Tag Archives: haiku

High Coo – July 10 – Marcel Proust

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Greatest novelist of the 20th Century?

Born on this day in history in 1871, Marcel Proust produced the longest novel ever published: In Search of Lost Time which was some 3200 pages in original French and about 4300 pages when translated into English. It has over 2000 characters and was rejected by at least two publishers before Proust self-published.

In Search of Lost Time, aka Remembrance of Things Past, is the narrator’s recollection of childhood and adulthood in high society France. The reported themes are the loss of time and lack of meaning in the world. I’m sure it’s a fine read but …

Who would you say is the greatest novelist of the 20th Century? Here is today’s haiku:

Rowling, Tolkein, Or-

well, Hemingway, Vonnegut,

or Ian Fleming

For more information on the top 300 novelists of the 20th Century see: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/20th-century-novelists.php

High Coo – July 9 – Study War No More

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Are you one of the 95% of the world’s human population that has lived your entire life under the threat of nuclear annihilation?

On this day in history in 1955, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto was issued which asked world leaders to abolish war; especially nuclear war.

Today’s haiku is:

Study War No More

Taught “duck and cover,”

still threatened by war today.

When will we learn peace?

For more information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Einstein_Manifesto

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/08/06/life-under-bomb-means-life-resistance

High Coo – July 8 – Jean Moulin

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Jean Moulin – President of the French Resistance for 2 months before he died on July 8, 1943

Lawyer, political cartoonist, French civil servant, resistance hero. Born in 1899, Jean Moulin died at the age of 44 after being tortured by a German Gestapo officer. His picture above shows a scarf around his neck to hide a scar from a failed suicide attempt.

Jean Moulin is considered a French national hero and there are many theories regarding who the betrayer was that led to his final arrest and early death.

Truly, war is hell, and we should do whatever we can to avoid it. However, if it comes our way, may we be heroic enough to face it with compassion, wisdom and integrity.

Here is today’s haiku:

War

“What is it good for?

absolutely nothing” but

maybe relearn peace.

For more information on Jean Moulin see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Moulin

This is the house where Moulin was tortured, reportedly by Klaus Barbie.

High Coo – July 6 – Frida Kahlo’s Birthday

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Frida Kahlo – Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940)

July 6: “I am that clumsy human, always loving, loving, loving. And loving. And never leaving,” wrote Frida Kahlo, who was born in Mexico on this date 1907. A wildly influential folk artist, who spent most of the later years of her life bedridden after a trolley accident damaged her legs, painted surreal and colorful explorations of the world as she saw it. She also devoted much of her energy to campaigning for peace and collecting signatures for nuclear disarmament. Relatively obscure as an artist during her lifetime, she has become an icon for many LGBT groups, Latinos, and people with disabilities.” excerpted from Vision and Viewpoint – a weekly e-newsletter from Joan Chittister at visionviewpoint@benetvision.org

Today’s haiku:

Dear Frida

Life is so messy

yet your love shined through; the dark

could not contain you

For more information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo

Color photo

High Coo – July 5 – National Workaholics Day

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http://www.knowledgemax.in/2018/09/are-you-workaholic-what-are-bad-impacts.html

Today is a day to remind us NOT to overwork ourselves. Finding balance in our lives is important to both the quality of our life and the quality of our work.

Let us be grateful for our life AND Rodney Dangerfield for coining the term “workaholic.” See haiku and link for more information below:

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK

Work can be a drug

monopolizing our lives.

It won’t love you back.

NATIONAL WORKAHOLICS DAY – JULY 5

High Coo – July 4 – Stephen Foster’s Birthday

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Born in 1826, Stephen Foster wrote more than 200 songs in his short thirty-seven years of life. His many hits included “Camptown Races”, “Oh, Susanna”, “Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)” and “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair.”

Known as the “father of American music”, Foster was also known as “the most famous songwriter of the nineteenth century.”

Unfortunately, like the country itself, Foster’s life is shrouded in racial controversary, and he reportedly died from suicide.

Here is today’s haiku:

American Dreamer

With so much promise,

you died much too early. Oh,

Stephen, don’t you cry.

For more information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Foster

Sad, sad, sad.

High Coo – July 3 – Natl’ Compliment Your Mirror Day

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Have you ever been surprised by your own mirror reflection? Did you wonder who was looking back at you?

Were you inspired by Michael Jackson’s or Stuart Smalley’s mirror observations?

There are so many ways this post could go; from humorous to serious to scifi bizarre. Maybe Zen is the Right Way.

Here’s today’s haiku for National Compliment Your Mirror Day

I saw you today

or was it myself in you?

Original face?

For more information on this national holiday see: https://nationaltoday.com/national-compliment-mirror-day/

For more information on the Zen sermon Original Face see: https://www.dailyzen.com/journal/Original-Face

High Coo – July 2 – Civil Rights Act of 1964

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Fifty-eight years ago, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted the law to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964

In the picture above, the African-American standing immediately behind the seated president is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Here is today’s haiku:

Civil Rights?

Two steps forward then

one step back, let’s not lose hope.

All life matters now.

For more information on how to move forward see this example: http://news.unm.edu/news/two-steps-forward-one-step-back-where-do-we-go-from-here

High Coo – July 1 – Canada Day

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My father and I were both born in the USA, but the four generations prior were born in Ontario, Canada. I have visited Canada often and enjoyed it’s friendly and humane culture. With the devolution of both virtues in the USA, I sometimes dream of returning to the land of my ancestors.

With appreciation and gratitude, I celebrate Canada Day with this haiku:

No place is perfect

but Canada gives me hope

that good will survive.

For more information about this holiday see: https://nationaltoday.com/canada-day/

High Coo – June 30 – National Handshake Day

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Expressing gratitude, goodwill or the message “you can trust me;” the handshake is a way to reassure one another we are non-threatening, we can be allies.

Today is National Handshake Day, celebrated the last Thursday of June each year. Today’s haiku is:

Extending friendship

confirming our gratitude

thank you, supporter

For more information on this holiday see: https://nationaltoday.com/national-handshake-day/

National Handshake Day