Skin Of A River Birch, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2007, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
haiku (one-a-day)
This post was created for a very specific purpose: writing a haiku a day. Some of our readers have expressed an interest in haiku. And some have left haiku in our comments on various posts. I wanted to create a space for our readers to come back to, anytime they wanted, and drop in a daily haiku.
Last year for the 4 season Writing Intensive in Taos, we read Clark Strand’s, Seeds from a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey. It is a book I go back to often to support the practice of writing.
Clark Strand is a former Zen Buddhist monk. In 1996 he left his position as senior editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review to write and teach full time. In Seeds from a Birch Tree, he describes haiku as the following:
A haiku is a seventeen-syllable poem about the season. Arranged in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables, and balanced on a pause, a haiku presents one event from life happening now. However much we may say about haiku, its history or its various schools, it is difficult to go beyond these three simple rules: form, season, and present mind.
loving its whiteness
I walk around the birch tree
to the other side
haiku practice
When we did our post a few days ago on the release of Natalie Goldberg’s new book, Old Friend from Far Away, one of our regular readers, breathepeace, made several comments on haiku as a practice:
Natalie introduced me to haiku poetry. This year, I am committed to write one each day (or more if I choose).
Haiku is a precise way of working with words and I have found that it does lead me to other writing: poems, essays, etc. I’ve also learned that it helps me to focus on detail, finding just the right word (with the right number of syllables!) and, yes, it is a bite-sized writing practice. I’m happy to hear others exploring and playing with the haiku form.
According to Clark Strand, all you need to write haiku is some familiarity with the form and a simple notebook:
The correct way to use a haiku diary is just to be very free and open. Don’t set a single format. Don’t organize the book five haiku to a page or limit it to poems and dates, excluding prose. You may even find that you jot down an occasional phone number or appointment in its pages when no other book is handy, or — if you are an artist — a sketch of some interesting scene.
Write down your haiku just as they come to mind, without too much deliberation over whether they are good or bad. Improvement takes place slowly, so set them down the way they come and stay alert for the next opportunity to write.
haiku walk
In the summer of 2006, Natalie took us on a field trip to some of her favorite places at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. We wrote, swam, and took a haiku walk up Box Canyon. For me, Ghost Ranch was one of the most inspiring trips of the year. Natalie had us follow Clark Strand’s outline for walking and writing haiku:
In the simplest form, writing haiku is closer to collecting shells than searching for the proper word. When you go to the shore to collect shells, you just walk along in a relaxed way, now and then stooping down to look at something interesting or beautiful. Sometimes you pick up a fragment for its shape or color, and sometimes a fully formed shell. If you take a daily haiku walk in this same spirit, soon you will find that haiku come all by themselves.
Loosely, Strand’s haiku walk goes something like this:
beginning
-
make sure your purpose is only to walk, to be outside in nature
-
you’re not trying to get somewhere, or even to write haiku
-
relax into the feeling of being outdoors
-
notice weather, plants, animals, but keep walking
middle
-
let your body loosen and relax
-
let nature displace the ordinary day to day concerns
-
take time to pause over things that strike you as beautiful
-
pauses create space in your life for something to enter
end (beginner’s mind)
- let that something come in
- take your notebook out of your pocket and carry it in your hand
- the space you created in your life a few minutes ago now becomes the space to write a poem
Last year, I walked a local labyrinth in St. Paul to write haiku. But it can be as simple as walking around your neighborhood. Or walking around the block. After a while you won’t need to structure your walks anymore. You’ll know the right moment to write.
haiku - looking out, looking in
Haiku as a poetry form provides a way to be present to the outside, in order to go deeper within. Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, is known for his haiku. In the year before he died, he wrote the following verse:
Chrysanthemums bloom
in a gap between the stones
of a stonecutter’s yard
Near the end of Seeds from a Birch Tree, Strand speaks of Basho’s greatest work, The Narrow Road to the Deep North:
Haiku, in many ways the most outward, most concrete, and most perpetually grounded form of poetry, is also the most inward. It requires a lot of inner work.
Basho titled his greatest work Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North). Basho traveled a long way north on a journey with his student and fellow poet Sora and kept a diary of his travels. The diary contains some of his most famous haiku.
The way north is the way within. This kind of understanding comes when we realize that in looking out, we are also looking in. We learn it by looking carefully at the world.
Basho said: There is one thing which flows through all great art, and that is a mind to follow nature, and return to nature.
Feel free to drop a haiku into the comments in this post, any time, day or night. Tomorrow, or 52 days from now. It doesn’t matter.
Write a haiku a day for a month. If you wish, break structure and form. Be playful with your writing. With practice, you’ll find your way home.
-posted on red Ravine, Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
-one writer’s review of Seeds from a Birch Tree, Hyperion, 1997 (including more haiku from the book): Tony Lipka on Clark Strand’s Haiku of Mindfulness
-short bio of Clark Strand: World Wisdom


I love Haiku. I think I mentioned this before, but I used to write them all the time:
http://thelonebeader.blogspot.com/search?q=haiku
I understand that all 3 lines of the haiku should never form a complete sentence…
Thanks for the link, LB. I saw that you had one published as well. (And your beadwork, too!) I like the Roadside Haiku and the Celtic Woman Haiku. Great collection. Looking forward to reading more.
I love haiku. It is beautiful.
Nice blog by the way.
Welcome, Becky. Thanks for stopping by.
Here’s my haiku for today. I wrote it in the shower in the early a.m. (I do some of my best writing in the shower). The floor was ice cold. I stepped through a ray of sun, shining through the bathroom window. Maybe I was sleepwalking.
minus seventeen
January sun covers
the mole on my cheek
Thank you, QM, for sharing the details of haiku and for reminding me about taking a haiku walk. I am so grateful that you have dedicated a space for writers to share haiku. I hope that many will leave a trail of haiku breadcumbs for all of us to follow.
winter cottonwood:
branches, earth’s capillaries,
reach into blue sky
breathepeace, thank you for waking me up to haiku practice again. I really enjoy it. It grounds me. And it was deeply gratifying to write this post. Deep bow.
This is a great post, QM. The green in the photo is amazing. Would it be silly for me to say it doesn’t even look natural, it’s such an intense and odd color?
Speaking of intense, this is an intense day at work. I didn’t want to comment on this post until I had a haiku to add. One came to me after a marathon of meetings, sitting back, looking up at the ceiling. Here it is:
the florescent lights
oddly soothing in their way
still, outside beckons
QM, thank you for this great post. I had already decided that a haiku a day would be good for me to do, and then you came up with these very instructive and informative guides. As little as I get outside when it’s cold…dash to work; store; meetings; home again;
still, living on the edge of town, with my view of mountains, etc. I will try to get as much nature into my poems as I can. The other morning, I raised the shade and surprised a deer breaking her fast, only inches away from my window. It prompted me to write:
deer in my garden,
surprised brown eyes on both sides
of glass in between!
One day, as I was counting syllables, it reminded me of when I was editor of the front page of my high school newspaper, and one of my tasks was to write the headlines. The similarities of haiku and headlines being that headlines have to tell what the story is about and fit into a very specific, limited space. It was a challenge which I enjoyed and had fun with.
YB, I had to grin when I got this mental image of you staring up at the lights, wishing you were outside!
ybonesy, I like your haiku about light, inside and out. And how odd the light is in most work places. In some ways, it’s the quality of light the day I took the birch shot that makes that green so intense.
It was taken the same day as this shot – Calm Before The Storm (LINK). And a huge storm was moving into Minnesota that night. It’s almost like the grass behind the tree is an eerie mint green.
Marylin, I love your haiku. Such a sense of humor…it made me smile, imagining those two sets of brown eyes.
I think it is wonderful that you’re going to do the haiku a day. You might be surprised with how much nature is also around when you are dashing to and home from work. It always surprises me when I pay attention.
I know what you mean about the limited space of headlines. Definitely a challenge. Just the right words are needed.
BTW, after a while, you get to break the rules, too. And write haiku about anything you want to write it about. Whatever gets us to write! It’s really the dedicated practice of seeing that changes us.
Hope you are staying warm out your way. We are headed back into the deep freeze tomorrow. Extremes are always good for the writing!
Love the photo, too, QM. It is great inspiration:
peeling white birch bark:
seeing beneath outer skin
tenderness revealed
breathepeace, “tenderness revealed” – such a lovely line. And exactly the way I feel when I catch a glimpse of what’s under the skin of a tree.
I just got back from a rushed trip to the dentist. But this practice made me pay attention. I wrote this walking into her office. Not much more time to comment right now. I’ll be back later!
orange ring circles elm
black ice sidewalk, building plate -
1895
QM — Nice haiku. I can “see” your walk into the dentist’s office. I hope the dental equipment is newer than the building…and that your teeth are not in “crisis.”
For me, “tenderness revealed” spoke of both trees and people, when paired with “seeing beneath outer skin.” It provided the space for it to mean just that or maybe something more.
QM, I am willing to finally bare my soul! I have always surrounded myself by nature. I thrive on the relaxation & joy I gain, whether it be the river, the beach, the places I have visited, or the exterior of the places I have called “home”. For years J & I were fortunate enough to rent the farm house we affectionately called “Green Acres”.
Now we find ouselves in the home we invested in, surrounded by trees & wildlife. We like seclusion. I could never live in a city, though I know well that it works for others. Most of our observations here are very much like the description that Marylin wrote about in her comments. Behind glass windows, we have witnessed the true beauty that nature offers! Deer, squirrels, all varieties of wild birds, and the occasional wild turkeys that drink from our stream & make their journey( to wheverver the heck they go) through our back yard. Open a door & they dash away!
I have never tried my hand at Haiku, though I find these posts to be quite interesting. I made a decision to try one a week. I have never done this type of practice before. I wrote one last week & one today. It surprised me that both had to do with the loss of 5 trees the week before Christmas. We had a series of ice storms. The trees stood little chance of surviving the weight of the heavy ice. We sat in our living room, nothing we could do. In a period of only 2 days we lost a Weeping Willow tree, a cherry tree, & 3 others . Two of them completely uprooted by the domino effect. Mind you, these were tall & well established trees, at least 70 feet tall or better. I have an issue looking at the devastion still there. Well, what this is leading to are last weeks haiku & todays, so I will type them in that order.
midwinter sunshine
floods through the naked tree top,
warmth before nights chill
snow falling, like the
trees felled by ice storms past
wood for next winter
Any critique or comments would be helpful to me as I intend to continue this practice. D
diddy, I was just going to head to bed and decided to check for comments. I’m glad I did. Your haiku are wonderful. Don’t change a thing. I’m so excited you are doing the haiku practice once a week. It is a great gift to yourself (and to us).
I feel for the loss of those trees. I know what the land around your home looks like and the deep well of trees that drops in front of the house is part of the serenity of your place. I’m so sorry you lost them. It is a kind of grieving process.
We are surrounded by a few old growth oaks here. And every time we get our violent spring and summer storms, I’m so afraid one or more is going to topple. I can see why the haiku led you to those beautiful trees. It’s kind of a memorial to them, a thing of honor.
Looking forward to your weekly practices. Anything else you discover along the way, about the practice, your writing, the haiku, would be wonderful to learn. I’m heading to bed soon. Sweet dreams to all in your part of the country.
breathepeace, no crisis here. Just the second appointment in a series to get a crown on. She cemented the porcelain into place today. I feel like a new woman (chomp, chomp).
Yes, the tenderness revealed…trees and people. Underneath the skin. The great thing about haiku is there are so few words, the interpretations can stretch out beyond…like when I used the 1895, I had no idea if anyone would know what I mean. You did.
And, yes, dental equipment was much newer than the building. I had no idea that building was that old until I slowed down and paid attention to the numbers etched near the steps as I was walking inside.
QM, thanks for your comments. Anyway you can correct sushine to sunshine? I laughed after I sent off the comment (it pays to proof read before hitting submit comment )! I’m still adjusting to the laptops smaller , more sensitive keyboard! I was afraid that anyone reading sushine would think I had taken a stroll down by the stream & that some fish had jumped out of the water & I was eating a raw frozen fish! I hope to find myself feeling more comfortable with haiku. As the year goes by I look forward to this practice!
Pleasant dreams to you & if you & yb are still meeting tomorrow, I wish you both well in your decision process. D
lol, I just corrected it. You know, I didn’t even catch that. My eye glossed over it and added in the N. Yep, we are still meeting. We’ll see what happens. More will be revealed. Night.
Ditto diddy (I like saying that). The two haikus flow well. I can hear and feel the pause. And the sense of resignation and sadness with the second one, esp. I’m thrilled you’re doing this!!
gray heater throws light
summer wasps hide between gusts
of bitter wind chills
Hi gang, hope it’s ok if I just jump right in. All your haiku are wonderful, you folks rock! I just learned about haiku this week, QM your blog being very timely for me. And the 1895 thing was very clever. My initial thoughts about haiku regarded the spiritualiy side, trying to rejuvenate .. I love thinking about these things.. even though I have broken the rules on several. They are cathartic. Happy writing all.
ice sliding from leaves
my cheeks turning red from cold,
the morning smoke break.
half-moon halo glows
clouds rush by in sequenced steps,
snow is on the way
frozen dormant grass
sage brush dusted powder white
sun is barely there
i will break the rules
my friend gave me permission
to write from the heart
HELP! someone stop me,
I’m thinking in haiku form
something’s wrong with me!
OK, I woke up feeling silly, but it’s true…I keep thinking of haiku. counting syllables of lines of words, and when this dawned on me, I thought “this is crazy!”
(QM, it’s your fault, you told me that later we could break rules…just kidding, but you can see the progression of the 3 haiku above, from the serious to the ridiculous.) Anyway, I am having fun with haiku.
freespirit, welcome. I’m delighted you have jumped right in. “Ice sliding on leaves” and “clouds rush by in sequenced steps” – great visual lines. I hope you keep writing with us. I find the practice cathartic, too.
I stepped outside today in our yard to start the car (it’s -4 here today, -24 with the windchill) and there was haiku glowing all around me.
marylin, it’s so great that you’re having so much fun with these. I get silly with them, too. They are fun to write. And so grounding. Laughter is the best medicine. And to have laughter surface in haiku form – what better thing than that!
The “sage brush dusted powder white” – ah, what a lovely western image. We don’t get the same kind of sage here. I miss it.
Marylin, I forgot one more thing I wanted to mention about your comment (#22) – the “thinking in haiku” that happens when we write that kind of poetry, that’s part of the structure of the practice. And a part I love.
I find it very grounding. And comforting to know how few words we need to communicate the things that are important. Everything can be distilled down to its essence – it’s true nature.
QM, thanks for this post. You have given me a great introduction to the writing of haiku, all right here!
I love the idea of a haiku walk that opens up into writing. Sounds like an open space of serenity.
The haiku you show by Matsuo Basho is amazing – so much is said beyond the images. I started thinking about the messages between the lines, how they can be more palpable then the words that are said. The chrysathamums that grow in the spaces, the space between the breath, it goes on and on.
Thanks for this post! I’ll have to get into a haiku space more often.
Thanks for this definition. I’ve been taking a stab at Haiku on my poetry blog. I’m not sure I’m exactly following the rules, but I am busily having fun. My sense is the “balance” element is about paradox or contradiction.
C, your comment has such a peacefulness to it. The haiku walk, yes, it seems to create a space inside to write, a place to let something come in, inspired by the ordinary. All the things between the spaces are so important. Yet many times invisible. We really have to pay attention to see them.
For me, it’s so tempting to stay distracted (or frozen, one or the other) so that it becomes hard to see. I’m happy for any time I let myself practice and stay connected to what’s important to me. I hope you’ll post a haiku here once in a while. Would be lovely to see them.
TIV, I’m glad you’re having fun with the haiku. I like how Clark Strand describes that “balance” piece:
I don’t know if it’s as much a contradiction as a nice little surprise that happens when we let the space open up. For me at least, it’s not so much a thinking thing as it is something I don’t even understand. The best ones come when I don’t think too much. I hope you’ll come back and share a few of your haiku with us.
Thanks QM, Ditto Marylin regarding the “silly” feeling and counting. I also agree with QM about feeling grounded. I have just discovered the haiku, and the best part so far for me is I can compose one on the spot, in a very short time during breaks outside. Gives me a peaceful feeling. It was very cold this morning at the beach and as I stood on the balcony looking across at the roofline of the adjacent building this one popped out in about two minutes.
Orange hue glows soft
Where the roof line meets firewall,
Pre Sunrise Aura.
Have fun everybody.
freespirit, nice. I can see the aura at the bend of the line. I just finished watching a Lewis Hine documentary and was thus influenced. And then, well, a short walk outside.
puffs of child labor
Lewis Hine photographs life
no one wants to see
ironman on steel beam
wind surge, bolts of light freezing
the Empire State’s skirt
snow flies in the face
of an innocent Flicker
polka dot feather
What a joy to return from my weekend trip to Durango, CO and find so many wonderful haiku poems posted here!
over mountain pass–
black ribbon of road unwinds
through snowy canyon
MEG
expectations freeze
health evaporates like frost–
cold reality
walls of dirty snow
lining highway, scraped by plows
over Wolf Creek Pass
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silver bird descends,
sound of breaking frozen air
incites sun dogs’ wrath!
noses to the ground
on the scent of recent game,
hiking with my dogs.
frost on a crow’s wing
beating heart frozen in lungs
water alchemy
When I came back and read this again, I wanted to change water to winter. Hmmm.
frost on a crow’s wing
beating heart frozen in lungs
winter alchemy
oliverowl, there have been 2 Sundogs here in the last few weeks. Liz snapped a few phone pics of one day before yesterday. I had never seen one before (that I remembered or knew what I was looking at). Really cool.
I went on a haiku walk this Sunday. I was weary from the preceding week, and feeling blue. I wrote the first haiku after twenty minutes of walking along the sidewalk in my town, and the second after an hour along the same sidewalk:
a distant sun pales
her heart turns to ice again
she walks searthing warmth
snow crusts drought-burned grass
cedar fingers graze thin clouds
hope shines from the sky
Thanks for this idea of creating space through a meditative or contemplative walk. Walking soothes the soul, for sure.
moon-wolf steals my sleep
his light arresting my dreams
cringe in fetal curl
i need to hear them
the voices of my children
manna for my soul
The two haiku I just posted have no connection…at least i didn’t mean for them to. Maybe the fates put them together, knowing i am feeling very lonely.
mariachristina, your haikus spoke to me, very eloquent. Hi all, amazing writing, I am in the company of literary geniuses.
as a cold wind blows
brushwood waves gently wand like,
a brisk winter day.
QM, I like the second one much better, excellent change in wording.. means so much more, IMHO
Welcome, freespirit!
Here’s one for today:
faucets and noses
drips pounding in woken dreams
wet and cold and hard
C, I loved that you added the timing of the minutes into your walk when you wrote each haiku. That added a richness for me about the practice of walking and writing. Creating space. I noticed the futher along in the walk, how the focus shifts outside to the cedar and a hope that creeps in. I hope your blues have lightened since last week. Thank you for sharing. And to Clark Strand and Natalie, gratitude for passing down this practice.
marylin, I like your two haiku together. And loneliness, the old Black Dog. I remember a write I did about it. Natalie talks about the Black Dog of loneliness in Bones. It reminded me of a series of art work a friend had worked on. Here’s the link to that post if you’re interested: Listen for the Black Dog (LINK).
freespirit, I so enjoy when you stop by. It makes me smile. I like the brushwood, wand like. And now I want to know what brushwood is.
yb, noses & facets, oh, feel better yb!
QM, my blues lifted during the walk – you read the haiku the way I experienced it- as a lifting of my spirits.
I’m enjoying everyone else’s poems as well. Some are very intimate, with small details close to home, others are expansive. Good for the soul kind of writing.
I’ll be back tomorrow after my haiku walk. A nice Sunday haiku space might turn into a new winter tradition.
yb, clever use of metaphor, I liked that.
Thanks QM, I am so glad you put together this blog. Everyones writing brings me peace, it’s as if I am there on their walks. If I may, allow me to quote from a book I am reading, “The only way we know it’s true is that we both dreamed it. That’s what reality is. It’s a dream everyone has together.” f/ Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides pg. 343
shot like an arrow
red fox bolts from a thicket
all thats left, a streak.
as a cold wind howls
one lone leaf flips on its side,
where is my warm mate?
freespirit, I like that definition of reality – a dream everyone has together. Community. Thank you for the quote. It looks like a totem has shown up in your haiku – the fox. I can feel the pause in the “streak.” Some friends of mine have recently spotted a fox near their pond. She brings them great joy. You don’t often see them in the daylight, as they are nocturnal hunters. They are such beautiful animals.
in Noble Silence
except loud crunching chorus:
Buddhists eating nuts
empty snow pocket
coffee stokes the frosty morn
counting, cedars breathe
cold winter morning
half-moon shines in ink black sky–
missing my children
on the forest floor,
lasered sunbeams through branches
strike morning light pools
icicle dangles
42 to -4
rivers turn to dams
Okay, I went outside over lunch and found out pretty quickly that I need to make a slight alteration on my haiku for today. Brrrrrr….those wind chills.
friendly amendment
-40 and dropping
tear ducts turn to stone
engine slowly cranks
glass fogs in snowflake patterns
oil as thick as blood
clouds drip toward the ground
suffocating from here, inside
the 5th floor window
steering wheel stiffens
finch whistling, crooked oak branch
ice scraper tongue curls
[...] to posts, haiku (one-a-day) and The Politics Of Primary Season 2008 (A Presidential [...]
in Palm Springs airport
black birds walk through terminal
people wait to fly
lunchtime murmur, “skin and bones”
here at the OK corral
three words float to me
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
This is a lovely blog find. For a long while I did a daily haiku/photo on my photoblog. Got away from that, but I think I may need to re-instate it. BTW I recognize a lot of company on your blogroll. Can I hang around a bit?
nib dipped in black ink
pen to paper scrawling words
writers communing
barbara, welcome. Photos and haiku just seem to go together somehow. Good practice, too. Glad you see some friends on our blogroll. Please join us anytime.
—————-
wet snow, waffle sole
traversing the parking lot
on my way back home
writing project looms
Wednesday frost, a day of rest
got to get to work
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
Flamingos roosting
midstream turn away from me
photo resistant.
See the fore-mentioned flamingos at
http://gardengrow.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/finding-a-flurry-of-flamingoes/
another cold day–
body craving warm spring sun
to bring sad heart hope
cats roam the house wild
I scrape the icy windshield
spring runs in their blood
What a lovely idea. Three rather different haiku from a walk in my local park today:
Salt dries on my cheeks.
Crystals I must brush away
Memories of lost love
Starving seagulls shriek
Flailing white wings struggle. Why?
Just a bit of bread.
Neat red-scalloped feet
Black water jewelled feathers
Moorhens just paddle
Jessica, welcome – 3 wonderful haiku. Made me realize, too, I have no idea what a moorhen is (?).
And I wanted to say to everyone how much I am enjoying all the haiku. It is a great mix of flowing poetry, a few comments here and there, old friends and new readers, popping in and out. Really lovely.
—–
flurries mid-morning
bare branches bend in the wind
blanket of stone gray
remembering taos
slow walking d h lawrence ranch
q m by my side
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Little one flits above
swinging feeder filled with seed
Junco in wind storm
bo
Wyoming — A Haiku Poem
Wyoming wind sucks
energy and life from me
fueling its fury
third day of high winds
cold, bone-jarring, nerve rattling–
why do I live here?
antelope grazing,
wide blue skies, open prairie:
reasons to remain
written after a drive from Powell, going west to Cody:
clouds rest on mountain
hanging a gossamer veil
of angels’ tear drops
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the darkness surrounds him
shivering silently alone
awaiting the warmth of knowledge
R3, welcome to haiku land.
The one you wrote is kind of unsettled like the one I wrote last week. It makes me want to know more.
More good haiku has appeared over the last week. I like the Wyoming trilogy, breathepeace. oliverowl, lovely. Isn’t driving one of the best places to write haiku? barbara, junco in windstorm – and the swinging feeder. How *do* they hang on?
—————
standing in a cloud
following my tracks through snow
to get to the car
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[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
a marriage ended,
but it never really was,
we were pretending
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
angle of the light
inimitably winter
against white houses
-8 rises
the pit of winter’s belly
white rings on the pond
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frigid cold, haiku
struggles to take off, falls down,
wings heavy with ice
restless mind stains paper
silent birds watch as thoughts explode
I smile as words take flight
beautiful haiku, R3, Jude, stranger, oliverowl.
—————-
crow wraps the ash branch
Pants cackles in the background
hungry for more Spring
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[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
a little haiku humor derived from leafing thru a House Beautiful magazine; coming across a page full of wall sconces:
do not look askance
at a sconce upon a wall
that might make it fall
oliverowl, that’s a fun haiku. It reminds me of the limericks I heard at the Victorian Poetry slam a few weeks ago. There is a whimsy about it that makes me smile. Fun!
[...] to post, haiku (one-a-day) and WRITING TOPIC – [...]
qm, I like your moondog haiku, as well as the great photo!
from warm dunes of sand
destiny laughed and moved me
to cold drifts of snow
On snow dusted pine
crimson cardinals must wait
bluejays do not share
new day, no snow dust
bluejays must wait their turn now
the woodpecker rules
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day) and snow flying on ice (sound [...]
I have been an admirer of Natalie’s work since 1988 and was lucky enough to attend her workshop in Minneapolis in 1992. I mainly write plays although I did write a short (29 pages) memoir about a friend who died in 2005. The CD version of “Old Friend from Far Away” was invaluable in getting me started. Does anyone know whether the book is the same as the CD version or has it been expanded?
Anyway, here is a haiku from one of my early notebooks.
A white saltshaker
Beside its forever friend.
Do they ever fight?
Robert, welcome. And great haiku. The CD version of Old Friend from Far Away is completely different. My understanding of the new book is that it is as close a sequel to Writing Down the Bones as you can get. I think the title is rooted in Zen and somehow relates the CD and book, but they are not the same.
Here is something Natalie recently said about her new book, Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir (LINK):
The book is so much like her teaching. If you buy it, please come back and share with us. Hope you visit red Ravine again. And keep the pen moving!
To QuoinMonkey,
Thanks for the info. I will be purchasing the book shortly and will continue to look in on this site.
“Writing Down the Bones” as it was for so many others, was my introduction to Natalie’s work. It is simply the best book on and about writing I know.
[...] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
My walker and I,
Busy creeping and creaking,
Both need a lube job.
Robert, your haiku have a playful quality to them. Thanks for joining us.
——————
spots of flaky snow
cats curl around the heater
shedding winter coats
[...] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
spiders in the sky
weaving webs of fleecy white
will they catch rainbows?
tulip leaves poke up
from dirt in winter garden
testing for spring air
[...] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
sunset’s rays approach
past bare spindly branches, as
pre-spring buds await
Hi Bones and QM,
freespirit, you’re back! So great to see your haiku again. I bet it’s quite spring-like in your neck of the woods. The season comes so much earlier there. Very lush. And the smells – the sweet smell of Spring. Makes me want to breathe a little deeper.
oliverowl & breathepeace, I like when, by chance, your haikus follow one another’s. I imagine you both looking out on the mountains out West (oh, how I miss the mountains!).
diddy, I like your diptych of haikus and the journey of the blue jay through each of them. I can picture the view from your kitchen window.
morning mother wakes
thin light cracking through the blinds
babe now deeply sleeps
nice, Linda. I just took a walk on my break. It is so beautiful outside. I’ve got Spring fever.
_______________________
north wind through my hair
slow walking the parking lot
crow grazes the moon
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), Meet [...]
Craving the Last Laugh,
An empty, foolish vigil
For Victory’s dregs.
This one-a-day busines is tough. Would you believe one a week?
snowy Palm Sunday–
winter drags its sorry ass
right on into spring
Yes, one a day is a challenge…and led to this entry for Wednesday, March 12:
one haiku a day:
seventy-two completed
most of them are sh*t
Oh, but some days there is a freshness to the words and that “ahhh” pause is there that seems to live in a good haiku. Writing one a day helps create the space for the “ahhh” to arrive.
As soon as I got off the computer last night, I came up with what might be a better haiku on the subject I was struggling with during entry # 111. I wrote it down on what was available, an unused book marker. I qualified the “better” because it’s not necessarily up to me. But I do hope that this version does a “better” job of creating the space/leap between the second and third line which Natalie writes about.
A dubious goal:
Always getting the Last Laugh
That’s God’s department.
I’m inspired by your stick-to-it-iveness on writing one a day (or even one a week). These are great haikus. I do hear or see the ahh pause in them.
I sit and eat runts
a habit learned from children
rotting adult teeth
#113 — Yes! the leap is there.
Spring arrives early
Songbirds awaken my sleep
music for the mind
light snow blankets ground
on gray March prairie morning–
gone by afternoon
March moon is the crows’,
crows rose out of the corn field
Vincent left this life
listen! spring birds sing
survival songs in nature:
Chinese Tibetans
[...] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
Some great haiku here. Love the back and forth with breathepeace, Robert, oliverowl, diddy. Steady as she goes.
Minnesota can’t decide if it’s spring or winter. She’s making up her mind.
_________________
soles sliding across
spring’s underbelly – frozen
mud hard as a rock
plastic shopping bag
waves from a cottonwood branch:
urban foliage
mysteriously
five, seven and five again,
draws us back and back
breathepeace, nice! the urban foliage got me.
stranger, are you blogging again? did I miss something?
going was coming
for the ancient ones, QM,
I am back -
to front
(Is this a haiku?)
“is this a haiku?”
WOW, yes! 94stranger–
a very good one
hi, haiku stranger
it’s been a long winter
sad to see it go
glad to have you back
the ancient ones are smiling
stranger’s among friends
[...] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
Winter says good-bye
with final breath ,”Welcome Spring”
Earth’s belly explodes
what is a cliche?
lazy communication
dive in deep word-pool
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), WRITING TOPIC – INSECTS & SPIDERS & BUGS, OH [...]
You know what’s cool about all these haiku? You can see and feel the seasons change when you follow the thread. It’s great.
It’s still snowing here. Unbelievably beautiful outside. I can’t wait to go for a walk. My camera battery is charging.
______________
2nd day of spring
the world is covered in white
velvet underground
Good Friday full moon:
bright light shines on dark soul night
illuminates hope
in bitter north wind
sun-starved trees and people try
remembering spring
Do we have some past-life Japanese among us? This is strangely addictive.
P.S. Does anyone know if there is something archetypal about 5-7-5 – or is it purely a convention that we now all adhere to?
P.P.S. I like it because it’s SHORT – suits my attention span -writing and reading, both.
as for brevity –
inimitable virtue,
longing for shorting
Snow in the forecast
robin snow is our Spring snow
no need for concern
94stranger, I came upon several Haiku in my Whole Whog Catalog ( a humorous attempt at the” Whole Earth Catalog” which was quite popular in the the late 60’s & early 70’s) though not in season, here is one attempt, I believe by Chevy Chase in 1980:
“Lazy summer day.
Cornfed porkers loll in their wallow
amid gutteral grunts of contentment.
Nearby the butcher sharpens his cleaver.”
No 5-7-5 in that one. And yes, it is addictive. Your haiku are wonderful! Simply amazing how this post has grown! D
are you as good as
you look? Modesto whispers,
walk-in freezer shut
Oh, chickenlil,I
did not wish any harm,
I love pigs for sure!
D
[...] -related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
Writer’s block nagging,
I’m behind on my haiku.
Nearly wrote I.Q.s’
Is haiku a word that does not require an “s” at the end to show that it is plural? If so, simply chop the “s” off the last two lines of haiku #141.
Robert, got it. I do think the plural is haiku. I’ll make the change for you, no problem. Hope the writer’s block doesn’t linger. Great to read your haiku. The sky has cleared here and the sun is out now. I haven’t written mine yet today. Maybe later. The night is young.
Where shall I begin? That’s
five; now sev’n: how many syllab
les are there in seven?
A white wagon wheel
Leaning against an oak tree
Only there for show.
a single branch hangs
next to a March icicle
dripping from the roof
winter lingers on:
swirling in spring morning air
tiny white snowflakes
[...] link has over a hundred (as of March 25 2008) and is well worth a visit – or several!) http://redravine.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/haiku-one-a-day/ to the point where I now feel like re-posting mine here from now on, as and when I come up with [...]
cold grey winter sea
walkers in arctic sun red
splash: camelia
cold empty room
anxious to be warm
fill with love
o.k. so maybe you got me. When I first read these I thought is that poetry or are they just fooling around. They don’t make sense. Since then I’ve read more and realized if you are a deep thinker, they do make sense.So I gave it a try. It’s usually hard for me to slow down but I’ve had more time lately. This is a good way to keep your mind active.
Good for you, MOM. It’s a way to stay alive to the senses and the world around you, which I see you were with your haiku.
Here’s one from me today:
When the sky is white
It’s a blank stare, or anger
Then the screeching wind
Great haiku rolling along here. Mom, so glad you joined in. I can picture the room, too. Very present to it. Haiku does slow things down. It’s almost like we have to pay attention to distill everything down to its essence.
________________
Winnetka traffic
inches along like a worm
gray wind bends the trees
Ice-green sea, barely
ruffled, slaps the shore; it’s warm
looking from the bus.
_____________________
Yeah, I think the imperative to be economical – and precise, syllable-wise, is a big challenge and a steep learning curve. at the same time, the rigid form makes me at least want to find every possible way of bending it to produce as much as it can.
And I agree with you both, there is something about being alive to the senses.
And as you said, QM, it’s like a nature diary. Whether one a day /will prove excessive remains / to be seen, I feel.
the tax man cometh
but not for me
ready i’ll be
day is long
night is short
soon to be
I love the pic of the birch bark.It brought back memories. When T was in reserve camp he made me a ring and bracelet from the bark. YOu soak it in water and let it dry around your finger or wrist and it makes a nice bracelet or ring. We were very straped for money and it was what he could afford to bring me at the time, so it was very special. I had it for a long time ,I’m not sure where it got to.
Half of a duplex
On the south side of Indy
Where life and art merged.
Spring buds form on tree
struck down by December ice
life where none should be
The haiku get better and better. Mom, I didn’t know about the bracelet and ring made out of birch. Thanks for sharing that memory. If you ever run across it again, let us know.
I’ve had a rushed couple of days. It feels good to slow down and pay attention. And there you all are, right there on the page.
_____________
driving to St Paul
full speed ahead through traffic
hawk lands on a wire
bracelet made of birch
ring made of love, not money
lives through memory
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
QM: in post #153 the line “Winnetka traffic” took me by surprise. I grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. Where is your Winnetka? It’s a Native American word. I suppose it is sprinkled around the midwest.
Today’s haiku:
after long winter
feels like balmy summer day:
fifty-five degrees
26/03/08
sun breaks through after
noon; cold departed; this eve-
ning, rain from the west
RETURN
The samurai this
time wields a lap-top; cherry
blossom on the path.
Adjudication required please (QM?): Can a haiku have a title?
The purist in me wants to hear ‘no!’ The flexi-scribbler wants to hear ‘yes!’
stranger, please do what feels right with your haiku practice. I want to say, I only know what I’ve learned over the last few years. Your practice will reveal itself to you. It’s great that you are posting with us.
You know what I’ve started to notice about our regular haiku posters is that you all have your own unique voices. And they show up even in the sparse lines of a haiku. I find that delicious.
breathepeace, my Winnetka is just outside of Minneapolis, a main artery out on the western edge of town. I have noticed that there is a Winnetka in Chicago, too. (I didn’t know that was where you were from but I thought it was the Midwest).
That name, and many other American Indian names, are indeed sprinkled throughout the Midwest. We have many Wabasha’s here, too. And in the government building in St. Paul, there is a bronze sculpture dedicated to Chief Wabasha.
___________________
garden sits naked
wet snow melts from the driveway
paw prints disappear
yesterday, springtime
today, snow covers the ground:
winter’s tug-of-war
________________________
Thank, QM, for the news of your Winnetka.
primeval forest
fed to hungry chipper,
not much left for spring
I posted a “writing practice” on the subject of “the bosque”. my place.
primeval forest
fed to hungry chipper, now
not much left for spring
(missing a syllable)
They talk of Spring Break
But, taken literally,
Why would you want one?
walking through the gate
sun falls on the other side
resting by shadow
seabirds bending the
wind; angry brown sea; bouncing
rain on the pavement
This is not practice,
this is haiku; else all were
just practice for death.
But I would in fact prefer it phrased not as above, but like this:
This is not practice,
this is haiku;
else all were just
practice for death.
(5,4,4,4)
meditation on sound patterns appropriate – Any thoughts?
The second one has a more natural rhythm, methinks. For me, what’s most important is the cadence and flow, not the rigor around 5-7-5. However, having said that, it’s seems to be important to use that structure as a container in the beginning, to hold your practice. Once you’ve mastered the structure, it seems only natural that you would then start to break it (as all masters do).
Here’s my haiku for today:
can a body hold
the weightlessness of the world
foam riding on waves
Tangled-web weaver:
Your lies are gathering, and
You flunked Spider Class!
final day of March
blizzard whirrs in a tail spin
winter dust devils
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
There you are, chickenlil. I’ve been searching for the comment (#167) where you said you’d posted the bosque practice. I hope others read it. I’m so inspired by these writing practices. Writers write!
Another haiku for today:
monday after spring break
vacation, always, is good
practice feels better
afternoon snow squall
suddenly drops inch of snow
quickly disappears
TELEPHONE
one child whispering
to another, “I heard that–”
first message changes
Casper, Friday night
sitting in a circle group–
“What keeps you awake?”
with heart in my voice,
I share Tibetan’s sorrow–
losing minerals
with red face burning,
“We do not RAPE Wyoming!”
an oil man exclaims
nesting quail whistles
from the safety of the sage:
time to light the day
chickenlil, are the quail really nesting? Pleasant visual.
breathepeace, I like the Telephone haiku series. With those few words, I am right there with you.
__________________________________
blizzard drops one foot
lunchtime snow melts from the trees
satisfies my thirst
70 degrees
Mother Nature stops for air
she will not stand still
The California quail which we have here are hilarious, the males look like capuchin monkeys on a bird body – they have black faces with white lines around them, an orange cap with a dangly feather sticking out in front, spotted bodies with multicolored bellies…They are hysterical now with their “distraction yoga” as the females lay eggs in open sand depressions. In the early spring I will hear the females just before dawn, singing a repetitive whistling tune as the sun comes up behind the mountain while they sit on their eggs. When the families hatch out, they will run along behind the parents, on the wall, across the road, sometimes 8 or more in a row.
papa quail flaps free
into oncoming traffic
please don’t find the nest!
I love your descriptions of the mating quail. They are adorable! I saw one today flitting across the road between cars. I’m always amazed that they get across. Fortunately the speed limit on that road where I always see them is not too high — 25 mph, with speed humps to ensure the cars don’t go faster.
Here is a haiku for today in honor of mating birds:
this morning, in bed
the love-screech of a pheasant
coyote might come
BTW, I just read some of the ones lately that I missed. Great question, Robert Morse, about Spring Break (#169)!
Here’s another, in honor of Spring Breaks:
spring breaks tree branches
50-mile-per-hour gusts
give me a break, wind
chickenlil, the California quails sound adorable. Thanks for describing them! I don’t think we have them here.
Robert Morse, your line about flunking spider class (#174) is distinctly part of your voice in your haiku. I keep going back to that – how everyone has their own voice.
diddy, #182 has a great pause, the surprise line, how Mother Nature stops but will not stand still.
_____________________
snow puddle ice streams
slipping across the driveway
dodge the morning sun
W.B. yeats
He Wishes For the Clothes of Heaven
Had I the heavens’ embroidered clothes,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
_____________________________
Yeats, when I hear you,
will-o’-the wisp is my feel-
ing; mist in my soul.
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
No debt can repay
What I owe the Shepherd of
Late-night radio.
yb–
ah yes, Coyote
croons at foolish lovers out
late after midnight
maybe I’m biased, but I think you guys are achieving a really high standard – I mean, I get this frisson quite often when I read your stuff: is frisson an English word?
Green sea like summer,
foreign students on the beach;
warm heart like summer
(I’m so lazy; but this time for once I did my own homework: this is Papa(s) Merriam-Webster: frisson: ‘a brief moment of emotional excitement’ – also ‘THRILL’)
Sounds like damning with faint praise. I mean something a bit STRONGER than the above definition.
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
walking Jesus’ path
of freedom, justice and peace–
he, too, was murdered
He went to Memphis
Room#306
Rest in Peace, Mr. King…
stranger, thanks for the kudos. And I love the Yeats. One of our readers, I think it was Teri, mentioned how Mary Oliver loves Whitman, Whitman, Whitman & Yeats.
chickenlil, Coyote medicine.
Robert Morse, great pause in the Shepherd of Late-night radio. I wasn’t expecting that!
breathepeace and diddy, a program on MLK in Memphis came on NPR as I was driving today. I might comment about it on another post. But your haiku have inspired me.
_________________
head hung in despair
a man of courage and grace
marching through Memphis
day turns into night
why does it seem so bad now?
40 years later
That “Love of My Life”,
Looking back now, was merely
Heartbreak – 101.
parking lot puddles
yesterday’s rain turned to snow
wild and dancing east
towers of white cloud
over fields; the humming train;
snow on the north hills
It suddenly hit me what all this is – if you do it frequently – it’s like a very special kind of diary!
It’s great to come here and spend 2, 3, 5 minutes – fast food for the soul
APOLOGIES, EDIT REQUEST – would someone with access be kind enough to reduce the 8 syllables of 198, line two, to 7 as follows:
over fields; the humming train;
thank you so much and sorry.
stranger, got it – correction made. That last one’s grounded in the humming train (#198). Peaceful. I’m happy that you join us here. I look forward to the the next haiku from our readers. I have yet to write mine for today. It’s gray, chilly, and a little somber.
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
sunlight filters through
objects on my window sill
bringing color in
It’s true. The haiku structure, once you get started, becomes internalized, and once you have the structure, you begin filling it naturally. I’m on my way to Chicago to attend a wedding this past weekend; a haiku occurs to me, #196, and I write it down. (Rest assured, I wasn’t driving). As for the wedding, this haiku captures what my friend, the father of the bride, said himself in a joking manner. At the reception, of course.
Chicago wedding,
A friend’s daughter is married.
Just four more to go.
oliverowl, nice.
Robert, I had a huge smile on my face when I read your wedding story this morning (#204). Just four more to go!
__________________
low, brown, liquid snow
dripping, tossing, turning sleep
gray skies shroud the mood
palest grey and blue,
almost still; sunlight fizz and
sparkle on the sea.
Oliverowl (203) – this has rhythm – yes!
QM: I’m sharing the melting of Minnesota, day by day. Thanks for the correction
great insight, stranger, about it being a sort of diary. And not the least bit dreary for others to read, but yes, a taking of one’s temperature, not always emotional; rather, our relationship to what’s around us.
Robert Morse — that reminded me of my father with four daughters and a granddaughter raised like a fifth. And a son.
a shotgun marriage
my sister was seventeen
“auntie” at age six
snow falls all day long,
filling empty birdfeeder–
more winter than spring
swaying with the wind
metal lamppost light grows dim
flickers through the storm
tiny Hemlock tree
your graceful limbs intrigue me
time for Spring pruning
The world is being
born in warm light; like these trees,
April-born was I.
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), WRITING TOPIC – TOOLS OF THE [...]
999 EDIT REQUEST
I should be punished.
If anyone can make ‘I too was April-born’ count five syllables…. they have my undying admiration.
If ‘April-born was I.’ has 5 syllables, would you please substitute it?
I will now crawl away to my own blog and practice in secret for a while…
REST IN PEACE MICHAEL MONSOOR
mother’s heart broken,
son blown-to-bits in Iraq–
it could have been mine
mother’s heart broken,
not wanting a dead hero,
but a living son
mother’s broken heart
also filled with immense pride–
they both gave it all
Breathepeace – thank you for a humbling reminder that we are only visiting here; when the owner dictates, we shall have to move on.
Yb – your ‘my kind of blogging’ comment has spawned a whole post:
http://94stranger.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/my-kind-of-blogging-your-kind-of-blogging/
haiku on ageing…try something new
at age fifty two
in Arsenic and Old Lace
I made my debut
Cedar Mountain blue
in back-lighting of twilight
sun going to rest
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
smile a haiku
ducks swim in twos, flooded fields
happy sad I am
Hi yb,
as you will know, the recently-diagosed ’stranger’s syndrome’ consists in writing six syllables instead of five. Do I detect in line one of your latest (no 219) signs of a condition so far unknown to poetic science?
stranger, so glad you popped in. I meant to tell you that I did edit #211 per your request, thus helping treat this “stranger’s syndrome.”
Yes, I believe there is also something called “haiku-motion” — the phenomenon of emoting a haiku. I took my cues from all of you
.
Hello,
Apparently, I still have more to say about that wedding I attended, in haiku form, of course. Not one, but two.
The newlyweds were
Showered with bubbles not rice.
Now cleanup’s a cinch.
*******
If bubbles replace
Rice at weddings, then pity
Eleanor Rigby.
breathepease – heartbreaking haiku (#214). Thank you for leaving it here with us.
oliverowl, did you really debut at 52 (#216)?
Robert Morse, that Eleanor Rigby twist was great (#222). Wasn’t expecting that one. I’m glad you are still writing about the wedding.
________
40 miles of gusts
wind sweeps a red snow shovel
tumbling to bare grass
Robert, I really like 222
Yb: at the risk of appearing perverse; I counted ’smile a haiku’ as 4 syllables; are you demanding the enunciation smy-ul in order to get 5 syllables out of these three words? Come on, fess up and tell us what’s going on! – remember, I’m only British, American is not my first language, lol.
The sea is there, the
sky, the sun, I too; only
the muse is absent
stranger, both made me chuckle: your comment re: “smile = one syllable” and your haiku. (Although you just proved that your muse really was present all along.)
Smile’s a tough one. I can see where it could be one syllable, esp if you’re from places like Amarillo, Texas. Reminds me:
my texas neighbors
from amarilla, say “shine”
to a dog named “shane”
p.s., yes, it’s smy-ul. And I pronounce the g in hanger. How do you say smy-ul, stranger? Do tell.
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
Yb: here is a two-syllable smile (well, one and a half to my ear)
If only I could see thee smile
I would rest content
until the last breath blown away
and the grass close on my head
And here is a one-syllable one:
‘Smile and the world smiles with you.’
GULLS
v-dancing the wind;
raucous yarps reverberate
over the Old Town.
Any attempt to respond in haiku just falls flat. I said the first one aloud in my best British voice, the second one as the good ol’ girl I am. It was loads of fun!
[...] poetry? Check out ybonesy’s poem and doodle, Sunday. Write a haiku and drop it into our haiku (one-a-day) post. Or read about Ted Kooser’s American Life In Poetry [...]
“Love Hurts” was playing
when i heard you left this world
goodbye dear old friend
THE GARDNER’S RETURN
these twenty years past
the weather was no more than
my distant cousin
oliverowl
maybe this is a mistake BECAUSE
when I first read your number 231, I thought it was a little gem, and so much so that it left nothing to say; what DO you say in the face of death: ‘bad luck, old bean?’
I’m writing this for everyone, just because I’ve always been the one calling loudly for ‘comments please!’ and your haiku, as indeed several others here at various times, just made me feel llike saying to myself – ’shut up and let it be there’s absolutely nothing you can add – if you try, you’ll just subtract.’
I guess I did – apologies.
spring takes over now
two deer feed in broad daylight
bellies full of green
16 drips of rain
fall softly from a black wire
splash next to treetops
(at the gym)
steam room fills, empties
dude, it smells like dude in here
voice slips through white fog
LOL, ‘lil. I keep chuckling over this one.
oliverowl, ditto what stranger said.
stranger; no apologies necessary…I am enjoying all the haikus SO much! Each one is such a distillation of words down to the barest essence…I think, for me; that makes it all the more difficult to make comments, except for BRAVO! BRAVISSIMO!
So, you’re British, eh? (That’s Canadian to add an “eh” at the end.) I dedicate this one to you and my British friend whose comment, incorporated in the haiku, followed his first drink of “American” tap water.
How was the water?
” Rah-ther like a swimming pool,”
handing me the glass
QM…yes, made my stage debut at age 52…more fun than a “chair full of bowlies.” (which is even more fun than a bowl full of cherries! Credit for pun goes to Mary Engelbreit.)
breathe peace, my sentiments precisely, as to 214!
lil, (236) thanks for the smile…I needed it, after saying good-bye to my dear old friend, (231) whose birthday was today.
brown leaves and gray sky
frost leaves the roses alone
naked and stick bare
white, pink, & fuscia
simply ornamental ,yet
cherry trees blossom
songbirds build their nests
preparing for their offspring
butterflies flutter
time for Passover
deck the halls with matzo balls
celebrate freedom!
I have admired many of the haiku offered here that are grounded in nature which is traditionally, I believe, the starting point for haiku. Mine have been. for the most part, about anything but nature, (although I did mention an oak tree once). What follows feels like it is subject matter covered elsewhere, somewhere. But here goes.
It starts with one bird,
The Symphony to the Dawn.
Nature’s alarm clock.
If there’s a polar opposite to the previous haiku, this might be it.
“Hey, talk to the hand!”
Rude but clear, unlike Diamond
Talking to the chair.
English Channel in
mist; soft rain on Florida
miniature golf course
Yb (and her fellow-Americans!)
miniature is pronounced ‘minicher’ over here, except by Elizabeth Mountbatten (Queen), who I guess would say ‘minichaw’, though I find it difficult to imagineher using such a vulgar-sounding word.
QM – I like 235 (sixteen?)
oliverowl – thanks: I’ll have to work out a come-back for that one!
here’s another from the gym:
tattoed wet woman
locker room transformation
turns into a guy
daring Daffodills
golden trumpets now proclaim
“Spring has come at last!”
undaunted by snow
Tulip and Crocus stand tall
hear the trumpets’ call
(after i wrote the 1st haiku, it started snowing!)
[...] Haiku 21 I’ve decided to refresh the haiku series by transfering it to a new post. Here’s the starter, already posted on red ravine http://redravine.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/haiku-one-a-day/ [...]
overcast sky; sultry
grey sea behind young black girl
in white bobble hat
Hi QM
Everything takes time with me: I finally read your intro (well, some of it). Basho travelling north made a litttle light bulb go on for me:
Basho travelled north;
a stray dog crossed his path: south-
west has its merits.
stranger, that’s a great story about Basho going North, isn’t it? Your Basho haiku made me smile.
Robert, though haiku is rooted in Nature, I think it’s good for all of us to play with the form. Especially on a blog. It seems that experimenting and straying from the rules are part of the play of language (from your comment #243).
oliverowl, the snow just isn’t letting up this year. Last night, we had thunderstorms and hard, hard rain. Everything is finally greening up. No flowers yet.
chickenlil, I like your gym haiku – especially #247.
diddy, when I read your haiku (#241), I always picture your huge yard back from the road. I get a visual of the seasons passing where you live.
[...] to posts Got Poetry? (National Poem In Your Pocket Day), haiku (one-a-day), and Ten Things About Sony The [...]
Admission: Ten cents,
The Monster Show in the Barn
Cookies served after.
Earth Day Haiku (hiding in my pocket since April 22nd)
dwindling resources
1 million in poverty
earth cringes and shrinks
agriculture reels
carbon footprints and compost
future stepping stones
doing more with less
searching out ways to give love
take time to nurture
monsters for ten cents?
Robert at the Monster Show
wonder what it is (?)
Robert, I love those really nonchalant ones (254) which seem to happen all on their own without effort – masterly!
25/04/08
SOAKING THE LENTIL PAN PRIOR TO WASHING UP
ridges – as left in
sand by retreating sea, but
in pan of lentils.
the color of sage
is soft and heals the soreness
of the wounded soul
the fragrance of sage
is sharp but helps to heal
the almost broken heart
Hmm…I spaced the two “sage” haikus apart, but they jumped together when I submitted them (above in #258)
Oh well, they go together anyway.
To QuoinMonkey and 94stranger,
I appreciate your interest in #254. I find myself trying to write little autobiographical tidbits. Capturing the essence of something important in your life in haiku form is a challenge.
I did one on the “Shepherd of late-night radio.” For those who might not know, that referred to the late, great Jean Shepherd, a radio genius, best-known for writing, and narrating, the movie “A Christmas Story.”
As for The Monster Show, there really was one. It is a favorite “I remember” topic from my notebooks. I put on the show with three of my friends in 1962. Some kids from the neighborhood actually showed up to see it. After the two Martians arrived at the end and vaporized Frankenstein and Dracula, they invited the audience down for lemonade and cookies. All was temporarily right with the world.
Robert, I like your autobiographical haikus. Distilling experiences like that down to 17 syllables, capturing the essence of a life experience without a lot of words, opens doors. Oliverowl has a few like that, too, about relationships and love. I enjoy all of those.
Also we had a conversation about Jean Shepherd last December on the post, Eating December Snowflakes (LINK) (there’s also a link to an NPR story on him in the post). Sharon (bloomgal), one of our Guests, and I were talking about him and his work (Comments 13 & 14). It’s great that your haiku was a tribute to him. I love that.
almost warm enough;
kids sleeveless, Florida full
of mini-golfers
(see 245)
Had a snowstorm last Saturday. It was windy, 18 degrees. We took the covers off the roses last week when it was 70. Hope they make it!
_____________________
April iced windshield
purple frost covers a thorn
snowdusted rosebush
Possible truth gleaned
Through seeing-why doggedness
Better left buried.
cloud piles all up the
sky; prowling sea; wind annoys
beds of pink tulips.
robin loves my car
Honda is unlikely mate
bird on viagra?
This was written after 2 days of our company & us witnessing a robin enjoying the pleasures of my vehicle. My husbands truck, Father-in-laws car, & our boat untouched. We have photos that are unbelievable! This bird is not viewing itself in the mirrors, but the roof, hood, & windows are the target. These incidents occur late at night & early morning. None of us has ever seen anything like it! He puffs his belly & flutters on every part of my vehicle! Very much a mating ritual. Tomorrow we hope to capture it on video! D
I just returned from a trip to Egypt. Very different land and seascape there for writing haiku than here in Wyoming. I’ve enjoyed catching up by reading the daily haiku posted here while I was away. You all have been busy! Here are five favorite haiku from my journey:
exotic Cairo–
pollution shrouds horizon,
garbage floats on Nile
light shines on desert,
shimmers over source of life:
full moon in Egypt
old and new worlds touch–
pyramids and evening prayer
beside hotel pool
hot as an oven,
one hundred and twelve degrees:
spring day in Cairo
in fluid landscape,
tangarine-colored fish swim
over blue coral
[...] -related to post haiku (one-a-day). [...]
breathepeace, I had no idea you were in Egypt (#267). Thank you so much for sharing these haiku with us that you wrote there. I’m thinking about the last April (Pink Frog) full moon — how I was watching it here in Minneapolis, you were viewing it in Egypt. Was it really 112 degrees? I couldn’t take that kind of heat for long. I am such a winter person. I’d love to hear more about your trip. Are you planning to write any pieces about it? I always wanted to visit the pyramids. Thanks again for these haiku.
We’ve got one dab of color on the garden hill next to the driveway. Liz, her sister, mom, and I were backing out of the driveway and noticed one tiny flower. I rolled down the window, and we all peered out into the garden. Liz’s sister said, “That’s Sweet William! Beautiful.” We all felt so much joy from a single Spring bloom.
________________
first sweet william blooms
five tiny purple petals
in a sea of green
stranger, I like #252. The mini-golfers in Florida.
diddy, I forgot, I had wanted to comment on your robin on viagra (#266). I mean, what’s the deal?! I’d never heard of that before. Really great haiku. Your poor Honda — she must be reeling. Keep us posted!
QM, Daddy was the first to notice the robin & it’s shenanigans. It is amazing! This bird flutters all over the Honda, puffing it’s chest & of course pooping! We have had to wash my car 3 times this week & it doesn’t matter where I park! Yesterday shortly after J washed it, I peeked out & the robin was back. I snuck up on it & took the water hose (full stream) to the bird. I thought perhaps that would do the trick. I was wrong. My car needs washed again! I have to write a story about this weird bird. I have named it The Little Blue Pill! D
the sparkling sea has changed
from grey to palest turquoise;
white sails fill with wind
(P.S. For Yb and y’all down home gals, the last line changes to:
‘wind in white sayulls’)
FILLING THE ROOM TONIGHT
between fingers pressed
against the clear pane of glass
moonlight trickles in
Sheryl, I think 274 is beautifully phrased – QM is right: it’s wierd how people can write characteristic 17-syllable pieces: to me, this feels different to what anyone else has done here.
EDITORS: HELP!
Rather than sending everyone scurrying for their dictionaries, would you add a k to the sparling sea: 273 1st line ?
Thanks
P.S. sorry, also in 273 I didn’t translate the English ‘girls’, which of course should read ‘gals’.
and I’m not sure what ‘down home’ actually means – enlightenment please?
Thank you for reading and commenting. I love haiku, but often struggle within the confines. Sometimes I just call them short poems instead of haikus…(haiku rebel)…grin.
ps…love the blue green feel your poem conjures up
stranger — edits on 273 are done. I’m glad you clarified about the “sparkling” instead of “sparling” — I thought perhaps my down-hominess (down-homeliness??) prevented me from understanding what a sparling sea is.
As for enlightenment on what “down home” means, well, here’s a good link from our friends at Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down-home.
I also noticed how lovely Sheryl’s haiku is…soothing in its rhythm. Glad to have you on red Ravine.
Couple on a train.
Her eyes, sparkling, filled with love,
but he doesn’t care.
#279
sparked a memory of this
old haiku I penned
Subliminal Message
I wrote I love you
on the steamy bathroom mirror
your wife cleans
Those who are familiar with my haiku output may well have noticed that it tends to be very largely visual. I’ve decided to remedy this by branching out a little.
PASSENGER IN REAR OF BUS
Bus’s heavy purr;
two horn blasts like hunt; engine
vibration rumble.
279. Nice one, Ed – low key and to the point
(I suppose some might object that with haiku, if nothing else at least it’s diffficult to wander off the subject!)
stranger, nice departure to the rumbling bus (#281).
Sheryl (#274), your haiku is very tactile – fingers pressed against the glass. Nice.
Ed Stamm (#279) and poniday (#280), great play with the relationship imagery. I’m intrigued and want to know more. I think that’s a great thing about haiku – you get just enough to engage — your imagination fills in the rest. Welcome to red Ravine.
________________________
wind through red dogwood
spring rises in the garden
swatting the first fly
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day) and Night [...]
ode to oliverowl
bright, vibrant orange
gerbera daisy named
Marylin, my friend
FOR ALL THE CONTRIBUTORS HERE – PAST AND FUTURE (?):
sev’nteen syllables
make a party; come join us
and dance the haiku
Just Short Of Heaven
(
the moon; a thumbnail
bitten to the quick, did rise
to heaven then stop
a day all to myself
mind spins out to wheeling stars:
hot bath, cup of tea
if a door opened
would we know it was open
would we then walk through?
Great stuff continues to appear on this post. I especially liked Ed’s #279. It immediately creates a visual image.
As for chickenlil’s #288, my guess is that most of the time, we’re oblivious to when these doors open. Years later, they seem more obvious. But writing about those missed doors can open new ones too. “Wheels within wheels”. (I don’t know who said that first, but I know that P.G. Wodehouse put the words into the mouth of at least one of his love-befuddled young characters).
God’s in the details.
And the Devil is there too?
Just write. See who shows.
289 + 287 = 290
just write; see who shows -
may be a tiger, earthworm,
squirrel; cup of tea?
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
a haiku of thanks for alittlediddy
flowers between friends
nourished and nurtured with love
bringing joy to both
poniday, the moon looked just like this here last night. I thought of your haiku (#286).
diddy and oliverowl, how lovely, your tributes to each other (#284 & #292). I’m so happy you met on red Ravine. And you are both such wonderful people. It just makes my day.
stranger, #290 is really fun. Your sense of humor always lightens my day.
chickenlil, you seem so grounded in #287 and #288. I read them when you first posted them. It was late at night after a long day. I felt immediately more peaceful.
Robert, your response to lil (#289) is really great. Yes, both God and the Devil are there in the details. But we just have to keep writing.
I so appreciate all of you who write haiku on this thread. Wonderful.
_______________
muggy gray spring day
good to know I’m among friends
who haiku the way
Oh tender day
remember her sweet touch;
mourning doves coo
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
the men of rugs have
spoken: from Kurdish Bijar
comes my woven flame
http://www.turkotek.com/VB22/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4409
sunday morning mass
absent catholic doctrine
mourning dove’s hushed call
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
saturated (b)rain
cherry tree blooms like a balm
quelling aches and pains
Meditation time:
Will I relax and restore?
Or just sleep and snore?
********
Haiku structure: Built
Like a joke, where one-liner
Meets the three-liner.
A May morn in Wyoming
*******************
stretching and yawning
babies in green pajamas
leaves at last unfurl
Robert and oliverowl are back.
Liz was talking to our garden neighbor tonight about our blooming bleeding hearts. She pulled one bell off, reshaped it a bit, and said to Liz, “Do you know what this is?”
________________
sunset neighbors talk
Dorothy plucks one bleeding heart
“lady in the tub”
sudden lightning wakes:
deep sleep ends with thunder crash
peaceful rain begins
fierce dandelions
roaring loud in bright yellow
grass concedes defeat
Q, just noticed that 302 “lady in the tub” reminds me of my hot tub haiku. LOL! Also I love the warrior dandelions. Onward! to the seeds!
This is not perfect, off a tad, but it is verbatim from a Jemez Springs saloon ladies’ restroom stall wall:
goddam that man what
kissed my mom when he was done
doing her electric
(can you imagine? what a find)
It *is* a great find!!!
Yeah, can you imagine? Almost like seeing Daddy kissing Santa Claus, except Daddy’s probably not an electrician.
I really liked oliverowl’s fierce dandelions, #304. I remember loving dandelions as a kid and feel they’ve been given a bum rap in that they’re treated like weeds.
I apologize in advance for the following. Part of it was an entry I made on a graffiti wall. (This was no ordinary graffiti wall; I was its creator and would, on occasion, become its censor if an entry didn’t meet the standard I had in mind. I would literally get out the Comet and the sponge.)
Lovers take heed! Quoth
Pinocchio, “Love is a
Many-Splintered thing.”
That’s funny, and true!
yb, your comment made me burst out laughing.
Well then Mr. Claus could have been a chimney sweep, then?
THE UNBEARABLE BRIGHTNESS OF TEXTILES
‘Hi’, Roger said, ‘look,
Batik, fifteen quid’: cheap, for
the soul of Bali
P.S. One of these days, 309 will appear on my blog as Art Object number…. until then, Imagine! (if you like).
Robert,
Glad you liked the fierce “dandy-lions”
I like your funny, (or should I say “punny”) haiku, and it would be especially wise to “take heed,” if the lovers were Eskimos…whose show of affection is the rubbing of noses, right?
94stranger,
Forgive me for being so dense, but I need more clues as to what to imagine…help me, please.
—————————————————-
WHILE DRIVING IN MONTANA THIS MORNING
circling overhead
I’d love to gaze at raptors
must watch road instead
lil, I meant Mommy kissing Santa Claus. Typed that one too fast.
stranger, are you a fan of Milan Kundera, by chance?
I know you meant Mommy, but Daddy kissing Santa Claus was a pretty funny image.
Oliverowl, I posted it – just for you! (no kidding)
hit this and enjoy!
http://94stranger.wordpress.com/
far ships, motionless,
painted on the horizon:
cool and clear today.
Back from a writing retreat on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. Memories of the peacefulness of writing haiku on the beach.
_________________________
no fear, no danger
seagulls swirl over my head
everything whistles
stiff breeze from the east
strong turquoise sea with whitecaps
far out, lone white sail
QM – Seagulls? Now that really IS living! (Gloat, gloat – but then, here on the South Coast of England we could never provide your beloved interior-of-freezer experiences for the winter.)
After viewing the batik from Bali
***********************************
delicate batik
saturated with colors
seven mouths say “Ohm”
[...] She leaned down to pick it up. The glacial lake faded into darkening rain clouds. I focused on the rays of light between them. And wrote a haiku. [...]
stranger, you got that right! You just can’t match the freezer interior of winters in the Midwest! (Comment#316). Do you ever have cold weather there on the South Coast of England? Great images — the strong turquoise sea and whitecaps.
oliverowl, love #317. There is something peaceful about it. Hope you had a good birthday.
____________________
back in the city
studio light filters in
sparrow clings to vine
QM You sound to me like a country girl in city-wolf’s clothing. How about living on Lake Michigan and taking inspirational writing breaks in Minneapolis?
Camelot I have
revisted; haiku-free,
borne aloft on words
(http://94stranger.wordpress.com/)
BTW
Oliverowl,
1) thank you for the batik haiku – can I add it to the post?
2) The Camelot link above is to pre-empt your request for clarification!
Q ‘Excuse me, Sir, why do you wear lead boots?’
A ‘It feels so good when I take them off!’
Now you all know the secret motive of my haiku practice!
“What did we just do?”
Ominous words spoken by
A bride newly wed.
stranger,
I would be flattered and pleased to have you post my haiku on the beautiful batik! I read your Camelot poems and enjoyed them very much. They carried me back in memory to a privileged time spent in your beautiful UK. I met no lords of wheat or barley, but knew a wonderful lord of hops, on whose farm in Kent I was a guest. It was fall, and the misty, “hoppin’ mornings” were magical times for strolls along dense hedges that gave up their black berries for me.
QM,
I had a lovely, quiet Birthday, and although I spent it in the Archives, there were flowers, friends, cake & coffee.
I was taken out to dinner, where one piece of too-rich chocolate cake sufficed for the four of us! Phone calls from loved ones completed the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
another year gone
a row of cards remind me
hide them with flowers `
home on the river
undaunted by recent rain
beavers feast on trees
OMG: what would I give to have beavers chewing around where I live!?
[...] (haiku from oliverowl, one of the regular contributors at http://redravine.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/haiku-one-a-day/#comment-33084 ) [...]
P.S. (I wish one could edit / extend comments!)
oliverowl, I know those misty mornings in Kent so well – I’ve picked hops / apples there on about three separate occasions. There used to be gypsies working there too. One year I saw a girl – maybe 15 – standing in a doorway:
gypsy raven hair;
eyes electric blue: never
to be forgotten
Pants is at my feet
KiKi’s special in my arms
Chaco watches birds
oliverowl, glad you had a good birthday (#323). Hiding the cards with flowers sounds like a good idea.
skywire, hello!
stranger, I guess I am a country girl in city-wolf’s clothing (#320). About living on Lake Michigan and taking inspirational writing breaks in Minneapolis — I think I would feel too isolated. I thought about that while I was there though.
Could I live away from most people in nature and write? Maybe for as long as it took to write a book. But I do like being in close proximity to a large city, for the cultural opportunities and people. I think I would miss that.
_________________-
Memorial Day
knocks at a rainy day door
is anyone there?
nails clipped, black fur brushed
Kiev went to Lizzie’s Spa
lavender catnap
stranger,
My friend in Kent also has apple orchards, as well as hops. I’ve never seen such huge apples; only took one to make a whole pie!
Skywire,
Hi to you & the 3 furry ones from Cirena & me! I miss you!
QM,
Know how it is when you read what you see? I “saw” lavender catnip instead of catnap, the first reading.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cirena wants out
but sticky cottonwood seeds
would be stowaways
oliverowl, hey, lavender catnip works just fine, too. Either way! Nice Cirena haiku.
Say hi from us.
posed beside a tree
mouth pursed around Marlboro
No, just a clothes pin
Nice twist, poniday.
I look forward to your haiku.
______________
old wooden clothes pins
remind me of my mother
laundry smells like sun
#333 & #334 evoke such a lovely mental picture of women hanging clothes out on the line…I love ‘em!
No one has yet come up with a fabric softener that comes even close to the fragrance of line-dried clothes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
no sun here today
welcome rain falls gently down
thirsty land gives thanks
oliverowl, that’s the truth. And you rarely see clothes hanging out anymore in these parts. The cabin I was at a few weekends ago had a clothes line with the old-style wooden clothes pins. I loved it.
________________
sun ripe tomatoes
next to fresh sun-dried T-shirts
flapping in the breeze
I’ve changed (improved?) #264. The first line is now more in tune with the 2nd and 3rd.
Scraps of truth unearthed
By seeing-why doggedness.
Better left buried.
**********
Here’s a new one.
The wave hits the beach
The sandpipers retreat on
Tiny cartoon feet.
Oooo, I do like that better.
Also, tiny cartoon feet. So right on.
Love the tiny cartoon feet Robert. I smiled so big when I saw that line. BTW, I like the way you rewrote the line in #264 (see #337) into “scraps of truth unearthed.” More grounded (no pun intended). Nice.
This one’s for diddy.
_____________________________
Susquehanna spring
missing a little diddy
how’s Frankenstein’s bride?
[...] -related to posts: PRACTICE – Blossom Moon & haiku (one-a-day) [...]
QM,
Thanks & great haiku! I feel honored! Love, D
[...] -related to posts, spinner haiku, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
day warm and hazy;
low tide; gulls drifting easy;
sea quiet and lazy.
stranger, sounds peaceful on the shores of England. We had a ferocious storm here yesterday. The hail was huge and came flying at the windows. Quite dramatic.
___________________
2″ hail flying
don’t mess with Mother Nature
she’ll knock your socks off
Banged and buffeted
While at the buffet, I swore
At my own soiree.
Robert, you crack me
up, and this haiku’s not all
it’s cracked up to be
————————————
nobody will believe
the me / be rhyme above was a
neat trick up God’s sleeve
I had no idea
it was there, until out it
popped: isn’t that queer?
[The two-syllable word (yb!) queer either rhymes – or more accurately can be made to rhyme – with idea)
No haku can adequately convey the cosmic serendipity involved, during my present period of rhyming (obsessively, do I hear you mutter?) lines one and three, in the fact that after ferocious concetration on the word play around cracked, to parallel Robert’s in 345, I suddenly discover – oh Joy! – that a line 1 and 3 rhyme has fallen into the haiku out of nowhere.
I like the light touch of 344,5 & 6…seems like people have spring fever…or something!
Here’s another haiku to spring…
““““““““““““““““““““
la-la-la lilacs
curly-locks of lavender
perfuming the breeze
It seems like people are having some fun. I believe that jokes, even bad ones, should see the light of day, especially if they are true. Therefore, I should mention that in an earlier version of what became #345, I had a souffle at the buffet. But I dropped it.
“And now for something completely different.”
The outcome was good
I know now, but it was still
The wrong decision.
Yes, lots of fun in the haiku posts. Rhyming stranger, I kind of like the rhymes, and Robert, did you really drop the souffle? oliverowl, spring fever is a good thing! I like the curly locks of lavender.
____________
way past my bedtime
writing can do that to you
minutes into dreams
hours into days
then start all over again
wordsmithing the stars
3 cloudy spring days
belly dance over the sky
sun creeps into June
Poor Robert
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
souffles often fall
but not because they were dropped
they weren’t baked proper
ODE TO 351
souffles often fall -
(but not because they were dropped)
but then, don’t we all?
egg, cheese, fish, or fruit
everyone’s got the dropsies
a haiku soufflé
cold, rainy mornings,
one following another–
where is warm June sun?
missing western drought,
a least just a little bit–
June was warm and dry
breathepeace, I was just thinking about you this morning. I’ve missed you. Here’s one for Cris Williamson and Meg Christian.
_________________
past pulls me forward
the changer and the changed
share the same sweater
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
QM, always knew that music was poetry. I love your haiku as much as that album. Here’s a song haiku for you (courtesy of Chris Williamson.)
________________________
singing songs of life:
filling up, spilling over
endless waterfall
frankenstein so proud
flags waving in the breezes
talk of the river
LEAVING A COMMENT
read post, click cursor
in comment box; type comment;
re-read, click submit
(P.S. cursor does not rhyme with submit – is this another breakthrough?!)
[...] daily haiku Post Yours Here [...]
[...] to posts haiku (one-a-day) and WRITING TOPIC – TOADS & [...]
HI-HO
like the dwarves in Snow
White, I am off to work; see
you in September!
I found this in a notebook of mine from the ’90’s. It wasn’t written as a haiku; it’s one syllable short. Enough explaining.
I don’t know a quark
From a quack, nor a quasar
from a laser.
Another morning
I wake, put on my robe while
Shedding wisps of dreams
two lucky bloggers
we never see their faces
just what they have seen
hope springs eternal,
phoenix rising from ashes:
yellow iris bloom
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
traveller delayed
detours through the history
waiting for snow melt
“““““““““““““““““`
her voice velvet-lined
fingers caressing old books
Archives a stage-stop
““““““““““““““““““`
the spring winds play tag
on her way to Montana,
she can’t go quite yet.
FATHER’S DAY
Dad dead five years now,
old convertible remains–
top is down today
Some great haiku going on in this thread. Thank you to all who visit here and leave your treasures.
____________________
cranberry blooms white
under storm-bending branches
June morning shines blue
clouds like quilt batting
tucked between earth and blue sky–
resting on green grass
Life with its fine lines
Love and hate, sane and insane
So much to straddle.
storm clouds approaching
memories ride the night sky
sandwiched between dreams
Hummingbird gathers
Nectar from the lavendar
Cool breeze softens now
Sauna Haiku
snow buried
an orange log
releases the summer sun
munching cold pizza
May Sarton over lunch break
won’t let me forget
at 76
restless, “home” changes meaning
memories save her
late night summer light
drums beat across the planet:
celebrate solstice
ONE NORTH JERSEY SPRING!
WHEN EARWIGS ARRIVED EN MASSE!
no brass bands met them.
twin sons June birthday:
old friends circle patio
drinking lots of beer
raindrops perch on leaves,
not enough moisture for trees:
afternoon shower
see-through peonies
Solstice sun blasts through the trees
warm shadowless night
son left home again
how many times must they leave
before it’s easy
Cool slap on cheek
fish spin silver motes in air
silent teardrops fall
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), White Bread Revival, WRITING TOPIC – BAND-AIDS® & OTHER 1920’s [...]
my Russian Olive
your sun-drenched rain-washed blossoms
fill nostrils with Spring
steel grey clouds gather
thunder rumbles overhead
fat raindrops follow
This is in answer to jude, (#382) I know just how you feel!
it won’t be easy
joy-makers and heart-breakers
that’s what children are
[...] to post, haiku (one-a-day), inspired by post, Good-Bye [...]
My marriage ended
Before it began; it took
Twenty years to see.
(Note: No need for concern, I am happily married for many years now. This refers to a brief first marriage.)
Robert, glad you clarified. I was about to offer condolences, but no need now.
_____________________
tea roses in bloom
pink, pale yellow, passion red
strawberries on fire
first orange day lily:
shock of bright garden color
signals mid-summer
_________________________
rabbit in courtyard
nibbles new green hosta leaves:
tasty July feast
Here is my Haiku for the day:
the river does not
flow only one direction
it flows as you will
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day) , Walking Your Talk (Do The Arts Matter?), Does Money Soil [...]
Terri, welcome to red Ravine. breathepeace, the day lilies here haven’t quite bloomed yet. But we’ve seen a TON of rabbits.
____________
dragonfly, rabbit,
too many Tawnys to count
not enough fingers
“enjoy summer days,”
whispers wind on cold morning –
fall fast approaching
Independence Day:
son returned from Iraq war,
blood red roses bloom
I cried last week, the day before Independence was celebrated, when I read a statement made by a Veteran at the dedication of the WY Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
friend died in my arms
“I knew you’d come,” his last words
the truth; war is hell
dampness smells like rain
swallow taste the color green
mist hides our shadows
weeding the garden,
glasses slide down sweaty nose:
hot July morning
smell of pinion, sage
taste of blue corn, green chili —
welcome to Taos
wilting in the heat
1200 long miles from Taos
garden in full bloom
vast dry brown prairie
meets distant blue-grey mountains
in New Mexico
Open spaces lose
To suburban sprawl; that said:
‘Let’s go to the mall.’
white berries appear
heat breaks in a red cold sweat
in Minnesota
________________
hiding in the mall
between RayBans and Oakleys
trying to stay cool
John Deere and a bear
tiki lights shine on the pain
of a life with wings
wonderful haiku, diddy.
_____________
humid sun-soaked sky
falling in love with summer
water, wind, and green
[...] Journey, Clark Strand laments that we Americans have lost the vital connection to nature that haiku requires. This essential something is “the sketch from life.” Just as the landscape [...]
up for 2 hours
bland musings at 5am
dentist chair at 8
haiku for Dr. H.
_______________
back from the dentist
might need a shiny gold crown
the “grind” of writing
[...] -Related to topic posts WRITING TOPIC – NAMES OF FLOWERS and haiku (one-a-day). [...]
rainstorm rumbles sky
green hail splats against windows
rose petal floats by
I miss your laughter
ringing a breeze through wind chimes
trembling I await
Flowers for my Mom
Picked from other gardens by
A Marxist of six.
roses grow heat rain
creeping along each branch thorns
ouch touch their beauty
[...] -related to post, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
nice, tigerlily. #414 fits in with the Names Of Flowers Writing Topic this week. This is the first year we’ve had roses. beautiful and amazingly hearty for Minnesota winters.
Robert Morse, your haiku has this playful, enigmatic quality to it. Now I’m wondering about the last line of #414.
__________________
raw heat, night buckles
summer lightning through the blind
sends the soothing rain
To QuoinMonkey,
I assume that you mean the last line of #413. I have a memory of picking a bouquet of flowers for my Mom while walking home from school, 1st Grade being my best guess. Most of the bouquet was made up of dandelions. But there were other flowers, and I distinctly remember a tulip. At age 6, my sense of private property was not, shall we say, fully developed. I didn’t feel, at the time, that I was doing anything wrong in gathering flowers from others gardens. Flowers were flowers and belonged to everyone. Or so I thought, if I thought at all.
Robert Morse, yes, #413, thanks for the correction (I was 1/400th off on that number which can make a big difference in these haiku). And thank you for responding. A Marxist of six — that makes total sense. I can see how flowers would have belonged to everyone. I am always struck by what we remember and how long those memories carry on. Some of the most vivid childhood memories are those where we are doing something independent, standing up, yet we might get into trouble because we’ve crossed a boundary of some sort.
Back to the present. They are putting a new roof on our neighbor’s house this morning. And Mr. Stripeypants is sleeping on the clean laundry.
________________
Pants in the laundry
pounding on the roof next store
cactus garden blooms
only half a moon
lantern hanging in the sky
lighting my way home
Western Yellow Pine
hidden in its puzzle bark
sun and vanilla
wedding in the woods
friends, family and music
bride and groom find bliss
My Mother’s Flowers
Fond memories flood my mind
rain and teardrops soothe
sunday night arrives
those monday blues haven’t come
let my dreams be clear
mondays are not blue
this from Em, who hears my poem
yes they are, says Dee
my mother’s garden:
with move, mourns loss of rose bed,
even more than mind
Songs about Monday:
Manic, rainy, can’t trust it–
Let’s pick on Tuesday!
Tawny eats breakfast
me, sipping the last French Roast
Kiev sleeps pincurled
behind the mountains
the moon sends the sun to bed
with gold cloud-blankets
oliverowl, your haiku are becoming more and more masterful. The last three or four you have written are so grounded in the land — I can picture Wyoming so clearly.
I thoroughly enjoy everyone who contributes their haiku here. I watch moods and seasons change across the country through your words.
___________
soaring patch of red
polka dot flicker on ash
poking bugs through bark
[...] to posts haiku (one-a-day) and WRITING TOPIC – TOADS & [...]
subtle smell of pine
birds brightly singing, hidden
sweet chorus of cheer
family and friends
gather with pain & prayer
for love of my life
hope is on the way
improvements more promising
love and prayer helps
train whistle blast
deep in the night sounds so close
i shiver and pray
shadows in footprints
one tiger-eyed jellyfish
sunset on my heels
I saw a picture of a lake with Mother duck and her many babies following her. It made me think of this:
water shines like glass
blue so pure, it takes my breath
little ones stay close
For my brother J. who has been in the ICU since Tuesday. Thank goodness for family and good friends.
___________________
healing energy
July moon in Capricorn
family gathers
love in many forms
chainsaws, sweat, and waiting rooms
bursting at the seams
Ancestors are there
holding space, easing the pain
until J. comes home
tears in tired, red eyes
looking out past the city
Susquehanna bridge
no understanding
only to live in the now
know — that’s all we have
haiku for diddy
______________
so much tenderness
the simple squeeze of a hand
worth a thousand words
at the heart of pain
braids of faith, strength, and courage
for your endless love
QM,
What lovely haikus. I cannot express to you how grateful I am to have have you here. Experiencing the love of relatives who have come from other states, family that live here, & the friends who have all been such a great to support. I am grateful to be surrounded by such sincere love & caring.
To Marylin, who is Liz’s mother & by fate we met through redRavine.
Thanks to redravine for coming into life months ago. Truly a great inspiration for me. I have been checking in every night, even through this adverse situation. I am certain that with such love & prayer in addition to the excellent care being given by the hospital staff. We have already seen such great progress.
And it is amazing how many strangers who have family in either ICU or CCU that we have met & hugged & supported each other through our ordeals.
Wonderful, good energy! And yes, we have witnessed miracles!
In addition I want to thank yb. QM has told me of the prayer & good energy you are sending to J & our family from afar.
Well, time to make my nightly call to the hospital for an update.
Again, thanks to all. I am certain that we are getting over the hurdle & as Daddy put it so well to the Dr. when he told us J was getting out of the woods & Daddy said that J is nearing the end of the woods.
Prayer, good energy & support are truly appreciated!
As always, love D
for diddy, J. & QM
love surrounds you now
no limits of time or space
flies on angels’ wings
diddy and QM, bless your hearts. they are under so much strain right now, beating with hope and fear.
from afar i send
love to wrap around yourselves
arms of a cottonwood
Wyoming stampede–
wild buffalo love pounding
from my heart to yours
Birthday suit of mine
spreading wider to make room
sparrow takes a bath
life takes many turns
community holds steady
love’s the glue that binds
day lilies blooming
wild orange hope, like a prayer,
flies east with the wind
flying grass-hopper
messenger, flies away as
door opens wider
Special thanks for the lovely haikus. D
for family, friends, & those at redravine:
Bricks were crumbling
now wrapped by much support
mortar between bricks
back to visit J.
over the Susquehanna
prayers flow in rivers
July haiku trilogy
_______________
stifling hot July
slips through Pennsylvania rain
hope for the flowers
writing chair of blue
kitchen table of my youth
don’t be tossed away
behind thunderstorms
under Summer’s 7th moon
Salamander dreams
Stitch the scorpion,
My son’s via a teacher.
Water-sprayed each day.
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day) and Out Of Chaos Comes [...]
two hummingbirds dance
sip sweetness, fly to cedars
winged doorway, light
*love the susquehanna haiku and photo
summer evening
a humming bird feeds
impatiens flutter
spun in ice
the cream we stole from the barn
cools our night
thunderheads rumble
softly in the distance
raindrops
Robert Morse, another puzzle haiku.
Laura, love your haiku. so lovely to read them here.
qazse, beautiful. welcome to red Ravine. And thank you for leaving your haiku. I’m watching a rainstorm over a Southern lake as I type.
___________
heat lightning crackles
rain sizzles between the lines
brick walkway steaming
granite mountains rise
most troubles carried away
on rushing river
Metal gray clouds clear
Graduating ICU
Weather vane points home
QM,
We’ve followed the story of your brother
with bated breath.
So glad for the continuing good news.
Hope floats again…
Short Poem
Summer looms
My ass blooms
take me away Calgon
if scented bubbles
wont float
my troubles away
Jose Cuervo, lime and salt
hit me with a double!
Ole’!
sad…I know…grin
Laura, thank you so much. He’s so much better. And thank you for the haiku!
breathepeace, as always, a pleasure to have your haiku here.
Sheryl, love the Jose Cuervo haiku. It’s been a long time since I had any. Still, it reminds me of summers past.
________________
steaming boiled peanuts
peaches, bites of barbeque —
just like coming home
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), Memories Of The Savannah, and Out Of Chaos Comes [...]
flying by the seat
of one’s pants; plastic cups of
tea; heh: teacher stuff!
Hope not only floats
Sometimes it comes up for air
And it greets the light.
QM,
My work partner is intriged by the boiled peanuts, even went online yesterday to learn more. She asked one seller if she could have a small sample, but was denied. (Smallest order was 3 cans for $4.99+ shipping.) She has led a sheltered life; never lived any place except Montana; never been on an airplane. Hope you & Liz are enjoying being family history detectives.
oliverowl, the boiled peanuts are great. My sister asked us to bring her home some today, too. She called as we were driving up from St. Simon’s to Savannah. I think we’re going to be bringing quite a few peanuts back from Georgia. I did see today that they had boiled peanuts in cans at a convenience store. I had never seen them that way. Can’t be as good as the fresh vats we see in S.C. and Georgia.
______________
live oaks, dripping sweat
up the coast to Savannah
gallons of sweet tea
QM, in the can is a Southern thing, but they are far from what you get fresh at the roadside stands!
If oo could order raw peanuts on line they she could easily prepare them for her friend.
BTW, We used to have a Food Lion grocery store in a town nearby & they sold the peanuts in a can, along with lots of other Southern items. But they have closed down.
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
California oaks
don’t dress up in Spanish moss;
their mantilla green
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
small green promises
will you be fulfilled in time
or cling to your vine?
breathing in summer,
cherishing this precious life–
breathe out and let go
After sitting with #467 for awhile, it demanded to be changed:
breathing in summer,
holding this one precious life–
breathe out and let go
“clinging” to life and to fear, often go hand-in-hand for me. To move beyond fear, I must loosen my grip. To enjoy the full sweetness of life, I need to be willing to let go of it.
fan cooling my mind
watering black-eyed daisies
in dreams, in daylight
Big writing project
And my diversion tactics
Are multi-tasking.
just twenty-four hours,
blazing orange summer glory:
brief daylily life
This is a better version of # 470 in which I referred to “diversion tactics”. I think there’ a better name for those, one that we are familiar with.
Big writing project:
Monkey Mind is so busy,
Its multi-tasking.
It’s good to catch up on all the great haiku. breathepeace, I like the change to “holding” in #468. Robert, like the change to Monkey Mind in #472. Laura and oliverowl, beautfiul. It’s good to be back with more time to read.
_____________________
mind in a whirlwind
Georgia to Pennsylvania
(home), (home), (home again)
white fan sweeps the room
in the silence of black night
Liz’s fever breaks
head hits the pillow
night can’t stop the racing mind
serenity prayer
[...] to posts haiku (one-a-day), Labyrinth Walker, and labyrinth [...]
Here is my Haiku for the day.
tree roots strong and proud
white hot flames, nature flees, trees
rooted, hear their tears
I wrote this concerned about the season of wildfires.
HAIKU AT 30,000 FEET
one small wisp of cloud
sailing in infinite blue,
have you lost your way?
prairie below me
turned into a patchwork quilt
yellow, green and brown
writing in the sky
three haiku on a jet plane
make the time fly by
[...] to posts: savannah river haiku, haiku for the live oak, haiku (one-a-day) Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Ah, CRAPOLA (thank you Mom, for teaching me that [...]
oliverowl, your haiku are beautiful. It seems like a natural art form for you. Your triad (#476) rocks.
——————
peppermint white clouds
dance through the red in my eyes
soul blue summer skies
[...] -related to posts: WRITING TOPIC – NAMES OF FLOWERS, PRACTICE – Summer – 20min, haiku (one-a-day) [...]
I wished the sunshine
for you, the love of my life
storm clouds blew away
spring fades to summer
and now summer fades to fall
winter life awaits
river, rocks and falls
senses reel with sights and sounds
cat-tails standing guard
lupine blooming blue
in mountain meadows so high
match the cloudless sky
miracles happen
our hope is the catalyst
it makes our faith strong
tigerlily, what a powerful, spiritual haiku; I am so moved by it!
These were the last lines in one of my Writing Practices today. I decided to turn them into a haiku: My brain is trying to kill me. My heart tries to throw me a life preserver. My body’s caught in the middle.
________________
heart life preserver
my brain is trying to kill me
body caught between
QM, those three lines were so impactful. They really lend themselves to a haiku.
I did a WP this afternoon, and I found a haiku in it, although it doesn’t make a lot of sense, I’m afraid.
________________
my gills for breathing
the best kind of toffee taste
thousand-year-old skin
found late happiness
hiding just beyond a few
covered in smiles
My baseball summers
Await the wrecking ball with
The House That Ruth Built
five sibling catbirds
flutter among the hemlock
Mother Mary waits
ybonesy, your haiku from your Writing Practice (#485) fits together perfectly. Really makes you think. I like the last line — thousand-year-old skin. I find a lot of lines come from Writing Practices that make for good poetry.
Welcome pieceofpie! Welcome back Robert Morse & diddy. Always happy to read you here.
________________
summer weight, lifting
yellow cornflowers bloom tall
seeds from the prairie
calm lake beckoning:
sunlight shimmers on water,
kayak sits empty
loon calls across lake,
eerie three note “where are you?” –
here… right beside you
breathepeace, wherever you are sounds very peaceful.
__________________________
breezy August day
flies through square holes in the screen
touches my left cheek
In plays, Marcia says:
“The present evokes the past.”
As it does in life.
QM: I’m with my mom on Cable Lake in far northwestern Wisconsin. This is where I first read Clark Strand’s book and learned to write haiku. I’ve dubbed it “haiku heaven.” It is my heart’s home and also my favorite place on earth.
________________________________________________
beautiful silence:
paddle dipping in water,
call of forest birds
Robert Morse, that is so true (#493).
breathepeace – I am happy to know you are that much closer to us here in Minnesota (for the time being) (#494). I can imagine you there.
There is nothing like spending time in our favorite place on earth. It’s amazing how tranquil your haiku are in that place, too. And how all that comes through in 17 syllables.
Last night we watched the Full August Moon rise by a fire at a friend’s house. A Great Horned Owl flew over the pond. They see them nearly every night, right outside their door.
___________________________
great horned owl feathers
moon floating over the pond,
a wild raptor’s screech
[...] NOTE: Today Dee had a horse show, and once again I was so impressed by the gentleness of these animals as they carried their young riders that I wanted to do a haiku as a tribute to The Horse. The above rider is friend and former neighbor; her horse is Curly. This photo is not a good one (Em recommended against using it altogether), but it’s the best I have from the few I snapped (plus, I’d rather not publish kids’ faces since I didn’t get permission). -Related to post haiku (one-a-day) [...]
straw spun into gold
softly coloring my room
will warm winter nights
kayak in moonlight,
beaver SLAPS tail on water:
sending a warning
She hugged the whole world
For me it was enough to
Be in it with her.
aluminum sheets
rattle and flap like my ears
popping after baths
Congrats on being Comment #500, a~lotus, and welcome. What a great way to describe the popping of ears and the flapping of aluminum sheets. Perfect! I know that sound and feeling.
Here’s one from me:
when i close my eyes
i see a black rectangle
window into night
Thanks for the warm welcome!! I so need to escape from calculus at the moment and be basking in the midst of poetry since I missed it so!!
I hope to be more active here on this site!
And of course, meet new faces.
manual(ly)
the smell of new wood
builds a cozy study,
but breaks down one’s own nerves
Double welcome, a~lotus. So glad you are joining us here. Seems the 17-syllable haiku math would be so much simpler than calculus.
______________________
cardinal wire-sits
yellow finch at the feeder
cats perch behind glass
Vonnegut set free
His characters in BREAKFAST
Hope they’re doing well.
feathered friends arrive
at The Cafe 225
nature provides meal
unlocking door
welcomes sauna without steam-
reverse a/c action
And thanks for the welcome, QM!
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
silence at midnight
dishwasher burns, turns, and churns
through August slumber
sunlight tinged the tips
of prickly palm trees outside
my window-I yawned
rain drops, then sun shines
harmonica on the wind
cedar sings the blues
fingers of brown smoke
reach across our once blue sky
from the dragon’s lair
(Shoshone National Forest has been burning for weeks…I could cry!)
nameless faces walk
through foggy windows, through air-
I forget you not
hit-or-miss clutter
lemon polish wipes away
snow of dust on wood
a~lotus, I’m really enjoying your haiku. wonderful. you capture the simplicity and grace of the everyday in #515. wow.
oliverowl, so sad about the Shoshone National Forest (#513). I had not heard it on the news. Don’t know where I’ve been. I remember that helpless feeling when I lived in Montana and the forests would be burning all around us. Once in Missoula, there was a fire right up Rattlesnake Canyon. It takes so long for the land to recover. Sigh…
Here’s one for the rest of the buckthorn I need to tear out next to the house:
_________________
invasive gnarled limbs
sky-blue clouds in buckthorn skies
time for the chainsaw
Thanks, QM! I like yours too! The “gnarled”, “buckthorn”, and “chainsaw” really conjure jagged, pointy things I’ll DEFINITELY avoid touching!!
NOTE TO ALL: If you are sensitive to medically related stuff, please do NOT read my haiku/senryu below.
———————————–
anatomy class
plastic models of
the human body in rows-
dead pigs in a shop
Why live in the Past
When you can visit? I hear
Time-shares there are great.
[...] think the postcard is like a letter haiku. Think of everything you’ve learned in brief intervals of 17-syllable haiku from our regulars on [...]
a~lotus, ugh. And wow. I don’t remember that when I had anatomy class. great haiku though (#517). we’ve got to write about it all.
Robert, your trademark sense of humor shines through in #518. And I was thinking how strange it was then that I did that post in #519 — all about the past.
___________________
raisin bread breakfast
water bottle half empty
stomach over-full
Honoring Women on August 26th
not without power,
their voices move the nation:
19th Amendment
Oops, I messed up my title. It’s supposed to be: “Honoring Women on August 26th”.
a~lotus, I made the correction for you on #521. I’m grateful for your 19th Amendment haiku.
____________________
morning thunderstorm
Mr. Pants buries his head
lightning flash finds him
How interesting! Had it rained where you are? I’m getting the angry storms from the Gulf of Mexico. I dislike the hurricane season.
God’s bridge over
man’s bridge after thunderstorms-
promise and mercy
Oh, and thank you for fixing my post!
Yes, rain and thunderstorms as we were leaving the MN State Fair last night. We are SO lucky it held out as long as it did! I mean it was a downpour where we live.
_________________
Midway rain puddles
macaroni on-a-stick
dancing up a storm
late summer sunshine
warms painful fractured body
filling heart with light
[...] to post: haiku (one-a-day), MN State Fair On-A-Stick (Happy B’Day [...]
breathepeace, hope you’re okay.
_______________
time’s an illusion
spinning llama wool to thread
next to butter queens
Okay, I am sort of cheating but they’re somewhat related…
on digital billboards
storm is approaching
Gulf Coast region on alert
fill up your gas tanks
——————–
felt like a 100 plus
the ground tilted as I swayed
I seek relief
Wow, I’m making mistakes with words!!
“tilted” not “titled”!! Oy, maybe I shouldn’t write haiku/senryu so late… -_- I should be in bed now. Been a long day.
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), MN State Fair On-A-Stick (Happy B’Day MN!), MN State Fair On-A-Stick, Blogger In Vietnam [...]
a~lotus, I’m a little late getting here, but I made the correction. No problem. Great haiku (#529). I heard an NPR show on the storm that is heading for the Gulf Coast. They were interviewing people who had survived Katrina and are now prepping for this storm; that’s got to be scary. On the second one, you are still within the 17 syllables. It all works!
_________________
soft wind feels like Fall
warm sweatshirts, cool sunglasses
midway to winter
QM, you are my
mistress of ceremonies
of the seasons. Peace!
I wrote my first haiku poem some time ago: seems to work –
http://94stranger.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/poem-prayer-in-the-desert-reprise/
starts like this;
Lord, let me cross this
immensity – to come to
water and to life
———————–
visitors welcome.
BTW – it’s good to be back!
QM — I’m okay. On the last day (8/21) of vacation in Wisconsin, I was trimming a maple limb, which hung over my mother’s deck. I fell 12 feet to the ground and suffered a 30% anterior compression fracture to my first lumbar vertebrae. One day, maybe I should do a post on “choosing a landing.” Whether over water, or solid ground, there is one moment where you get to choose: face first or feet, etc. I made a lucky guess on landing and was walking, albeit painfully, later the same day. Here are four fractured-back haiku:
8.21.08
sawing maple limb,
when it breaks free, I am falling–
land in startling pain
8.23.08
constant companion,
pain dwells in right hip:
reminder of good fortune
8.24.08
gift of family,
worth not easily measured
until you need them
8.25.08
body racked with pain
mind celebrates survival:
happiest birthday
stranger, you’re back! How delightful. I’ve missed your haiku. Welcome back.
breathepeace, oh, my heart aches for you. I’m so sorry. Your haiku reflect and capture your pain; also the gratitude you feel for the support you have received and the healing. You are an amazing woman. I have always had great respect for you and the way you live your life. Sending warm healing energy. And a big hug.
_________________
warm thoughts to my friend
grateful, healing across miles
sky ribbons of love
time of ripening
grass and grains turn harvest gold
black-eyed Susans wink
I am sending you my prayers of healing, breathepeace! Please take care!
grasshopper trying
to use grass as a springboard
to heaven knows where
oliverowl, lovely haiku both #’s 536 and 538. I especially adored the latter as it is very childlike and tickles my funny bone.
To breathepeace:
may you heal quickly
in family’s loving care
breathe peacefully, friend
sticky afternoon-
lonely bee plays hide-and-seek
near honeysuckles
94stranger; nice to have you back. Were you crossing a desert? Have you ever been in Needles, CA? Hotter than Hades!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you a~lotus. I was doing a little nature-watch this beautiful evening, from my porch.
a cranky cricket
sending forth his loud complaint
as if I could help!
summer evening
a trail strewn between tile cracks
dead soldier ants
Outside the sky was
Partly cloudy but inside
The glass was half full
basil seeds float
with jello in dessert drink-
not frog eggs, dear!
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
crack of dawn
dreams cut short
by wailing false alarm
Thank you for your healing well-wishes. They are helping. I am better every day.
early morning chill,
sign of fall’s steady advance–
summer slips away
purple asters bloom,
sun cooled to sweater weather:
missing my old friend
50 degree chill
wasps run busy at the nest
St. Paul sits empty
[...] to posts: haiku (one-a-day), WRITING TOPIC – NAMES OF [...]
monstrance in sunlight
my heart dips in holy water
I genuflect
a~lotus, I had to look up the word monstrance. Really expands your haiku (#553). Happy Sunday everyone.
_______________
rain drips off the eaves
cool breeze through open window
where has summer gone?
Breathpeace, thank goodness you didn’t fracture any haiku-making parts! Heal well.
Oliverowl, I love your crickets
QM Thank you, it’s good to be back – and with some new kids on the block.
Robert, for me 545 is the big one: a frisson factor of at least 8 on a scale of 1 to 10
English Rain – Week Seven
I think I shall read
up on Noah; this rain threatens
to get biblical;
I may float away,
Pooh-like, on an umbrella -
with two pairs of cats.
P.S. Oliverowl – for the desert, hit the link provided!
at farmer’s market,
small old man sells happiness:
red geranium
To 94stranger,
Thanks for your comment and welcome back. I meant to dedicate 545 to George Carlin; I guess it’s not too late. His love for putting word usage under the microscope was one of his greatest talents. He may have done a bit on “partly cloudy” as opposed to “partly sunny”. I recommend to everyone Carlin’s “Modern Man” which is viewable on YouTube. It shows, for one thing, that he saved some his best work for the later part of his career.
QM, regarding #553: Yes, when I looked back at it, it is really the word that jumps out on you. lol It was simply a peaceful day that day, and a much needed one in fact!
casting long shadows,
bright fall sunshine slants through trees:
wear socks, not sandals
over the phone
a hello and updates
prompt an academic heart
on the road again
hurricane exodus of
mechanical swans
(aka: Yikes! There goes Ike!)
prairie sunset rose
brings memories of mother:
dying of cancer
The hero always
Saves the day. But tell me please
Who will save the night?
Some really nice haiku here. Wow. I just went back and read a few from the past few weeks; it stopped all the chatter in my head.
Robert Morse, who *will* save the night? Interesting about Carlin (#558). Liz and I watched an hour show of him on, I think, Sundance. Can’t remember for sure. But it was in the later part of his life. He was fearless, kept going strong and sharp, right to the end. When I was watching that film, I couldn’t help but remember him in his early career, how popular he was for speaking out with wit and humor.
breathepeace, love 557. Nice twist. Something about red geraniums. Thanks to everyone who leave their haiku here. Very grounding to read each day.
______________
death trails beside us
life is not a fairytale;
love? our only hope
like thoughts in my head,
drops constant patter on roof:
meditate on rain
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day [...]
94stranger; I hit the desert poem link and enjoyed the whole poem very much! Love Pooh & friends, especially Piglet, (also diddy’s favorite)
R. Morse: Carlin will be missed!! I enjoy and appreciate your haiku, especially the gentle humor.
moon plays hide and seek
or perhaps it’s peek-a-boo
childlike in her games
rain on red willow
puddles form porch mandalas
circles of blue light
trapped in the garage
a flitting blur in spirals
baby hummingbird
caged between palms
its beak pecks away, chirps, then
shoots like a firecracker
Black and white duo:
Old Puss – faded; Young Puss – sleek
as a city gent.
[On this side of the pond, gent is a recognised abbreviation for gentleman]
New student, sitting,
Contemplates their navel but
Can’t see past the lint.
Casket floor shadows
breeze through 3rd story windows
women sewing silk
petals are pages
from Nature’s book of beauty
flowers grace my room
behind twisted trees
the sun yawns its last rippling glow-
a silhouette
shorts? down comforter?
50 to 80 degrees -
schizophrenic Fall
late afternoon sun
slants through trees beside small lake–
leaves and teardrops fall
breathespace, how interesting that your image (#577) is very similar to the image I’ve seen that day (#575)!! However, I didn’t write about the lake that was made by Hurricane Ike.
a~lotus, it is interesting how #575 and #577 are similar. I think they are related in describing the quality and angle of sunlight in the fall.
robin’s egg blue sky,
reflects bright, waning sunlight:
yellow aspen leaves
burning bush, red flame
bluejay darts into pines
twilight colors glow
catching up with life
as the wind catches dried leaves
humidity wanes
on fall equinox,
busy squirrels race across roof:
prepare for winter
certain September
days have a stillness unmatched
by any others.
autumn makes debut
s’mores & hotdogs fill me
with summer delights
brisk fall wind blowing
creates colorful flurry:
a cyclone of leaves
You sure can tell the seasons are changing. Thread to thread to thread. Seasonal connections.
____________
flicker’s rhythmic drum
red squirrel raids the water jar
tipping the balance
It’s hard to see red
When you’re feeling blue ’cause the
Shades of gray are lost.
I’ve been gone for awhile, but my yearning to write has drawn me back.
I walk through darkness
Crickets sing beneath the pines
Smell the clear black night
visit long-time friend,
she sees my mother in me –
oh, God! I am old
GREAT RELIEF
feeling great relief
finally exhale fully –
son home from Army
season’s last rhubarb
into morning coffeecake:
enlistment ended
celebrating peace,
here at home, not in the world –
we raise our glasses
Robert Morse, that’s a sad one (#587) full of color.
Tigerlily, welcome back (#588). I can hear those crickets in the pines.
breathepeace, so glad your son is home. That must feel like a HUGE relief. Peace at home…maybe that’s where it all begins. Yes, let’s raise a glass — clink. (I like #589, too. Exactly how I’ve been feeling lately.)
_______________
cool breeze fills the air
red and yellow autumn leaves
cloud cover bristles
do not try to make
a bed upon which a cat
is taking a nap
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eucalyptus trees
dominate Golden Gate Park
in San Francisco
bluegrass festival
in the city by the bay
flowers in my hair
A Pepper Party
Forty years on. Brian wore
Flowers in his beard.
mindfulness wind chime
sings only present moment
in brisk autumn breeze
crows season the sky
peppering the horizen
…my car too
picking dry grasses,
small grey squirrel has mouthful:
building treetop nest
oliverowl, are you in San Francisco (#592)? So true about the cat nap.
___________________
fingers numb with cold
typing by open windows
Fall makes her debut
I don’t know the first thing about Haiku. Just saying that up front.
—————————–
grains of rice like stars
adorn the harvest goddess
jewels from the earth
hot cup of coffee
curls of steam smell of toast
snore softly my son
from empty feeder,
red-winged blackbirds call for more:
autumn’s transients
gently removed cat
Chaco curled up in the sink
reluctance resists
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QM, last Sat. I watched “Austin City Limits,” the hour was devoted to the annual bluegrass festival in Golden gate Park; so I was there “virtually” and feeling nostalgic about my college days in Berkeley.
( A Sunday afternoon in the park was a cheap date .)
my chiropractor
asks “what happened to your back?”
“the world” i tell him
LOL, ybonesy, may I steal your haiku answer to use with MY chiropractor? It’s perfect!
*******************************************
in autumn of life,
yellow cottonwood leaves fall:
tree mortality
with hope for future –
autumn trees cast leaf ballots,
never counting them
@breathespeace: I love both #’s 603-604, especially the phrase “leaf ballots”.
It’s also an appropriate phrase for this year’s presidential election!!
@yb: I so do agree with you! (#602) LOL. It’s a burden I need to learn how to lessen! Oh, and thank you for your compliment/comment on my poem over at my poetry blog!
@all of my dear fellow writers & redRaviners: I’ve been busy with school and work. My fingers are itching to type (and write)! I always feel welcome here.
===========================
From the sky
a soft glowing touch
paints the back of every leaf
summer’s last honey
ybonesy, you many be responsible for a foray of chiropractor haiku. Here’s my contribution.
My chiropractor
Stays busy cracking bad jokes
As he cracks my back.
Welcome back A~Lotus (#605) and best of luck with school and work. Glad that you could take a haiku break!
=================================
October frost nears,
rose bushes filled with small buds:
an empty promise
milkweed pods had burst
into cotton-candy puffs
drenching rain drowns them
paws kept dry on porch
grass glistening with rain drops
cat’s Sunday salad
parking, slow walking
drizzling rain spatters glasses
peace bubbles inside
facing mother’s death,
while raking cottonwood leaves:
winter coming soon
butterflies and bees
swarm flowers as if they know:
prediction for snow
Another haiku break!
========================
Remnants of Summer
the wind plays hopscotch
with leaves from trees as frogs would
leap across a pond
spotty leaves rain down
damp sidewalk cracked and spinning
yellow and red swirls
There is a haiku contest that I learned about. The downside is that todaqy, the 15th is the last day to enter. The site is http://site.PFAW.org/haiku.
It is a request for haiku with a political bent. I usually try to stay away from that subject on this site; nonetheless, here is my entry.
********
With stock exchange down
A subject change is expressed
By putting on airs.
Robert Morse, how strange…I actually wrote a little political haiku this morning BEFORE you dropped your comment in. I was thinking about the debates. I’m not entering the contest, but now that you’ve left your comment, I’ll drop my haiku in here.
_______________
debate all you want
politics hold no answers
only more questions
Cottonwoods dropping
leaves resembling golden hearts
that know death is near
[...] According to Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, the A. gemma is “sometimes called the ‘cat-face’, ‘monkey-face’ or ‘humpback’ spider since it has a pattern of dark markings and raised areas on its back that seem face-like. Females of this spider are generally rounded with angular ’shoulders’ and can reach a size exceeding a quarter. They make webs in undisturbed corners, often near porch lights, and are often found in late August and September around the eaves of houses… A. gemma hides in dark corners at the edge of the web during the day. She remains in contact with the web via a ‘trap-line’ thread that signals when insects have been ensnared.” Jim found this spider under a cropping of overgrown juniper bushes. It was a large spider but not nearly as large as the Orb Weaver pictured in recent post Reflections On My Love Of Fall. -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
October haiku
dark when I get home
dark morning when I arise
midnight chimes between
when the bell tolls ten
now I lay me down to sleep
dark dreamy slumber
my favorite color
seen only as nature spies
hiding deep brillance
crackling thunder leaves
sunlight across misty skies
grazing flannel sheets
morning grogginess
rain thumps against the window
Fall is past its peak
[...] to post: haiku (one-a-day Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Job HaikuEthan Katz-Bassett – The Hubble [...]
long gold afternoons
October geraniums
come inside to live
wind gusts through the oaks
winter snow on the doorstep
leaves cling for their lives
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
wind through sun-drenched leaves
morning comes to the valley
32 degrees
I thought you lost, down
A rabbit hole in your mind.
Instead you chose Life.
wipers screech, thin ice
stripes pop over the windshield
Liz wearing mittens
november like a
thief steals through my senses; leaves
me facing winter
buried in pink rose,
nose draws deep, autumn’s last scent:
warm November day
windy afternoon
your arms wrapped around my waist
like a second coat
CAMPUS
misty rain; fallen
leaves colour lawns; wet students
homing in the dusk
The taste of cream soothes
As hibernus brings cheer
To the saddest man.
Welcome to red Ravine Trishula. And it goes without saying how much I love our regular haiku contributors.
_________
notions of heaven —
writing late into the night
waking up to snow
[...] -related to post: haiku (one-a-day) [...]
Breath held eight years while
The Orwell Playbook was used.
Now I can exhale.
Robert Morse, another enigma in #637. Holding the breath for 8 years, waiting to exhale.
__________________
Pants has a birthday
sleeps on the back of the couch
under warm Fall fleece
INTERSTATE 25 — NORTH
dark Colorado highway,
running four lanes, west to east:
deer in my headlights
in just an instant,
bracing and pressing brakes hard:
one life is ended
CAUTION: deer crossing –
did not see the yellow sign
till two days later
breathepeace, sounds like an intense experience (#639). You’ve conveyed so much emotion with those few lines. Hope things turned out okay and you are safe.
lotus, I like the line like a second coat (#632)
stranger, homing in the dusk – great line (#633).
__________________
snow-filled sleet spinning
twirling raspberry gray skies
where’s my winter coat?
water warms crab legs
fire in fireplace warms our hearts
bitter sweet butter
Another chiropractor haiku/senryu:
My chiropractor
kneads my muscles as if he
were making fresh bread.
P.S. I’m writing this chiropractor haiku/senryu because I’m still sore from the accident.
But it feels great to get those bones and muscles in line and relaxed!
great one, diddy. Hmmm. crab legs.
lotus, so sorry to hear you are still under the weather. That’s taking some time to heal, isn’t it. Glad you are able to get the help you need. And, yeah, keep those bones and muscles slowly moving.
__________________
chimes of midnight near
teeth brushing is in order
day ends in sparkles
world all dressed in white –
while sleeping, winter arrived:
waking-up to snow
flu shot
killed virus through skin
our bodies swinging hot-cold
fall chills and sniffles
The ice storm’s beauty
Makes it easy to forget
The screaming of trees.
Note: There was a rock group called The Screaming Trees. I wonder if ice storms had anything to do with their choice of name.
went out for business:
grey, cold, drizzle; needed to
see the sea; didn’t.
breathing oxygen
my toes cold, wrapped in blankets
flames burn the log red
Wow, I really like the flow of everyone’s haiku/senryu. It’s all related somehow to the cold, about-to-be-winter season.
I’m sometimes running
out scared, out of lines to say:
Love thaws the frozen
To slow racing thoughts
Put up hurdles, the high ones.
And/or a brick wall.
Thanks to all for the wonderful haiku. What a great name for a rock group – The Screaming Trees. Yes, lotus, winter’s definitely upon u