Scraps Of Mind

Haiku Heaven

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In a previous post, Journaling from the Heart, I recommended the haiku as a good approach to communicating an emotion or a mood for those of us who struggle with writing emotional language. Its structured form removes the ‘unnecessary’ words we often clutter up our communication with and cuts straight to the heart of the feeling we want to convey.

I received quite a bit of mail about this (although no one took up my challenge to post their efforts in the comments section. And yesterday’s DSP blog prompt put out a challenge to write a haiku. So I thought I’d provide some examples from other proponents of the haiku form to hopefully, kick start the thinking processes. And Scrapbookers, if you don’t want to write your own some of these examples might be useful for you to lift and use in your layouts.

Because a haiku ‘distils’ the words into a very concise framework it is perfect for capturing a feeling, a moment of insight or the essence of an experience. The traditional pattern of three lines set in a 5 syllable, 7 syllable, 5 syllable pattern has been modified in the English speaking world as the structure our language doesn’t lend itself to the natural rhythm of that pattern as easily as the Japanese language. The important thing is to capture the essence or intent of the subject matter with an ecomomy of words. Here are a selection of examples which I hope illustrates this.

embers die
the chair where the friend sat
fills with moonlight
Cicely Hill

their laughter…
the woods filled with white trillium
and sunshine
Betty Drevniok

across the fields of stubble
flame stalks flame
David Cobb

clouds like
thrown fire
– magnolia flowers
Asuka Nomiyama

day’s end
emptying the beach
from my shoe
Pamela Miller Ness

by firelight
listening to the silence
of things we can’t see
Larry Gross

high above the city
dawn flares
from a window-washer’s pail
Cor van den Heuvel

only the stone-smell
tells of it…
summer rain
Kenneth Tanemra

first snow
the neglected yard
now perfect
Elizabeth St Jacques

the stillness!
the voice of the cicadas
sinks into the rocks
Basho

framing the space
where once she was –
my mother’s ring
Don McLeod

little boy
discovers the world –
puddle after puddle
Bertus de Jonge

ebb tide
every footprint leaves
another moon
Marikay Eldridge

And here’s one from me:

traffic throbs around me
cocooned in my car, I smile
and turn up the music

Karooch

So are you up for it?

Give it a go and post your contributions to Haiku Heaven in the comment section of this post.

Other related posts:
Scrapbooking Tips & Techniques - Journaling from the Heart