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THE POND HAIKU
1.
The willow lady
trails fingers on the water
in love with herself
2.
dragonfly hovers
water lily's gilded heart
a dainty divan
3.
the choir rehearses
dark pond holds pale moon prisoner
frogs sing her praises
4.
pond his skating rink
water bug skims the surface
forming figure eights
5.
dragon fly shimmers
mosquito larvae scatter
insect nemesis
6.
above still water
heedless black gnats dream and dance
hungry trout leaps
7.
the dragon that flies
insect maidens chained to rocks
await his pleasure
TO A CERTAIN FICTIONAL INDIVIDUAL WITH A POLITICALLY INCORRECT NAME
Where are you now, dear friend and companion?
When I was at sixes and sevens
I adored you,
begged to hear your story again and again,
your skin dark as a blue plum--
your wonderful green umbrella,
your curly toed purple shoes,
the new clothes your mother made you--
the golden sand and the delightfully frowsy palm tree
and those arrogant blackmailing tigers!
Now you are forbidden.
Uncle Remus, for all his marvelous tales, was a slave
and a reminder of a time
better forgotten - as was he.
Not you! You were an independent young thinker
who saved yourself from being devoured
by four fierce beasts in a land far away.
Round and round the trunk of that palm tree
those conceited tigers chased each other,
until they melted into lovely yellow butter
under the hot tropic sun
and you could scrape them up and take them home
to spread on your pancakes.
Now THERE is a story about adversity, persecution, and courage!
You just had the wrong name
to survive into your due
as an historical icon.
The Story of Little Black Sambo, a children's book by Helen Bannerman, a Scot
who lived for 32 years in Madras in southern India, was first published in London in 1899.
(An American edition of the book was illustrated by Florence White Williams.) In the tale,
an Indian boy named Sambo prevails over a group of hungry tigers. The little boy has to
give his colourful new clothes, shoes, and umbrella to four tigers so they will not eat
him. Sambo recovers the clothes when the jealous, conceited tigers chase each other around
a tree until they are reduced to a pool of delicious melted butter.[1] The story was a children's
favourite for half a century, but then became controversial due to the use of the word sambo,
a racial slur in some countries,[2] and the illustrations, which are reminiscent of "darky iconography".
Sue Littleton has been writing for 50 years. Her experiences come from a sheep ranch in West Texas to the sophisticated capital of Argentina,
and from 18 years in Buenos Aires to Austin,Texas.
A college education is a wonderful thing. She graduated at age 57. Her poetry returned to her with intense joy and a range unknown before
the mind-dazzling experiences of undergraduate studies.
Email: Sue Littleton
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