Night of Silent Dreams Tanka

the fire crackling

as smoke snakes up ...

one family

three campfires and two dogs

on a night of silent dreams

NeverEnding Story, September 3 2025

Bodies on Bodies Haiku

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXXII: "UN-declared famine and a food aid truck"

written in response to the International Association of Genocide Scholars' resolution: Israel Is committing genocide in Gaza

mud-stained bodies

on sweat-drenched on bodies

on a food aid truck

NeverEnding Story, September 2 2025

For more details, see "Special Feature: Selected Poems for Reflections on the International Association of Genocide Scholars' Resolution: Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza"

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXXIII: "mind view"

Gazan girl's mind view:

mostly smoke and ruins

yet her lifeworld

still bears death and rebirth

on the wings of a dream

Tower Cranes Tanka

written on Labor Day

a gray-haired worker

takes another sip of coffee

from his thermos ...

tower crane after tower crane

against the twilight skyline

NeverEnding Story, September 1 2025

FYI: This tanka is inspired by PBS's 14-minute documentary, City of Cranes, a film that "provides a unique perspective on urban construction by focusing on the lives and experiences of crane operators. The term can also metaphorically refer to cities with a high density of construction cranes, such as Toronto, which has frequently ranked highest in North America for its number of tower cranes." 

Added: The construction industry, a major global employer, increasingly relies on migrant construction workers (MCWs) to mitigate labor shortages and enhance cost efficiency. Despite their vital role, MCWs face numerous challenges, including exploitation during recruitment, safety risks, health issues, and difficulties with social integration...excerpted from "Migrant Workers in the Construction Industry," Buildings, 15:5, 2025

My haiku below is written in response to one of these challenges faced by migrant workers:

fluorescent lights buzz ...

waiting for stamp after stamp

for a work permit

Flash Flooding Haiku

flashfloodingweareallinthistogether

seashores, 14, 2025

Lilac Breeze Haiku

lilac breeze

the scent of my late wife

left behind

tsuri-dōrō, 27, May/June 2025

Crow Moon Haiku

crow moon

a stray shadows

a stray

tsuri-dōrō, 27, May/June 2025

(N)ever Again Haiku

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXX: "never again, (n)ever again"

never again rolling tanks (n)ever again bomber after bomber

NeverEnding Story, August 28 2025

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXXI: "[paradoxical] state of denial"

written in response to +972 Magazine, August 22, 2025: How Israelis turned atrocity denial into an art

...either it is all fake, or else the Gazans deserved it. Often, paradoxically, it is both at once: “There are no dead children in Gaza, and it’s good that we killed them.”

[Paradoxical] State of Denial

smoky twilight ...

will starving babies in Gaza

heal the broken heart

of an Israeli mother

whose children were kidnapped

word after word

squeezed out of the PM's mouth

in broad daylight

this daily "banality"

of dying, of death in Gaza

to save a life

is to save this broken world

a rabbi laments ...

TV debate back and forth

about the new body count

is a mother

cradling a dead baby?

no, it's an actor

holding a life-like doll

it's all fake, Gazans deserve it

FYI: L4 of the second tanka alludes to philosopher and political thinker Hannah Arendt's ground-breaking book,  Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil 

And Ls 1&2 of the third tanka refers to Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:1 (22a):

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.

Added: This Brave New World, CXXIV

The Ritual Continues

a load of hot air

after shooting after shooting ...

the bell rings

mourners kneel in prayer

then an outburst, where is God?

God doesn't give you

more than you can handle ...

in dim light

these "thoughts and prayers" sharp

like a thousand bullets

the wooden Jesus

drips droplets of red

in gathering dark

with an ear-to-ear smile

a young man finger-gunning

FYI: The Independent, August 28, 2025: ‘Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers..these kids were literally praying’: Minneapolis mayor on school shooting

The New Yorker's daily newsletter, August 27: There Will Be a Next School Shooting

If parents in Minneapolis are inconsolable tonight, if parents across the country are afraid that their children’s school might be the next one—and there will be a next one, and a next one after that—that means our nation is working according to our current leaders’ wishes. They wrote it down. It’s how we know we’re truly free.

And Time Magazine, May 25, 2022: School Shootings Confirm That Guns Are the Religion of the Right, 

Sometimes calls for America to return to God are couched in the language of consolation. Especially after a mass shooting..

What’s needed is a coalition of American politicians and citizens—secular and religious—who value the protection of innocent human life above power. Without that, the ritual will continue: Horrific deaths, followed by thoughts and prayers, calls to return to God, and no change.

Added: This Brave New World, CXXV

In This Country

"We have more guns than people," the school pastor says in a trembling voice. "Please don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers..." he pauses for a moment to take a deep breath, "these kids were literally praying when shattered stained-glass windows rained down on them."

armed guard outside ...

one active shooter drill

after another

9-to-5 Job Haiku

a fly battering

at my cubicle window

this 9-to-5 job

Haiku in Action, Weekly Prompt:"Primordial Fears," July 2nd-6th  2025

River of Stars Haiku

a river of stars ...

I chase fireflies with the child

I once was

The Cicada's Cry, Summer 2025

River Stroll Haiku

river stroll

salmon leap from cloud

to cloud

Cold Moon Journal, June 19, 2025

reprinted in The Zen Space, Summer 2025

Farewell Tanka

Mother's farewell

lasts far into my first night ...

Taiwan, lone island

seen through the airplane window

as my lower lip trembles

Cold Moon Journal, June 19, 2025

Thin Arms and Bloated Bellies Tanka

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXIX: "UN-declared Gaza famine"

a roadhouse

burnt-out and half ruined . . .

under the roof

a patched tent and children

with thin arms and bloated bellies

NeverEnding Story, August 23 2025

FYI: Democracy Now, August 22, 2025: U.N. Declares a Famine in Gaza, Where Over 500,000 Face “Starvation, Destitution and Death”

The U.N.’s top humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, spoke from Geneva earlier today:

It is a famine in 2025, a 21st-century famine, watched over by drones and the most advanced military technology in history. It is a famine openly promoted by some Israeli leaders as a weapon of war. It is a famine on all of our watch. Everyone owns this. The Gaza famine is the world’s famine.

And the latest pieces of news about Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians:

Haaretz, August 22, 2025: Israel's Foreign Ministry Says West Bank Is Israeli Territory, Contravening International and Domestic Law

On Thursday, 25 countries – including the United Kingdom and France –issued a joint declaration against Israel's decision to approve construction in the E1 area, a plan designed to bisect the West Bank, calling the plan a "flagrant breach of international law" that would undermine the idea of a two-state solution. 

And +972 Magazine,  independent, non-profit media initiative, Israel-Palestine

August 21, 2025: In a joint investigation by Israel's  +972 Magazine and Local Call and UK's The Guardian, Yuval Abraham reveals that: "Israeli army database suggests at least 83% of Gaza dead were civilians"

August 22, 2025: How Israelis turned atrocity denial into an [paradoxical] art

...either it is all fake, or else the Gazans deserved it. Often, paradoxically, it is both at once: “There are no dead children in Gaza, and it’s good that we killed them.”)

Smoky Silence Haiku

smoky silence

crater after crater

rainbowed with oil

NeverEnding Story, August 22 2025

Added:

elbows up, elbows down ...

the PM's mouth opens and closes

in summer heat

FYI: CBC News, August 22, 2025: Unfortunately, there may not be a hockey analogy for the challenge Canada faces: Are Mark Carney's elbows up or down? Does it matter?

"There is a time in a game, in a big game — and this is a big game — when you go hard in the corners with your elbows up. There's a time in the game when you drop your gloves in the first period and you send a message. And we've done that, pretty uniquely in the world," Carney responded, attempting to broaden the hockey analogy.

Added:

berry picking

I lick the stains

off her fingers

Added:

after our picnic

the heat comes on

between us

the honey melon juice

dripping off the table edge

Heart Haiku

dusty attic trunk …

the parts of mother’s heart

never open to me

First Place, Vanguard Haiku, World Haiku Review, Spring, 2025

"Relocation Plan"

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXVII: "'relocation plan'"

written in response to Haaretz, Aug. 20,2025: Defense Minister Approves Plan to Conquer Gaza City; 130,000 IDF Reservists to Be Mobilized

summer odors  ...

nowhere to go, no way

to get pieces of bread

ghost town

a Gazan's mind a labyrinth

of dead bodies

NeverEnding Story, August 20 2025

FYI: Haaretz, August 22, 2025: 'Gates of Hell Will Open': Israel's Defense Minister Vows to Level Gaza City After IDF Takeover Plan Approved

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXVIII: "bloodied keffiyeh"

a single sneaker

amid the twisted rebar

a bloodied keffiyeh

FYI: For many Palestinians, the keffiyeh symbolizes their yearning for freedom and serves a nod to their history. For some non-Palestinians, it's a show of solidarity. 

Wrinkled Face Haiku

as if my late wife's hand

caressed my wrinkled face ...

blossom rain

Shadow Pond Journal, June 7 2025

Rippling Sunshine Haiku

rippling sunshine

at each turn of the stream

I gather joy

folk ku, 5, 2025

Rainbow Soap Bubbles Haiku

rainbow soap bubbles

between my toddler and me

laughter after pop, pop...

folk ku, 5, 2025

Skin against Skin Tanka

Yellowing Memories, VIII

written in response to The Telegraph, August 15: Putin prepares nuclear missile tests in veiled threat to West

we ducked and covered

like Bert the Turtle at school

as sirens howled ...

decades later, I still feel the heat

of our skin against skin

NeverEnding Story, August 16 2025

FYI: "Duck and Cover" staring Bert the Turtle is a 1951 "Civil Defense film"/propaganda, as the cornerstone of the government's "duck and cover" public awareness campaign.

And January 28, 2025 Doomsday Clock Announcement: 89 seconds to midnight

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LII

written in response to The New Yorker, August 15, 2025: Trump’s Self-Own Summit with Putin

Even the puffery-prone President couldn’t alchemize his non-deal with Russia into Trumpian gold.

Staging/Self-Owning

on a red carpet

the Convicted Felon

and the War Crimial

shake hands with pats on the arm ...

both grin broadly to the World

President Putin

will you stop killing civilians?

with a dead-eyed look

he shrugs before entering

Trump's bulletproof Beast

FYI: Highly customized and heavily armored, the presidential limo, officially known as the presidential state car and nicknamed “The Beast” in 2001 by President George W. Bush, is more a tank than a limousine for the President.

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LIII

warm handshakes 

on a red carpet 

and a joint limo ride

as fighter jets fly overhead ...

made-for-Fox-News non-event

FYI: Fox News, August 16: Putin ‘got away without doing anything’ at summit with Trump

The Daily Beast, August 14: Longtime Trump biographer Michael Wolff: Trump Circles Drop F-Bomb After Failure Trump-Putin Summit

And NPR, August 16: Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal new details of Trump-Putin summit.

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LIV

Epstein files news

the rasp, rasping

of cicadas

Added:

gathering dark

beyond the barbed wire fence

a shrill squealing

Added:

the long strip

of neon-lit roadside motels

a woman in red

Smoky fireball

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXVI: "Christ's thorns"

after smoky fireball ... the weight of this hushed silence.

a skeletal house

amid debris and pot shards

Christ's thorns

NeverEnding Story, August 15 2025

FYI: "According to a religious legend, the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ at the crucifixion was made from the stems of this plant, euphorbia milii , also known as Christ's thorn, a pretty succulent plant that can bloom almost year-round, even indoors."

Haaretz, August 16, 2025: 'They Need a Nakba' | Former IDF General Calls Palestinian Death Toll in Gaza 'Necessary' in Recording

The former Israeli military intelligence chief said the high number of Palestinians killed in Gaza is "necessary for future generations," according to recordings broadcast Friday on Israel's Channel 12 News.

In the recordings, Maj. Gen. (res.) Aharon Haliva can be heard saying that "50 Palestinians should die" for every victim of Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. "There's no choice, they need a Nakba every now and then to feel the consequences," Haliva added, referring to the 1948 displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of what would become the border of the State of Israel.

"I'm not saying this out of revenge, but as a message for future generations," he added.

And Al Jazeera, August 16, 2025: Arab, Islamic countries condemn Netanyahu’s ‘Greater Israel’ remark

When interviewer Sharon Gal with the Israeli i24NEWS channel asked Netanyahu if he subscribed to a “vision” for a “Greater Israel”, Netanyahu said “absolutely”. Asked during the interview aired on Tuesday if he felt connected to the “Greater Israel” vision, Netanyahu said: “Very much.”

The “Greater Israel” concept supported by ultranationalist Israelis is understood to refer to an expansionist vision that lays claim to the occupied West Bank, Gaza, parts of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan.