Haikus for Hadley

by Kimberly and Hadley Phinney

I.

You are a meadow

of gentle, swaying heather,

painting Heaven lilac hues.

II.

You are a poem

little birds sing in the sky,

calling: Sun, awake!

III.

You are a flower,

using your body to make

beauty in gardens.

IV.

You are my prayer,

sung and cried one million times

into existence.

Amen.

THE STORY BEHIND “HAIKUS FOR HADLEY”

We learn so much from our children—especially in those quiet moments before bed. Two of the most beautiful lines in these haikus come from my little one, Hadley—not me.

Interestingly, her name is from English origins and means “heather field” or “field of flowers.” We picked this name for its meaning but also because it was the name of Ernest Hemingway’s first wife—a woman he writes so warmly about, particularly in his memoir A Moveable Feast. Hadley was, to Hemingway, everything that was good, kind, pure, and noble in this world. And she always would be—even until his tragic death.

This derivation is what makes these here lines so apropos. Before bed, over the course of two weeks, Hadley whispered in my ear: “Mommy, did you know flowers use their bodies to make gardens?” and then, “Mommy, you are like a little poem birds sing.” I find it so uncanny that my child is the embodiment of poetry—not just because of the sweet phrases she sings, but because of the way she goes out into the world.

For her, it’s so typical to see mommy reading, writing, editing, performing, and publishing poetry. It’s no surprise she’s already asking to publish her own. So, in the spirit of making this dream come true and honoring our mission here at The Way Back to Ourselves, I wanted to celebrate our youngest voice of all.

May we all make our lives like little poems bird’s sing.

Kimberly Phinney is a national award-winning AP English instructor and professional photographer. She’s been published in Christianity Today’s Ekstasis Magazine, Ruminate, The Dewdrop, Amethyst Review, Calla Press, Heart of Flesh, Agape Review, The Clayjar Review, Sunday Mornings at the River, and The Write Launch, among others. She has her M.Ed. in English and studied at Goddard’s MFA program in Creative Writing. She is founder and editor of this fine literary journal and platform, The Way Back to Ourselves, and is a poetry editor with Agape Review. After almost dying from severe illness in 2021, she’s earning her doctorate in counseling to help the marginalized and suffering.

Hadley Phinney is a sensitive, creative, and precocious 5-year-old. She loves to sing, dance, garden, and ride her bike at sunset to “Build Me Up Buttercup.” When she’s not working hard in kindergarten, you can find her creating her own coloring books and working on a bit of poetry with her mommy. But don’t be confused: she’s a daddy’s girl, through and through.