Friday, July 29, 2016

Marginal Haiku

I may or may not have previously mentioned that my best long-term friend (Megan Willome) is an incredible poet and recently published a book which makes poetry compelling and accessible to all of us. (Joy of Poetry - check it out.)

At any rate, I credit Megan with creating a buzz in the back of my head so that I now see poetry as a constant presence. Fast forward to today's plane trip, when my 13-year-old son fell asleep on my arm and I was pretty much stuck in my seat with the Southwest Airlines magazine and a pen. (The crossword was crazy easy, so it only took a few minutes.)

I didn't have access to the typical electronic distractions so haiku bubbled forth from my head onto the margins of p. 98. (I've always loved haiku - it's like a puzzle to me.) Wonder what might happen if I put down my electronic distractions more often? Hmm.

For your amusement, here are my nine haiku poems presented in the order they jumped onto the page. They start out obviously smarmy/corny but become more real as I relax a bit (or at least that's my interpretation of it). At any rate, I highly recommend this as an exercise in stream of consciousness writing. I go from motherhood to political conventions during the course of about 20 minutes (maybe less). It sort of makes me wonder why.

Flying with my kids
They sleep throughout the whole ride
My joy is complete

Babies remind me 
To cherish each adventure
Although life is hard

We always forget 
To bring jackets on airplanes
AC freezes us

My dog shows her love
By crying for me each time
I leave her alone

Busy moms and dads
Look for snacks and read to kids
As my teens sleep on

The space for haiku
Is now very limited
So my writing shrinks

Almost forty-five
My ankle objects each day
But my smile is strong

Friends are always there
But they can't be everything
I give myself strength

Watching Conventions
Is like watching a family
Have holiday fights