THE “L” WORD
plucking my eyebrows
he likes me
he likes me not
chocolate fondue for two—
double-dipping
the banana
their candy hearts—
I swallow more
sweet nothings
a single boa feather
floats in the coffee—
the morning after
fallen petals—
how he used to
call me pretty
threadbare—
my heart no longer
on my sleeve
Valentine’s Day—
without a word
he takes out the trash
anniversary dinner—
the harvest moon
in the ladle
—from Prompt Poem of the Month
February 2024
__________
Prompt: Write a haiku sequence that talks about love without mentioning it by name. Note from the series editor, Katie Dozier: “Kelly’s poem gathers many familiar symbols of love, such as candy hearts, and slices them with the haiku’s knife. The result is a sequence that captures the breadth of romantic love and even takes us out for fondue in the process.”
