my doggerel (written while depressed)
Did this one today...
LAMENT, MARCH 2023
Stare at the ceiling as the earth whirls blindly in the dark
as you lay there, ears ringing & head pain, as always
as your head hurts, spreading middle girth
Cold inside, halted, without a spark.
The occasional note as your gut slowly drains
from the meal of bolted flour, cheese, olives,
a manmade ration for the bipedal swine herd
Another day ebbs, another evening gains.
Stare at the ceiling as daily you know
Knowing inescapable: you're past the prime
the bald fact, always without tact,
Faded mirror never fails to show.
Staring upward as the ball hurtles in the black
around the hot bright mindless sun,
your stare as unseeing as the rock itself
a captive in a slowly rotting sack.
Feel free to comment, folks. Whaddaya think? I might post more poems here as the inspiration (for lack of a better word) strikes.
Pills for all ailments
Under the sun: take them all
to be mute & dull.
Little white diamond
gulped down. In 30 minutes:
turgid blink of youth.
@slowdecline48
A melancholic but clever haiku. Nicely done.
@BastionKnight You caught the meaning, then. Very good. 😏
My usual stance
tonight: in the chair, feet up,
pained head lolled sideways.
Sending peace. I hope that today was a stronger one. @slowdecline48
[cw: Al Kahaul]
20's: beer or shot.
30's: drink & a meal.
40+: pills, creams.
To prolong your life,
you must remove all the fine
things that give it joy.
But then there are new things that bring you joy. You just have to find them. @slowdecline48
@bestVase7265 Somehow, I don't think you quote understood the meaning of this haiku...
*quite, that is
Maybe not. Tell me the meaning then. @slowdecline48
The idea is that the simple pleasures--fine foods, good stuff to drink, etc.--usually shorten your life. The only way to max your lifespan is to cut all that out. So those pleasures are absent. Now you can find other things to enjoy...meditation or prayer, if you're into that kinda thing. Maybe some sort of athletic pursuit. Maybe getting into flamewars & cancelling people on X/Tw∆tt*r, for people with sufficient lack of character or human worth that such puerility is the only thing that gives them satisfaction. (Until the Internet Era, I didn't know there were so many of that type) There are all kinds of things to busy oneself with...
...but they're not the same. They're not the basic things that give texture to life.
Aah. I try to do those kinds of pleasures just in moderation (though this time of year controlling desserts is harder). But I find lots of pleasure at the moment in things like bird watching and nature walks. I think my definition of pleasure just keeps changing as I get older. Maybe someday I will take up crochet or gardening or lifting weights. Who knows? @slowdecline48
Refrain in English,
Common as dirt: "I'm gettin'
too old for this s***."
_______
...this is the first haiku I ever composed backwards from the 3rd line. Go figure.
Interesting that you were able to compose it backwards. @slowdecline48
@bestVase7265 I counted on my fingers & toes. 🤪
That made me smile. @slowdecline48
Lying down dazed in the hall, the usual flare
of what was Meniére's (& now you know not)
In the dirty laundry but you don't care
as there isn't much else there
Ears supported by a pair of socks...
I dunno what else to do with this. It's incomplete but it says everything necessary.
Explain the last line a bit. @slowdecline48
@bestVase7265 I scrunched up socks under my ears...one under each ear. Had my earbuds in at the time & was listening to an ambient track, to drown out the tinnitus for a bit & relax. Bending your ears while wearing earbuds amplifies the bass &/or lower notes...that was what the socks were for.
That makes sense. @slowdecline48
@bestVase7265 Also, I'm beginning to think I should write about other subjects...chronic illness verses are getting old. The hazard there is if I go to a different subject, I could turn out trite rhyming cr∆p... Oh well. There is no possibility of gain without risk in this life.
Have you thought about going back and forth between the two? They are very interconnected. Have you ever read Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha? You might enjoy it a bit. @slowdecline48
Quiet neighbors' noise,
The clock ticks towards my exit...
Frivolities call
Interesting....were you bothered by the noise or was it something you wished you were a part of? @slowdecline48
@bestVase7265 Neither. It was slightly irritating but I've heard far worse in my time in cr∆ppy little apartments... It just reminded me of how I got to this point in my life & where I'm going.
No, I definitely did not want to be involved in it. 😂
It is always surprising when quieter neighbors are suddenly loud. Ours keep changing which makes it hard to adapt. @slowdecline48
@bestVase7265 If you live in an apartment too, I feel sorry for you... Yeah, most residents don't stick around forever. Depending on where you are, you might have a high turnover rate for neighbors. That can be disastrous...you can never predict who will move in next.
Actually its a house but we have had 4 neighbors in 4 years. Some are less desirable than others. At least the latest ones aren't meth addicts. But everyone has something. @slowdecline48
The old pair of jeans
fraying at the cuffs, the knees
...fading like all else.
@slowdecline48 The story of life told through a pair of jeans
I like that image, especially fraying at the knees first. @slowdecline48
