A great post from my colleague, Richard....enjoy!
I’ve never had a haiku written for me before, so I was intrigued when I approached the two young women sitting behind old typewriters in the Workflow Lounge at Knowledge18.
For those not familiar with the rules of writing haikus (a very short form of Japanese poetry), it is made up of three lines. The first and third lines are limited to exactly five syllables and the second line must have seven syllables. In other words, 5-7-5.
After pounding out nine haikus for nine people in their first ten minutes in the Workflow Lounge, the haiku writers from thehaikuguys.com, Taz and Lisa Ann were ready for me. I introduced myself as a ServiceNow employee and asked if one could write a haiku for me.
Well, not only were they happy to write me a haiku, they wanted to make it a competition. They each wanted to write me one, but with the stipulation that I had to vote for the one I liked the most.
As an artsy kind of individual, I blanched at the idea of having to choose one work of art over another, especially with both writers right there when I gave my instant critique. I said something like, “I can’t do that.” But they insisted and then asked me to tell them something about myself to inspire their haiku writing.
I said, “Well, I’ve just come from the second day keynote of the conference, which began with a ‘caveman’ skit I wrote about the evolution of work and the issues that effected cave people that are still bedeviling modern workers.”
That’s all they needed. Within seconds both were hammering away on their ancient manual typewriters on 3” x 5” white index cards. After about 45 seconds, Taz had her haiku for me finished. Taz read it aloud:
Paleolithic
miscommunication now
in microchip form
I nodded with approval and Taz smiled. Then we both looked over to Lisa Ann, and she was biting her lip, lost in thought. I’m sure she felt the pressure of our stares and then within a few moments she was banging on her keys. About 30 seconds later, Lisa Ann had her haiku for me done.
Lisa Ann read it aloud:
fewer workplace deaths
but we still keep paperweights
in case of firewalls
I laughed and applauded them both. “Great job! Both of you,” as they handed me the two index cards with my haikus. I was ready to walk away, but they wouldn’t let me take the road less traveled and made me pick a favorite.
I said, “Okay, Lisa Ann’s work worked for me more.” Lisa Ann smiled and bowed her head slightly. Taz took the loss in stride and applauded too. I thanked them both again and walked away feeling pleased though I’m not totally sure why. Maybe that’s the magic of haikus, so short but so powerful.
Several hours later in my hotel room, I pulled the index cards out of my pocket. I read the haikus again. Then I was horrified to realize that I now actually liked Taz’s haiku better. It was like a little time bomb of poetry that made me smile hours later. I don’t think there’s much you can do in Las Vegas for free that will make you happy long after your first experienced it.
Recommendation: Enjoy your last day at Knowledge 18 and get a haiku done to help you recall the good times you’ve had in Vegas this week.
Richard, for the Knowledge18 Team
