Haibun on Hot Water
Police: Atlanta man pours boiling water on gay couple in bed.
—Atlanta Journal Constitution, 3/16/16
Two turnips safely nestled. A man creeps on cloud feet over floorboards, eight-quart stock pot
steaming in his steady hands. Won’t be any raw turnips in this house. You just keep on sleeping
when they induce the coma. They’ll peel the skin off your leg to patch up your back. The only way
to sterilize is hot water. You can’t do anything with a raw turnip, anyhow. Turnips have no right
to be together. Have you ever tried not being a turnip? You just haven’t met the right rutabaga.
This pain is godly; this is penance; this is clarity. Nobody likes turnips, anyway. You’re disgusting.
The suspect to police
it was just
a little hot water