Mom Life in Haiku

Who doesn’t love a good haiku? I’ve always enjoyed reading traditional Japanese haiku, and I also relish the challenge of creating them. In case high school English has slipped your mind because life and sleep deprivation have gotten the better of you, a haiku is a 17-syllable poem consisting of three lines. The first and third lines of the poem contain five syllables each, and the second line has seven syllables. For your reading enjoyment, I have whipped up a series of haiku describing–what else?–mom life.

 

O, for a shower
Alone, no toddlers. They watch,
Noses pressed on glass.

My warm cup of joe,
Reheated for the umpteenth
time: such is Mom life.

My right forefinger
Always smells like Desitin–
Mom’s Eau de Parfum.

“OMG!” he cries.
Homework time. Looks at me like
I murdered his pet.

Time for a group shot!
My son flops backward in rage.
Middle children, y’all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

True love: there is just
enough ice cream for the kids.
So I lick the spoon.

“Do you need to pee?”
“No.” “Okay.” One mile later–
“I need to go pee.”

Twenty thousand times
I heard my name said today.
Small voices call, “Mom?”

He sits in my lap.
Soft skin and sweet-smelling hair.
He’s three. I’m in love.

Spidey and Batman
Read, run races, go shopping,
Always in costume.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chubby fingers turn
Board book pages. Paddington
and Snoopy: his chums.

‘Minivans are lame!’
I once said. Now I realize
sliding doors are HOT.

“Can I sip your drink?”
Long drool string, backwash, and I’m
Done with my drink now.

Sleep is elusive.
Always on call with this job,
Moms are superstars

Mom of four boys hears
Monster trucks and Minecraft and
Burps and sweet giggles.

Without fail, each time
I lose my cool in public,
Someone I know sees.

Are you up for a challenge? Submit your own original parent-related haiku in the comments section for a chance to win a prize! Our favorite haiku will win the one precious swag bag we have left from Mom Prom!

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Jenny
Jenny is a native of Moore, Oklahoma, where she currently lives. After graduating from OSU and getting married to her husband BJ in 2003, she lived in frigid Minneapolis for four years while earning her doctorate in clinical psychology. Jenny worked in private practice as a licensed psychologist for several years before leaving her job to become a SAHM in 2015. She has four sons ranging from baby to seven years. The testosterone runs wild in her house, but she loves it! She once considered it her full-time job to stop her boys from doing flips on the couch and otherwise wrestling like bears, but soon realized her surrender to their collective energy was inevitable. Jenny, BJ, and their boys enjoy eating at metro-area restaurants, playing outside, learning, and traveling. When her kids are (finally) sleeping, Jenny thrives on jogging, reading travel books and feminist writings, baking high-calorie treats, and laughing hysterically at the likes of Amy Poehler and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

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