St. Patrick’s Day
a traffic cop directs
gridlock
spring green
on the scaffold a workman
swinging his feet
dawn–
shades of grey break
into birdsong
“St. Patrick’s Day” – The Can Collector’s Red Socks (2003), a haiku sequence
“spring green” – A New Resonance 2 & frogpond XXII: 3
the little sake shop
open for business…
spring mountain
into the grass
at the shrine, pouring…
new sake
Saints Patrick
and Christopher —
sharing a drink and a ride
potluck
In an NYT op-ed piece today “Don’t Parade, Just Go Vote,” Thomas Fleming speaks
of the history of the Irish in America as different from those back in their homeland. Fleming
says “But threaded through it is the triumph of a defeated people who used America’s
freedom to win their share of pride and prosperity.” His main point is “I hope we never
forget the importance of Election Day.”
Of course, I hope we never forget how very American it has always
been for the victors in American politics to want all the spoils and
to help the new In’s at the expense of all the Out’s. That’s one example
no downtrodden minority needs to emulate — here or in the Middle East.
Thanks to John Steele for pointing to an interesting piece in the Harvard Law School
Record about whether Generation Y lawyers have a “flabby work ethic”. The author, 3L Raffi
Melkonian, makes valid points about every generation complaining about the one coming next,
while boasting how hard they had it. (“Us? Flabby?“, March 10, 2005) However, I hope his
peers are listening to those in the profession worried about lawyer depression and unhappiness,
and that they will demand to have both a life and a career. Some traditions need to be broken.
misspelled as “frivilous.” Of course, I can’t come up with a firm number, but there were 32,900
results just now in a Google Search for
to remember which vowel goes in the middle. This is another good reason to fight against the
American tendency to pronounce most short vowel sounds identically. Enunciate those vowels!
