Haiku

**Byzantine Prince** · 06-19-2006, 08:51

Spammeth thus for me
for the axe is sharp
and woodkiller free.

**Drisos** · 06-19-2006, 12:06

Times come and times go,
But some things don't fade away.
I'll be by your side.

**macsen rufus** · 06-19-2006, 15:20

Rainbow haiku

to see the rainbow
above this grey horizon
i stand in the rain

**drone** · 06-19-2006, 15:32

If they beat Ghana
And Italy beats the Czechs
US advances

**Shaka_Khan** · 06-19-2006, 19:22

**drone** · 06-19-2006, 20:00

If US goes through
Next round have to play Brazil
Frying pan, fire?

**Masy** · 06-19-2006, 20:14

Dan Brown

His books should not be
Tossed aside lightly: They should
Be thrown with great force.

**Ianofsmeg16** · 06-20-2006, 15:52

Penguin Glides like fish,
Then hits head on big iceberg,
now he is dead...ish?

**Togakure** · 06-20-2006, 16:25

A couple of weeks ago I bought my first book on Haiku history/composition. I've been dabbling with haiku for years, but never really understood it beyond the 5-7-5 thing mentioned earlier here (btw: the Japanese sense of rhythm in speech doesn't equate to syllables per se, so strict 5-7-5 is not required).

Very simply put: Capture an experience in words, with the intent of conveying to a reader what you were feeling. Haiku is not an "intellectual" exercise, not simply a clever play on words.

I wrote this one quite some time ago when I was very darkly depressed. I looked in on my beloved goddaughter sleeping late at night, and I felt better for a brief moment:

Breath, rising, falling
at play in a field of dreams
candle in the night

(btw: a "good" haiku requires no explanation)

This one expresses a very different experience/emotion:

Vile satisfaction
as hopeless eyes surrender
the Light of Life fades

These are just wannabe haikus, but better than most of the others I've written in the past. Perhaps in time I'll find a groove.

**mercian billman** · 06-21-2006, 03:14

Originally Posted by TogakureOjonin

A couple of weeks ago I bought my first book on Haiku history/composition. I've been dabbling with haiku for years, but never really understood it beyond the 5-7-5 thing mentioned earlier here (btw: the Japanese sense of rhythm in speech doesn't equate to syllables per se, so strict 5-7-5 is not required).

Very simply put: Capture an experience in words, with the intent of conveying to a reader what you were feeling. Haiku is not an "intellectual" exercise, not simply a clever play on words.

I wrote this one quite some time ago when I was very darkly depressed. I looked in on my beloved goddaughter sleeping late at night, and I felt better for a brief moment:

Breath, rising, falling
at play in a field of dreams
candle in the night

(btw: a "good" haiku requires no explanation)

This one expresses a very different experience/emotion:

Vile satisfaction
as hopeless eyes surrender
the Light of Life fades

These are just wannabe haikus, but better than most of the others I've written in the past. Perhaps in time I'll find a groove.

Wonderful haiku, their better than anything I've ever written. I've been writing haiku for about two years, when I first started I did it as a project for a high school class, eventually it evolved to the point where a friend and I began doing haiku battles for the entertainment of our classmates.

Staring into nothing
Despair penetrates the soul
Hells fury awaits

**master of the puppets** · 06-21-2006, 04:59

first off i know nothing of haiku except the 5-7-5 thing that togakure just shot down.

a haiku to haidong gumdo, my art.

I raise my ka-gum
and so deflect the rogue blow
i let loose his blood

and another after reading a book on Chernobyl

a land dead and grey
where life should be theres none
even the trees seem tortured

**Togakure** · 06-22-2006, 14:00

*bows* Thanks mercian billman. The challenge for me has been "quieting my mind and spirit" so that I can actually observe, feel, and then make the difficult translation from intangible feelings to tangible words which express those feelings artfully.

Ironically, I've noticed that this attempt at discipline while seeking haiku subject matter results in verse that feels and sounds contrived. Oh well, I'll just learn how to live with a quiet mind and Spirit all the time. That shouldn't be too difficult, and then the haiku should flow like water.

***

*grins* The 5-7-5 thing is fine. I tend to be obsessive about it myself because, for the longest time, I thought it was a hard requirement for haiku writing. The syllable count isn't so important, yet it's the first thing most remember about haiku. There is a rhythm, but it doesn't have to be 5-7-5 exactly. The book I've been reading explains, but I've not the time to type it out just now.