Michael J. Henry

DEBT HAIKU

Our bills sprout zeros
behind 3s and 4s. My mouth
grows dry. I sweat through the nights.

REFLEXOLOGY IS WHY I’M NOT WRITING EVERY DAY

Toys dot the whole floor.
I step on them, bruise my heels.
Foot pain = writer’s block.

CABIN FEVER

Em watched The Hobbit
twice today. It’s the bad one,
the cartoon version,
with Orson Bean’s voice
as Bilbo Baggins.

I AM LOST WITHOUT MY FRANKLIN-COVEY DAY PLANNER

If I don’t use it:
The day–a slow glide on grease.
Night–no thought, TV.

JO JO LEARNS THE WORD NO

New punctuation,
her favorite denouement.
She vents, then shouts: Noooooooo.