A couple of years ago I sent a few of you some Jewish haiku that a friend had forwarded to me (I edited them, of course...as always). I've come across more since then, so here's an updated collection of my favorites (along with a few footnotes for those of you who are Judaically impaired).
Arthur
After the warm rain
the sweet smell of camellias.
Did you wipe your feet?
Testing the warm milk
on her wrist, she sighs softly.
But her son is forty.
Looking for pink buds
to prune, the old moyl [the guy who circumcises baby boys]
wanders among his flowers.
Seven-foot Jews in
the NBA, slam-dunking.
My alarm clock rings.
Her lips near my ear,
Aunt Sadie whispers the name
of her friend's disease.
Today I am a man. [what a boy says at his Bar Mitzvah]
Tomorrow I will return
to the seventh grade.
The sparrow brings home
too many worms for her young.
"Force yourself," she says.
A lovely nose ring.
Excuse me while I put my
head in the oven.
Harsh Scrabble discord--
someone has placed "putzhead" on
a triple word score.
The sparkling blue sea
reminds me to wait an hour
after my sandwich.
Coroner's report:
"The deceased, wearing no hat,
caught his death of cold."
Tea ceremony--
fragrant steam perfumes the air.
Try the cheese danish.
Quietly murmured
at Saturday services:
Yanks 5, Red Sox 3.
A cat steals into the night.
Just like my former
partner, that gonif. [thief]
Our youngest daughter,
our most precious jewel, hence
the name--Tiffany.
The same kimono
the top geishas are wearing.
I got it at Saks.
Like a bonsai tree,
your terrible posture
at my dinner table.
The door left open
for the Prophet Elijah. [a tradition at Passover]
Now our cat is gone.
The shivah visit: [mourning]
I'm so sorry about your loss.
Now back to my problems.
Lovely butterfly--
not long ago your name was
Caterpillarstein.
Wet moss on the old
stones. Lying in the
grass, I ponder who to sue.
Yom Kippur. Forgive
[holiday where you ask for forgiveness]
me, Lord, for the Mercedes
and all that lobster. [shellfish isn't kosher]
