Today's Timericks. Chris Gilliard grew up with racist policing in Detroit. He sees a new form of oppression in the tech we use every day.

 

The internet is full of cops/having fun with their black ops/While upon you they do spy/they will nab you by and by/for infractions or much worse/They know already of this verse!

Senate Republicans say they will vote to allow a debt default, leaving Democrats scrambling for plan to avert economic crisis.

Mitch McConnell, standing firm/causes Democrats to squirm/He don't care if we go bust/That other party he don't trust/And so our frail economy/will go 'ker-plop' for all to see. 

Fast-food customers are back, but workers are not. It’s triggering major change.

When you're in the fast food aisle/you may have to wait awhile/Understaffed and underpaid/servers are as scarce as jade/Do not tremble with surprise/if a robot serves you fries.

Haiku. 食器洗い

 

Washing the dishes --

the clatter reflects old bones

and white ivory

食器洗い

古い骨と白い象牙のガタガタを思い出させます


Washing the dishes --
the foam reaches my elbows --
my nose is runny
食器洗い
私のせっけんの手は私の鼻水を拭くことができません


The dishes are washed --
stacked carelessly by the sink --
imminent breakage
料理は終わりました
それらは不注意に積み重ねられているため、破損が差し迫っています

Today's Timericks. Trump gave six months extra Secret Service protection to his kids, three officials. It cost taxpayers $1.7 million.

 

When you leave a cushy place/you want to save a lot of face/by keeping perks you don't deserve/which takes a lot of Trumpy nerve/The taxpayers do not get wise/when gouged by Washington wise guys. 

Thousands of Haitian migrants wait under bridge in South Texas after mass border crossing.

Uncle Sam has got a bridge/although there isn't any fridge/where you can stay as refugee/and breathe the sewage air for free/This Texas haven welcomes all/It's Lone Star State's best protocol!

GOP Rep. Gonzalez, who voted to impeach Trump, announces he won’t seek reelection, citing ‘toxic dynamics inside our own party’

Republicans can hold a grudge/like any other hanging judge/When they decide a guy must go/they are not subtle nor too slow/Gonzalez gave old Trump the bird/And more from him will not be heard.

I ain't bought a hardback book/since the last Fort Worth chinook/The price tag is a horrid steal/I'd rather buy a Happy Meal/and a decent red merlot/while reading Kindle nice and slow.

Haiku. 小さなグリーントマト

 

Small green tomatoes

So unripe and unready --

canned and forgotten

小さなグリーントマト

とても熟しておらず、準備ができておらず、すでに忘れられています


Small green tomatoes
stubbornly clinging on vine --
vain hope of harvest
小さなグリーントマト
収穫が終わった後、頑固にブドウの木にしがみつく

Small green tomatoes
rolling around like marbles 
shoved by black beetles
小さなグリーントマト
黒いカブトムシがビー玉を押す間、ビー玉のように転がります

Haiku. 詩人はまだ朝食をとっていません

 

What do sparrows feel?

Never-ending pinched hunger --

eating, not singing

スズメは何を感じますか？

終わらない、歌わせない飢え

What do sparrows feel?
Fear of shadows above them --
tiny hopping feet
スズメは何を恐れますか？
彼らは飛び跳ねるときに彼らの上の影を恐れます

What do sparrows feel?
Their fluttering bickering
reveals petty spite
スズメは何を感じますか？
彼らは羽ばたき、ちらつき、ささいな嫌悪感を示しています

Today's Timericks. Democrats target cigarettes and vaping as potential sources to pay for $3.5 trillion economic package (WaPo)

 

If you like to take a puff/you will find things mighty tough/as the Democrats inhale/your income like baleen whale/Taxes on Dame Nicotine/will make you switch to coffee bean.

The government helped Tesla conquer electric cars. Now it’s helping Detroit, and Elon Musk isn’t happy.

(WaPo)

You can't have it both ways when dealing with money/that comes from the pockets of Uncle Sam, sonny/He might give you millions but that doesn't mean/he won't stint your rivals, ya know what I mean?/So don't throw a tantrum, dear Elon, I beg/killing the goose laying that golden egg!

As the largest-ever U.S. climate bill inches forward, a lobbying frenzy ensues.

(WaPo)

When in Washington D.C./lobbyists you'll surely see/Frequent as the common flea/they'll invite you out to tea/if their minion you will be/you won't be a bourgeoisie.

Haiku. 桃がいっぱい！

 

So many peaches

in the mild golden sunlight --

piled rotting away

穏やかな日差しの中でたくさんの桃が黄色くなる --

腐った山で

So much zucchini

tumbles out of the garden --

let's order pizza

たくさんのズッキーニが庭から来ています-

ピザを注文しましょう

Fallen red apples --
the old white horse snuffs them up.
Wasps are blown aside.
落ちた赤いリンゴは古い白い馬に食べられます-
いくつかのハチも食べられます

Haiku. 詩人は腹痛があります

 

Fly on the ceiling

you cannot be more dizzy

than I am right now

天井を飛ぶあなたは今私よりも目がくらむことはできません

Dogs sniffing each other

to find the ripest odors --

neighbors gossiping

犬がお互いを嗅ぎまわって、最も熟した匂いを見つける --
隣人のうわさ話


Brown spots in a bush --
sparrows hiding from a hawk --
still as fallen fruit
茂みの中の茶色の斑点 --
ファルコンから隠れているスズメ --
まだ落ちた果物として

Haiku. 詩人はまだ朝食を食べていません

 

Shaving my fat face;

there are no wrinkles, just warts

and tangled eyebrows

太った顔を剃ると、しわは見られず、いぼとふさふさした眉毛だけが見えます。

When to eat breakfast --

before or after voiding?

The test of old age.

排便の前後に朝食をとるべきですか？

老後の挑戦


A woman's backside
with that fresh velvet curving --
biting a ripe peach
新鮮な桃を噛むことは、若い女性の裏側を噛むようなものです

Today's Timericks. The U.S. branded the Haqqanis terrorists and issued $5 million bounties. Now they’re in power in the Taliban government.

 

When your enemy prevails/Just suck it up and trim your sails/New Management in old Kabul/means we must try the Golden Rule/To maintain a quid pro quo/we're gonna hafta eat some crow.

Denmark lifts all coronavirus restrictions and celebrates ‘a whole new era’

(WaPo)

Grab your bags and new toboggan/It's time to go to Copenhagen/No more covid in their land/so they say -- and ain't that grand!/'Course, if they are premature/their graveyards you may have to tour!

Some federal employee groups embrace Biden’s vaccine mandate, others are lukewarm — and one is outright hostile

(WaPo)

If you work for Uncle Sam/you may have to up and scram/if the vaccine you don't choose/your soft job you just might lose/I am vaccinated, Joe/I'll replace some high-paid schmo!