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| a favorite 2014 |
"There are many variations of haiku, but all haiku are small poems. Some forms count syllables, others don't. Some are written in variations of longer and shorter lines--others are simply limited by the overall number of syllables." --Haiku Journal
Does the idea of variation--so many varying styles and approaches--in haiku put up roadblocks to your attempts to write this type of poetry and cause you to veer away before even giving it a chance? Here comes my pep talk--don't be afraid to venture into the world of haiku!
Simple exercises can help get you started. One idea I particularly like:
"Try to write a haiku--or several haiku. Before you do, go to a natural setting and study a specific area. Visually create a circle thirty feet in diameter, and keep your eyes trained on that spot. When your observation connects with a specific movement, write our opening line. The movement may carry you through two lines, or just one. Either way, look for the juxtaposition in the relationship--aging willow/image unsteady--and use the rest of your haiku to write it out. Write sparsely and with precision. When you've completed your written observation, hone it to a 5-7-5 syllable count but leave nothing essential out." --"Experience the World Precisely" at Poetry Through the Ages
Charles Trumbull, editor of Modern Haiku has said, "Haiku, like other forms of poetry, are vehicles for transmitting meaning." Using haiku as a vehicle we come to day twenty-two haiku:
violet face sweet
quietness tucked in the grass...
smiles pass hand to heart
--Kenda Turner
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