Cubicle Glass Haiku

year in, year out ...

in the cubicle glass

my reflection

Haiku in Action, Weekly Prompt:"Window to the Soul," May 20th - 24th, 2026

Rooftop View of My Life

night shift done

in 7-Eleven lights

a stray and I part

Tar sticks to my sneakers. Below, the grid of this city is a circuit board of silver, yellow, and red LEDs. A siren wails from afar, then is swallowed by the concrete canyons. Up here, a place of my own: the city noise thins to a hum.

clothesline

a damp sheet snaps

at my cheek

haikuKATHA, 58, 2026

Truck Stop at Midnight

Diesel fumes and the hiss of air brakes. The neon ‘Open’ sign buzzes, casting a flickering pink halo over cracked asphalt, a discarded ‘Lucky for Life’ ticket, and cigarette butts.

highway hum

a luna moth flattened

on the windshield

hedgerow, 153, 2026 

Sweat-and-Tears Life Tanka

another

mid-sentence silence

this muggy noon

our thoughts of returning

to sweat-and-tears yet sure life

NeverEnding Story, September 4 2026

Added:

cubicle glass

the stare of my eyes

the stare of my eyes

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

a fly battering

at my cubicle window

this 9-to-5 job

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

Added:

in giant letters

think outside the box

on the wall

of this newbie's cubicle 

on my wall, actions speak louder

Added:

After three years of walking my boss's bulldog, I imagine all I can imagine and then keep on going.

corner glass cubicle

new self growing larger

with afternoon light

Late Night Shift Haiku

late night shift

in seven-eleven lights

a stray I part

Asahi Haikuist Network, June 5 2026

Gold-Rimmed Frame Tanka

I’ve bounced for years

through internships, contracts

and odd day gigs …

thin dust coats my testamur

in its gold-rimmed frame

Take 5ive, 2026

Layoff Notice Tanka

oh! sunset glow …

I drift, drifting through

a swirl of leaves

as the wind tears loose

my layoff notice

Take 5ive, 2026

Work Haiku

work, work and work

etched across my office pane ...

sunlight tinged gray

Asahi Haikuist Network, February 6 2026

Streetlight Tanka

a girl in red

silhouetted against the glow

of a streetlight

the spark of her cigarette

deepens this winter night

Cold Moon Journal, Nov. 28 2025

Feeder Haiku

government shutdown

I fill the backyard feeder

day after long day

5-7-5 Haiku Journal, November 2 2025

Geese and Migrants Haiku

Canada geese

gathering, parting... and yet

these farm migrants

Haiku Canada Review, 19:2, 2025

Office Gossip Senryu

office gossip

the chirrups

of crickets

Cold Moon Journal, September 5 2025

First Dream Job Tanka

first dream job

in this land of milk and honey 

alone for now

at an alley hotel

behind bulletproof glass

O2 Haiku, "One Breath", September 28, 2025

River Ice Haiku

crack, cracking

of river ice

hunting for work

Selected Haiku, 17th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest, 2025

Glass Cubicle Job Senryu

this 5-9

glass cubicle job

same old me

Asahi Haikuist Network, July 18 2025 

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

cubic Feet of Freedom Tanka

my hope

the caged fluorescent bird

makes no sound ...

in these cubic feet of freedom

for years I've sought the key

Quail Eggs, 1, 2025

July 4th Reflection Tanka

(Added: No More Fairy Tales, XLV

written in response to ABC News, July 9 2025: Texas flooding live updates: 95 dead in Kerr County, at least 110 dead in the state

in a heat haze

blah, blah, blah with fingers

pointing at others ...

beds, comforters, sneakers

and stuffed animals caked in mud

FYI: NBC News, July 9 2025: How a confluence of extreme weather, geography and timing created Texas' flood disaster

Texas leads the country in flood deaths. Steep hills, shallow soils and a fault zone have made Hill Country, also called "flash flood alley," one of the state's most dangerous regions.

And my haiku below could be read as its sequel:

aftermath of floods

the trail of this

unnamed grief

NeverEnding Story, July 4 2024)

not down in the gutter

nor high in the cirrus clouds ...

at thirty

holding a cubicle job

I stare at the fireworks-lit sky

NeverEnding Story, July 4 2025

FYI: I was reminded of the following remarks on the everyday man while writing this tanka

Every man dies. Not every man really lives. 

-- William Wallace

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. 

-- Abraham Lincoln 

Added:

the staccato 

of July 4th fireworks ...

what's left unsaid

reprinted in Asahi Haikuist Network, August 15 2025

Added:

this ever-growing

wall between who is and isn’t 

deemed worthy

of an American life ...

alone after July 4th fireworks

Added: Trump Empire, Inc, XLIV

written in response to Alligator Alcatraz: Trump's New Migrant "Holding Facility" in Florida

and for Jan. 21, 2029

caged in shadows

Trump and Trump-wannabes

wear jumpsuits

"Alligator Alcatraz: 

Make America Safe Again" [indeed!]

Added: This Brave New World, CXXIII

written in response to Elon Musk's July 5 X post: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom"

[New]   America

          a

        rope 

      bridge

    straddles 

the  false  dawn

FYI: Time Magazine, July 6, 2025: Musk Announces New ‘America Party Is Formed,’ Cementing Split From Trump and Republicans

“By a factor of two to one, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk said via his social media platform, X, on Saturday, a day after Trump signed the bill. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

The Tesla CEO had opened a poll on July 4, Independence Day, asking his more than 220 million followers if he should create the new political party. Over 65% of the more than 1.2 million respondents voted “yes.”

Added:

I'm  alone again 

and doomscrolling in bed ..

the summer gets cold

when the day grows old 

on full blast non-stop

Raven after Raven Tanka

from tree to tree

crying raven after raven ...

the night dark 

and colder around me

since being laid off 

Kokako, 42, 2025

Promised Land Tanka

Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XXXVIII

in this promised land

my immigrant life compressed

to hard working 

and light sleeping between jobs ... 

fresh morning in my broken world 

NeverEnding Story, April 16 2025 

FYI: L5 alludes to the following lines:

...

it is a serious thing

just to be alive

on this fresh morning

in the broken world.

I beg of you...

Mary Oliver, "Invitation," Red Bird, 2009

Added: Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XXXIX

stringing 

and unstringing this old erhu ...

My Hometown

the song I come to sing

remains sung in my heart

Added: 

a riot of colors

in my neighbor's garden

at its edge

Foreclosure tilted 

in breezy sunshine

Added:

a long lineup

at the recycling station

in his cart

empty bottles and cans 

taller than this street kid

Added: Trump Empire, Inc., XXIII

shoulder to shoulder

protesters chant, Not Our King!

holding a giant banner,

Vladimir Putin walks

Donald Trump on a leash

Added:

in his $50,000 

three-bedroom ranch-style rental home

the Richest Man sneers

homeless men? Just drug zombies, 

needles and human feces on the street

FYI: Yahoo! Finance, April 4: Elon Musk sold his seven mansions for more than $100 million and now lives in a $50,000 three-bedroom ranch-style rental home in Boca Chica, Texas

The Independent, Dec. 13, 2024: Elon Musk calls homelessness a ‘lie’ and ‘propaganda’ — and Trump is listening

“Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they’d be back on their feet,” he told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson in October. “What you actually have are violent drug zombies with dead eyes, and needles and human feces on the street.”

The more money spent combating homelessness, “the worse it gets”, according to Musk.

And Los Angeles Times, April 20: Lancaster mayor's remedy for homelessness: 'Free fentanyl' and 'a purge'