Latest Headlines: No Ku Poems

Looking for a short, fast form for poetry with minimal restrictions but maximum bite? Friends, meet the no-ku: four lines (standard), short on syllables (from two to eight), rhymed (by different schemes), topical (or not), satirical (preferred). It's condensed like haiku, but prefers intense outbursts and constant re-invention, like no wave punk. No Ku. I started writing these short poems during the "e;economic collapse,"e; when corporations and business leaders that had previously slammed "e;welfare"e; began asking for bigger and bigger government bailouts. Reading the Washington Post, my outrage needed an outlet, and like a junkyard dog barking at an intruder safely beyond the fence, spewed out "e;Buy out/Bail out/Blow off/Pay off."e; Many more followed, and they seemed to summarize my disgust as well as capture the moment represented on the front pages. No ku poems pierce/ The veil of the fierce/ Some small counterforce/ Through use of the farce