Stopping to See
Haiku, Tercets, Epigrams
2025-
By Mike Garofalo
never ever Simple—
simplifying or
simplicity
history books
unopened—
American minds
open gate
saluting
daybreak
sins forgiven
crucifix crossed—
ballast tossed
bitter
memories—
taste of defeat
Your never to old
to embrace ...
a stupid idea.
bugle sounds
Taps—
lights out
I tossed cans
in the recycling bin—
mea culpa
broken truck
stuck—
wallet empty
eyes horizontal
nose vertical—
my mind stood Up
side
d
o
w
n
April
damp ground
muddy trails—
watching my step
his rocking chair
sopped moving—
he died
Politics wobbly—
King T talks
and talks and talks
Silently
tulips bloom ...
by wooden shoes.
nursery roses
roots and stalks—
digging holes
dead bonsai
dried out—
washed the brown ceramic tray
Driving too Fast
and Crashed!!!
Lessons not learned!
dusty books
unopened—
silent shelves
blocked
stuck—
need a writer's prompt
too much
to drink—
too boozed to think
April holds
tightly—
stiff and cold
too late—
pissed in my pants
could not wait
mad as hell
rants and raves—
I snuck away
Turned off
the light—
listened to the night
Before daybreak
the lantern died—
closed the book
car Crash
ambulance
—sign of the cross
homeless woman
stands and begs—
American progress
Good news
Bad news—
Relative to whom?
Ferns
die away—
Reborn in May
rain drops
stopped—
began to walk
His rocking chair
stopped moving—
He died
coming
cumming—
Loud sighs
fists touch
fight now—
betting window closed
She fell—
broken foot
limping moans
potted plant
dry—
chores for today
Tillamook Spring—
green grass
grazing cows
the aftertaste
of rebukes—
friendship over
April 1st—
cherry trees
Red
gusty winds—
cherry blossoms
sca tt er e d
April sun
dries the mud—
red tulips
Morning
stretch—
thirsty
red mug
steaming—
taste of tea
steaming
cup—
Starbucks
drinking
at dusk—
Irish coffee
ugly child
cried—
ugly mom sighed
angry again
displeased—
cornered in
changes
endured—
seasonally
moss on rocks
lichens on trees—
pimples on my cheek
house plants
all around—
fresh air
The little girl said "Hi"
waved her hand and smiled
made me happier for awhile.
opening
his old letter—
lost lives replayed
Talked with
my Brother—
tumor in his brain
we lost
the game—
our season ended that way
cold wind
rings chimes—
silence of drizzling rain
buttered bread
coffee black—
daybreak rituals
Loved
her songs ...
We sang along.
clouds gone
warming—
red tulips
dull mind
tired legs
old age
9,000 steps today—
spring sunshine
chores done
not high
not drunk—
overjoyed
He said "move your Chi" to me.
I had little use for mysterious Chi.
Chi-Qi language was irrelevant to me.
I moved my arms, moved my legs
walked and danced every day
no need for Chi to guide the Way.
Chi's like blood or nerve energies
but invisible, unmeasurable
not anatomically or physiologically
comprehensible to me.
Tai Chi teachers are good for me
without all the chatter
about my moving my Chi.
Nurture or Nature?
a question for an answer
to issues in our days.
Using Vilfredo Pareto's Rule
the 80/20 ratio
reveals itself
in many instances unveiled.
Roughly 80% of consequences
come from 20% of causes—
the Vital Few.
Take hetero-sexuality
instinctual, libidinal, inbred
80% can't resist Nature's
Species Survival Rules
female-male unconsciously
attracted to reproduce.
The majority are thus
automatically not attracted
to homosexuality.
Actually, genetically confused
and uncomfortable with
displays of "Queer Love."
Yes, many of the 80%
are also indoctrinated to believe
by parents, religions, customs, and laws
That gay sex is evil, sinful, illegal
bad, disgusting and wrong.
Nurturing here clearly to blame
For unnecessary disgust and hatred
that endlessly reclaims
anti-LGBT sentiments in backwater
Politician's pitches for voter's praise
ready to sacrifice and stigmatize
the 20% not playing their unconscious
knee-jerk missionary sexual games,
not a threat in any practical way,
but fanatics want gay blood anyway.
80% Nature, 20% Nurture
or the other twisted way
80% Nurture, 20% Nature
or 50-50 or some other ratio
that exposes our predispositions
to react and believe in this way.
Nature and Nurture combined
spawn the many hateful anti-gay
consequences we see all the time.
So who decided that commercials
featuring kissing men, interracial
gays, dykes and lesbians would
rile up conservatives to vote
for Republicans cutting taxes
for corporations and eliminating
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion
for Blacks, Gays, Asians or Mexicans,
kept economically at bay.
Yes, you know why!
Corporate greed, oligarchy,
white Southern Confederate Pride,
millionaires buying ballots
crapping on little guys
the glee of a wealthy middle class
tearing up our progress;
fundamentalist fanatics power grabs
Christians, Muslims, Ignorants.
Return to the Past
Make America Great Again
God Bless America!
What about those damn
niggers, wet backs, rag heads,
filling up OUR white folks land?
The underpinning is Nature.
Birds of a Feather, Fuck Together.
Species differentiation inbred drives
compel us to prefer our own
and not other kinds
80% of the time
unconsciously rejecting diversity.
Then, of course, structurally,
sociologically, economically
keep the Haves-Having
and the Have-Nots humbled
the harsh realities of our American
history of slavery, Jim Crow,
Women enslaved by laws and men,
oppression of Native Americans,
Asian exclusion, persecution,
imprisoning gays, anti-Labor laws,
legalized Christian marriage rules.
Cuttings: Haiku and Tercets (1998-2016)
Transitions: Haiku and Tercets (2017-2024)
Stopping to See: Haiku and Tercets (2025-)
25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works
Epigrams, Quips, Sayings: 1,000 One Liners
Tao Te Ching: Concordance, Anthology
Zen Poetry: Bibliography, Links, Resources
Poetry Research by Mike Garofalo
At the Edges of the West, Volume 2
Highway 99 and Interstate 5
At the Edges of the West, Volume 1
Highway 101 and Hwy 1
Reginald Horace Blyth (1898 - 1964)
Mike Garofalo lives in Vancouver, Washington.
He worked for 50 years in city and county
public
libraries, and in elementary
schools.
He graduated with
degrees in
philosophy,
library science, and education. He has been
a web publisher since 1998.
25 Steps and Beyond; Collected Works
This document was last edited, revised,
reformatted, added to, relinked,
changed, improved, or modified
by Mike Garofalo
on April 1, 2025.