Haiku

A new can of Spam
Pink gelatinous meat blob
I ain't eating that

Love it! :)

:: curtsy ::

Choosing employment
"Do art" said no one ever
I should have listened

Keep it simple Stu
Let the great ideas Flo
Quick and content Rich

Discussion forums
are not the place for haiku!
Art and words don't mix.

Of course I'm kidding.
After all, I started this.
I can't turn back now.

A fact in my house
Pet hair found in the kitchen
Is a condiment

Liz Truss for P M?
I don't think so any more
She's gone: close the door!

Why Five, Seven, Five?
I do not understand it.
Call me a numbskull.

Why Five, Seven, Five?
A mystery, it is true...
How it's always been.

Why iambic pentameter?
Why Alexandrine rhyme-schemes?
Why Limericks?

Write an Alexandrine Haiku Limerick anybody?! :)

Bright sunshine abounds
Summer flowers soon grow tall
Bees gather pollen


What's in a picture
Can you see the spirit there
Or linger awhile

Laughter lifted me
from the depths of broken dreams
Friends, dear treasured Friends

Can I forget you,
even now that you are gone?
I still dream of you.

Words appeared, useless
Reading now seemed tiresome
Sleep and dreams beckoned

Because I kissed you
I am forever broken
Never again love

Where is my pencil?
I need to make a drawing
And color it pink.

Wrote a poem today,
the best I've ever written.
Now I can't find it.

Five, seven and five
Is English language haiku
Not so in Japan

I didn't know that, Susan. What is the pattern there?

Two roads to follow:
I chose the one less traveled,
changing everything.

(With apologies to Robert Frost!)

Clever Tom spoke out
Attracting much attention
But sadly all left

Jon, there are actually quite a few rules to writing a real haiku besides the misguided syllable counting (which tends to make them too long by Japanese standards), which is a far cry from what we're doing here, and despite its simplicity (or perhaps because of it) it's actually considered fairly difficult to do well... and with good reason.

These sites will explain it better than I can without writing a missive:

https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/why-no-5-7-5
https://thehaikufoundation.org/some-thoughts-on-line-and-syllable-count-in-english-language-haiku/

And if you want to get really serious about it:
https://www.tofugu.com/japan/haiku/

Thanks! I'll check them out.

I've actually always liked the sparseness and discipline of having to work within the 5/7/5 parameters. But I'll be interested to see what the next levels are.

In the meantime, I'm thoroughly enjoying the thread, both reading others' posts and getting to write my own.

computer light room
publishing my photographs
wishing they would sell

My attempt at something a bit more traditional in the technically required nature theme (and 5-7-5 cuz English, but I did try for more brevity)

At morning's first light
the garden begins to sing
as day comes to life

I watched the eagles
High above in their aerie
They looked back at me

Today should be warm
Put old clothes on and pull weeds
Playing in the dirt

Based upon recent experiences with Amtrak:

Late train whispers lies,
Passengers wait, time stretched thin—
Hope clings to the rails.

Last night's storm rain, wind
Howling through the bending trees
Rain pounding on roofs

Puzzle pieces strewn
And nothing fits together
So like life, he thought

The pink azaleas
Glowing in the morning light
A dazzling color

Why write poetry
limited by syllables?
Because it's so fun!

A tanka:

Emails make offers
promising to buy our art.
"My wife likes your work!"
Artists must be diligent.
If it sounds too good, it is.

I changed the format
From haiku to a tanka
Today's new challenge
Grasping for words and counting
Five lines, seven syllables

Yesterday, I'm told,
was National Haiku Day:
April seventeenth!

The little birds chirp
Their sweet song in the background
They start before dawn
Waking me with gentleness
I cannot fall back to sleep

The mud on my jeans
Is the proof I pulled the weeds
Ah the Spring yardwork

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/blue-dragonfly-and-pink-lily-beverly-m-collins.html


calm joy so simple
blue dragonfly pink lily
drinking in the sun

 

It’s my first Haiku
Time for another ahchoo
Bless me, I thank you.

 

Through what tiny crevasse
Do these itty bitty ants
Get in my kitchen?

Sunday conundrum:
inaction born from freedom.
Not enough structure

 

An abstractionist
Gave consideration once
To another mode

Shouting at nothing
Then shouting at everything
Shouting down the wind

 


Not always a fact
A characterization
Can be misleading

 

To win the contest
They got all their friends to vote
Sadly, he had none

 

The cockatiel song
In the morning and at night
Is a pure delight
 

Distant lands awaited
Were they brave enough to go
Into the unknown

Their need to flee great
Must leave oppressors behind
Hoping for the best

Distances travelled
So long and so arduous
The rewards unknown

© L. A. Feldstein 2024

 

Haiku is for all
Haiku, although a strange brew
Haiku tastes alright

A midweek tanka with some alliteration for good measure.

Whoa! Hard to believe:
Wednesday is already here.
Weeks go whizzing by!
Where were these speedy workweeks
when I was in the workforce?

 

An owl observing
Many others flying by
Hooted happily
Feeling inspired anew —
Soars upward on silent wings.

 

I Tanka you, dear!
You’re so welcome, what’d I do?
Composing Tanka!
You’re being way too obscure.
I Tanka you anyway!

Carefully watching
As the two birds danced and sang
A loving couple?
Soon to set up housekeeping?
Nurturing little nestlings?