A Post a Day in May #3: Haikus for spring

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I have pledged to write a new post for this blog every day in May.

Playing with form is not only fun but great discipline for me as a writer. What depth of feeling and breadth of story can I tell when constricted by the standards of a specific form? For example: review a book in 300 words, a documentary in 500 words, or a blog post in about 400. It’s always a challenge, with results that vary from good to abject failure. But there is always enjoyment and appreciation in the trying. It’s a bit like scales for a piano player, I think: Out of the discipline of practice comes confidence in performance. 

Today, I offer some of that practice in the form of haiku. In its strictest most authentic version, “a traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression…” [Source: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/haiku-poetic-form]

A classic example is by Matsuo Basho, who wrote this oft-cited haiku:

An old pond!
A frog jumps in—
the sound of water.

I make no pretension of having his mastery, but I do enjoy the challenge of the 5/7/5 pattern:

Spring One
5 Brown. Blue. Green. Warm. White.
7 Hidden under cover greens
5 Wait for sun’s return. 

Spring Two
5 Birds fly. Cats roam. Free.
7 Swoop. Leap. Freedom lost by one.
5 Our short sight to blame. 

Spring Three
5 The lake sleeps in ice. 
7 Season’s change brings openings
5 Shifts within the depths. 


It’s rather like doodling with words, I think — and way more fun than Sudoku, if you’re looking for brain calisthenics! 

Thanks for reading. 

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Writers want to be read; at least, this writer wants to be read, so comments, rebuttals and feedback are all welcome. Subscribe to the blog to receive the posts direct into your email inbox.

Comments

  1. FintaMay 3, 2019 at 5:52 AM

    Mist outside windows.
    Dogwoods exploding blossoms.
    Behold, spring again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Susan HealdMay 3, 2019 at 11:53 AM

    I appreciate your ideas on the discipline of practice leading to confidence in performance. And how experimenting with form expands and improves that. I will take these ideas outside to work with my horses on this spring day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan HealdMay 3, 2019 at 11:07 PM

      Now I'm really mad--it says I'm replying as sheald53@gmail.com and then calls me "Unknown." Hrmph. An unknown. Me!?! LOL.

      Delete
  3. PamelakatMay 3, 2019 at 11:15 PM

    Your haikus are as fresh as little watercolour paintings, Amanda!

    In a less creative mode - I caught this incredibly prosaic haiku right where your words ended and mine began:

    Enter your comment.
    Comments are moderated.
    Please be respectful.

    :D

    ReplyDelete

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