It’s time for a new literary challenge on Caedes! I think writing Haiku would be both interesting and a challenge. The information below is from (http://home.clara.net/pka/haiku/haiku.htm).

Haiku is a form of poetry popular in Japan, which is becoming more widely appreciated around the world in this century. Haiku writers are challenged to convey a vivid impression in only 17 syllables. Each ‘Haiku’ is divided into 3 lines, of 5 – 7 – 5 syllables.

One of the greatest exponents of this form was Basho (1644-94)

A Haiku by Basho

Waterjar cracks:
I lie awake
This icy night.

In Japan these poems are valued for:
• Their lightness
• Their simplicity
• Their openness
• Their depth

:: PLEASE NOTE :: For variety and interest’s sake – please post between 1-3 Haiku at a time. Really long posts will spoil the very simple and elegant nature of Haiku!

Enjoy and remember 5-7-5 syllables!

My first attempt:

Land no water:
Dry winds blow over
Rain can heal

TV art contest
at last something good to watch
and not before time

sunny winter day
round the walls the wind still moans
home she comes again

Facebook posted me
in last night's dream to her wall
crossroads of nowhere

sun on the river
the far hills forever young
ice relaxes hold

bright sunny teatime
shortbread with hot brew of steam
drives off winter's chill

cold night, hands like ice
frost creeps along the walkways
grey cat curls between

(I'm horrible at haikus but have enjoyed reading yours...it's an art!)

Thank you -- they're just for fun. :-)

singing an old tune
through the byways of my mind
an end eternal

flowers blooming
the sun is shining
all is well

her joyful haiku
one o'clock and all is well
here too in the night

hot not-quite-a-cold,
in your aching head the start
of what seemed nothing

flimsy little bug
snatches you feverishly
you thought it gone

too hard a sleep
in shadows nightmares creeping
awakening is slow

(I just read the directions above and realize I messed up...does it really have to have only 17 syllables? 5-7-5, I think??)

hands wrapped around warmth
steaming embracingly tea
at peace and relaxed

It's a good place to start (5-7-5) but I read somewhere that, as long as the middle line is longer than the other two, it doesn't matter. Also there are two elements we are meant to try and incorporate -- (1) nature (especially the season or possibly time of day) and (2) an 'aha' moment and some form of surprise or contrast.

I feel that so long as we're having fun, we don't have to be dogmatic about it, but it's worth keeping in mind to see if we can push the haiku along in that direction.

I liked what the following article said about the line lengths of haiku... I found it a few weeks ago when writing to someone about it but was too stupid to bookmark the article! It took me a little searching to find again; usually you have to remember exactly what your Google search term was in the first place... in this case it was something like 'haiku easier to write', heh. :-)

Haiku: Easy or Hard?

yellowed pages turn
fluttering in the breeze
sunlit memories

(I think I'm too concrete a thinker for this! lol)

I like that one!

I think haiku are meant to be about observation of things around you... so 'concrete' is good. ;-)

just picture the scene
Midsomer Murders serves us
wild pigs and truffles

roses, crimson and scarlet
petals everywhere
solemn vows under a lace veil

my concentration
in darkness slipping away
lost now from the light

emails in Blighty
still drippy down there is it?
sun up here's blippy

a flight of fancy
ah! delightful reverie
illusions fulfilled

render Brycean
storm clouds flashed with sudden green
moon-rimmed tree like stone

Where is the Moon Cat
Promised so many weeks ago
Sun Cat is alone...

(I loved that image...would have won if I had been allowed to vote!)

mooncat didn't know
suncat was feeling lonely
he begs her pardon

will appear when done
stalking watercolours
from behind the cloud

(Gallops off after a painting of an old American family home).

LOL

the water reflects
clouds shimmering and dancing
to the sky's rhythm

gaudy butterflies
on paper lantern flicker
flighty dreams tonight

cool breezes wafted
in pungent smokey wisps
lavender incense

it digi-flashed one
the mouse plucked up the watch
then plopped it down again

yay Pluto flyby
buzzing past the furthest moons
here we are we cry

An article from the Beeb: New Horizons: Pluto probe enters key flyby phase

make them an offer
faded artwork, dusty books
a lifetime ago

darkly wandering
rabbit through the hazy stars
my way is not clear

bowing in the moonlight
shadows in silence hovering
the dew glistened grass

her three midnight lines
in the pond of my own mind
nothing surfaces

cereal crackling
steam curling from coffee
ah, yes! it's breakfast

blowsy peonies
summer's rosy blush fading
sink down to the earth

red silicone watch
wrist remains white and clear
gift of time is lost

old men, furrowed brows
mahogany chess pieces moving
in rote harmony

drowsy cats in warmth
house cocooned in cloak of night
creep away to dream

mirrors reflecting
images of former beauty
time has flown away

warm as the sun,
kind as the rain, gentle as snow
that's beauty, you know ;-)

mellowness in time
seeking truth that's never found
while we ourselves change

a whimper, a sigh
soft paws kneading, her cry
awakens the dawn

cold Scottish summer
freezing fog and blasting winds
sun gone so rain falls

hot liquorice tea
with your sweet kindness warming
help the day go through

dreams like a feather
flicker gently wings of angels
fly away in the dawn

blue gold, cold warm day
together in the sunset
both winter and spring

(Why are limericks so easy, but it takes forever to think up a haiku? Haven't figured that out yet.)

lightning streaks the sky
flashes revealing secrets
of the dark

the ink, hardly dried
drops fall across the printed page
bespeaking sorrow

dusty window panes
rattling in emptiness
abandoned, alone

Some haikus just never sound right, do they... it takes days, and sometimes I have to change a line or word I thought was set in stone.

young Montalbano
stalking murder dark and foul
eases the day's end

I reckon this whole 'earworm' thing is bigger than just music... it covers films and books as well. All these things get under your skin and you suffer cravings. The BBC seemed to sense me thinking about Montalbano, and bingo! He appears. Perhaps it's just that time of year. :-)

Ahh, how I wished I had access to BBC tv programs! We get them a year or two later, across the pond. So Montalbano is not someone I'm familiar with! lol

I hope you get him... he's the best thing on TV, for me.

in the sleepy wave
we pale shadows disappear
without a sound

Plural of 'haiku' is 'haiku', so maybe I should change that habit of mine. Though...

Just checked -- 'haikus' still acceptable. Makes it clear we're referring to several haikus rather than just one, so I prefer to stick with that, personally.

fussy insistence
haiku-haikus contention
I will not challenge :-P

gossamer cocoons
hidden in stark gray branches
prepare for winter

in the sky Lucy
with diamonds slyly twinkles
why is not clear

blithe flights of fancy
twirling, swirling in loveliness
settling like a dream

got stuff to do soon :-(
taxes and other nice things
so see you later

my cat drinks coffee
quite without invitation
or compunction

sapphire summer days
settle in autumnal leaves
of filigree gold

cold marbled granite
specters shrouded underneath
rest in still repose

(for Halloween)

done are the figures
no men of business rattle
chains through Halloween

winds whisper secrets
between rows of mossy stone
remorse, regret, final

it got dark at noon
clouds gathered in misty chill
all our summer gone

That said... we are lucky to have this kind of climate, along with what promises to be a genuinely atmospheric Halloween! From what I hear, others are suffering in roasting heat in surroundings as dry as tinder.

Will send everyone buckets of wet cloud... it worked for Hannah.

Trolls versus Vikings
face the Gods in all their rage
in their high domain

sunny honey girl
record spinning long ago
in African dust

fluttering windward
butterflies saying goodbye
to warm summer days

a wandering song
sun beats on distant shores
home more dear by far

autumn stamps her feet..
mortified, faces color,
and fall in chagrin...

glowing summer days
falling into autumn's gold
crumble like old leaves

my golden drawing
sadly died this afternoon
of autosave glitch :-(

withered heads bend
in sadness, they die alone
their seeds fall in hope

[Sparked by my silly acronym]:

lonely old vampire
spinning long and winding yarns
end unhappily

pink Vespa canvas
tumbling roses sweep around
the wasp seems at home

bats in the moonlight
masquerade in shadows as
angels of darkness

icy hunter's moon
stalking through the shadows deep
fiery stars like mice

Shared haiku (Connie and Sandra):

Days getting shorter
Cold winds beginning to howl
Summer has left the room

Don't know what it is about Connie's lines, but they always sound nicer than mine... and her punchline is a real punchline!

I've never written a haiku before this thread, and I can see they have definitely improved with practice. Still not easy, though! lol

It's something to do when we can't sleep -- but it's funny how some work quite quickly, and others are awful no matter what I do. Well, on with the next one...

the darkening street
moon emerges stars gleam out
night is stealing in

dust bumping overhead
frolicking into light beams
between the fluffage

This reminds me of your artworks. Neato.

the leaves swirl about
touching lightly one last time
a poignant farewell

Autumn time is here
Winter knocks on the frontdoor
Spring is far away

in quiet silence
the moon reigns, admired
by all of heaven

fallen leaves
in drifts down the path
air turns cool

hunting for haiku
figurative haggis shoot
in purple heather

(They're nippy wee blighters).

Someone's inner imp missed a prime opportunity when this thread was first posted..

"Will You.. HAIKU?"

'Bless you.'

:-P

If you'd only waited another eight days before posting this! Then I would have been able to point out it's exactly 8 years since you last posted in this thread.

Though I wish I hadn't, now. Where did the time go??

Serious? Almost eight years?

Holy moley.. time.

It's a.. thing.
A fast moving.. thing.

(p.s. The above is not exactly the correct use of that invoking the intended tone of that expression. It is usually used to reference things, stuff.. that might initially seem to defy being a real-life possibility.. and typically, in a somewhat snarky, sarcastic and/or humorous way.)

Ah, I get it now! Just wondered if maybe somebody really said "Words... they're a thing," so I was wondering what I was missing. My antennae were pointing the wrong way, in other words.

Was that your haiku, by the way?

almost eight years...
time is a thing, Moley!
a fast moving thing!

mysterious path
snake twisting through wild brambles
you climb or you fall

Captured prey
a dead mouse in my kitchen
needs picking up

spring has come
trees adorn their hair
with robin's nests

think quickly
type hesitantly
fill a space

composing haiku
cover the chill underfoot
light carpet of words

Cat Haiku.

LOL...about the cat haiku, looks familiar to me. :o)

The weather is hot
Warmth is filling the city's
They need to cool down

Raindrops fall gently
Absorbed by earth
Joined by tears

We had similar weather and thoughts on the 27th! This was mine:

sadness falls
dark as cloud
damp as rain