Six Haikus by Tohm Bakelas

"Portland, Maine” 

drunk at my third bar  

i stumble through streets unknown—  

i am in bad shape  

 

“drunk driving in the sun” 

 

numbed mind, diminished  

insight, death does not always  

present so simple  

 

“Johnnie's Tavern” 

 

drunk, i watch broken  

fan blades spin across the  

faded brown ceiling  

 

“sometimes it's required” 

i drive home drunk with  

the world singing its songs—  

why is peace illegal?  

 

 

“26.7oz. to freedom” 

 

one tallboy beer can 

one whiskey nip 

five dollars, seventy-five cents 

 

“hangover haiku” 

seat taken for one  

eggs, toast, hash browns, and pepsi  

i am all right now  

Tohm Bakelas is a social worker in a psychiatric hospital. He was born in New Jersey, resides there, and will die there. His poems have been printed widely in journals, zines, and online publications all over the world.  He has authored twenty-five chapbooks and several collections of poetry, including Cleaning the Gutters of Hell (Zeitgeist Press, 2023).  As editor of Between Shadows Press, he’s curated two editions of the notorious journal, “Haikus, Nearkus, Fauxkus, Fuckyous.”