FIVE HAIKU

In mathematics
There’s beauty in abstraction--
Just forget the world.

Outside the classroom,
Where you learn about haiku,
Blooms a cherry tree.

If only this poem
Were like a smile on your face--
I would be content.

Like a silly pup
In pursuit of a rabbit--
I court my darling.

With all these numbers
I forgot how to measure
The time without you.

                        October 13, 1999
                      --Alexander Shaumyan