H is for Haiku: A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018

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