Fiction logo

A Plague Of Haiku

What Are They And Where Did They Come From?

By Mike Singleton - MikeydredPublished about a year ago 3 min read
Top Story - January 2023
61

Introduction

It started from virtually nothing, people were fine and thought there was absolutely nothing wrong. Life was fine and dandy and everything was great.

Then Day By Day

People saw the Haiku and thought it was cute, lovely and cuddly like the Tribbles in Star Trek. Everyone had to have one, and one was never enough, they always had to have one more.

The Trouble With Tribbles - Star Trek

Once they were rare tiny things of cuteness and beauty, but now they were everywhere. You could not avoid them.

You opened a cupboard door and Haiku fell out, You went on a bus and couldn't get a seat they were covered in Haiku.

What Was Happening

Haiku were once precious things but now they were overrunning the world, you could not walk without having to be careful not to trip over them, even on a trip to your local shop. Haiku were everywhere.

There were calls for extermination squads to cull them, but there were bigger calls from the public to protect, keep and even promote Haiku.

The only escape was to leave the towns and cities and go out into the deserted hills and valleys. Haiku needed people to exist. Where there were no people there were no Haiku, but if you were a person trying to escape you know that as sure as eggs is eggs the haiku would follow and find you.

You would go to sleep surrounded by Haiku, and Haiku would wake you up. They were in your coffee pot and your fridge, the oven was crammed with Haiku so you couldn’t actually cook anything. Food was cold sandwiches but there were Haiku in the bread bin as well.

At Work

Offices, Filing Cabinets and Meeting Rooms were overrun with Haiku, and if you managed to make room and a desk Haiku were still crowding and distracting you. Eventually, people just couldn't go to their offices and tried to work from home, and the Plague of Haiku was just getting worse and showing no sign of abating.

Someone once said if it weren’t for spiders we would be twenty feet deep in insects in two weeks, and there were no spider equivalents to cull the rising tide of Haiku, though the general public would probably cull the predators rather than the Haiku.

It Is Not Going To Stop

I do remember the time before the plague when you could walk out, and have time and room to do what you wanted and needed, but bow every action of every minute of every day was always accompanied by a Haiku.

What are these creatures, and why do people want them so much? You have to be so careful what you say to people, even the police. If you say a bad word about Haiku you could end up behind bars, though you would probably be behind bars with several Haiku.

My room is getting more cramped every day, I think I may have to take a hike out to the hills just so that I can breathe. At lowest in the open air, the Haiku cannot crowd and suffocate you. I haven’t a clue what the answer to this plague is., but I really do someone comes up with a solution, otherwise I have a feeling that I am going to lose my tiny mind.

I have to find a way out of here, away from the Haiku, and into some open space, may then I will be able to rest and get some sleep,

Addendum

The Music is "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" sort of manically appropriate for this fiction.

Short Story
61

About the Creator

Mike Singleton - Mikeydred

Weaver of Tales, Poems, Music & Love

7(1.1m) ֎ Fb ֎ Px ֎ Pn ֎

X ֎ In ֎ YT (0.2m) ֎ Thrds

Vocal Tips

Creationati

Call Me LesGina HeatherCaroline

BabsMariannDharCathyJudey

DawnMisty MelissaMa Coombs

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

Top insights

  1. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  2. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  3. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

  1. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  2. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  3. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  4. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  5. Masterful proofreading

    Zero grammar & spelling mistakes

Add your insights

Comments (34)

Sign in to comment
  • R.C. Taylorabout a year ago

    Love this!

  • Buvanesh Kumarabout a year ago

    Nice

  • Great Job ✌️😉💛🌟

  • Kelly Robertsonabout a year ago

    Ha this is wonderfully whimsical! Great job!

  • Chua Yuan Hengabout a year ago

    Superb story of haikus! Like pokemons!

  • VIDHYASAGARabout a year ago

    Really nice story🤩🔥🤩

  • Ted Hauserabout a year ago

    A lap band for words why so much anxiety yet I feel your pain

  • Sharon Betheaabout a year ago

    Over the top! Great storyline...❤️

  • Rachel Roseabout a year ago

    learned of Haiku young mistook myself a genius i am no poet </3

  • Thavien Yliasterabout a year ago

    When it comes to haiku, they're a short easy poem that needs a much smaller word count than the typical poem that gets allowed to be published on Vocal media. Also, with the competitions, people think of haikus as a way to earn some easy money for a small amount of words. What could be better. Get more reads, more ROI of smaller bits of poetry/articles, and the potential to win a large amount of something for a small amount seemed like a great exchange. Another thing it probably did was increase the user engagement and even recruited a lot more people since they started. It's all about the numbers of people, from the people that join to the people that are retained. Like how when it comes to winning a competition the Vocal official rules state "Odds: The odds of winning depend on the number and content of eligible entries received." It's all about numbers. The numbers gained and the number retained. I've personally made over 100 haikus for the "Blue Haiku Challenge." That being written, it's not that haikus are wrong. It's how the haikus are being used that needs to be observed and critiqued.

  • Bonnie JS Eglinabout a year ago

    WHOA 1 wild STORY! I feel " trapped " FEEL THIS WAY ABOUT THE THINGS CLUTTERING SPACE AT THE HOUSE... HELP!

  • JBazabout a year ago

    Oh so true , when will the madness end?

  • Shaun Waltersabout a year ago

    A very timely story…as I write more haiku. Great job!

  • Dana Stewartabout a year ago

    Congratulations! Haiku is addictive, yes I see what you mean. Love the top story!

  • Cathy holmesabout a year ago

    Congrats on the top story.

  • Emily Marie Concannonabout a year ago

    Brilliant Mike. Especially love the star Trek reference lol

  • Stephanie J. Bradberryabout a year ago

    Trouble With Tribbles is one of my favorite Star Trek episodes!!! Great analogy.

  • This comment has been deleted

  • J. S. Wadeabout a year ago

    Congrats Mike on your Top Story 🥰 The Haiku Defamation League has you in their sights and are coming for you. 😂

  • Kelli Sheckler-Amsdenabout a year ago

    Congratulations on the Top Story. Becoming as abundant as a haiku.

  • Melissa Ingoldsbyabout a year ago

    Congratulations 🎉 my brother hearted you are becoming a huge part of the winner’s circle and you deserve it!

  • Heather Hublerabout a year ago

    Congratulations on Top Story!! (and for this wonderful FICTION piece...yay!!)

  • Just a note. This is my first piece of Fiction that has been chosen a a Vocal Top Story after twenty one months on Vocal .Never Give Up!!!!

  • Amberlynn Stewardabout a year ago

    Oh boy…I only write Haiku because it looks good with my drawings!! Maybe this is why nobody likes my stuff! 😂😂😂 guess I’m going back to the drawing board. Great piece though. It was really funny!

  • Dawn Earnshawabout a year ago

    Absolutely brilliant, draws you in instantly and captures the mood,moments,essence and reality and dystopia round it too; it’s a winner from me excellent well done.

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.