The minister, a future two-time embezzler, warns me I’ll have a lot of accounting to do. Which worries me because I’ve never been good at math. According to my calculations, some things don’t add up. I put two and two together and all I get is a tutu. Yes, I know it’s not the same, but you can’t tell from the sound of things. Or can you? So, listen up. I’ve got a lot riding on this baby. Some things can really throw you, so when you jockey for position, you better hide the saddle. That horse is out of the barn but thinks he’s asleep. The image can keep you up at night, especially if you’re already awake. A horse whinnies, but you’re whining. Just put that pillow over your head and pretend you’re a marshmallow. Hard to imagine, I know. But there’s always someone who’ll rake you over the coals. Long after the campfire has died, the authorities won’t be able to identify you. Your friends will say, he was just around here somewhere. Meanwhile, the ants are having a field day.

Peter Jastermsky

A New England native, Peter Jastermsky lives in the high desert of Southern California. He is the author of eleven books of haiku-based work, and his writing has been featured in numerous journals and anthologies. In 2017, Peter invented a new linked form that is haiku-centered called a split sequence. His book Just Dust and Stone (Velvet Dusk Publishing, 2021) is a collection of collaborative split sequences, co-written with Bryan Rickert. Peter’s recent books include Where Days Begin: monoku (Cyberwit, 2023) and Into the Stillness (Red Moon Press, 2023), a collection of solo split sequences.

Author’s website: www.peterjastermsky.com

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

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