Ev'ry Haiku in
Haikuesville loved Haikuesday,
But the Grinch did not.

Why did the Grinch hate
Haikuesday so much? Please don't
Ask; nobody knows.

I think that it is
Probably 'cuz his heart was
Two sizes too small.

But whatever the
Reason, he stared down from there,
Hating the Haikus.

"They're hanging their wreaths
And stockings! Tomorrow is
Haikuesday!" he said.

"Tomorrow, I know,
All those Haiku boys and girls
Will rush for their toys.

"And then, oh the noise,
Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise noise!
I simply hate it!

"If there's one thing I
Can't stand, it's the noise, noise, noise!"
What could he do now?

"Ev'ry year," he said
To his cat, Max, "they sing and
They play, those Haikus...

"They'll race around on
Their wheels, dance with jing-tinglers
Tied onto their feet!

"They will blow on their
Floo-floobas and they will bang
On their gardinkas!

"They will beat on their
Blum-blookas and they will wham
On their who-wonkas!

"And they'll play noisy
Games, like zooziver-carzay,
Sort of like lacrosse.

"They'll make lots of noise
On their great, big electro-
Who-cardio-shnooks!

"Then the Haikus will
Sit down to a feast, and they
Will feast, feast, feast, feast!

"They'll feast on haiku-
Pudding and haiku roast beast!
I hate that entree!

"Then they will do what
I hate most of all: they will
Start singing down there!

" 'Haiku, haiku, it's
A haiku; let's all sing it's
Haikuesday!' they'll sing.

"For fifty years now,"
Said the Grinch, "I've put up with
Those noisy Haikus!"

And the more the Grinch
Thought about it, the more he
Hated those Haikus.

"I simply must stop
Haikuesday from coming! But
How?" the Grinch thought. "Hmm..."

But then he got an
Idea; a wonderful,
Awful idea!

The Grinch took down his
Curtains and started sewing,
And made a costume.

"I'll fool those Haikus.
With this coat and this hat, I'll
Look just like Saint Hai!"

But the Grinch needed
A reindeer, so he tied some
Horns on his cat, Max.

Then he put some bags
And sacks on the ramshackle
Sleigh, and they took off.

The Haikus still lay
Asnooze when the Grinch came to
Steal Haikuesday then.

The Haikus were all
Dreaming sweet dreams when the Grinch
Came to the first house.

Then he slid down the
Chimney; 'twas a tight fit, but
Santa could do it.

Then he stuck his head
Out of the fireplace flue, where
The stockings were hung.

"These stockings," he Grinched,
"Are the first things to go!" so
He took them all down.

Then he slithered and
Slunk around the room, and he
Took ev'ry present:

Pop guns, pampoolas,
Pantookas, checkerboards, and
Bisseldinks and broms!

He stuffed them in bags,
Then the Grinch stuffed all the bags
Up through the chimney.

Then he snuck to the
Icebox and took the Haikus'
Feast. He took it all!

He took the haiku-
Pudding, haiku roast beast, and
Cans of haiku-hash!

He stuffed all the food
Up the chimney, then he had
To stuff up the tree.

But as the Grinch did
This, he heard a small sound, like
The coo of a dove.

He was startled by
This, turned around quickly, and
Saw a small Haiku:

'Twas Little Cindy-
Lou Haiku, who was no more
Than two syllables.

She said to the Grinch,
"Santy Haiklaus, why are you
Taking our pine tree?"

The Grinch was worried
For a while, but he thought up
A lie to tell her.

"My dear little tot,
There's a light on this tree that
Won't light on one side.

"I'm taking it home
To my workshop to fix it,
Then I'll bring it back."

And his fib fooled the
Child. Then he got her a drink
And sent her to bed.

He went back to the
Chimney and stuffed the tree up,
Then went up himself.

Last, he took the log
From the fireplace, and just left
Some wires on the walls.

And the last speck of
Food he left there was even
Too small for a mouse.

Then he did the same
To the other Haikus' homes,
Leaving small crumbs there.

Mister Grinch was a
Mean one; some won't touch him with
A forty foot pole.

'Twas a quarter of
Dawn when the Grinch headed up
The hill in his sled.

He had their presents,
Their ribbons, their wrappings, their
Fuzzants, and tringlers!

He rode up to the
Top of Mount Crumpet to dump
The sleigh of presents.

"They're finding out now
That Haikuesday's not coming!"
The Grinch said gladly.

"They're just waking up,
Soon all those Haikus will cry
'Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo!'"

"That's a noise," grinned the
Grinch, "that I simply must hear!"
And the Grinch listened...

And he did hear a
Sound rising over the snow.
It became louder.

But this sound was not
Sad; this sound sounded joyful!
What was going on?

Ev'ry Haiku down
In Haikuesville was singing,
Without any gifts.

The Grinch had not stopped
Haikuesday from coming; it
Came! Yep, it sure did.

And the Grinch, with his
Grinch feet ice cold, stood puzzling,
"How could it be so?

"It came without bags!
It came without packages,
Ribbons, or boxes!"

Then the Grinch thought that
Maybe Haikuesday does not
All come from a store.

He thought that maybe --
Perhaps -- Haikuesday has a
Much greater meaning.

What happened then? It's
Told the Grinch's small heart grew
Three sizes that day.

With Haikuesday's true
Worth, the Grinch found the strength of
Ten Grinches, plus two!

With joy in his heart,
The Grinch zoomed down the mountain
With all the presents.

He rode down into
Haikuesville, brought back their toys,
Brought back their tringlers!

He brought back their floof,
Their pantookas and fozzles,
Their dafflers and snofe!

He brought back all the
Food, and he, he himself, the
Grinch, carved the roast beast.

Welcome, Haikuesday,
Bring your cheer, to all Haikus
Near and far. Please do!

Haikuesday is in
Our grasp, so long as we have
Japanese poems.

Always, Haikuesday
Will exist, just as long as
We have we: ourselves.

Welcome, Haikuesday,
While we are here, heart to heart
And hand in hand... Gaxqt!

THE END