Today we are celebrating Mr. Yojinbo's (aka Felonious Monk) freedom. He has been released and is now a free man. I and all his Twitter friends wish him the very best. In real life, he is an IT tech, or as he says, a "computer geek." He is also a Twitter haiku poet.
In his own words (from an interview he did with C. Dominique Gibson): "I'm completely inspired by others, and by the world around me. I read other tweeps' tweets and an idea will pop into my head or I'll be listening to a song and a turn of phrase catches my ear. Those are the seeds of haiku..." (You can read more of the interview at Ms. Gibson's blog).
~Mr. Yojinbo's haiku collected by the Dragonfly Collection
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The teacher’s footsteps— Eight steps to Awakening— Echo within me… —In memory of John Daido Loori Roshi, Thank you, sensei. #haiku #memoriam
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(my favorite haiku by Felonious Monk)
Ask my religion / And my tired eyes reply: / Life is suffering. #haiku #zen #buddhism
Ask my religion / And I'll reply, "When frightened, / It's your hand in mine." #haiku
Ask my religion / And I'll reply, "When lonely, / Your arms around me." #haiku
Ask my religion / And I'll reply, "When hungry, / It's a bowl of soup." #haiku
Ask my religion, / And I'll reply: "When tired, / It is a soft bed." #haiku
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Arisen in mind. / Falling away in no-mind. / I have no idea... #zen #haiku
Life is like a ship / We board the day we are born, / That sinks mid-voyage. #haiku #zen
Did you see me there, / watching the two of you kiss? / Tasting betrayal. #haiku
Dog days of summer / Make me wish for winter's cold; / Is the A.C. on? #haiku
Bang the drum slowly / As we sing the dirge lowly, / Lamenting our dead. #haiku
The source of my pain / is the silence between us: / Heal me with a sigh. #haiku #mushy
Words are like colors / painting with thought and feeling / Indelible truths. #haiku #writing
Immortality? / What is the worth of a life / Without its limits? #haiku #philosophy #immortality
Words are my only weapons. / Yet they are sharper than any knife: / And cut much deeper.
'Abandon all hope' / Reads the sign above hell's gate; / But no hope IS hell. #haiku #dante #hell
What is charity? / It's really very simple: / Just open your eyes. #haiku #charity
Seeds of injustice / Grow best in the quiet shade / Of a fearful heart. #haiku #speakout!
Love is a keen blade / Whose cut we rarely notice / until it's too late. #haiku
You think you hurt me / By building walls between us: / Fortress or prison? #haiku #love
It takes two to tweet: / One person to write the tweet, / And one to read it. #haiku
Love is walking home / In the middle of a storm / And not noticing. #haiku
In the writer's craft / Hope resides on each blank page, / Along with despair #haiku #writing
With the hard patience / Of a headman's chopping block / One can persevere. #haiku
Music is my god. / It fills my soul with beauty: / A savior of sound. #haiku #music
I'm wearing a hole / In the middle of my soul. / May I borrow yours? #haiku
Hardships follow me / Like a farrago of thieves / follow a rich man. #haiku
It's a long hard road / That goes nowhere in the end: / But what a great trip! #haiku
Nothing offends prudes / More than sensuality / Wrapped around a brain. #haiku
The true samurai / Feels no hunger when starving: / You gonna eat that? #bushido #haiku
The devil, they say, / Speaks truth more often than not: / Lies don't hurt as much. #haiku
You can buy your friends / But never your enemies: / Hatred is priceless. #haiku
Autumnn in the air / Making summer's angry voice / A gentle whisper. #haiku
Autumnn in the air / Making summer's angry voice / A gentle whisper. #haiku
The truest measure / Of one's life is not its length, / But, rather, its depth. #haiku
Caffeine is my god / Giving me life each morning / One cup at a time. #haiku
You are what you did / And will be what you do now: / Act accordingly. #haiku
As my mind races / I grab on to a loose thought / And hang on for life. #haiku
When we get our wish / We also destroy our dream: / Existential angst. #haiku
Existential math / Has only a single rule: / Death cancels out life. #haiku
When nothing changes / Everything stays just the same / When nothing changes. #haiku
Pigeons at my feet / Scurrying after morsels: / Feathered cockroaches. #haiku
In my brain's crawl-space / My fears wiggle past the spot / Where logic's bond breaks. #haiku
The Way of the sword / And the Way of the buddhas: / Both slay the ego. #buddhism #zen
You don't love someone / For their better qualities / But despite their worst. #haiku #love
Alas, my mission / A failure, I return home / Beaten but unbowed.
Don't waste a moment: / As your heart beats a tattoo / Death dances closer.
Her kiss so sublime / It's a moment on her lips / In eternal bliss. #haiku #love
I liked Obama / When he was the underdog. / Big dog? Not so much. #obama #sellout #haiku
Meow meow purr / purr-purr meow meow *hack* / meow *hack-hack* purr. #cat-ku #haiku
Experience Life / As you would a hearty meal: / Grateful—and tongue first. #haiku
Madness brings with it / An untroubled certainty / The sane never know. #haiku
Like a wagon wheel / Following the ox's tread / Time draws us onward. #haiku #now&zen
We buried the dead / In the fields of spring clover / And said nothing more. #haiku
Immortality? / What's the point of such a thing / When THIS life bores you? #haiku
Want eternal life? / Don't ignore the pearl you hold / For the moon you don't. #haiku
Be he a sinner / Or be he a saint, all pass / Through Death's darkest gate. #redraft #haiku
Like a fresh apple / Autumn air has a crisp bite / Other seasons lack. #haiku #nature #autumn
Reckless abandon / Makes an excellent lover / But a lousy spouse. #haiku
Like creatures of light / We float upon a black sea / Carried by the tide. #haiku
Born in ignorance, / We spend the rest of our lives / Pretending we're not. #haiku #zen
Just as the cool rains / Quench a desert's burning need / Let your love sate mine. #haiku
When we do evil / We sow a garden of hate: / Bitter fruit, indeed. #haiku #zen
When I fell in love / I hoped she would never change. / And she hoped I would. #haiku
A flirtatious glance / And my heart is a tangle / Of hope and despair. #haiku
Life is a tangle / Of tears, giggles and sighs / Of hellos and goodbyes. #haiku
Is your faith so weak / That the beliefs of others / Challenges your own? #haiku
Sometimes we see things / But never really see them / Until it's too late. #haiku
Was there enough time / To say the things we must say / Before our goodbyes. #haiku
Held fast in the jaws / Of this hungry existence / Soon I'll be swallowed. #haiku
Our dreams slip away / As we look for something else / Yet we find nothing... #haiku
My inspiration / Is a Muse who seems to think / I do this for fun. #haiku
When you grab the tail / Of the tiger, remember: / You can't let it go. #haiku
Don't carry the dead / Nor bury yourself with them: / Life is for living. #haiku
What good is a mask / when there's no one to hide from / Except for yourself. #haiku
When we ride the waves / We don't know where we're going / Only that we'll go... #haiku
When I left prison / I thought I would be free, but... / The prison IS me... #haiku
Share your pain with me / And I'll share my joy with you: / We'll both benefit. #haiku
Crows gather on tombs / Where the dead patienty wait / For you to join them. #haiku
Spurn not your lover / Lest you find your own heart spurned / When it comes your turn. #haiku
Take my hand in yours / And we will dance through this life / Like Fred and Ginger #haiku
The stream of your life / branches into all the streams / Of every life met. #haiku
The Calling of Man / Is suffering; of Woman? / To feel all his pain. #haiku
Across the desert / Of your broken promises / I whisper goodbye. #haiku
This technology / Usually works for me. / now works against me. #haiku #fryku
Have good enemies: / They reflect your true nature / Better than your friends. #haiku
An ocean of tears / Won't cover a single sin / Without some remorse. #haiku
Where there is greatness / One feature is always found: / Unyielding effort. #haiku
Cherish this moment / This precious gift life gives you / We call The Present. #haiku
There are as many / Poets as there are People: / Life is poetry. #haiku
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When you grab the tail / Of the tiger, remember: / You can't let it go. #haiku
Don't carry the dead / Nor bury yourself with them: / Life is for living. #haiku
What good is a mask / when there's no one to hide from / Except for yourself. #haiku
When we ride the waves / We don't know where we're going / Only that we'll go... #haiku
When I left prison / I thought I would be free, but... / The prison IS me... #haiku
Share your pain with me / And I'll share my joy with you: / We'll both benefit. #haiku
Crows gather on tombs / Where the dead patienty wait / For you to join them. #haiku
Spurn not your lover / Lest you find your own heart spurned / When it comes your turn. #haiku
Take my hand in yours / And we will dance through this life / Like Fred and Ginger #haiku
The stream of your life / branches into all the streams / Of every life met. #haiku
The Calling of Man / Is suffering; of Woman? / To feel all his pain. #haiku
Across the desert / Of your broken promises / I whisper goodbye. #haiku
This technology / Usually works for me. / now works against me. #haiku #fryku
Have good enemies: / They reflect your true nature / Better than your friends. #haiku
An ocean of tears / Won't cover a single sin / Without some remorse. #haiku
Where there is greatness / One feature is always found: / Unyielding effort. #haiku
Cherish this moment / This precious gift life gives you / We call The Present. #haiku
There are as many / Poets as there are People: / Life is poetry. #haiku
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