Editor’s Note: This piece is an example of the Japanese “rensaku” poetic form, a collection of haiku poems that connect with one another to create an overarching narrative.
Lifetime Haikus
A shimmer, shadow
Wrapped in swaddle, to blossom
In a mud puddle.
One learns to love the
Days lost to scraped knees, teary
Eyes, hugs that mend all.
Then the legs grow, the
Arms reach out, fingers spread,
The heart finds color.
You love her, lost the
Fears you had handing her bruised
Daisies, wrapped with bows.
She found you, held the
Bouquet close, and you closer,
Even after dawn.
Her hand is on your
Chest, warm, serene, securely
Yours– you breathe her in.
Your daughter is born,
Her eyes still closed, she is safe
Against your bare chest.
Everything is hard,
Harder than you ever thought
It would be to love.
A part of you shrinks as
She grows, no mud to muddle,
You love her. You lose.
She scrapes her knees as
Yours feel heavier, all
Steps forward for her.
You lost her mother,
You lose yourself, but see her
Still, as your heart breathes.
Your lass lingers less
At home, begins her own way.
“It’s alright, sweetie.”
She left today. You’re
So happy to see her eyes
Closed again; you hug.
Everything mending,
She shimmers, the car drives east,
Casting more shadows.
You lose you, again…
Sit there, reading her letters,
As your hair thins, grays.
She visits, her wife
And son– the image of you–
Hug you, eyes open,
As hers crinkle closed,
Like her mother’s; you miss them
Both, brutally now.
On your knees, at the
Cemetery, your eyes mist,
In the fog. You loved.
The photographs blur,
Just a bit, and your daughter’s
Voice sounds less like home.
“It’s alright–,” colors
Paint your heart in antique grays,
Blue, bruised arms that grasp,
That cling on, fingers
Spread wide, on your chest, as you
Still remember them.
You thank the world,
Watch the rain, the mud puddles,
Hold the daisies, bruise them.
The darkness grows, as
Your crinkled eyes close, nothing
To lose. You were loved.
