a scenic overlook of the Kanzaa Prairie just outside Manhattan.


warehouse of treasures
the golden areolas
of the statuettes


highway underpass
where cyclists fear to pedal
playground of the trolls


3,000 years late
for my meeting with mneme
muse of memory


hedges and lilies
of redding's mill missouri
petrified cherubs


fake classic frescoes
where children once went swimming
a lifeless blue hose


hamburger hi-way
the road to obesity
is paved with milkshakes


the capri motel
sleep off decades' worth of kitsch
with our special rates


oh goodness greenness
behold the kanzaa prairie
you lone sunflower


BWB
traveler from New Jersey
surveys his old state


Professor Wetzel
reports the latest findings
from the microscope


a window closes
on the giant shuttlecock
just a reflection


I played the mouth harp
in the order of kaos
organic space jams


magic birthing hut
amadeus was born here
on saturday night


the science of bugs
is not to be confused with
the study of words


gondola travels
under the venetian bridge
ripples of stained glass


the devil's blue dress
is hung up in the closet
bye bye, debutante


take a final hit
from the dark bowl of perry
embers of summer

haikus and pictures, July 1-6

Monument, Colorado

Cop ahead, go slow
the road to the trailer park
rife with alfalfa

Denver

Yesterday's okays
from paper politicians
who have lost their hands

Horseshoe Tavern, Hays, KS

cycle, leather, gun
and my dog in the basket
what more could I want?

Vine Street, Hays

Al's Chickenette
where a salad consists of
iceberg and crackers

Colorado Springs

giraffe in brown pants
why's he wear red suspenders?
to keep his pants up

Circle 8 Motel

the soda motto
that will be carved on my grave
"drink Coke, play again"

Cripple Creek valley

Driving my white bus
over the mountains and through
the schoolgrounds of sludge

Cripple Creek heights

strip-mined mountainsides
like a Tower of Babble
that's built in reverse

the old mine

lightbeams piercing through
the holes in my blacksmith's shack
now it's not so black

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

1828
The home of Anders Tallman
forgotten valley

music business

G.B.'s record store
Jacob Baum bought music here
when he was a child

Joplin, France

giant Jennybros
girlzilla in a striped dress
in la tour eiffel