Special Feature: Selected Poems on Convicted Felon-in-Chief's First Month Back behind the Resolute Desk

My Dear Readers:

On Feb. 15, 2025, the Convicted Felon-in-Chief, sitting behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, posted the following words on Truth Social:

He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.

I started my new writing project, On the Brink of Trumperica, this year, and I would like to share with you some of its entries that have documented and criticized the Convicted Felon-in-Chief's crimes and their devastating consequences during his first month.

I

one old man walks out

another moves in with Money

Arctic blast

II

the downward tilt

of his chin and forehead

and the knitted eyebrows ...

Convicted Felon's official portrait

[l]awfully like his mug shot

a dictator

on his "first day only" ...

in misty dark

the ghost of tomorrow whispers 

Trump Forever, Trump Forever

V

detention camp in shadow ...

between the guard and holding cells

dialects of silence

IX

the White House

pronounces, only two sexes...

trans youth trapped

between black-and-white Kansas

and rainbow-colored Oz

XI

trapped in the nightmare

of four more years of this man-child ...

we wake each morning

as if we're living

the Groundhog Day loop

XII

the people of Trump

                  by the people of Musk

                  for the people of the SuperRich ...

sun-bleached stars and stripes

atop the Capitol fencing

XIII

woke mind virus ...

this double-masked man mumbles

in the psych ward

To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following remarks about writing poetry:

Strive to change the world in such a way that there’s no further need to be a dissident. Read between the lives, and write between the lines. "Be committed to something outside yourself."

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, "Poetry as Insurgent Art"

In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent. This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear.

-- Toni Morrison, "No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear"

And give my heartfelt thanks to all of you: 

Today, as of now: 5826 pageviews

Yesterday: 2093 pageviews

A poem after a poem after a poem is POWER!

-- paraphrasing Margaret Atwood

Butterfly Dream: Sleeping Towns Haiku by Deborah P Kolodji

English Original

highway

of sleeping towns

the milky way

Highway of Sleeping Towns, 2016

Deborah P Kolodji 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

高速公路

沿線的沉睡城鎮

銀河

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

高速公路

沿线的沉睡城镇

银河

Bio Sketch

Deborah P Kolodji was the California Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America and moderated the Southern California Haiku Study Group. Her first full length book of haiku, highway of sleeping towns, is available from Shabda Press.

One Man's Maple Moon: Tin Box Tanka by Carole MacRury

English Original

in this tin box

of unmatched buttons

one baby tooth --

her lifelong attachment

for things detached

The Tang of Nasturtiums, 2012

Carole MacRury 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在這個錫盒

裝有不匹配的鈕釦中

發現一顆乳牙 --

她對於疏離事物

一生的依戀

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在这个锡盒

装有不匹配的钮扣中

发现一颗乳牙 --

她对于疏离事物

一生的依恋

Bio Sketch

Carole MacRury resides in Point Roberts, Washington, a unique peninsula and border town that inspires her work.  She is the author of In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides (Black Cat Press, 2008, 2nd Printing, 2018) and The Tang of Nasturtiums, an award-winning e-chapbook (Snapshot Press 2012).  

Butterfly Dream: Pink Clouds Haiku by Lorraine Pester

English Original

a tornado-twist

of pink clouds ...

this time of life

Lorraine Pester

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

龍捲風扭曲

的粉紅色雲彩 ...

人生的這個階段

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

龙卷风扭曲

的粉红色云彩 ...

人生的这个阶段

Bio Sketch

Being curious and staying open to possibility is Lorraine Pester’s way of keeping her haikai fresh. She shies from no topic that presents itself. Her deliberate interactions with birds while dog walking is a frequent theme. She lives with her husband and  Abbey schnauzer in south Texas. 

Hot News: Two Tanka Prose Included in Contemporary Haibun Anthology 20

My Dear Friends:

Two of my tanka prose about Israel's war on Gaza are included in Contemporary Haibun Anthology 20, an "annual anthology showcasing a state-of-the-art selection of haibun, tanka prose, and haiga from journals around the world."

The Smell of Sorrow

all day rain ...

the puddles outside

and inside

these ripped plastic shelters

at the edge of Rafah

After the rain, at a camp located roughly a mile away from sandy terrain, strewn with rubbish and debris, men, women and children carry buckets of sand back and forth, back and forth, between their tents and the sandy area. A girl suddenly drops her bucket, then sits on the muddy groud, crying. For a moment, she stares up at the sky as if someone were listening.

Ribbons, 20:1, Winter 2024

(also nominated for the Pushcart Prize by the Tanka Society of America)

it’s peaceful now

M-16 rifles are blooming, 2000-pound bombs singing, and Merkava tanks sweeping the streets.

Gaza is cleaner than ever, clean of blood-covered children. Yet, somewhere among the rubble the only moving thing is a boy’s eyes that look up to Heaven.

a mural

on the separation wall

of the West Bank:

in midair a girl grasps

a bunch of rainbow balloons

contemporary haibun online, 20:2, 2024

Chen-ou

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CLXIV: "purity of arms"

Purity of Arms

mosque floor littered 

with plaster and broken glass,

rows of Gazan men

with their hands bound behind ...

a soldier tears up a Quran

silhouetted

against pile after pile

of smoky ruins ...

soldiers take smile photos 

with their selfie sticks 

FYI: Haaretz, Jan. 30 2025:'Army of Militias': Reservist's Explosive Book on Gaza Exposes Israel's War Machine From Within

An ethos of revenge, and dysfunction: An Israeli lieutenant colonel in the reserves – and an anthropologist by profession – based his new book on his war diary, where he talks about an atmosphere of general collapse in the army and Israeli society as a result of Hamas' onslaught

Wikipedia entry: Purity of arms (Hebrew: טוהר הנשק Tohar HaNeshek) is one of the core values listed in the Spirit of the Israel Defense Forces. It is described as the following:

The IDF servicemen and women will use their weapons and force only for the purpose of their mission, only to the necessary extent and will maintain their humanity even during combat. IDF soldiers will not use their weapons and force to harm human beings who are not combatants or prisoners of war, and will do all in their power to avoid causing harm to their lives, bodies, dignity and property.

A Room of My Own: Crescent Moon and Midnight Train Haiku

I'm still still

with this crescent moon ...

midnight train passing

FYI: The following haiku could be read as its prequel:

at the crescent moon

the silence

enters the heart

Chiyo-ni 

Added: Re-Homing in the Maple Land, XXXVI

high-rise skyline

a balloon drifts up and down

as I'm evicted

Added: Instant Weather, Feb. 15: Strongest Snowstorm in Years to Bury Southern Ontario in Up to 50cm of Snow on Sunday

I huff and puff

to clear away all the snow

on my driveway

after a snowplow comes by

a wall of snow blocks my way

FYI: My tanka below could be read as a sequel:

meditating

while shovelling my driveway --

snow is just snow

yet sometimes not snow

but in the end snow

Ribbons, 5:1, Spring 2009 

Added: written on Canada's Flag Day

round after round

of shovelling snow ...

the Maple Leaf 

atop the snow wall between me

and the American neighbor

Special Feature: Selected Poems for Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day, typically a day of chocolate, flowers, and "all things love." I would like to share with you the following poems to explore many/different kinds of love that cover a gamut of emotions:

valentine’s day --

a glimpse of the shop girl’s

red bra strap

Paul Hodder

as if seeing love

for the first time

you bring me

white peonies

wet with morning dew

Pamela A. Babusci

After Dusk

asleep

the firefly

is fueling

sparks

however small

light lovers

our bodies

listen

to light

Raymond Roseliep

evening 

between her breasts 

sugar to lick off 

the cocktail glass 

rim 

ai li

on her skin he writes              

invisible love letters

each word

a little warmer

than the next

Claudia Coutu Radmore

this winter night 

you inside 

all of my curves 

Inside the Mirror, 2005

Karina Young

leaving my loneliness     inside her

George Swede 

I fight the urge 

to ask them 

how to make love last 

old couple holding hands 

where the waves break 

Roberta Beary

To conclude today's Special Feature post, I would like to share with you the following Valentine's Day haiku:

those three words uttered ...

our bodies nestle, listening

to Valentine's starlight

Added: 

my affair ends

with a tired face emoji

she used to say

the power of love begins

with the silence of words

Butterfly Dream: Goodbye Haiku by George Swede

English Original

waving goodbye

to the father     a clothesline

of children's shirts

Almost Unseen, 2000

George Swede

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

揮手告別

父親       一條晾衣繩

的兒童襯衫

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

挥手告别

父亲       一条晾衣绳

的儿童衬衫

Bio Sketch

George Swede's most recent collections of haiku are Almost Unseen (Decatur, IL: Brooks Books, 2000), Joy In Me Still (Edmonton: Inkling Press, 2010) and micro haiku: three to nine syllables (Inspress, 2014). He is a former editor of Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America (2008-2012) and a former Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives (2008-2009).

One Man's Maple Moon: Upward Spiral Tanka by André Surridge

English Original

jasmine tendril

stretching in an upward spiral

I too

grasp for a hold

on the future                                    

Honorable Mention, 2009 World Tanka Competition

André Surridge

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

茉莉花的卷鬚

螺旋式

向上

伸展

我也是

想一把抓住

未來

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

茉莉花的卷须

螺旋式

向上

伸展

我也是

想一把抓住

未来

Bio Sketch

André Surridge was an award-winning playwright and poet who immigrated to New Zealand from Yorkshire, England in 1972. He was President of the Playwrights Association of New Zealand from 1998-2000. Widely published, some of his awards included: 1995 Minolta Playwriting Award,  2007 Elizabeth Searle Lamb Award, 2008 Tanka Splendor Award, and 2010 Jane Reichhold International prize. And his first collection of haiku and senryu, one hundred petals, was critically acclaimed in 2019.

Butterfly Dream: Cloud Shadow Haiku by Michael McClintock

English Original

across the sands

the rippling quiet

cloud shadow

The Haiku Anthology, 1999

Michael McClintock

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

穿越沙漠

這漣漪般的寧靜

一片雲影

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

穿越沙漠

这涟漪般的宁静

一片云影

Bio Sketch

Michael McClintock's lifework in haiku, tanka, and related literature spanned over four decades. His many contributions to the field included six years as president of the Tanka Society of America (2004-2010) and contributing editor, essayist, and poet for dozens of journals, anthologies, landmark collections and critical studies. McClintock lived in Clovis, California, where he worked as an independent scholar, consultant for public libraries, and poet. Meals at Midnight [tanka], Sketches from the San Joaquin [haiku] and Streetlights: Poetry of Urban Life in Modern English Tanka, were some of his recent titles.

Poetic Musings: Starlings Haiku by Alan Peat

sunset starlings shifting dunes

 

Honorable Mention, 2022 San Francisco International Competition

                        

Alan Peat

                        

Commentary: The sound in this one-liner reflects the hush of wings and swirl of sand at sunset, and the quick pace of its one-line format visually enhances the thematic focus.

A Room of My Own: The Cover

On the Brink of Trumperica, XII

inspired by/written in response to Time Magazine, Feb. 7: Inside Elon Musk's War on Washington

The Cover

behind the Resolute desk

flanked by a spray of flags

the Richest Man

moans, I love Trump as much

as a straight man could

the people of Trump

                  by the people of Musk

                  for the people of the SuperRich ...

sun-bleached stars and stripes

atop the Capitol fencing

FYI: Daily Beast, Feb. 7: Trump Reveals Melania’s Reaction to Musk’s ‘Straight Man’ Love Confession

Donald Trump suggested the First Lady was willing to share him after Elon Musk declared his “straight man” love for the president on Friday.

While apparently taking a break from his bid to remake the federal government, the tech billionaire confessed on X, “I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man.”

Added: On the Brink of Trumperica, XIII

woke mind virus ...

this double-masked man mumbles

in the psych ward

Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CLXIII: "suffocating peace"

my friend laments

this suffocating peace 

saddled with anxiety ...

in Gaza, Time feels endless

yet none of it belongs to you

Added: reading between the lives and writing between the lines, XCI

the pastor intones

about all these virtues

of "love is patient"...

another faint bruise

under his wife's right eye

Added: On the Brink of Trumperica, XIV

written in response to Jezebel, Feb. 12: It’s Pretty Clear Who’s Running the Show Here

On Tuesday night, Elon Musk, donning a black midi-dress over One Direction-era skinny jeans, held a press conference with Donald Trump to assure the public not to worry because he’s investigated himself and has done nothing wrong.

his four-year-old

riding on his shoulders

the Richest Man

stands over the Convicted Felon

behind the Resolute desk

Hot News: Two Haiku Included in Haiku 21.2

My Dear Friends and Readers:

Two of my haiku below are included in Haiku 21.2,  a new anthology that presents examples of the best haiku being written in the second decade of the 21st century as Haiku 21 presented the first. It is edited by Lee Gurga and Scott Metz and published by Modern Haiku Press. 

I

remarried

the taste of pinot noir

left open overnight

Frogpond, 40:3, Fall 2017

And my free verse below could be read as its prequel:

Pickled Sorrow

I slice my sorrow,

pickle the cutlets,

and closet them in a jar.

When hungry,

I'll have a slice

with pinot noir.

Winter 2009 issue of Concise Delight

II

a white lie

to cover another

early snowfall

Failed Haiku, 5:58, October 2020

jar of rain: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2020

Haiku 2021

Commentary: Like the falling snow, white lies are pleasing to the senses, but too much of each may do more harm than good. This deceptively simple haiku seems like a cautionary tale, reminding readers to watch their words, even if well intended... review of jar of rain by Joanne Morcom

And my haiku below could be read as its prequel:

snow drifting ...

all her colorful words

about love

Paper Wasp, 18:4, Summer 2012

FYI: Haiku 21: an anthology of contemporary English-language haiku is the Winner of the “Best Anthology” award from the Haiku Society of America and the Haiku Foundation Touchstone Award.

Butterfly Dream: Sakura Blossoms Haiku by Neal Whitman

English Original

sakura blossoms

loose in an envelope

priority mail

USA Winner, Haiku Invitational, 2019

Neal Whitman 

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

盛開的櫻花

寬鬆地裝在信封裡

優先郵件

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

盛开的樱花

宽松地装在信封里

优先邮件

Bio Sketch

Neal Whitman lives with his wife, Elaine, in Pacific Grove, California, where he is a docent at Point Pinos Lighthouse. Visitors who come there from near and far inspire him to write poetry that takes the “particular" to convey the “universal". Neal is Vice President of the United Haiku and Tanka Society.

Butterfly Dream: Bodies and Light Haiku by Raymond Roseliep

English Original

our bodies

    listen

    to light

Listen to Light, 1980

Raymond Roseliep

Chinese Translation (Traditional)

我們的身體

      傾聽

      晨光

Chinese Translation (Simplified) 

我们的身体

     倾听

     晨光

Bio Sketch

Raymond Roseliep (August 11, 1917 – December 6, 1983) was a Catholic priest and a haiku poet. He has been described as "the John Donne of Western haiku." He won the Haiku Society of America Harold G. Henderson award in 1977 and 1982. Two of his better known collections of haiku are The Still Point – Haiku of Mu, 1979 and Listen to Light, 1980