Near Miss Haiku

by Anselm Hollo

order out of chaos equals frogs

*

“here come the faster

’n a rattler poets”

o for the day

we hear that cry

*

the competition

for World’s Most Virtuous Nation

has been called off

(offer no longer valid)

*

Modern Jazz Quartet

after all these years—

a bit like when the man smiles

& says “well done”

*

Max Bruch

violin piece

full of glowing

inwardness

made him wipe a tear

for his parents & think

(well)

“one hopes they had their moments”

*

“he probably was a horrible guy”

“nooo, he wasn’t”

“OK he probably wasn’t a horrible guy”

*

“You can say things again.”

“You sure can.”

*

she has this in-

credible

urge

to tell

the

whole

story

all

the

time

*

early moments of mother

must’ve been something!

she could never live up to them later

*

having picked it out of

an enormous pile of bodies

the reader

opens the book

From Near Miss Haiku, Chicago, Yellow Press, 1990, pages 42–47. +