I'm in Kalamazoo, Michigan having my annual adventure among medievalists (yes, in addition to being a childbirth doula, I am a medievalist and a poet, too! To learn more about my other life, see sanctuarypoet.net :). As soon as I drove into town, I made a stop at the local Bargain Books, and voilà!, I found a great book: Haiku Mama, by Kari Anne Roy, who says in her subtitle "because 17 syllables is all you have time to read!"
This is a colorful book full of "irreverent haiku and whimsical illustrations" about the days of early parenting. The introduction begins with words any busy mom could appreciate: "You don't have time to read an introduction. You don't even have time to notice your shirt is on inside out. But these strange little poems need some explanation, so give the kids one of your looks, hold up your finger in that "gimme one second, one second!!" pose they know so well, take a seat at the kitchen table, and read ..." This cheery, conspiratorial tone pervades the book, and reading these haiku made me appreciate all over again the humor of early parenting.
Here are a few of Kari's poems:
Outing compromised.
Small timeframe, much flatulence:
deja poo from babe.
Screaming starts to fade.
Small babe so tired, yet still weeps
melan-colic-ly.
Yay! The perfect time
to strip down naked and scream--
when Mommy's on phone.
I don't know why--probably because each of these haiku remind me of real situations I've been in, and nothing is funnier than reality (aka insanity recollected in a time of tranquility)--but these poems did make me laugh out loud! Others in this collection are equally frank and funny:
Saying "excuse me"
loses its effectiveness
when shouted ten times.
Suburban kid names:
Ryder, Hunter, Lodger, Bam.
These are not made up.
Toddler lexicon:
"Mommy, my butt is sneezing."
Translate that one fast!
Anyhow, I recommend this little book to anyone losing his or her sense of humor due to the tasks of early parenting. Erma Bombeck's books will be the next you should check out. But meanwhile, enjoy Haiku Mama!
Jane Beal
sanctuarypoet.net
christiandoula.net
