Cocaine on 90% of US Bills: A Haiku News Brief

Traces on most cash
Snorters, dealers, ATMS
Gotta wash your hands!

Too little for high
Tellers could fail drug tests!
But no real health risk!

Find out more about this surprising discovery here.

"500 Days of Summer": A Haiku Poem Movie Review

Sadly lovestruck Tom
And quirky but cold Summer
Chart 500 days!

Non-linear plot,
Likable performances,
Unique directing!

Love story rings true
Rom-com with added whimsy
Muses about fate!

I truly loved this movie! Read more reviews of "500 Days of Summer," starring Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Clark Gregg, and Minka Kelly here.

Thursday's Challenge: Breakfast Haiku Poem

Sick of cereal
Pink popsicles for breakfast!
More nutritious lunch?

Okay, that's my example. Now it's your turn! Today's haiku challenge is to write about what you had for breakfast! Was it the same yummy oatmeal you've been having for years? Was it a sugary Pop Tart? Plain toast? Whatever it was, turn it into a haiku and post it here!

Haiku Poem Advice to the Woman Who Tried to Deface the Mona Lisa

No need for violence!
If you don't like a painting
leave the museum!

But you're not alone
Two attacks in'56
But she smiles last!

Read more about the woman who tried to deface the Mona Lisa here.

Bumpaholics: A News Haiku Poem

Bigger families—
Is pregnancy addictive?
Just ask mom Nadya.

Baby bumps equal
Attention, purpose and food!
Cure for postpartum?


Read more about the supposedly addictive qualities of pregnancy here.

"Confessions of a Shopaholic": A Haiku Poem Movie Review

Is the shopping mall

where you purchase a new self?

Or where you get lost?

Fans of Devil Wears Prada,

Legally Blonde and Clueless

will enjoy this film.

Fisher is charming in

Light look at heavy issue—

the perils of debt!

I laughed at Becky's

Passion for sale shopping

Because it was me!

A gentle push for

finding oneself through hard work—

laughing all the way!

Confessions of a Shopaholic stars scene-stealer Isla Fisher as Becky, a shopping-addicted journalist whose crippling credit card debt forces her to take a job at a financial advice magazine. See more reviews here.

Spot versus Junior?
Dogs as smart as two year olds!
Except afghan hounds!

Dog kindergarten
Would include counting and words
Along with nap time.

Makes me feel sorry for afghan hounds, though they're cute anyway! Read more here about the genius of dogs.

GI Joe: A Haiku Poem Move Review

Made-up weaponry
The gadgets are the real stars
Mites that eat metal?!?

Oh the memories!
Scarlett and Deathstro are here
Along with Snake Eyes!




Cheesy nostalgia
So check your brain at the door
And take a fun ride!

See more reviews of this thinly plotted yet enjoyable summer flick here.

My Brother's Comments on Bill Clinton's Heroics: A News Haiku Poem

Later, on the plane—
Do you think he got weird there?
'Try on this beret'?

* My brother's thoughts about Bill Clinton rescuing two female American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, from North Korean prison, paraphrased into haiku poem format.

Found Haiku Poem: Song Lyrics

Since I began this blog, I've been wondering if any song lyrics fit the haiku poem format without alterations.

The answer is very few do, if any.

And taking the song lyrics out of the context of the whole work really changes their meaning and emotional charge.

This morning, though, I came up with one, through a random moment of I-Pod bliss while walking my dog Marley. "Save It For Later" by the English Beat, a mild 80s hit, contains three lines that indeed fit into the 5, 7, 5 syllable pattern:

Save it for later
Don't run away, let me down
Sooner or later

Do these lyrics, isolated like that, make any sense?

Not really.



You have to invent a story to go with it, like a jilted boyfriend or girlfriend who know their going to get left. The "save it for later" sounds a bit more hopeful to me, but when you hit the "sooner or later," they know heartbreak is around the corner.

Other haiku lyrics can be found in "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry.

What does it mean to kiss someone "windy"? Don't ask me; I'm not Anthony Kiedis. But it's great that it's open to interpretation. Since we end on "I never worry," the sort of depressed mood of the song as a whole is totally gone. But if you take these three lines, you get a totally different vibe, closer to the original song's intent:

Together we cry
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day

Same song, a line taken from the verse and two from the chorus, totally different sounding haiku.



Haikus embedded in existing songs are hard to find and totally change the meaning of the lyrics. Find any yourself? Share them here!