Margaret Chula
Retribution
Something is buzzing like a fly batting against the screen door. No flies anywhere. Maybe it’s an electrical blitz. I check the refrigerator, icemaker, lights, then move from room to room. It’s sounding more agitated, angry. Wait, it’s me that’s buzzing! I wriggle out of my skirt and drop it on the bathroom floor.
The buzzing has stopped. I stomp on the skirt. No telltale crunch, but clinging to the windowpane, a yellow jacket. Three welts, red and itching, erupt on my stomach. Buddha be damned! I tear off a paper towel and move toward the window.
poison-tipped blow darts
of Borneo headhunters
sting of revenge
About the Author
Margaret Chula has been writing haiku, haibun, and tanka for over forty years. Her haibun memoir, Firefly Lanterns: Twelve Years in Kyoto, received a NYC 2022 Big Book Award in Multicultural Nonfiction. Her new haibun chapbook, Clothes to Go Out In, was recently released. Maggie lives in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys hiking in the Columbia River Gorge.
This haibun so artfully captures the duality of self. so much of like and how we respond to it is situational. I like also, the tactile nature of this haibun.
This haibun captures beautifully how blissfully unaware we are of ourselves even when danger is imminent. A humorous and delightful read – if it weren’t for the sting that is.
First time reading this website. I especially love your hyperbolic haiku–perfect. Really a joy to read.