CHILDREN

Asking the little girl
if the tooth fairy came:
“yeth,” she says.

            Ted Heavens



Daughter's
first sentence:
“This is CBS.”

            Carlos Colón  [1]

playing army…
   the little boys fight
      over who's dead

            Stanford M. Forrester  [2]

the abused child
arranges her dolls
in a perfect row

            Pamela A. Babusci

bedtime fairy tales
interrupted by her wish
for bigger breasts

            Michael Meyerhofer

Credits:
1. Carlos Colón: “daughter’s” from Nothing inside, Proof Press,
Copyright © 1996 by Carlos Colón: by permission of the author.

2. Stanford M. Forrester: “playing army” from Modern Haiku, Vol.34.2, Copyright © 2003 by Stanford M. Forrester: by permission of the author.

MOTHERS & FATHERS

home to see mom
both of us looking
for our little girls

            Arlene Teck

in mother's mirror
never have I looked
so beautiful.

            Arlene Teck

learning to bench press--
the span of my grip
well within my father's

            Chad Robinson

lunch with mother
before I get home
she finds a reason to call

            Cathy Drinkwater Better

Crying over onions,
my mother with
the stiff upper lip

            Alexis Rotella  [3]

a little earthquake
for the first time
I call him father

            Scott Metz

Credits:
3. Alexis Rotella: “crying over onions” from Looking For A Prince, White Peony Press,
Copyright © 1991 by Alexis Rotella: by permission of the author.

HUSBANDS & WIVES

         the love letter
she tells her husband about
       means little to her

            Anita Virgil

moving day
her husband's handshake says
he doesn't know

            Ed Markowski

my wife admits
she is not perfect,
but is glad I am

            Tom Clausen  [4]

my wife wants to look further
in the campground
for “more deluxe washrooms”

            Marshall Hryciuk

Credits:
4. Tom Clausen: “my wife admits” from Homework, Copyright © 2000 by Tom Clausen: by permission of the author.

OCCUPATIONS

empty salon
the manicurist
files her nails

            Jeanette Stace  [5]

new
stockperson...
stacked!

            Barry George

the waitress
leans over my table
dessert

            Cor van den Heuvel

the therapist’s eye twitches
as she asks me
how I feel

            Karen Sohne  [6]

Clear about
everything
the window washer

            vincent tripi  [7]

Credits:
5. Jeanette Stace: “empty salon” from A to Zazen, Edited by Vanessa Proctor, Kiwiana Publishing, New Zealand. Copyright © 2005 by Jeanette Stace: by permission of the author.

6. Karen Sohne: “the therapist’s eye twitches” from The Parakeet’s Mirror, Spring Street Haiku Group, Copyright © 1993 by Karen Sohne: by permission of the author.

7. vincent tripi: “Clear about” from Frogpond Vol.XV:2, Copyright © 1992 by vincent tripi: by permission of the author.

PSYCHOLOGY

lunchtime news
imagining famine
between mouthfuls

            Steve Dolphy  [8]

Over and over he says
he wants nothing
to do with me.

            Alexis Rotella  [9]

            a beautiful day
someone says    cannot see
            the difference

            Sasa Vazic

            now she’s in love
she observes every blemish
            of her own

            Anita Virgil

garden party--
twelve years divorced, they still
call each other ‘dear’

            Melissa Dixon

moving day --
my things look like they belong
to someone else

            Michael McClintock

the artist’s heirs
     eat
  well

            L.A. Dona  [10]

Credits:
8. Steve Dolphy: “lunchtime news” from Raw Nervz # VI.I, Copyright © 1999 by Steve Dolphy: by permission of the author.

9. Alexis Rotella: “over and over he says” from Looking for a Prince, White Peony Press, Copyright © 1991 by Alexis Rotella: by permission of the author.

10. L.A. Dona [1924-1997]: “the artist’s heirs” from Seer Ox No.3, Copyright © 1975 by
L.A. Dona: permission granted by Michael McClintock.

ANIMALS

even the little beaver
says shit on work
this spring day

            Cor van den Heuvel  [11]

        Floating on his back,
“I say there, old chap,” says the face
        of the sea otter.

            Anita Virgil  [12]

scat singing
"round midnight"--
ella fitzcricket

            Robert Wilson

sudden windbreak --
everyone pauses
to stare at the dog

            Carol Raisfeld

only two at first,
but then I knew nothing
about rabbits

            J.D. Heskin

flying onto the skating pond
the green heron
does a double lutz

            Ted Heavens

Credits:
11. Cor van den Heuvel: “even the little beaver” from Seer Ox No.3, Copyright © 1975
by Cor van den Heuvel: by permission of the author.

12. Anita Virgil: “floating on his back” from the Senryu Series HC Newsletter, Copyright 1991 by Anita Virgil: by permission of the author.