Pity Is No Party: Romantic ImproVerse Haiku

A man wants to woo /
a woman with strength, not by /
milking* her pity.

*originally “gaining”

Harvest Ends: Romantic ImproVerse Haiku

The first frost has hit./
This year’s garden is finished./
She won’t need me now.

Once you’ve broken trust,/
forget about earning it/
back. It is too hard.

Or
It’s too scary

Or
Once you’ve broken trust,/
don’t think you can just win it
back. It’s too scary.

There is something wrong/
with a homeless man texting/
to find his next meal.

My Dad tells me: “Be
happy!” He’s never had a
child killing herself.

No dad should reach the/
point where he must tell his girl:/
“Go. Die. I can’t help.”

Being there for her/
means sometimes I won’t answer
her painful request.

You may now notice/
that all the people who love/
you won’t talk to you.

How much would joy be/
increased if women said what/
they meant, and men heard?

I wasn’t doing/
anything so I couldn’t/
get her. I wouldn’t.

Written after my daughter’s phone call from a eating disorder treatment center: “What are you doing that you can’t come and get me?!?”