by Kelly

Darling clementine –

lip smack sweet fruity candy.

By noon I’ve had five.

The parks are empty -

snow, slush, rain, no cheerios.

Squirrels go hungry.

by Alison

Motherhood is hilarious. I didn’t know this until I had my own little girl a year and a half ago. Now that I have her, though, I’m so happy to have found Haiku Mama, a book by Kari Anne Roy. Her mommy haiku are every bit as funny as motherhood.

In this book of wee-sized poems, Ms. Roy shares not only the joys, but also the agonies of motherhood. She also manages to cover the ridiculous aspects, too.

Her haiku show just how much we love our children and just how imperfect all of us are in our parenting adventures.

Imperfect parent? Who me? Sadly, yes.

But the good news is that Haiku Mama will cause anyone outside the uber-mom category to joyously giggle.

Before reading Haiku Mama, I had no idea, for example, that other moms (and their tots) dealt with this problem . . .

A new universe

begets strange new forms of life

in lost sippy cups.

Now, though, I’m thrilled to know I’m not the only one who finds gross things growing in my daughter’s lost sippies.

Of course there are also haiku about the lovey-dovey dumpling moments that, even in their sweetness, are still quite funny. Like this one . . .

Sniffing newborn’s head

a primal urge takes over –

try not to eat him.

Did I know that I would be a head-sniffer before motherhood? Absolutely not. But now I know I’m not the only one.

And then there are the moments we don’t want to advertise to our friends and family . . .

Child hugging t.v.

should probably not be your

Christmas card this year

Moments like this might stay safely hidden when it comes to our yearly, holiday newsletters, but Kari Anne Roy lets it all hang out in her book. And for this, I adore Haiku Mama.

If you want to check out more from Kari Anne Roy, you can also visit her blog.

All haiku in this post © Kari Anne Roy.

Find Haiku Mama on Amazon:
Haiku Mama: (because 17 syllables is all you have time to read)

by Kelly

His lips hover, tease.

“Write a haiku about this,”

Hubby smirks and dares.

by Alison

cat scratched furniture

wood plank floors sticky with milk

all is in order

by Kelly

Just the other day, right here on Haiku By Two, I published a review of a book called Dog-Ku. It’s a collection of haiku written from a dog’s point of view.

Well, actually, it’s written from several dogs’ point of view. But there are two dog voices that outweigh all the others. Those voices belong to Zac, a black Lab-Rhodesian Ridgeback, and E.D., a German Shepherd-Lab mix.

Zac and E.D. call Steve D. Marsh their human being. Through him, they channeled their haiku from their doggy brains to English letters we can read.

I caught up with Mr. Marsh via email to ask him a few questions about what it’s like to live with such talented dogs.

Was it hard to get inside your dogs’ heads?

No, in fact, as I confess in the book’s introduction, they first got inside my mind.

I think it was a kind of ESP. Extra Species Perception.

Do your dogs always think in haiku?

No, in fact, my dogs don’t always think.

Once, Zac got so excited at the unexpected appearance of his sisters at the park that he bounded and dragged me face first through a 30-foot mud puddle.

I did plenty of thinking after that, but most of what I was thinking you can’t put on your web site!

In what ways in haiku particularly suitable for expressing a dog’s point of view?

Simple, honest, direct. Could a dog be anything else?

Haiku is short, to the point, often wise, funny, insightful. All dog.

Do you view your dogs differently now?

Not really. I think I must have been a dog in a previous life. There seems to be plenty of dogness left over.

Have you ever noticed that the percentage of bad dogs is a lot smaller than the percentage of bad people? Maybe I just hang around with the wrong kind of politicians, but that’s what I’ve seen.

Have your dogs written any new haiku lately?

Absolutely. Come on over to www.dog-ku.com and see the latest.

In fact, feel free to leave a haiku of your own for Zac and E.D. to enjoy.

Find Dog-Ku on Amazon:
Dog-ku: Very Clever Haikus Cleverly Written by Very Clever Dogs

Haiku.com
Wow. The people at Haiku.com have spent some serious time online tracking down any and everything haiku related. Seriously. If you’re looking for haiku, look here.

The Haiku Society of America
A non-profit organization that works to promote the writing and enjoyment of haiku.

Frogpond Journal
Published three times a year by the Haiku Society of America. Features contemporary American haiku and other short poetry forms. Also includes essays about haiku and book reviews.

Haiku Oz
The Australian Haiku Society encourages the enjoyment of haiku within Australia and also works to promote Australian poets.

Irish Haiku Society
A literary society in Ireland dedicated to the pursuit of all things haiku.

Simply Haiku
A quarterly journal of Japanese short form poetry.

World Haiku Association
An international association with wonderful online resources. Be sure to check out their haiga links!

Haiga Online
A web site devoted to haiga (haiku-style illustrations, often accompanying haiku) and haiku.

With Words
A UK literary nonprofit with information on haiku workshops and competitions!

by Kelly

Encounter: young buck,

min pin, me. We three hush, freeze.

Then — growl, jump, blink, gone.

by Alison

How do I show her

the snowflake that disappears

on my fingertip?

by Kelly

How incredible

this muffled stillness inside

my snow-covered car.