by Alison

“Stop trying to have

sex with my cat!” I bark at

my poor dog in heat.

by Kelly

A stiff wing rises

through the grass. Mangled Robin.

Damn cat. What a shame.

by Kelly

neighborhood cat stalks

my back yard preying for fun –

the scent of lilacs 

by Alison

I tell my daughter

about life after old age -

spring winds in winter

by Alison

a night at the vet’s

I choose peace over pain for

my favorite cat

by Alison

my big fat tabby

perched in the sink licking up

soggy parmesan

by Alison

my heart is racing -

cats, puppy, husband, daughter

everyone wants me

by Alison

Yes, I am one of those - I am Hello Kitty obsessed. But how can I not be? And who cares if I’m pushing 40? Life is good in Hello Kitty Land.

So of course I greatly enjoyed reading Hello Kitty Through the Seasons, a lovely book of haiku written in the voice of Hello Kitty herself.

Each candy-coated haiku is paired with an equally sweet photo of Hello Kitty in various seasonal settings. The book is a sort of Hello Kitty haiku diary taking us through spring, summer, fall and winter.

One of my favorite photograph-haiku combos takes place in fall and pictures Hello Kitty in her lovely and bright art studio with pallet in hand:

In my chilly loft,

the flowers reassure me:

spring will come again.

So artsy and romantic,  I swear I want to start painting again. See what Hello Kitty can inspire?

And this winter wonderland haiku features Hello Kitty dressed in a pink pom-pomed snowsuit sitting in a snowy field of lollipops:

Storm of white sugar -

a wintery confection,

I sit happily

As my first New Hampshire winter is fast approaching, I can only hope that I too will look upon it as a season of powdery white sugar yummy confections.

by Kelly

Ahhhh. What can I say? I’m soooo not a Hello Kitty fanatic. Not that I have anything against her cute little face. I just don’t get the allure of all the Hello Kitty paraphernalia out there.

And I had no idea Alison was such a fan of said paraphernalia. I knew our year of haiku would bring us closer together, but I must admit, I had no idea it would lead to me reading Hello Kitty haiku. Yet it did.

While Alison was busy checking out the photo-haiku combos of Hello Kitty Through the Seasons, I was reading Hello Kitty Everywhere!

Just like the first book in the series, this book features Hello Kitty all dolled up and looking cute on every page along with a coordinating haiku.

Hello Kitty shows up where you least expect her, like at the sidelines of a football game, rock climbing on a high cliff or dressed as a giraffe while watching a real giraffe at the zoo.

Perhaps my favorite photo in the book shows Hello Kitty all dressed up in a kimono. She’s got flowers in her hair, a fan in her hands and those geshia-girl flip-flop clogs on her feet. She’s pictured looking over a koi pond and the multitude of jeweled fish echo the colors of her dress.

The coordinating haiku reads:

Entranced by the koi,

I did not hear you approach –

Won’t you walk with me?

With that invitation fresh in my mind, I decided to open my eyes to Hello Kitty, and you know what … she is everywhere, just as the title of this book suggests.

Since reading this book, I’ve noticed Hello Kitty lurking about in many of the places I go in my usual life. For example, here is a Hello Kitty haiku I wrote after she popped up in one of my shopping trips:

Mexican deli–

gummy Hello Kitty waits

in the candy aisle

the warmth passes through

cat, husband, wife and daughter -

sunlight on bedsheets

So here’s something fun: Magnetic Haiku.

You’ve seen those boxes of magnetic poetry, right? All those little white magnets of random words that stick to a fridge or file cabinet . . .

They even show up stuck to the back of espresso machines in coffee shops. People play with them while waiting for their lattes to steam.

Well, believe it or not, there is a magnetic poetry kit made especially for composing haiku, and here at Haiku By Two, we’re completely smitten.

What I like most about the Magnetic Haiku is that it’s not intimidating. So many people, I think, are intimidated by poetry — even short poetry like haiku!

But with the magnets, you’re restricted to the words you’re given, so right away, some of the pressure is off to be uber creative and insightful.

Given the absurd imagery and language before you, all you have to do is make a modicum of sense.

Suddenly, composing a haiku becomes this whimsical thing you can easily do while you’re waiting for the pasta water to boil. Like here’s one I came up with the other night:

Deep, man. Very deep.

Actually, this reminds me of a song from Cats . . . Macavity The Mystery Cat.

I, too, am totally digging my Magnetic Haiku. Mine’s not set up in my kitchen, though, so I can’t mindlessly do it while boiling water.

I’ve got mine stuck to a white board in my office. Whenever I’m in a writing funk, I go stand in front of it and just start moving words around. I think it helps my writer’s block.

This is something I came up with the other day: