Sometimes the world is so confusing that the only way to make sense of it is to write a poem. Like Pakistan. There’s martial law, there’s chaos, and no one knows what to do. So what should be done? No one knows. I just said that. Weren’t you listening? Man, this had me rattled.

I called on Musharraf to end the state of emergency and return to civil law, and then, when there was no answer right away, I sat down and wrote some poems. They are haikus because that’s a kind of poem I learned about recently. They have easy rules. Here are my three favorite, which are the only three I wrote. Please vote on your favorite.

Pakistan must halt
This state of emergency
Back to civil law

Hey, Musharraf, end
This state of emergency
Smoke in a cold sky

What scares me more than
This state of emergency?
The one in my pants.