h is for haiku
five seven five poetry
elusive season
Haiku is challenging for me, but it remains my favorite form of poetry. I know the Japanese count sounds that are not present in the English language, so the pure 5-7-5 count does not really translate--but I still like the 5-7-5 count that most people, mistakenly or not, view as Haiku. A well written Haiku is much more involved.
In addition to the syllable count, there is no title or punctuation--including capitalization.
But more important than the form, is the content.
The Haiku poem evokes the feeling of a season or time of year, and after the cutting word--which acts as an audible punctuation mark--marrys two seemingly unrelated thoughts.
Unfortunately, I just don't get the kigo--seasonal component. I also don't get the kireji--the cutting word that acts as the verbal punctuation. Sometimes I don't even get the grammatical or imagacal (that's not even a word--but you know what I mean) juxtaposition of the two different thoughts expressed.
But I still love the 5-7-5 count.
Senryu, another Japanese form of poetry, is probably a more correct term for 5-7-5 poetry since Senryu has no requirement of a seasonal reference. But more people are familiar with the term Haiku, so that's the term I use most. When I say I like 5-7-5 poems, if people don't get it, I have said, "it's kind of like Haiku--but without the season." It's not strictly accurate; however, people seem to understand that description.
Writing Haiku is challenging. I don't write it well. But I still live it. And I'm slowly learning and improving. At least I hope so. I'm basing my growth on the fact that I'm begining to recognize the need for the contextual components.
Now I just need to learn how to add them to the form...
haiku poetry
seasonal symbolism
challenge accepted
About Me
- Loulymar
- My bags are packed and I'm always ready to seek out an adventure with Bandit and Moggy in tow. Bandit is my thirteen year old Chinese Crested, who I frequently call The Bald One or The BaldOne Boy (like he was one of the Baldwin Brothers). Moggy’s full name is Pip-Moggy. He’s my two year old gansta-resuce kitty. I couldn’t decide between Pip (which are the spots on die and domino tiles) and Moggy (or Moggie when I mistakenly thought he was a she), so I combined the two. Moggy refers to the British term for "cat of unknown parentage .” So in essence, I have an almost bald dog, and I’ve named my cat “Spot.”
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