I think the title / would be much more effective / if haiku itself
This is a collaborative reflection effort from Betsy
and Joseph

A haiku is a poem designed to capture a single moment
in time with a very specific structure. While poets
have argued for centuries how best to communicate the
concept of the haiku from Japanese to English, we have
used the basic 5 7 5 syllable structure.

MLK VISTAs
are welcoming and open
to difficult tasks

good people help clean
they presume it is healthy
but is it really?

I'm here to do chores
piles of unknown treasures
now where to begin?

I did not know that
eggs left warm for several months
become black and soft

so discouraging
imagine if it were me
I can't even start

on linoleum
crunching sounds under your feet
must be cockroaches

smells bad, very sad
look at the situation
are we helping her?

the dishes are clean
and the florescent lights work
back at BCC

how has this happened?
what is this person's life like
how does she feel now?

she does not smile
we are invading her space
for her case-worker

we dug out his home
he will not be evicted
this month, anyway

make a difference day
protect against eviction
is it possible?

she once was homeless
jesus I hope that she's not
homeless again soon

a vast swarm of flies
rode a wave of awful smell
when the door opened

hey dave, I got one
make a difference day service
or a paper cut?

what else does she need?
support, luck, a second chance,
community, me?

my friends in Spokane
are gathering cans of food
I hope not to eat

there is way too much
I want her to keep her home
but can she finish?

the man with no shirt
with flies in his apartment
does not want our help

George W. Bush
sent us a support letter
I wish he was here.

- posted by Joseph Baruch @ 8:27 PM