by Kelly

They bluster and bark

at an empty tree. What’s there

I wonder — vampires?

Damn Twilight. Ever since I read those books, I can’t shake the feeling that vampires are lurking in my night trees, watching me as I take my dogs out before bed. If you only knew how many nights I’ve hurried my dogs inside while keeping an eye on the sky. It’s even crossed my mind that my dogs are probably safe from these monsters of the night. They’re so small, they wouldn’t provide much sustenance. But then that leaves me . . .

I’ve tried several times to write a haiku about this fear, but I’ve either never been pleased with the outcome or, in a fit of self consciousness, chickened out when it came time to push the publish button. Surely readers would think me silly.

But since we’ve decided to relax our approach to haiku this year, to let ourselves write about whatever comes to mind, no matter how trivial, I decided it was time to finally share my vampire jitters.