5-7-5

Convention has it
syllables will be the same
it's five, seven, five
Thus began my Haiku odyssey way back in sixth grade. I was showing off my understanding for our student teacher, Tess Straw. It seems to me now like something from central casting - this fresh-faced girl working toward her teaching credential, her boyfriend Hank stopping by on Fridays to play chess with the clever ones. I did so want to impress Miss Straw. I had a pretty fair-sized crush on her (for an eleven-year-old). I saw each game against Henry as a duel. When she taught us about different forms of poetry, I heard the wistful tone that used to describe Haiku. I saw my opening.
My first attempts were standard, nature-related efforts. I heard the beat of the syllables in my head, but I tapped them out on my desk for good measure. It was important to be precise. I moved quickly to some joke haikus - the form is well-suited for the "Knock-Knock" joke. Tess noted my progress and encouraged me for being "playful." Oh yes, that was the reaction I was fishing for, but it hadn't brought the gush of emotion that I had hoped for.
Even then I realized my limitations as a romantic. I would never be able to keep a straight face for seventeen syllables and share my true feelings. I chose instead to work from my strengths, the intellectual side. I decided to go post-modern. If I could astound her with my cleverness - I was in!
I got a big, red smily face on my paper. Tess Straw left our class in the early spring to continue her studies. I have this lovely memory of her strawberry blonde hair and her sweet smile - the one on her face, not the one on my paper.