Dispatches: LA – Homebound Haiku by Amy Uyematsu

Homebound Haiku
Unstoppable spring -
            burst of green on bare branches
                        virus without bounds

Photo by Amy Uyematsu.

Which is scarier -
            bullets, viral pandemics,
                        a mob ruled by fear


No time to prepare -
            a self-absorbed president's
                        lies and excuses


Pandemic or not -
            the White House sees dollar signs
                        downplays human life


Still taking our walks
            we are struck by the orange
                        of this spring's poppies


Now that you stay home
            I am cooking up a storm -
                        our waistlines thicken


Is it only me -
            the clouds are more beautiful
                        a stranger's smile too


What deadly choices -
            not enough ventilators
                        who's more deserving?

Cherry Blossoms from the book “Wise Trees.” Photo courtesy of Amy Uyematsu.

The streets so quiet
            no children at the playground
                        but the bluest skies


How to stay healthy -
            Netflix, old books, new poems
                        sustain that deep breath


No more zumba class -
            so last night I shut my door
                        cha-cha'ed my heart out


A two-month lockdown?
            Grandpa confined at Gila
                        three relentless years


I used to teach math
            but it took a pandemic
                        for graphs to take hold


Exponential curves -
            once incomprehensible,
                        now daily fixtures


These are the hard facts -
            I'm older than 65
                        may not make the cut


Left in plastic bags
            on the streets of Ecuador -
                        unthinkable end


Find a way to smile
            look at something beautiful
                        all the while grieving


The cruelest spring -
            we watch the rising death toll,
                        cherry blossoms too

Japanese maple leaves. Photo by Amy Uyematsu.

Amy Uyematsu
18 haiku, excerpts
from 3/20/20-4/3/20

Poet’s Bio:

Amy Uyematsu is a Sansei poet and teacher from Los Angeles.  She currently teaches a writing workshop at the Far East Lounge in Little Tokyo.

Cover Photo:

Downtown LA Skyline from LA City Market, 11th & S. San Pedro St. 2018. Photo by Eddie Wong.