(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
(#55)
Caught like wounded prey
In sharp fangs of granite crags
Dusk sun spills its blood
…..
(#56)
Those coins that fall through
Gaps in floorboards forgotten
Like old memories
…..
(#57)
My heart recalls you
Like my broken bleeding thumb
Recalls the hammer
…..
(#58)
Do my deafened ears
Make me any less human
I hear with my heart
…..
(#59)
Scarlet gilia
Weep sweet tears in sage meadow
After thunderstorm
…..
(#60)
On my back porch step
There’s so much to think about
And so little time
Silent Pariah 
Loved each unique piece, Mike.#58 really touched me. Brilliant.💕❤️💕
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Thanks as always, Grace. You’re very kind. I’m glad you liked them. #58 has special relevance for me as I’m deaf and many times hearing people will look down on me as though I have a mental deficiency, or they’ll become impatient with me because I have so much difficulty interacting according to their hearing bias. It’s very frustrating and it feels as though many hearing people dehumanize deaf people and marginalize not only the deaf but all disabled people. I just want the hearing world to know deafness doesn’t define me. I’m human, just like everyone else. I just happen to be deaf. So, yeah, #58 has special meaning for me. Anyway, I’m so glad you liked these. 🙂
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Hi Mike, again another great collection. I like how these seem to have a theme running through them. Great job!
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Hey, Mark. Thanks for the nice comment. I had fun with this batch (well, I always have fun with haiku, but today’s batch was really fun to create). There does seem to be sort of a theme, too, although I didn’t realize this when I wrote them. Like we’ve discussed before, these little moments in time take on a life of their own once they’re set free, and looking back on them can reveal deeper layers of meaning (and themes). I have to tell you that the inspiration for #60 was your essay on porches awhile back, as well as your piece on impermanence. Fertile soil for haiku. 🙂
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Hi Mike, that is very cool to watch the spread of ideas across the blog-o-sphere. (I think that is the term people use.) I look forward to reading more of your haikus as the appear. Be well,
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#57, #58, and #60 are my favs. I laughed at #57, I felt #58, and I pondered #60. I’m always amazed by how much can be said in such few words.
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Thanks, Michelle. I was grinning as I wrote #57, that’s for sure! And you’re right: once distilled down to the very basics, ideas can be profound sometimes. My mama always said, “Good things come in small packages.” Oh wait, maybe it was Forrest Gump’s mama who said that… 😀
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You’re so funny, Mike. Love that movie… lol. 😆
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It’s hard for me to explain what I mean by this exactly, Mike, but I feel like your sets of haiku somehow lend the haiku poems with them more meaning – there’s something that feels very complete about these sets… I really like it.
❤
David
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Thanks, David. I’m thinking it could be that I’m in a certain mood or frame of mind when I write these mini-compilations, and there may be a conscious or unconscious theme running through each set as a result, as Mark mentioned above. Sometimes I don’t realize it when I write them, but later it becomes apparent, especially when other folks notice it. I think it’s sort of cool, actually–maybe not chapters or acts in a single story, but something akin to that. Or how our particular moods can influence all of our actions in a particular day, coloring them all a similar hue. I’m really unsure what mood I was in yesterday when I wrote these since they represent sadness, indignation, humor, apprehension/worry, and melancholia. I wish I could say, “Of course, I had it planned like this all along!” with a flourish of my quill, but alas, the truth is I just sit down and close my eyes and let images come to mind and then put them into words and hope for the best. 🙂
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These are lovely and all so different. My favs were # 56, 59, and 60. But all of them were beautiful.
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Thank you so much for your nice comment. I have a lot of fun writing these and I’m glad you enjoyed them. Much appreciated. 🙂
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Mike, these are so beautiful💕🙂 your writing has much depth and a strange beauty, never fails to touch hearts and souls.. words seem too small to express its worth/beauty.. you say and we listen💕🙂 that’s it!!
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Because you say it so beautifully.. that a person is completely mesmerized by it💕🙂
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