Wham, bam, or: Hey! Not so fast!

Posted on by ben Alexander

A kimo

youth grants us untold endless energies;
middle age shortens our breath,
but patience gets 'er done.

What’s a kimo?

According to this website, kimo poems are an Israeli ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ version of haiku. Apparently, there was a need for more syllables in Hebrew. That said, most of the rules are still familiar:

  • 3 lines.
  • No rhymes.
  • 10 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 6 in the third.

Also, the kimo is focused on a single frozen image (kind of like a snapshot). So it’s uncommon to have any movement happening in kimo poems.

32 thoughts on “Wham, bam, or: Hey! Not so fast!”

  7. Love this. I keep seeing that word patience pop up. I was just reading about how patience brings wisdom. Thank you for this sweet encouragement.

    1. I always recall reading about that psychological study of children over many years that showed that the children who exhibited the most patience at a young age ended up becoming the most successful in life…

          1. Finally reading this. Thank you for sharing. This part is particularly interesting: “A 2011 brain imaging study of a sample from the original Stanford participants when they reached mid-life showed key differences between those with high delay times and those with low delay times in two areas: theย prefrontal cortexย (more active in high delayers) and theย ventral striatum, (more active in low delayers) when they were trying to control their responses to alluring temptations.[17]

          4. I wanted to let you know that this just so blessed my heart. I suddenly saw something I hadn’t before. As a kid I tried to stop my parents from physically punishing my adopted little brother, as I felt the pain in his heart that was causing his rebellion. They didn’t listen and for years my Mum’s heart ached, not understanding my little brother. Well: that study you linked to showed me something I didn’t realize before. The cancer my Mum had in her final months, when she apologized to my little brother for the past, took away the normal functioning of her prefrontal cortex. She was literally joining my little brother in his weakness and suffering. I never saw that till you posted that study. I find that so beautiful that in her longing to understand and love my little brother, she was given the gift of that weakness and it’s in that place repentance flowed.

          6. David: this is completely unrelated, but I wondered if you knew of a reliable source that shares about the breastplate the High Priest wore in the old Temple that was destroyed. I am particularly interested in the jewels of the 12 tribes.

  8. Greetings!
    Your poem is like little proverb.
    Maybe you know russian variation: “patience and labour grind everything”. But it doesn’t relate to human age. Though… how to look.

    1. Suyash, I feel bad about disappointing you, but I’m pretty overwhelmed with my own poetry project(s) right now, and I’m not looking for more prompts or competitions…

      Thanks,
      David

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