Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Happy Holidays Haikus

Traditionally my husband and I send a haiku for our Christmas greetings. Early in our marriage I heard this editorial on NPR, around this time of the year, which bemoaned the length and breadth of the traditional holiday letter which even in its enormity never really seemed to say much. The author posed the question: why not a holiday haiku, or limerick, or cinqain? And I thought we should take her up on it.

For 5 years we have written a haiku that tries to sum up the best and the worst of the year. This year, we decided that with three of us in the family, it wouldn't be enough just to dedicate 17 syllables. Fear not, we did not digress to the holiday letter. We simply expanded to three haikus -- one for each of us.

I hereby present the Harrison Haikus for 2005 (Merry Christmas):

Last winter's work yields
long hours at Purdue and
return to Paris.

Mon Ami becomes
"designs" with books and collage;
business is booming.

A sycamore tree
grows stronger at Split Rock Way
taller, smarter, too.

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