New World Haiku

by Nowick Gray

Slow down, to speed up.
—Oracle Girl

Against the new world order (same as the old world order), the new abnormal and its antisocial distance, stands the ancient ritual practice, the oracle of haiku. Condensing truth, with the lies pared away, each sculpture stands naked to the world.

Letting the known go:
It’s time. Out with the out breath.
Make room for the new.

We don’t need to know.
Just to stop the madness now.
What comes next will do.

Out with the out breath.
In with the new. This mantra
will serve us, in truth.

The end of the line.
No more excuses. Just stop this.
Invite the unknown.

The collective—not
a script but a jam—all new
in the making—ours.

To open the way
let go of psychic debris
the weight of me, me.

Script is done. Enough
BS cover stories, tunes.
Now it’s time jam.

At least, that’s what I am trained to believe, to live for the moment, without tradition or allegiance, except to this two-dimensional reality, this slide show of the commercial tube of modern life. The future, too, is best left aside, to be determined by those with assets to invest, projections to unfold, stakes to claim. For now, for us, we are not as stranded as they would have us believe, without hope or anchor, our status secured and inventoried, tracked and traced and all accounted for, sir!

No, we have our spirit, our memories, our bodies and hearts, our souls of connection to the earth and those who came before, to our elders and children and the family of life, watching, waiting.

And still, orishas,
house of life, call and response,
old ways of the earth.

honoring the gods
goddesses, ancestors, all
life, heaven and earth.

Slow down, to speed up
Ride the river of silence
Hear ancestors speak

Back to reality: Go Outside (2 min.) by Shannon Alexander, on Gab.

Watch video (50 min.) by David Byrne (of Talking Heads), Ilé Aiyé (House of Life):

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image credits:

wordmap: transitionnetwork.org
all others by Nowick Gray

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Nowick Gray writes from Salt Spring Island, BC. His books of genre-bending fiction and creative nonfiction explore the borders of nature and civilization, imagination and reality, choice and manifestation. Connect at NowickGray.com to read more. A regular contributor to The New Agora, Nowick also offers perspectives and resources on alternative culture and African drumming, and helps other writers as a freelance copyeditor at HyperEdits.com. Sign up for the “Wild Writings”email newsletter for updates and free offers.

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