Cockroaches Kyoka

Realm of Contagious Stupidity, II

In response to India's "cockroach" movement

what if 

all cockroaches come together?

punch after punch

stamp upon stamp

across The Metamorphosis

NeverEnding Story, July 27 2026 

FYI: Ls 1&2, "what if all cockroaches come together?," refer to the viral, youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement in India.

The structure of this politically satirical kyōka is built around a reversal of the premise of Kafka's The Metamorphosis. ... For more detailed comments, see "Reading More and Writing Better: Cockroaches Kyoka"

Detention Silhouette Haiku

detention silhouette

these faces then eyes

etched with age

NeverEnding Story, July 19, 2026

FYI: The emotional zoom-in technique is employed in writing this haiku. For a detailed analysis and more  examples, see "To the Lighthouse: Emotional Zoom-Lens Effect"

And it could be read as a prequel to the following haiku below:

On the Brink of Trumperica, V

written in response to Convicted Felon Donald Trump's proclamation: "On Day One, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history."

detention camp in shadow ...

between the guard and holding cells

dialects of silence

NeverEnding Story, January 20 2025

Added: Emotional Zoom-Out

one sunflower

in a patch of dandelions—

a Kyiv boy's gaze

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCCI: "campsite of fireballs"

            fireball

a campsite of fireballs

  squadrons of drones

FYI: NBC News, July 15, 2026: Israel’s latest strikes kill a dozen people in Gaza, including police officers

A woman and six police officers were among those killed in an airstrike on a police station in the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, hospital officials said.

War and Peace Tanka

Trump Empire, Inc., XCIX

written in response to The Washington Post, July 9 2026: 

Trump reopens the Iran war — and a political problem he can’t shake

firefly light on, off ...

the porch breeze leafing 

through a worn copy

of War and Peace

as Trump news is muted

NeverEnding Story, July 10 2026

FYI: Here are some of the best-known War and Peace quotes:

If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.

A battle is won by him who is firmly resolved to win it.

The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.

Added: Politics of Distraction, XX

Power on, off, on, off— a heat dome buckles the grid.

my neighbor's TV

blasting Iran War news ...

one stray outbarks the rest

FYI: The Guardian, July 13, 2026: Oil prices leap and stocks fall as Trump reinstates Hormuz blockade on Iranian shipping

Brent crude rises 5% after US president says 20% toll will be imposed on key trade route to cover  "safety and security."

Added:

war news on mute

the drawn out cry

of a cricket

Pursuit of Happiness

Trump Empire, Inc., XCVI 

for MAGA cult and Christian Nationalists in Trumperica

gated cul-de-sac

lined with wavy green oaks

in golden sunlight

diverse shapes and heights

of white picket fences

whitewashed fence

taller by two feet this year …

neighbors equipped

with security cams, bulldogs

and stars-and-stripes rifles

NeverEnding Story, July 4 2026

FYI: Stars-and-Stripes rifles refer to limited-edition or custom American flag-themed firearms. 

And "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. Like the other principles in the Declaration of Independence, this phrase is not legally binding, but has been widely referenced and seen as an inspiration for the basis of government.

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XCVII

an eagle spirals

into the gathering dark

this fireworks night

a one-armed veteran

stares beyond his front yard flag

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XCVIII

Culmination

From the blood-stained sport on the White House lawn, to the pigeons-more-than-visitors fiasco of the “Great American State Fair,” to the fenced-in, algae-green reflecting pool on the National Mall, to the knock-the-hell-out-of-Iran recycled speech:

rainbow flowers

bloom in the July 4th sky

a war veteran

takes aim at the enemy

still fighting in his head

FYI: CNBC News, July 4 2026: Trump hails U.S. exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America’s 250th anniversary

Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty.

-- Donald Trump, America 250 speech

Golfball-Brained Man and Inflation Tanka

Politics of Distraction, XIII

this golfball-brained man

behind the Resolute Desk

loves inflation ...

a MAGA sign, Donald Trump

                              $20,28 per gallon

The New Verse News, June 12 2026

FYI: The Hill, June 10, 2026: Trump embraces May price spikes amid Iran war: ‘I love the inflation"

“No, I love it. The numbers were great,” Trump said when asked if he was concerned about the latest data, which showed the consumer price index rising to 4.2 percent over the past 12 months — with an increase of 0.5 percent in May alone, according to the Labor Department.

...The CPI data also showed that energy prices spiked 3.9 percent in May after having risen 3.8 percent in April and 10.9 percent in March. 

Added: Politics of Distraction, XIV

smoky haze ...

the 40th deal to end

the war of this wor(l)d

FYI: ABC News, June 16: US-Iran agreement confirms Trump trend on the art of the deal

The agreement between the United States and Iran fits with a pattern from Donald Trump where the signing of a deal appears to be the major goal and the details often seem a distant secondary consideration. 

Family Values Banner Gembun

Trump Empire, Inc., XCIII

A Family Values banner tangled with the flagpole atop the White House roof, silhouetted against the sunset.

only two sexes ...

clouds drift through bands

of hazy gray

NeverEnding Story, June 7 2026

FYI: This could be read as a sequel to the following tanka:

On the Brink of Trumperica, IX

the White House

pronounces, only two sexes ...

trans youth trapped

between black-and-white Kansas

and rainbow-colored Oz

NeverEnding Story, January 27 2025

And the following tanka could be read as its sequel:

Trump Empire, Inc., XCIV inspired by The Guardian, May 31, 2025: Four queer business owners on Pride under Trump: ‘Our joy is resistance’

near the White House gate

a rainbow-haired teen's waist 

wrapped in a flipped flag

under the guards' dark-glassed stare

she pirouettes timelessly

Stock Ticker Tanka

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCVI: "stock ticker "

a bruised girl’s hand

clutches a slice of bread

in pixels—

a stock ticker flashes past

Lockheed Martin up red-hot

NeverEnding Story May 25 2026

FYI: "Israel's oldest daily, Haaretz," which was was sanctioned by the Israeli government on Nov. 24, 2024

May 24 2026: Israel's Destruction of Gaza Mapped Using Digital Archive of Wartime Footage

Built from geolocated videos, photographs and social media posts, the website – called Genocide Live – compiles footage of Israeli airstrikes, military manoeuvres, and destruction from across Gaza, the West Bank and the wider regional war, including in Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Qatar.

May 25 2026: Humanitarian Conditions in Gaza Deteriorating Again, Aid Groups Warn

The groups report a resurgence in malnutrition among Gazan children, as well as deaths resulting from a failure to provide medical evacuations, collapsing sewage systems, a spike in pest infestations and a serious shortage of medical equipment, among other problems.

And Kavout, Stock Analysis: Is Global Conflict Driving a New Era for Defense Stocks

Key Takeaways

Global defense spending, now at an estimated $3 trillion, is surging due to escalating geopolitical tensions, creating a robust tailwind for defense contractors and drone technology firms.

Lockheed Martin (LMT) offers investors a stable, blue-chip play on this trend, benefiting from strong demand for its established platforms and a substantial backlog, despite its premium valuation.

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCVII: "Eid al-Adha"

Eid al-Adha

shrouded in smoky dust

armless Gazan child

FYI: Eid al-Adha (May 26–30) is the Feast of Sacrifice, the largest of the two main Islamic festivals celebrated worldwide. It is traditionally marked by clean clothes, festive meals, and charity.

Added:

her only son's photo

as he was

Memorial Day

Added:

in breezy sunshine

tulip bulbs tucked in the earth

last autumn

begin to murmur awake ...

will our hope for peace take root?

FYI: Vision of Humanity: Highest number of countries engaged in conflict since World War II

Added:

the edge

of this dappled trail

shadow and me

Added:

gazing out

at this borderless spring sky 

thoughts pass through

Added:

kitchen secret

in the slanted moonlight

onions unpeeled

Added:

half-sleep, half-wake 

my hand across the bed

finds a hollow

Added:

sultry beach night

my body finds the spot

where hers once lay

Added:

solar eclipse

a church bell’s echo slips

into the dark

Wind-Spun Petals Haiku

wind-spun petals

go back where you came from

brayed down the block

NeverEnding Story, May 19 2026

FYI: This haiku is a prequel to mine below:

the zigzag path 

of a yellow maple leaf ...

to stay or to go?

Mamba, 18, 2025

Added:

shouted after a boy

go back where you came from...

the chilly wind

punching a paper bag

against the schoolyard fence

Added:

shouted after a boy

go back where you came from...

the chilly wind

punching a paper bag

against the schoolyard fence

Added: 

fireball-lit skies

"ceasefire" for 45 days

inked on paper

FYI: BBC News, May 18 2026: Death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon passes 3,000, officials say

Added:

blossom-spun wind

against the chain-link fence

store foreclosure

Added:

rooftop pool

I float in the light

of stars

Added:

a row of beach chairs

in every pair of glasses

drifting clouds

FYI:  This haiku could be read as a prequel to mine below:

dream space

between our beach chairs

rippling sunset

Wales Haiku Journal, Summer 2022

In Broad Daylight

Politics of Distraction, VII:

Any resemblance to current events or actual locales, or to living persons, is NOT coincidental. 

a poll sign

against the White House fence: 

Pope vs Dope

a mangy stray corks its leg 

marks Dope with a yellow stream

NeverEnding Story, April 14 2026

FYI: The Nation Magazine, April 13 2026: Trump’s Deranged, One-Way Feud With Pope Leo

He’s finally met someone he can’t bully.

To conclude today's "Special Feature" post, I would like to share with you Pope Leo's post on X, April 14:

God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies. But our Father’s heart is not with the wicked, the arrogant, or the proud. God’s heart is with the little ones and the humble, and with them He builds up His Kingdom of love and peace day by day. Wherever there is love and service, God is there.

Stand with Pope Leo XIV. Even the Iran War!

Added: Politics of Distraction, VIII:

Blocking the Blockade to Break the Blockade

      Donald Trump

            $ 20,28

          per gallon

White House entrance

         No Parking 

          all     quiet

              on

        frontal lobe

FYI: The third smol, “all quiet on the frontal lobe,” playfully echoes the iconic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front, which depicts the realities of World War I. The idiom “all quiet on the Western Front” has since come to suggest that an outward sense of calm may conceal deeper, and sometimes troubling, underlying realities.

Feeder Haiku

government shutdown

I fill the backyard feeder

day after long day

5-7-5 Haiku Journal, November 2 2025

Whitewashed Road Sign Tanka

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXXXVIII: "a whitewashed road sign"

dust swirling past

"<-- Tarqumia, Jerusalem -->

peace be with you" 

under the scorching sun

a whitewashed road sign

NeverEnding Story, March 30 2026

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXXXIX: "skeletal house"

skeletal house  

and charred pottery shards --  

grass creeps in the cracks

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXC: "between wire fences"

slate-gray sky

swarm after swarm of flies

between wire fences

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXCI: "the Death Bill"

Sde Teiman

silhouetted against desert sunset 

on the TV

passing of the Death Bill

popping of champagne 

FYI:  Sde Teiman is a scandal-plagued Israeli military detention camp in the Negev desert near the Gaza border.

And Haaretz, April 1, 2026: The Death Penalty Bill Illustrates How the Kahanist Revolution Has Taken Over Israeli Society

The evening of the vote marked not only a moral abyss, but also anointed the next right-wing leader: Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has managed to transform himself from a marginal thug into a shaper of right-wing ideology

Add:

straddled between

this war-torn world and the one

in my mind ...

I slam the blinds down

as fists crash on the street

Law Is King

Trump Empire, Inc, XC

written for No Kings protests

just a dream, and yet ...

the mountain lion roars

to grazing sheep:

once elected as your King

I'll be vegetarian

the peanut-brained man

behind the Resolute Desk

grins to cameras,

just a little excursion...

oily clouds over Tehran

how much bullshit

can come out of one ass-hole

a veteran’s refrain

cracks and booms through iron bars

at the White House gate

the Capitol fence

shadowed against the sky

in twilight chill

lineups snake at the pumps

and at food banks too

chant after chant

of eggflation, fried truth

scrambled justice ...

a mutt's neck sign: I can poop

a better president

FYI: The title alludes to the famous quote from Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense: In America, THE LAW IS KING.

NeverEnding Story, March 28 2026

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, XCI

the stacking

of KKK hood, MAGA hat

and ICE cap ...

my beagle takes a dump

it steams the same in the snow

Added:

A 22-foot golden statue of Donald Trump looms at his Florida golf resort. 

from the statue

a flicker of sunlight —

seagulls drop white

FYI: This senryu-inflected gembun is written in response to MS Now, May 11 2026: Trump celebrates unveiling of 22-foot Don Colossus statue at Miami-area golf course

“For more than a year, the golden statue has been at the center of one of the stranger moneymaking ventures of the Trump era,” the New York Times noted. “A group of cryptocurrency investors paid $300,000 to have a sculptor create it as a tribute to Mr. Trump, an outspoken crypto proponent. Then they used it to promote a memecoin called $PATRIOT.”

Added: Politics of Distraction, IV:

An Elegy

Silhouetted against twilight, the façade reads:

"The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts"

across slabs of vein-streaked marble.

will the past be past?

redbud petals curl inward

this spring equinox

FYI: L1 of the haiku alludes to a famous assertion by William Faulkner:

The past is never dead. It's not even past.

This line, from Requiem for a Nun, resonates with historical context: Faulkner’s work was deeply admired by President John F. Kennedy, who, following Faulkner’s death in 1962, led national tributes stating, "Since Henry James, no writer has left behind such a vast and enduring monument to the strength of American literature."

In the haibun, the literary ghost/Faulkner reference in L1 functions as a structural haunting, bridging the weight of prose with the delicacy of haiku.

In literature, ghosts rarely just haunt—they speak. A "literary ghost" is one such spirit: a text, a phrase, or an idea from the past that refuses to stay buried. Unlike a simple allusion, which nods at another work, a literary ghost inhabits a new piece, creating a spectral presence that shapes meaning, mood, and memory.

Where an allusion informs, a literary ghost haunts. It can transform names, places, or words into conduits of history and memory, making the familiar feel strange, uncanny, and alive.

For more about the use of literary ghosts, see To the Lighthouse: Literary Ghost, A "Specific and Powerful Type of Allusion"

Trade War News Haiku

yellowing leaves 

astir in the night wind ...

trade war news

Fireflies' Light, 32, October 2025

Give me your tired, your poor ...

the Stars and Stripes

in my migrant friend's wrinkled eyes

the spring that once was

American dream

somewhere over the rainbow

detention camps

A group of protesters, mostly gray-haired, gathers at the steps of the Statue of Liberty. They reclaim this public space as a site of memory and denunciation. Helped by her granddaughter, a civil rights activist reads out loud, one by one slowly, the names of the unlawfully disappeared.

Each name is a breath of life , a wound of heart, and most importantly, a warning for the country whose "greatness" will be built on the silence of everyday Americans.

Editor's Choice, Cattails, October 2025

Commentary: Chen-ou Liu is again another artiste who shows us that only in asking will we find the path— that only by daring can we truly reclaim what we have lost. He tells us of a history that is easily forgotten and warns us of what is, and what is in the coming. The prose is stark, focussing on the intergenerational emotion that resonates with freedom. As I read this over and over again, it dawned on me that in writing, Chen-ou dares us too. It is at once a warning and a beseeching. The haiku are placed at the beginning—a necessity to draw our attention to the immediacy of the moment.

FYI: The title refers to the most famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty, "The New Colossus," a sonnet by Emma Lazarus.

Shooting Star and American Dream Haiku

a shooting star

over the border wall

American dream, and yet ...

Haiku Canada Review, 19:2, 2025

Yawp of "USA!" Tanka

a lament for Walt Whitman's America

to cameras

no, more wars! the chant

echoes, echoing

around the Congress chamber

swelled with the yawp of USA!

NeverEnding Story, March 11 2026

FYI: The joshi (prefatory note), “a lament for Walt Whitman's America,” serves as the thematic anchor of the tanka. By invoking the “barbaric yawp” from Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, the tanka establishes a pointed irony: what Whitman envisioned as a raw, soulful cry of individual liberation and democratic vitality has here been transformed into a partisan, nationalistic roar.

And For more about the use of "joshi," see "To the Lighthouse" post, "Joshi (Prefatory Note) as a Poetic Device."

Coal-Soot Haze Haiku

No More Fairy Tales, XLIX

coal-soot haze hangs 

over a field of farmhouses

Four More Years crooked

NeverEnding Story, March 10 2026

FYI: This haiku could be read as a sequel to mine below:

clean coal billboard ...

a fork-tongued thought 

darkens the night

Plum Tree Tavern, January 21, 2023

Added: No More Fairy Tales, L

rows of wind turbines

a field of prairie grass

bends in twilight

FYI: This haiku could be read as a sequel to my tanka below:

No More Fairy Tales, XLVIII

COP30:

more fossil fuels

or green energy?

a question smeared in ash

from the burned Amazon

NeverEnding Story, November 21 2025

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LXXXVI

in gold-color

Trump holds Epstein’s stretched arms

from behind

on the National Mall:

King of the World Statue

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LXXXVII

the peanut-brained man

behind the Resolute Desk

grins to cameras,

"just a little excursion"

oily clouds over Tehran

Added:

billows of smoke

from Beirut neighborhoods ...

the war chief vows,

we will take the territory 

block by block, street by street

FYI: Haaretz, March 13 2026:  Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday morning that he had "warned" Lebanese President Joseph Aoun following Hezbollah fire toward Israel. "I warned the president of Lebanon that if the Lebanese government cannot control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening the northern communities and firing at Israel – we will take the territory and do it ourselves," Katz said. 

Added: Politics of Distraction, I

oil-dark clouds

hang heavy over Tehran —

reporters squint

at row after row of black bars

in Epstein’s redacted files

FYI: Politics of Distraction is my new writing project. The title is taken from Al Jazeera: February 26, 2026: Epstein and the politics of distraction

Scandal individualises corruption, creating a spectacle that redirects anger away from structural power.

The Winter of Our Discontent

Its edges browned with age, another photograph, long buried beneath piles of boxes, has come to light in recent days.

His eyes meet the camera head-on. His hand rests at the curve of a young girl’s hip.

the man, once a prince

hid behind purple curtains ...

now cuffed in cold steel

NeverEnding Story, February 19 2026

FYI: This sociopolitically conscious haibun is inspired by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, being arrested by UK police over Jeffrey Epstein ties.

The title, "The Winter of Our Discontent," is a famous allusion to the opening lines of William Shakespeare’s Richard III: Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York

For more analysis of this allusive title, see To the Lighthouse: The Impact of an Allusive Title.

See The New York Times, Feb. 19 2026: Live Updates: Former Prince Andrew Arrested in Britain Over Epstein Ties

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, LXXVI

inspired by a viral social media prompt:The U.K. just arrested a royal. Is the U.S. capable of the same?

The Next One

My boy lines the dominoes along the coffee table’s edge, their lacquered backs blinking ivory in the lamplight, and nudges the first with his forefinger.

In the armchair, I grip the remote, the blue glare of the television flickering against my tired eyes as a news ticker scrolls the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

King Charles III’s words, “the law must take its course,” hang in the air like dust in the living room as I switch off the TV. I stand for a moment, facing the window, where the last of the light thins along the fence line.

the White House

shadowed against the sky

crow after crow ...

Trump News on Mute Tanka

Trump news on mute ...

I look out the window

at the moths

flying around the porch light

in this false spring

Shot Glass Journal, 47 September 2025

Blood Libel Tanka

Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLVI: "blood libel"

Gaza famine!?

It's blood libel, blood libel ...

flanked by Flags of Zion

the P/Crime Minister rumbles

to cameras' rapid fire

NeverEnding Story, December 9 2025

FYI: The Times of Israel, August 23 2025: Netanyahu’s office calls Gaza famine declaration a ‘modern blood libel’ 

After a UN hunger monitor on Friday, August 22 declared for the first time that famine had struck northern Gaza, Israel vehemently denied the reports as “lies” and “modern blood libel.” 

And for more about wartime journalism, see Special Feature: Selected Poems for Reflections on Reporters Without Borders' Report: "The Israeli Army Is the Worst Enemy of Journalists"

And Haaretz, October 31, 2025: Inside the Israeli Media's 'Shocking Self-censorship' of the Horrors of Gaza

Throughout the Gaza war, the tremendous difference between international coverage and Israeli media coverage was obvious to anyone exposed to both.

In a new report, media scholar Dr. Ayala Panievsky's research quantifies precisely how pronounced that difference was...

"The professional journalists, people who Israelis spend their entire lives trusting to tell them the truth, rallied around the military in many ways – any criticism of what our soldiers were doing was just out of bounds. It wasn't part of the conversation."

Opinion, December 11, 2025: Save Israel's Self-censoring 'Free Press' - From Itself

The greatest blow to responsible freedom of expression comes from the media itself. It is not the government that silenced it during the past two years: The media silenced itself, and there was no opposition from inside. The media willingly censored itself; it mobilized to conceal the truth, out of fear and commercial considerations, in order not to annoy its customers.