#1392 (#090)

…to charge dragons down…

…becoming bigger, tougher…

…to chase them all off…

#1391 (#089)

scales beneath my eyes

my own dragon aesthetic

i moisturise out 

#1390 (#088)

when we leave ourselves

at the door - unconfidence

zombification

#1389 (#087)

parallel scratches

they alarm you (and me) but

just the monitor

#1388 (#086)

social awkwardness 

that comes and goes don't know who

i will be today

#1387 (#085)

late blooming thoughts swirl,

keeping sleep in the doorway,

staring through the dark.

#1386 (#084)

in the swimming hall

social awkwardness sends me

to sit far away

#1385

the ferocity

lurches, twists, ripping, dripping

the anger bolts free

---

From words on page 261 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt 2024).

#1384 (#083)

this proustian bread

takes me back to meals with the

whole congregation

#1383 (#082)

new anxiety

from tests drawn from my insides

just breathe in and wait

#42

i just went there once

Kennedy’s for fish and chips

shall I tonight then?

and rid me of that mem’ry

too for it was a shit day

#1382 (#081)

jet washing street signs

in the early march sunshine

bright run off glistening

#41

potatoes roasting

the fat bubbling, crisping,

making them crunchy

(and the smell as they get close

and the taste as they go in)

#1381 (#080)

stone tower built where

his soul departed this realm

kept for his return

#40

crescent moon and star

hang high above the houses

extra bright tonight

(actually it was Venus)

(should have used an app to check)

#1380 (#079)

held together with

sticking tape, glue and paper

a soul leaking out

#1379 (#078)

when they come for you

you must all go quietly

to stand any chance

#1378 (#077)

hist'ry repeating

genes hidden reveal themselves

a future written? 

#1377 (#076)

that monday morning fear

that this week they'll find me out

and i’ll get the sack

#1376 (#075)

to see the great wave

unexpectedly calms me

brings me a day's peace

#1375 (#074)

but to not choose life,

or to choose not to fight for...

no two minds alike.

#1374 (#073)

the news from out there

it's now all too much to bear 

one crack too many

#1373 (#072)

nature is preferred 

because we don't control it

we can just observe

#1372 (#071)

was such a weird sight

a goose surveying the flats

from a street lamp’s top

#1371 (#070)

those hills divide clouds

keep the bad weather away

god bless those north downs

#1370 (#069)

the line at rain's end

how we long to be over

it under blue skies

#1369 (#068)

trying to think new

thoughts trying to think themselves

in five-seven-five

#1368 (#067)

slithers of a life

written out in staccato

stutter breath heartbeats

#1367

deluded; but if

he could take her and find some

help there on the Styx…

#1366 (#066)

#1365 (#065)

think about that chip

that time you had only one

and it tasted so good

#1364 (#064)

hand operated

traffic lights on a cold day

and in streaming rain

#1363

desolate wasteland

around smoke columns from the

human furnaces

---

Written for the Tricycle January 2024 Haiku Challenge using the Winter season word, furnace / heater.

#1362 (#063)

sunny when you're sick

when mostly recovered with

much stuff to do: rain

#1361

in the common room

his internal furnace burns

we employ the heat

---

Written for the Tricycle January 2024 Haiku Challenge using the Winter season word, furnace / heater.

#1360 (#062)

a wet world, blue sky

like a new day is dawning

after all the rain

#1359 (#061)

waiting for bad times

doomladen thought processes

instilled long ago

#1358 (#060)

broad shouldered, muscles, 

tiny ice cream cone in hand

something won’t connect

#1357 (#059)

street sign flashing blue

as i drive away from the

silent ambulance

#1356

a missing poster

for garfield the campus cat

what is the story?

#1355 (#058)

his plectrum (now lost)

lightly landed on my foot 

made the perfect gig

#1354 (#057)

rain becomes a wall

permeable yet solid

i want to stay in

#1353 (#056)

in the swimming hall

first week sat alone for some

time but i'm reading

#1352 (#055)

in the swimming hall

first week sat alone for some

time and i'm lonely

#1351 (#054)

car in side mirror

(sought to overtake the bus)

reversing in shame

#1350 (#053)

the past is knot full

so much it can't be undone

so we tie knots now

#1349 (#052)

clouds moving quickly -

why are they in such a rush?

they float yet rush fast!

#1348 (#051)

such an unreal scene

silent ambulance at night

filling the whole space

#1347 (#050)

the magic tunnel 

under exhibition road

takes you to all worlds

#1346 (#049)

cold and frosty morn

the world washed over with white

until the sun comes round

#1345 (#048)

the portal of light 

buzzing with its own power

where will it take me?

#1344 (#047)

how much of life is

a performance for others

how much is for you?

#1343 (#046)

shards of glass scatter

a moment of absolute silence

will always follow

#1342 (#045)

can i find something

inside this black heart of mine

to give me some hope

#1341 (#044)

doctor who sick day

the caves of androzani

for my survival

#1340 (#043)

a parkour invite

and all i can think about

are all the dangers

#1339 (#042)

crawling under desks

in my mind to escape … what?

ALL INTERACTION

#1338 (#041)

silent ambulance

scene lit by the cold blue lights

people standing stunned

#1337 (#040)

in the traffic queue

watching the skies fade behind

leave the day back there

#1336 (#039)

darkened window scene

that feeling that the world has

disappeared for good

#1335 (#038)

early rise after

days of getting up late and

the world seems dreamlike

#1334 (#037)

she spins and she dives

deeply into waters known -

and unknown inside

#1333 (#036)

unnatural movement

moving with a dread smoothness

silent ambulance

#1332

short term memory

creates the surprise in us

when night comes early

---

Written for the Tricycle December 2024 Haiku Challenge using the Winter season word, night comes early.

#1331 (#035)

what he said, right, was,

“the healthy food is all the 

food that you eat.” - huh?

#1330

cold will my soul be

the day the night comes early

and you welcome me

---

Written for the Tricycle December 2024 Haiku Challenge using the Winter season word, night comes early.

#1329 (#034)

ticket for the box

could start to cook excuses

but it is my fault 

#1328 (#033)

constant rain no hood

watching the beads in his hair

it needs to be fixed

#1327 (#032)

i am whatever 

you want to see in me now

whatever you find

#1326 (#031)

all of the lost souls

literal figurative

are ghosts among us

#1325 (#030)

migraine brain melt time

running down the left hand side

as the remnants crust

#1324 (#029)

migraine spill cascades

a discomfort waterfall

from brain to my teeth

#1323 (#028)

struggling through the day

brain stuck in a bowl of gloop

wading to nowhere

#1322 (#027)

a world around the

fireplace, creatures dancing

in the flames i trace

#1321 (#026)

a world around the

fireplace, multitudes in 

the fire itself

#1320 (#025)

on lake house road but

there’s no lake and there's no house

whereabouts were they?

#1319 (#024)

scared on lake house road

the spiderman is having 

me for dinner now

#1318 (#023)

the cash only sign 

lies and only those in the 

know will pay by card

#1317 (#022)

why does a sweeping

second hand unnerve me so?

why do i need pause?

#1316 (#021)

in the swimming hall

Nelly sings from the speakers

and is one count right

#1315 (#020)

words on a menu:

enhances sobriety:

what i need right now.

#1314 (#019)

the water boils

slowly, closing round the egg,

just

like 

new 

day

dread

#1313 (#018)

so many options

with the frost before me that

i choose the options

#1312 (#017)

pretty, frozen home

painstakingly beautiful

hanging by a thread

#1311 (#016)

the frost sheet is laid

and we find ways to lift it

or stay well away

#1310 (#015)

in the reception

first dentist trip for too long

dreading what she'll say

#1309 (#014)

frozen to the bone

because of the snack i bought

for the walk back home

#1308 (#013)

in the swimming hall

the gentle and the frantic

smooth grace and big waves

#1307 (#012)

frost mist on the flats

the start of a horror film

or just beautiful?

#1306

the fox in the coop

brings the chilly autumn wind 

that cuts to the bone

---

Written for the Tricycle November 2024 Haiku Challenge using the Autumn season word, autumn wind but not finished until now and so not entered.

#1305 (#011)

low table, three sides,

each relaxed on a sofa

books open, heads down

#1304

the dreams of the year

start to blow away as leaves

on the autumn wind

---

Written for the Tricycle November 2024 Haiku Challenge using the Autumn season word, autumn wind.

#1303 (#010)

loss of tea bag tin

hit heavy on first day back

until i found it

#1302

blocked ears block you off

from the world around set you

apart set up shop

#1301

blocked ears make weird sounds

like you’re underwater or 

made of wooden blocks

#1300 (#009)

broken haiku pow

ers, calling on reserves to

make it through the days

#1299 (#008)

clouds seen from the air

are like strange new lands to us

ones we cannot tread

#1298 (#007)

sitting in the car

waiting but not doomscrolling

noticing the world

#1297 (#006)

the “biting” cold gnaws,

chews at the skin, seeking a

way to get within.

#1296 (#005)

plan for snow haiku

washed away by the rain that

took the last line too

#1295 (#004)

indian breakfast

unlimited buffet - yes!

oh.. yes! yes! yes! yes!

#1294 (#003)

four coffee elves, their

clothes aromatic, they sang

affectionately 

---

From words on page 82 of Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade, A Duty-Dance With Death by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence 1969).

#1293

nando's confusion

was it jumping from? over?

how do springboks row?

#1292 (#002)

weird roads with no homes 

just back and side entrances

only a way through

#1291 (#001)

freestyle this year

with new ideas for prompts 

for when i’m awake