meta-haiku on the internet part #1

November 27, 2006 - Monday

1:31 AM - Swatted On The Nose With The Rolled Up Newspaper Of Truth -Part 1:. Haikudo Category: Blogging 1)The slightest whispered Breeze ends the worm's tortures Butterfly escapes 2)A statement of fact Makes him furious, insane Bringing his madness 3) Fluttering insect Why can you fly while I can't? Respect gravity! 4) Float across the fields Wormhood all but forgotten Pollen dusted wings 5) I found my own cure I'll just grow butterfly wings Writing senryu I was chained to vanity in my own private Helicon, when the serene avatar of the inimitable Je Maverick appeared before me. Always happy to see the face of this trusted advisor and friend, I imagined his glowing praises and copious Kudos gracing the comments of my latest post, Meta-Haiku. There were over 25 original poems amassed and his own response was in the familiar three line, 17 syllable form. The message he left caused my mental circuits to freeze. I quickly rebooted my brain and tried to understand the secret code being transmitted by the cryptic comment. What did he mean by this? This is senryu Remember it is content That makes a haiku Was I being accused of plagiarism? Had I lost the respect of a valued ally? Are the copyright police right now rifling my email for evidence? And who the HELL is Senryu? My mind had gone from smug to survival mode in the span of 17 syllables. Pride to paranoia in the space of three lines. Visions of very expensive lawyers intimidating my court appointed attorney swarmed through my head. My dream of someday being introduced by Oprah as "the Million Haiku Man" was overwritten by the 60 Minutes Special "the Haiku Thief". I wondered if there was a mandatory minimum sentence for whatever I was being accused of doing or neglecting. I'm too pretty for poets prison. I would change my name and move to Ohiowa where they've never met a poet and the scandal couldn't follow me. With numb digits, I logged out of MySpace; maybe for the last time. (TO BE CONTINUED...)