Haikutimes.com

Issue #114, Boston, Massachusetts, June 19-24, 2005. Whereby a trip is made to the birthplace of the American Revolution in order to attend a conference, and an opportunity is taken to revisit the famous Freedom Trail and other local treasures. Photos and Haiku by Jonathan Machen.







lifted from the reverie
that boulder has become
days spent in now familiar grooves







all now so distant
halcyon days of music
and bachelorhood







volunteering by instinct
leads to a trip to boston
where the principles of
non-profit management
and community deveopment







are drilled into me
providing good cover
for haiku in boston







elmus beside me
southern hospitality
from mississippi







i sit
a welcome change of pace
in the minority







couple beside me
augmenting their diet coke
with baccardi rum







a study in contrasts
the christian science plaza
old subway 'T' steps







bending down to read
inscriptions on that gravestone
reveals her red thong







across harvard bridge
motorcycler does wheelie
speedy defiance







from many cities
we come sharing our stories
of community







beers in red bar
discussing people we know
in cambridge hangout







from across the room
loudly shouting, 'game's over'
drunken baseball fan







his hands still shaking
something i had forgotten
about my old friend







convention center
busy with floors of people
all taking classes







inside stained-glass globe
whispers and sighs across borders
boundaries dissolve







urban architects
for the last 300 years
shaping brick and glass







my hmong roommate
comes straight back up to his room
just watches t.v.




either with headphones
or talking on their cell phones
boston is plugged in




cops doing detail
watching construction projects
so no-one gets hurt




m.i.t's buildings
appropriately given
numerical names




floating idle
u.s.s constitution
relic of the past




wonder why she says
"it's sick - it's insidious"
talking on her cell




at italian restaurant
host barks at me
in thick italian bostonian accent
and boxy crew cut
serves wonderful wine
in an orange juice glass
italian villa murals
cover the walls
ceiling fans
stir up the atmosphere
hoping they will serve
my ziti soon




not having to speak
only to observe
this colony from whence
america was settled




in brick, not in blood
boston's freedom trail lies red
snaking down sidewalks




focusing on
the march to independence
not native americans




timeless event
creates historic aura
on plain patch of ground




harvesting haiku
on historic freedom trail
red path leads me on




boston commons now
the site of playful frolic
not revolution




next to ipod sign
old south meeting house now stands
new culture, old class




he's been on my mind
for the last 300 years -
ben franklin, that is




government center
concrete, looming, ponderous
over brick state house




gravestones at copps hill
where ben franklin once wrote
the lighthouse tragedy




the symbols of death
skull and wings, willow and urn
on copps hill gravestones


closing his eyes
in deep-seated thoughtfulness
man chews candy bar