What it sounds like to be without windows

Sabayon Haiku
Bodhi Saluki Fusion
Dragonfly Hybryde


Peppermint Chakra
Absolute Vine Vyatta
Cinnamon Zenwalk


Ultimate Pinguy
Arios Porteus Fedora
Damn Small Manjaro


Quirky Aurora
YellowDog Deepin Redo
Puppy Tails Antix


Elementary Kwort
Calculate Zorin Vector
Backtrack Mandriva



From a list of the most popular free software offerings (mostly operating systems) that provide alternatives to Microsoft Windows. Submitted by Geoff Blanchard.

Breaking up

What am I supposed
to do now? I've got your face
tattooed on my arm.



From a most incredible exchange on Facebook, in which a young man finds out that his girlfriend of one week has had his face inked permanently on her body. Sadly, for us, a hoax. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

The moderate Finnish sauna

You should not slap
your neighbours without asking
their permission first.

The sauna is dear to me, almost sacred.
My father was born in one,
and his dying wish was to bathe 
in a sauna one last time.

Summer is the best time to go.
Strike a match, hear
the crackling of dry birch wood
as it is engulfed by the greedy flames,
then sit down on the steps
to ponder the ways of the world
and wait for the sauna to warm up.

Your body sighs with relief when the first
ladleful of water hits the sizzling stove.
The experience is topped off with a dive
into a pure, clear lake.
What else does a human being need?



Both the senryu and main poem are from a piece about saunas by Olli Rehn, the European Commissioner in charge of the Eurozone crisis. Omitted: 'to the sauna' (line 5) and 'sauna' (lines 9 & 14). Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Confessions of a Designer

Just because you think
you can use photoshop does
not mean that you should.



One of a series of posters by designer Anneke Short, found on Designer's Block on 27 January, 2012. Submitted by Marika Rose.

I love you and I

I love you and I
will be screaming with my love
from San Jose.



Taken from an MSN conversation, 4th November 2011. Submitted by Devin.

Clothes make the man

Naked people have
little or no influence
on society.



Mark Twain, quoted in 'High and Mighty' shop window in Newcastle, spotted 18 August 2011. A perfect senryu. Submitted by Marika Rose.

Always

It is always okay
to paint the sky orange
and give cats six legs.



From the blog post What Should a 4 Year Old Know? The first line is one syllable too long for a proper senryu/haiku but close enough. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.

Stuck in the Middle

A senryu

The slide doesn't slide!
The kids get stuck half way down.
Very frustrating.



Another poem from the Hexham Courant, Friday 29 May 2009. These are the words of mum-of-one and owner of the Miner's Arms Lynn Crozier in the article 'Playfield Mums Launch Campaign for £60,000'. Submitted by Gabriel Smy.