Bushwick Haiku
Oh, the bodega.
So many on each corner,
Like ghetto Starbucks.
Gushing and flowing,
Relief from summer’s torture.
The hydrant bursts forth.
The fight rages on.
Renovation the weapon,
Hipsters the army.
Shouting and yelling
At empty windows and doors.
Why not a cell phone?
Friends from the island,
Wary of walking alone,
Jealous of my rent.
(Leave your Bushwick haiku in the comments!)
Oh, “tree of heaven”
Get over yourself ok?
You are just a weed.
This one’s for Bed-Stuy:
Toddlers and children,
I see you in the playground.
It’s well past midnight.
Dear Bushwick so much salsa
Sweet and delicious
I miss you so much
Corn on the cob with hot sauce
Smiles from boys on the corner
How could I ever leave you?
My building, my block
For me, the safest on earth
Even when it’s rough
The flags and the cars
The bar-b-que in the carts
The sounds and the smells
I don’t miss the heat
but I do miss the hotness
Soon I will be home
Umm… I’ll play. Not really a haiku, more like Shakespearean iambic pentameter verse:
Thus stand the mother by the store front sign.
Above her head it reads “Cent Ninety-Nine.”
Her daughter plays with water pistol fine.
And shoots her mother, soaking wet devine.
Mom shoots an angry “fuck is wrong with you?!”
Her daughter shrugs, indifferent to the whine.
People outside Bodega in summer heat
Playing dominos and blaring latin music
Can’t you at least dance a little too?
Hmm. Maybe this will help some of you.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/haiku
cmon people
it’s:
5
7
5
and i can’t think of anything, or else i would do one
sign on a wall said
“you are not your neighborhood”
I didn’t understand.
Howling garden cat,
why can’t you find another
cat to go home with?
The cellar door shakes
rattles under the weight of
rats running under
the buildings next door
demolished and instead stand
luxury condos
hipsters wanting cred
desperate for acceptance
not shived yet- why?
Hiss radiator
cover my window with dew
I can smell plantains
Bushwick isn’t bad.
It is an intersection
thinking about class.
a try at Haiku
hushed voices on stoops
as pale light colors the sky
only in Bushwick
what the hell happened
to my easy parking space?
Oversized vans, bite me.
This was hilarious - how about a switch up to limericks? Those are easier. There once was a man from Bushwick…
man? it’s the young hipsters that are going to change this town for the better. let’s sing their praises.
Debris on my stoop.
I clean it up. It returns.
Spontaneous generation?
Write five syllables.
Then write seven syllables.
Then write five again.
How hard could it be? I just wrote one by accident.
One taboo place now.
How crazy for being here.
Acceptance comes when?
Anyone care to answer with one?
Matt (although not sure which Matt you are) this was a great idea, and get everyone thinking about their neighborhood up close.
D and Rays - you’re were great!
Since bodegas have
been around for much longer
than Starbucks, wouldn’t that
make Starbucks the pretentious bodega?
They raise chickens there
In the yard behind the house
Behind my own house
ninety-nine cent store
the only place where one can
buy russian toothpaste