Tuesday, February 21, 2012

bad tuesday morning haiku


sunday morning: soft
yet cold, bright. winter's chilly
disposition begs

coffee, begs sweatshirt,
and the birds beg at feeders,
and these essays beg

less forgiveness than
any shame demands. instead,
they shriek like hungry

birds, hungering for
grades unearned, validation
for simply breathing.

it could be simple,
really; i could acquiesce,
ignoring ethics

and ignorance, pour
into them the acceptance
they seek but not the

learning. besides, they
already know -- right? -- like those
baby birds with beaks

open, that someone
will give them everything
they want, without their

lifting their wings. no
resistance, no flight -- physics
another class they

fail, but they don't care.
passive receptacles -- are
they more than that? mouths

open, more effort
a worthless waste of time? these
essays, motionless

on the table, less
like work than slow suicide,
deserve more than what

they have received, more
than what they will this cold, bright
sunday morning. so

do i, mourning the
language tortured, the lack of
snow, the empty mug

beside the essays
too lazy to beg for, well,
anything. the birds

know: everything
works when the feeder's full. i
toast some bread, fill my

mug, toast the sun, quit
chirping, find less savory
offerings, and grade.


[+]


* The RGM modified this post's date since it originally was posted at the day and time Greta started composing the post, and not when she actually posted it.

10 comments:

  1. At least the parent birds get to kick the baby birds out of the nest, in far less time than it takes to get through a semester, too. Of course, as the bird feeder reference reminds us, not all of them get the message -- at least not as long as we keep feeding them with no effort on their part.

    Where's a metaphorical cat, or hawk, when you need one? And how do you incorporate such a predator into your feedback? Maybe a reference to future employers who won't stand for [fill in the most egregious errors here]?

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    Replies
    1. The baby birds would complain the the cat's or hawk's department Chair, who would side with the baby birds, much to the detriment of the balance of nature.

      Delete
  2. Love it, Greta. You are a treasure.

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  3. Push them out of the nest before they can fly... and walk away quickly.

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  4. And I love your haiku more and more. Thank you, Greta! Thank you.

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  5. This is wonderful, Greta. I see a chapbook--you have certainly got enough to work with!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have a way with metaphor, Professor Greta. Why, why, why does grading suck so much?

    ReplyDelete

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