Monday, January 29, 2007

haiku challenge

Playing with the haiku form recently, I have begun to appreciate how difficult and yet how expansive it can be.

Here are some properties of a haiku
  • a 3 line form consisting of 5, 7 and 5 syllables
  • contains a word called (the kigo) which directly makes reference to the season, e.g. snow indicating winter
  • incorporates a distinct grammatical break (the kireji) at the end of either the first or second line
  • captures a moment or a setting
  • haiku usually are reflections upon the natural world, senryu follow the same form but are reflections on human nature and may be humorous
  • haiku and senryu usually manifest the Japanese aesthetic referred to as wabi-sabi, a beauty hallmarked by imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness with a gentle slightly mournful appeal.


Here are some haiku and senryu.

The first soft snow!
Enough to bend the leaves
Of the jonquil low.
- Basho

the morning paper
harbinger of good and ill
- - I step over it
- McCroskey

grab and go coffee ...
breathe to let stories unfold
tea leaves brew slowly
- alan mee

My Online Girlfriend
Might be a supermodel
Or a big fat man.
- mr. big

summer is coming
break out the barbecue set
enjoy undercooked meat
- five spice


The challenge, compose a haiku or senryu and post here. The people who reply can decide the winner. The prize, a smug inner glow.

For more information ...
haiku
wabi-sabi
apple flower

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Five syllable here
and seven syllable there
make a haiku clear

Is the format correct?

am said...

The format is correct in terms of the syllables.

There is no kigo and no kireji so it is not traditional in those respects.

A haiku also is not so linear, it does not follow a logical pattern such as A therefore B therfore C. It is more of a puzzle. I think there is a need to have two contrasting images.

Nevertheless, I like this and what a great way to express what a haiku is, by writing a haiku itself.

How very fractal of you!

Sue said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sue said...

Love like summer sun...
I crave its shining warmth.
My how good it feels.

jmnsw said...

Angels sprinkle dusk
January night comes in
I walk in dreamland

Dark angels chase light
Summertime hazy blackness
I dive into dream

Light chases dark away
Kookaburras greet dawn light
I turn and lie in

am said...

Some great haiku here, particularly like the sequence from jmnsw.

I will have to work on some more. Here is one, this is still a work in progress. This senryu tries to capture the farewells we are now saying.



Beginnings, endings
A different man says farewell -
thankful for the change