Laurence Stacey is a writer, martial artist, and graduate student of
English at Kennesaw State University. He is co-editor of the web
journal Haiku News and teaches Developmental Reading at Chattahoochee
Technical College.
View all posts by Laurence Stacey
As a poet, but also as a recently retired banker who has been on the other side of this equation and seen this situation with folks who never thought it could happen to them, this piece is quite poignant…lovely work!
Laurence Stacey again shows us what a truly human haiku poet he is. He has captured poignantly the dehumanizing effects of debt, and the humiliation of the debtor being harassed presumably by a bank).
But there is also a delicious sense of humour and irony in the haiku. I can imagine his voice, perhaps deliberately falsetto to imitate his son. And the opening line, "deep in debt" recalls to me another common phrase when we are buried in troubles – being in "deep sh@!"
Such resourcefulness and such humanity makes this poem ultimately for me optimistic. Well worth coming back to again and again. Thank you Laurence!
Been there, again and again.
Great stuff.
Painful and heartfelt. Crafted with simple elegance.
Sad and poignant, great senryu.
Debt is not a nice state to find ourselves dealing with most of the time.
zombie debt–
the practised slice
of a bread knife
Alan Summers
Publications credits:
Haiku News (Vol. 1 No. 41 2012); Does Fish-God Know (YTBN Press 2012)
This one struck home. Nice senryu.
pool algae
all the green
I shouldn't have spent
As a poet, but also as a recently retired banker who has been on the other side of this equation and seen this situation with folks who never thought it could happen to them, this piece is quite poignant…lovely work!
Very strong senryu
Laurence Stacey again shows us what a truly human haiku poet he is. He has captured poignantly the dehumanizing effects of debt, and the humiliation of the debtor being harassed presumably by a bank).
But there is also a delicious sense of humour and irony in the haiku. I can imagine his voice, perhaps deliberately falsetto to imitate his son. And the opening line, "deep in debt" recalls to me another common phrase when we are buried in troubles – being in "deep sh@!"
Such resourcefulness and such humanity makes this poem ultimately for me optimistic. Well worth coming back to again and again. Thank you Laurence!
Strider
I love the way Alan never misses a chance.
This is one of those senryu that makes you feel sad and want to laugh all at once. Wonderful.
marion
Love it. Deadly accurate in this era of economic depression we're living in…..
Just catching up on two months' worth of tinywords, this one stands out. Terrific.