If the day starts like any other, then you already know how it ends. True, or false? They won’t give you the time of day, and you say, that’s okay, I only need a minute. Time is money, and all that, but if I have more time, I’ll have even less money. Sure, it adds up, but what about inflation? The pickleball takes its slow leak personally, and that’s the flat-out truth. Well, I take nothing for granted, and I always leave something. It’s only polite. When you tell folks the sky’s the limit, they may not understand because it’s over their heads. Above all, don’t get fancy on us. Just be down to earth. Order a slice of monotony a la mode. The waitress has the talent to be miserable anywhere, and she’s heading your way.

Peter Jastermsky

is the author of seven books of haiku-based writing and lives in the high desert of Southern California. He is also an award-winning cherita poet whose work has been widely published, and a nominee for Best of the Net and the Dwarf Star Award. In 2017, Peter invented a new linked form that is haiku-centered called a split sequence. His recent book, Just Dust and Stone (Velvet Dusk Publishing, 2021) is a collection of collaborative split sequences, cowritten with Bryan Rickert. Peter’s other titles include Steel Cut Moon (Cholla Needles Press, 2019) and Fingerbone Sky (Yavanika Press, 2021).

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ “Love Thing”: The Allure of the Split Sequence, craft essay by Peter Jastermsky in Issue 9 of MacQ (August 2021)