Ryan Mecum - Werewolf HAIKU

My heightened senses

help me know where people are.

I’m a good stalker.

Most frown on stalking,

but if it makes you happy…

I say stalk away.

If you like a girl,

follow her all around town

and try to smell her.

People who eat fast

and call it “wolfing down food,”

have no idea.

Raw hamburger meat

is my new favorite snack.

Great in cereal.

Coughing up hairballs

is more like vomiting hair.

Cats do it cuter.

Shape-shifter powers:

You mind working on my gut,

or is that too much?

Blue moon leftovers.

Months with two full moon cycles

make me feel pudgy.

Wearing 118 my wool coat,

I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing -

and fashionable.

To ease suffering,

I try to recite poems

as my body breaks.

Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl”

was not the best poem choice.

Moloch! This hurts bad!

Ever get the urge

to chase, catch, shake and kill moles?

I get that now, too.

Bellybutton lint

used to just be my shirt fuzz,

and not as scabby.

As I fall asleep, I dream of fields filled with cats

and big steel-toed boots.

That’s me! I’m famous!

the murders are on the news,

dear haiku journal!

Dear haiku journal,

Love cowers in the corner,

trapped as I close in.

In Rose’s mailbox,

I left her a love letter.

Somehow this letter

made its way to the police,

who knocked on my door.

They searched my whole house

and asked about the scratched walls.

“I have dog problems.”

The cops brought me in

and asked a lot of questions

about me and Rose.

I kind of told lies.

“It wasn’t me who chased her…”

…but something in me.

“Tripping down my stairs

led to missing knee and eye.

It was a bad fall.”

“You know puppy love -

Rose just wants my attention.

This is how she flirts.”

They didn’t buy it,

but without hard evidence,

the cops let me go.

They would have had proof

if they took a stool sample

instead of just pee.

As I walked away,

a policeman said to me,

“Stay away from Rose.

“She knows what you are,

and I think I saw it too,

last night in the road.

“I shot at something

that looked a lot like a wolf

and a bit like you.

“I’ve seen the movies

so I made my own bullets

with melted silver.

“I’ll be at her house

all night while the moon is up,

looking for trouble.”

I grinned awkwardly

as he showed me his bullets

shining in his hand.

As I turned to leave,

I said to the policeman,

“Give my love to Rose.”

“I need to get home.

I have a big dinner planned.

Eating pig tonight.”

I left the station

and made it home just in time.

The moonrise is soon.

Tonight is the night

I will see my Rose again

and make her my pet.

To love a woman -

and force her to be like you -

is the quest of man.

Perhaps just one bite

and she will become like me:

a werewolf in love.

Under the moonlight,

we will both eat together

a slab of raw cop.

He will try to run,

and we will play with our food

by letting him hope.

We’ll both tackle him

into a patch of soft grass

and have a picnic.

She will suck a vein

and I will suck the same vein

and our lips will meet.

We’ll bite the wishbone

and pull from opposite ends,

him still screaming.

Once all of the bones

are licked clean from red to white,

we hunt for dessert.

We pant together,

slowly gaining momentum,

until we both howl.

Hearing in my head

us howling in harmony

makes my eye water.

We leap above fog

and catch a glimpse of the stars,

fading into dawn.

As the sun rises,

we transform back together

in each other’s arms.

We then quickly run

through backyards back to my place,

and sleep on my couch.

Tonight is the night

(unless I’m reading Rose wrong),

when my dreams come true.

When the moon is full,

open up your throat and howl

and all will feel right.

The werewolf is near.

My whole body is shaking,

or is that my nerves?

When I get back home,

I’ll tell you all that happened -

unless I get killed.

I will be right back.

Don’t you worry about me,

dear haiku journal.

Werewolf Haiku is designed by

Lisa Kuhn, owner of Curio Press,

located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Curio Press is devoted to high

quality book design and packaging.

For more information, visit: www.curiopress.com

Cover background: Werewolf Image ©Curio Press/Ryan Mecum;

Rope ©iStockphoto.com/ RTimages; Torn paper ©iStockphoto.com/Andreas Unger

Interior Background ©iStockphoto.com/Maxim Filipchuk

pg. ii, Cover Envelope ©iStockphoto.com/Nic Taylor

pg. 5, 15,19, 23, 26, 31, 33, 38, 51, 53, 55, 58, 65, 69, 72, 80, 85,

87, 92, 95, 101, 103, 105, 116, 117 ©Curio Press/Ryan Mecum

pg. 41 Ambulance ©iStockphoto.com/Chris Bernard

pg. 75 Taxi ©iStockphoto.com/Hal Bergman

pg. 96 Girl eating steak ©iStockphoto.com/Valentin Casarsa

pg. 109 police car ©iStockphoto.com/Jason Henthorn

pg. Cover, 50, 78, 79, Stamps ©iStockphoto.com/Michelle Bennett

Illustrations ©Curio Press/Lisa Kuhn