No doubt that raking leaves can be a fine activity (and inspire a poem or two) and that leaf blowers are atrocious sources of noise pollution in residential neighborhoods. Of course, it's too bad that jumping into leaf piles has become a bit more arduous and dangerous over the decades.
I'd like to think that most retirees have days when they "miss" or recollect the good aspects of the career they left behind -- that they had jobs that provided opportunities and satisfactions that are more difficult to find outside of the workforce.
I should have said in my first comment that I find your poem both funny and touching, the two qualities so fused that each intensifies the other. A really fine accomplishment.
I additonally enjoy the parallelism between the visual and verbal imagery . . . the strong man trying to manage the even stronger horse and the image of a frail delicate retiree trying to manage the much more frail and delicate fallen leaves. We could actually start an entire new blog and draft cliff notes for this haiga.
I'm glad you mentioned that aspect of the image, Shane. [With Yu Chang busy with his "day job", it's good to have someone noticing layers.]
The symbolism of the statue in front of the Federal Trade Commission was a topic of discussion back when I worked there (1977 to 1988). The Commission was run by activist, liberal consumer advocates when I first got there, and the man was thought of as taming nature. When the Reagan Administration took office in January 1981, consumer protection was suddenly looked at through jaundiced eyes by the new Chairman and his appointees. The man was suddenly viewed as holding back the great forces of capitalism and the natural justice of the marketplace.
That is very, very funny.
Posted by: aurora | October 29, 2007 at 12:18 PM
. . . unless, of course, you're the erstwhile workplace hero now resigned/consigned to raking leaves.
Posted by: david giacalone | October 29, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Hire a neighbor kid.
Good haiga.
Posted by: Matt | October 29, 2007 at 02:49 PM
(smile)
Posted by: Felicia Dahl | October 29, 2007 at 10:14 PM
Go brown - get a leaf blower
Posted by: shane | October 30, 2007 at 02:16 AM
Well, some people know how to retire and some people don't. I never wrote a poem until after I retired.
One could do worse than being a raker of leaves (with apologies to RF)
Posted by: Bill | October 30, 2007 at 07:41 AM
No doubt that raking leaves can be a fine activity (and inspire a poem or two) and that leaf blowers are atrocious sources of noise pollution in residential neighborhoods. Of course, it's too bad that jumping into leaf piles has become a bit more arduous and dangerous over the decades.
I'd like to think that most retirees have days when they "miss" or recollect the good aspects of the career they left behind -- that they had jobs that provided opportunities and satisfactions that are more difficult to find outside of the workforce.
Posted by: david giacalone | October 30, 2007 at 10:53 AM
I should have said in my first comment that I find your poem both funny and touching, the two qualities so fused that each intensifies the other. A really fine accomplishment.
Posted by: Bill | October 31, 2007 at 05:20 PM
Bill, you can come back with Comments like this last one any time! Thanks.
Posted by: david giacalone | October 31, 2007 at 05:31 PM
I additonally enjoy the parallelism between the visual and verbal imagery . . . the strong man trying to manage the even stronger horse and the image of a frail delicate retiree trying to manage the much more frail and delicate fallen leaves. We could actually start an entire new blog and draft cliff notes for this haiga.
Posted by: shane | November 02, 2007 at 01:07 AM
I'm glad you mentioned that aspect of the image, Shane. [With Yu Chang busy with his "day job", it's good to have someone noticing layers.]
The symbolism of the statue in front of the Federal Trade Commission was a topic of discussion back when I worked there (1977 to 1988). The Commission was run by activist, liberal consumer advocates when I first got there, and the man was thought of as taming nature. When the Reagan Administration took office in January 1981, consumer protection was suddenly looked at through jaundiced eyes by the new Chairman and his appointees. The man was suddenly viewed as holding back the great forces of capitalism and the natural justice of the marketplace.
Posted by: david giacalone | November 02, 2007 at 09:04 AM