Category: Poetry

Fears at Night: A Haiku

Carl Setzer

Fears rise in the dark
So many unknowns stare back
Fate can be quite cruel

A June Afternoon Haiku

Carl Setzer2 Comments

Summer approaches

Spring time’s flowers are fading

The air is warmer

My contribution to today’s @baffled Haiku Challenge (big)

Carl Setzer

My problems felt big
A trip to the ICU
My problems feel small

Saturday, June 1: Gratitude

Carl Setzer1 Comment

Under this sunshine

Pondering fragility

And life’s strange graces

Such a strange week. Monday afternoon my son crashed his skateboard, ending up with a significant concussion and “mild” bleeding on the brain. Monday night & Tuesday were spent talking about many possible (and frightening) scenarios. Wednesday we’re talking about leaving and Thursday we made it home. Friday we joined some friends for dinner. Surreal, in the end.

Now, we only just started this journey. 45 minutes at dinner with friends exhausted him. He spent most this morning’s energy at our eye doctor’s simply getting glasses adjusted.

We’re home. His mind is mostly intact, and healing quickly. Doctors believe we’ll have 100% recovery. Looking at the possibilities, I feel deep gratitude. We escaped some brutal stuff. I’m grateful for that.

Saturday Morning, June 1st

Carl Setzer

​Crow conversation

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A Friday Night #Haiku

Carl Setzer

My son is sleeping

As night has taken over

This long week ending

A Haiku About Rest’s Healing Power

Carl Setzer
Seattle from Harborview
The view to the west from our room in Harborview

My son is sleeping
Night’s healing power acting
As we move forward

A Memorial Day From Hell

Carl Setzer
Viewing south from Harborview
Viewing to the south from Seattle’s Harborview hospital

An ICU Haiku:

At the very top
A view south of Seattle
The ICU’s noise

My family came home yesterday evening after a few days in Seattle’s Harborview hospital. This is the highest level trauma center for a good portion of the western US. My son’s skateboarding accident Monday afternoon resulted in a skull fracture, bleeding on his brain and a concussion. Hence our stay at a level 1 trauma center.

We’re home now, really just starting the long road of healing before us. It’s amazing to many of us how quickly we got here. A huge help: his helmet. The trauma was significantly mitigated by it. Several doctors and nurses told us it saved his life. Talk about sobering.

As we continue down this I will keep in mind how close we came to life altering calamity. When I feel frustrated about the caregiving, his surliness (a warning from the nurses)…all the elements of a head injury with months/years-long recovery, I will focus on how close we came to losing everything. I’m lucky: I brought my son home.

Springtime Memories: A Haiku

Carl Setzer

The morning rain fell
Pulling the petals downwards
Springtime memories