haiku by Kent Mannis

Summer, Fall, Winter

Like Costco toilet paper 

Bulk products run low

My husband Kent wrote the occasional poem. In this case it’s the very American version of haiku, the 5-7-5 syllable count what makes it haiku. Kent does refer to the seasons, which is considered another requirement of Japanese haiku. The Japanese want a haiku to evoke the feeling of a particular time of year. Does Kent’s? Perhaps the poem means to evoke winter -- the “bulk products” of nature are abundant in summer, but gradually peter out in fall, winter offering the smallest amounts. 

Kent appends a note, “3 season Haiku.” Was that was the challenge? Write a poem that includes three of the four seasons?

Every so often I sort a pile of papers and today I found the haiku on a crumpled square of paper from a logo notepad. It is undated.