Saturday Haiku: The Waiting Haiku

A Brief Look Back

Over the past month, the haiku I've written focus upon waiting. Could it be that sheltering-in-place had some influence? I didn't notice until after these were done, but the topics range from perching on a fence to actively waiting to "all the world will wait."

These screenshots will give you a review of the past four weeks:

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Friday Funnies: Who Said That?

“Personally, I worry that, with everyone wearing masks, 

readers won’t be able to tell who in the cartoon is speaking.”

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Cartoon by Jason Adam Katzenstein, The New Yorker.

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Let this Pandemic Be a Portal

Ten days ago, I posted my reflection upon our current living with the threat of the COVID-19 virus. In the past, pandemics have opened up new avenues for society. My friend, Dr. Andrew Duxbury will often include in his blog, Life, the Universe, and Everything,  as what he calls his "accidental plague diaries." Last month he mentioned how in the past, pandemics have dramatically affected society. The Justinian Plague, for example, led to the development of  Byzantine society in the east when it essentially brought the Roman Empire to an end. The Bubonic Plague in Europe helped to pave the way for the Renaissance and opened Europe up for the Protestant Reformation and what came to be known as "the modern world."   

Who knows how this pandemic will unfold or where it will lead. the novelist and political activist,  Arundhati Roy suggests that instead of longing for a return to normal, we can let this time serve as a portal to a better way.

Here she is reading from her new essay, “The Pandemic Is a Portal.*” 

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*from her forthcoming book Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. releasing in September from Haymarket Books.



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