Day 47

A perfect igloo
Occupants: one boy, one dog
Just popped up next door

Day 46

A headless snowman
Still sporting a knotted scarf
Oddly menacing

Day 45

A sparkling city
Wrapped in a cold clean blanket
Of sweetest silence


(There is nothing quite like waking up to a beautiful new world.)

Day 44

Infernal car horns
A cacophonous nuisance
That makes my head spin

From Xander, Montreal: On Olympic Hockey

I'm American,
but I live in Canada.
Who do I root for?

Day 43: To an iPod Dying Young

Stalwart companion
Of so many subway rides
How I shall miss you

Day 42

February laughs
Smothers us in wet blankets
Til we forget spring

Day 41

Why have I never
Once seen a baby pigeon?
A true conundrum.

Life in 5-7-5: Now available in technicolor!

Well, not exactly. But I've added "like" and "dislike" buttons at the bottom of each post. Use them! I'd like to know what you think, and I promise not to take it too personally (I'll just post another haiku when I finish crying).

Day 40

Kensington, Brooklyn
Slightly south of hip and just
North of Orthodox

From Grama in South Wales, NY

I live in a place
That has multitudes of stars
And sometimes fireflies

(It must run in the family. This is a submission from my mom, who has only recently revealed her secret talent for haiku.)

Day 39

When you're young and broke
The ghosts of garbage days past
Furnish your small home

Day 38

I don't like to brag
But my subway balance is
Rather impressive

Day 37

A splitting headache
Cramps my efforts at haiku
And sends me to bed

Day 36

If I miss the F
I can hitch back to Brooklyn
On the Mitzvah Tank

Day 35

We heave misty sighs
"No trains at this station" means
Impromptu snow day!

(Dear MTA, please credit my unlimited Metrocard accordingly. XOXO FiveSevenFive.)

From Xander, Montreal

where is it written
that poems cannot have
silent syllables

From Chicago in Winter

Kermit the Frog green
Your beret seems so cheerful
Too bad it’s a lie

Day 34

Sturdy daffodils
Send green shoots through grimy snow
On our fire escape

Day 33

He yells in Russian
At a cashier whose face shows
This happens often

Day 32

Anyone out there?
I feel like a tiny voice
No one listens to

Day 31

Do the horses dream
Of lives far away from this
Nose-to-tailpipe one?


I implore you to educate yourselves about the living and working conditions of New York City carriage horses before you consider taking a carriage ride through Central Park.

From Alana, Montreal: an update

The lonely fruit fly
Has found himself a partner
And now we have three

Day 30

I square my shoulders
And brace myself for a long
Day with one wet foot

Reader Submission; Daniela, Macedonia

Red bus full of dust
Took me nowhere, yet my mind
Told me a haiku

Day 29

Delightful snow day
Looking at a frozen world
Through a frosted pane

Day 28

As seen on TV!
Get your very own street Snuggie
(Don't ask where it's from)

5-7-5 is still actively seeking submissions!

Please email your haiku submission to lifein575@gmail.com. Please include your location and the name by which you would like to be identified.

Day 27

"Nine hundred a week!"
Hawking hope to the forlorn
On a cold corner

Day 26

Trust me, it's okay
To say "no" to your children
Once in a blue moon

From Less is More, Brooklyn, NY

Subway Hand Pole Dance:

oops, did i just make
it hard for you to hang on?
thoughtful, silent shift.

Day 25

Oh F train, with your
Long waits and puzzling smells
Wish I could quit you

Day 24

I could be sustained
By your bags of sugared bliss
And your friendly smile

(I normally don't explain my haiku, but the man who sells Nuts for Nuts in downtown Brooklyn deserves a special shout-out. He is so kind and cheerful--even when it's 15 degrees out and I'm partly buying the nuts to warm my hands.)

Day 23

Really glad I know
The details of your sad life
Thanks to your Nextel

From Alana, Montreal

A single fruit fly
Stuck indoors in the winter
A sad, sexless life

Day 22

I can't help but stare
For a girl with pink talons
You text quite deftly

Day 21

Silently I ask
What's the frequency, Kenneth?
Of my reflection