Jewish mothers' haiku

For those unfamiliar with Japanese verse forms, a haiku is a poem in three lines.  The first line has five syllables, the second seven and the last five syllables.

[These haikus are from Haikus for Jews; For You, A Little Wisdom, by David M. Bader.  The book is available in our book store.]

After the warm rain
the sweet smell of camellias.
Did you wipe your feet?

Her lips near my ear,
Aunt Sadie whispers the name
of her friend's disease.

Looking for pink buds
to prune, the old moyel
wanders among his flowers.

Today I am a man.
Tomorrow I will return
to the seventh grade.

Harsh Scrabble discord -
someone has placed putzhead on
a triple word score.

Testing the warm milk
on her wrist, she sighs softly.
But her son is forty.

The sparkling blue sea
reminds me to wait an hour
after my sandwich.

Tea ceremony -
fragrant steam perfumes the air.
Try the cheese danish.

Lacking fins or tail
the gefilte fish swims with
great difficulty.

A cat steals into
the night just like my former
partner, that gonif.

Yom Kippur - Forgive
me, Lord, for the Mercedes
and all that lobster.

My nature journal -
today, I saw some trees and birds.
I should know the names?

Like a bonsai tree,
your terrible posture at
my dinner table.

Beyond Valium
the peace of knowing one's child
is an internist.

Jews on safari -
map, compass, elephant gun,
hard sucking candies.

Coroner's report -
"The deceased, wearing no hat,
caught his death of cold."

The same kimono
the top geishas are wearing:
got it at Loehmann's.

The sparrow brings home
too many worms for her young.
"Force yourself," she chirps.

Jewish triathlon:
gin rummy, then contract bridge,
followed by a nap.

"Can't you just leave it?"
the new Jewish mother asks -
umbilical cord.

The shivah visit:
so sorry about your loss.
Now back to my problems.

Our youngest daughter,
our most precious jewel.
Hence the name, Tiffany.

Mom, please! There is no
need to put that dinner roll
in your pocketbook.

Seven-foot Jews in
the NBA slam-dunking!
My alarm clock rings.

Concert of car horns
as we debate the question
of when to change lanes.

Sorry I'm not home
to take your call. At the tone
please state your bad news

Is one Nobel Prize
so much to ask from a child
after all I've done?

Would-be convert lost -
thawed Lender's Bagels made a
bad first impression.

Today: mild shvitzing.
Tomorrow: so hot you'll plotz.
Five-day forecast: feh

Yenta. Shmeer. Gevalt.
Shlemiel. Shlimazl. Tochis.
Oy! To be fluent!

Quietly murmured
at Saturday services,
Yanks 5, Red Sox 3.

Lonely mantra of
the Buddhist monk - "They never
call, they never write."

The long pilgrimage
to the venerable shrine -
Leonard's of Great Neck.

A lovely nose ring -
excuse me while I put my
head in the oven

Left the door open
for the Prophet Elijah.
Now our cat is gone

Thanks to Lisa for this.  As requested, we will donate her $10 prize to charity.

Send us your clipping or photograph (via e-mail or snail mail). If we use it in Laughing Stock, you will receive a $10 gift certificate from Amazon.com!

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