In The Meadow: A Haiku by Mike Cole

In the still meadow

A bird sat to sing a song

A tune unheard of.

It is national poetry month. A month of poetry starting with a Haiku. As part of the fun for this month, I thought I’d harken back to when I first started blogging and analyzed poems by famous poets, except this time, the poetry is written by me!

For Haiku’s, I typically start with a simple idea, an image I create in my head. The poetry itself is meant to tell a story since the word count and syllable count is so low. Rhyming becomes much more difficult, so typically I opt out of including it in the poem.

For this poem, it is meant to relax, a simple tale of a bird in a meadow. That is it. It is simply stating where the bird is, what it is doing, and the novelty of the experience. It has a hint that perhaps this is a remote part of the world, where man has rarely set foot or notes the beauty of the song itself.

My Island Getaway: Animal Crossing during a Pandemic

If you’ve been with my blog a while, you may have noticed the occasional gaming article here or there. Months ago, I wrote my first Stardew Valley fan fiction and it was a blast to write. So I thought I’d share what I’ve been doing the last couple months; Animal Crossing! I’ve been playing Animal Crossing for the last couple decades now. Yes, while everyone in the world is now playing the game, I want it on record that I’ve been playing since the Gamecube. Wild World, City Folk, New Leaf; I’ve done them all. Hundreds of hours in each, accumulating to over a thousand hours of paying off debt, buying turnips, and decorating my mansion.

The Premise

You hop on a plane to a deserted island, your first couple of weeks is spent in a tent. Over time, your island grows as more villagers move in and eventually you start infrastructure projects such as building bridges over water and paving in pathways. Your island will eventually have a clothing shop and a museum, and if you’re like me, you might’ve built a cafe and a public park with a wrestling ring.

When I Left

The Pandemic had just begun and I aptly named my Island “Last Hope” which has turned into my darkest chapter in Animal Crossing history. In my sick fantasies I’ve gotten on one of the last planes and am tasked with rebuilding society. Tom Nook is trying to save the world. Every bug, fish, and fossil I collect is an attempt to preserve the future and show that it is possible. Oftentimes I have wondered if Animal Crossing is set in the apocalypse with mutated animals that can speak. There are very few humans. And then I wake up, tend to my garden and celebrate birthdays with my neighbors.

Why it’s kept me sane

The game itself is relaxing. I have loans that I can actually pay off and when I pay off those loans, they go towards meaningful contributions until I one day own a mansion. If I invest in the stalk market, I can expect a huge return on investment and due to globalization, I can also find a high turnip price. When I pull weeds, I can transform the weeds themselves to terrariums and hay-bales. Early on, it kept me from waking up before noon as turnip prices change twice a day. Now I slump out of bed and when I start up Animal Crossing, I am already in my bathrobe. If I want to change? I literally wave a magic wand. If I want more cash, I plant money in fertile money soil and grow a money tree. If capitalism worked like that in real life, I’d have much fewer complaints. When I was but a humble beach bum, I sold seashells by the seashore. That’s literally how you get ahead in animal crossing. No 5 years of intensive studies in College, no two years at a call center, simply picking seashells; that is the world I want to live in.

How has it changed over the last couple decades?

Not to date myself, but I probably started playing Animal Crossing back in 2003, 2004. Each iteration has changed how Animal Crossing society functions. Mostly, neighbors were a dick on the Gamecube and would probably make you cry. In the Gamecube, I remember setting pitfalls (gaping holes in the ground), whacking neighbors with nets, and writing heated messages. Now, not so much. Most of my neighbors I like and I use Cyd as a reminder that there are much worse neighbors out there. Two of my neighbors are superheroes, so I’d say that’s pretty good for my relaxing island getaway. And Mr. Resetti must have died, which is sad. If you restarted the game with saving, he’d show up and yell at you. Do it enough times and he’d play God. Trees would die, the world would change color and I don’t know what other horrors many had to bear witness to as I always saved. Also, coffee. There is no coffee in the newest version! I used to wake up every morning and have my virtual cup of joe, so hopefully that gets updated soon.

And that’s it! Another article for the books! This year, the blog is growing. We have officially surpassed 2019 in unique visits to the website and views are about 30 away from surpassing last year. At this rate, we’re set to surpass 2018 by the end of the year. So remember, if you like my content, leave a like, share with a friend, and follow the website. This year growth has exploded and I couldn’t be prouder. The more exposure I have, the healthier the blog becomes with organic traffic. Eventually, the hope is to have the blog pay for itself through ad revenue. So remember to pause ad-blocker for this website. In addittion, I have a couple ways to support me. Below is the link to my Patreon and Ko-Fi:

Support this Blog!

Any little bit is much appreciated. A one time donation of a dollar or a monthly subscription helps support me as a creator. As always, thanks for reading and stay safe!

Photos fresh off the press

I’ve finally bought a camera! I used to do black and white photography 5 years ago and have always been meaning to get back into taking photos as it was something I really enjoyed. This is an experimental blog post as I figure out how I want to start incorporating my photography into the blog. So sit back and enjoy!

A yellow flower that peers into your soul.

You didn’t know grass could look this good.

A little bud ready to bloom

50 shades of purple

The tree most likely to fall over and kill me in my sleep

Feeling a little blue

If you like my content, consider supporting me over on Patreon so I don’t have to sell my soul to Corporate America again. If not, that’s ok, I only ever really put my soul on rent anyways. Cheers and hopefully this made your day a little brighter!