A Haiku Series
for Ben and Becky,
who, by God's grace, turned out okay
in spite of us.
NEWBORN
No wonder you cry:
Just being alive is
Sensory overload!
3 MONTHS
Another summons?
I can't!--until your softness
Touches me again.
6 MONTHS
Scientific mind:
You experiment with taste,
Sampling a dead fly.
9 MONTHS
Struggling with new skills--
crawling, walking, sky-diving--
Muscle frustration!
ONE
Just a year ago
I couldn't imagine you
Would define my life.
TWO
Where can you have gone?
Ssh! curled up asleep in
Grandma's turkey roaster!
THREE (1)
You start nursery school;
I find myself along--
watching Sesame Street!
THREE (2)
Sat through a sermon
On being free in Jesus?
Your eyes dance: "I'm f'wee!"
FOUR
My philosopher!
"How does it feel to be four?"
"Like chok'lit!"
FIVE
Five fingers, five toes,
So many important things
come in five's. Like you.
SIX
Stormy, forgetful,
Body-obsessed. Hang in there:
First adolescence.
SEVEN
Each lost tooth we cheer--
Aren't those the ones we couldn't
Wait to see come in?
EIGHT
Here's where it begins--
Parent-child role reversal.
Now you read to me.
NINE
Gum in the washer--
What was life like without kids?
I can't remember.
TEN
You may be ready
For lipstick and strapless gowns--
Cool it 'til I am!
ELEVEN
You can't wait, young man,
Outgrowing all your clothing,
to outgrow us, too!
TWELVE
I thought I was through
With school. Out of my depth--and
Algebra to come?
THIRTEEN
Son: Endless riddles
And shrillest whistle west of
The Mississippi!
FOURTEEN
Lingering fragrance--
Spearmint gum and suntan oil:
Our 'tween-age daughter.
FIFTEEN (1)
Someday you'll have girls
And I hope they're just like you!
Just retribution!
FIFTEEN (2)
Someday you'll have girls
And I hope they're just like you--
My daughter, my friend!
SIXTEEN
You dream your own dreams.
Sex can't explain the marvel--
Where did you come from?
SEVENTEEN
Confident, eager--
You scare me! You think you know
How fragile life is.
EIGHTEEN
Room clean? Homework done?
Trash out already? Is my
Job over--so soon?
Cover design by Kathryn Dickerson
(Poems previously published in Pebbles and The Christian Communicator, 1991.)
