Haikus of Art and Philosophy

by Thomas Page

Woman with lamp shade
On her head in an advert;
I guess it is art?

A drenched leaf floats
In the murky waters of
The Potomac—Fall

A parkway flanked by
Trees of every shade and tint
Paint a picture of Fall

The eve’s close around
The hour twenty-two ne’er
Midnight or midday

The sun peaks out of
The clouds, the temperature
Skyrockets; False start

Morning glories and violets
Make a last stand ‘gainst frosty
Air; bloom ‘gain in Spring

The Autumn moon shines
Through the balding trees,
A cold war of the seasons.

Must I memorize
Few lines to be poetic?
Automated tune.

Can I be this land
that we call America?
A translucent eye?

A lawn full of grass
Whitman’s democratic plant;
Not kingly roses.

Aristotle looks
At his Athens and concludes
Laws must rule solely

Locke considering
the Restoration says
Monarchs must rule well

Rousseau at his desk
Writes ’bout inequality;
Chains of city-folk.

Sweater weather calls
To mind the kind of time that
Showcases gray skies

Imbued parents trick-
O-treat with their children and
Gently sway in costume

The fractured poem
Escaping from my tongue in
A discussion class