Gym shoes are sweating

Stench festering, they're rotting
In the dark locker.


Welcome to Provocative Haiku! I'm your host, Angry Poet, and I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan where there is PLENTY to be angry about! And my hope is to express it here. I invite you all to comment - hopefully in the form of a haiku - and share your own experiences of what it means to be human in today's modern age. What I love about haiku is the short, one-two punch it can deliver - unless of course you are writing the "flowery" kind of haiku, about nature or grand landscapes. For me, the fun of writing haiku is using the form to shock or provoke a reaction instead of the "aww!" I usually feel when I read haiku.

Those of you unfamiliar with haiku, it it written in 3 lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second has 7 syllables, and the third has 5 syllables. I also like to write what I call "haiku triplets" - 3 haikus together. But let me give you some easy examples of frustration.

Here are some favorites from my book which is available on Lulu.com:

Gravel in driveway
Slide underfoot, uprooted
I have skinned my knee.

*

Today the test came.
"It's negative," the nurse said.
That was a relief.

*

Anticipation.
Noon came, I went to the fridge.
Someone stole my lunch!

*

Empty subway car.
But no one moves to get in
due to homeless man.

*

One, two, three plunges.
The toilet is all clogged up!
Who's at fault for this?

*

So, let's begin! Won't you join me? The bad economy certainly gives us LOTS of material to play with. Check back every week for new topics. If you'd like to be a "featured haiku poet," please send at least 3 of your haiku.

Thanks for reading! and I look forward to reading your haiku comments.