Wondering whether 
to be a great artist 
you must sacrifice an ear 
or go mad with absinthe 
be deaf as a doorknob 
for a fine string quartet 
or, to be venerated 
write poetry no-one understands 
murder your friends 
or lead the dissolute life 
of which accountants 
can only dream. 

But then there is Yeats 
in a neatly-pressed suit 
and Frost, short-haired 
with a tie to boot 
and time was 
everyone dressed 
like Shakespeare 
normal in other respects 
only when somebody dies 
is found, in their effects, 
an astonishing collection 
of matchboxes. 

Keith Evetts

is a retired British diplomat who lives in the UK. His scientific papers are published in Nature and elsewhere; his long-form poetry in The Oxford Magazine and Linnet’s Wings; his cherita in The Cherita; and his haiku and related short forms in Blithe Spirit, Cattails, Cold Moon Journal, Failed Haiku, Heliosparrow, Mambu, Presence, Prune Juice, The Asahi Shimbun, Wales Haiku Journal, World Haiku Review, and at The Haiku Foundation. His work has been anthologized in the Red Moon Anthologies of haiku and haibun, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Touchstone Awards.

Evetts is listed among the European Top 100 Haiku Authors in 2021, and hosts the weekly haiku commentary feature at The Haiku Foundation. He’s married, with five children, a grey parrot, and a sense of humour.