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"Haiku is a way of letting God know we are paying attention." Margaret D McGee, Haiku - the sacred art I am trying to write something everyday but my varied schedule & responsibilities aren't conducive to setting aside a "writing time" ( or maybe I don't have the discpline). I do however find myself responding to moments in my day with haiku-like thoughts. So......... I decided to start a haiku journal... Haiku seems to me to be a perfect vehicle for capturing daily responses since brevitiy and clarity are at the heart of the form. My initial goal is to write & post at least one haiku a day. I probably will have many lapses but only time will tell. I thought I'd share this idea with you all and invite you to join me sharing your own haiku moments here when your heart moves you. A "haiku moment:: A moment when the mind stops and the heart moves."*Margaret D McGee This haiku thread will be a little different from the "haiku train" which builds on others' word images. Here haikus should simply be responses to a moment in time. So as a reminder with an overly simplified definition, haiku is: 17 syllables or less image driven written in the moment shared parallel images. Traditionally in 3 units, 1. an image 2. a parallel or an expansion of the image 3. the human enlightenment or Ah ha moment. often written in a 5/7/5 syllable frame but that is not a hard and fast rule. Although I have to admit I find the 5/7/5 frame seems to naturally finds its way into most of my haiku give or take a syllable. often called senryu (haiku exploiting human nature with a humorous slant) when funny and funny is always welcome here. I really hope to see you contribute your haiku in this thread along with me. ~~Tink

Still in the grasp of the romance of the Royal Wedding. Tanka #5 Dawn silently slidesinto our sanctuary.No longer alone,our vows validate our love.As one, we wake to new life. ~~Judi Van Gorder Tanka

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there. . ."A g-r-o-a-n and a c-r-a-c-k shatter the sapient silence. A widow maker crashes to the forest floor. In its wake, a hush hovers. ~~Judi Van Gorder A "sonic" Tanka Playing with sound, in particular onomatopoeia.

Homage to Romance a dust of diamonds in the midnight Galaxy glitters high above an outdoor dance floor empty all but for one lone couple holding each other lovers dance to their own tune charging the moment caught up in the melody of magic and moonlight the music hushes all too soon the night will die they cling in silence reluctant to say goodbye to part at the light of dawn ~~Judi Van Gorder Aubade in Tanka frame Inspired by the prompt "dancing under the stars" and Tony mentioning the genre Aubade.

this night long agosheltered in a plain stablea King will be bornonly shepherds and angelswill witness God's gift of hope ~~Judi Van Gorder Tanka

Two and three-quarters inches in old garden gauge Leaf beetles washed off Vegetables soaked this week with more rain than all last summer 062413 / 2326

You can have pilsner reminds of two college bars More was spilled than beer Memories of such are vivid new scented images 070213 / 0042

Spring ephemerals perform quickly in the sun. Carpet of colors. Their stage is open briefly before the curtain of leaves. 'keeper 043013 / 2330

Third ounce of whisky releases a day's trouble sleep comes more quickly with dreams perhaps of Ireland or crags and moors of Scotland 051813 / 0030

My granddaughter Brooklyn on Nabisco during hippo therapy May is Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month, Brooklyn suffered a stroke while in the womb and was born with only half a brain, consequently she was born paralyzed on the right side. Since beginning hippo therapy we have seen a vast improvement in her balance. small girl mounts tall horse crippled foot slips from stirrup animal adjusts steps under her shifted weight smiling child learns to balance ~~jvg

You won't weep for me as I would not hear your cries Bury not the dead It's part of you that has passed You bury yourself instead 'keeper 050613 / 1000

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Japanese Verse Tanka, 短歌 "short song" is meant to be filled with personal and emotional expression. The tanka expresses feelings and thoughts regardless of the direction they take. Originally there was also an attempt to connect these thoughts and feelings to nature. The tanka, unlike the haiku, may use figurative expressions such as metaphor or simile. The form is less rigid, more casual than the haiku. It allows the imagination to help the poet express feelings. The tanka is a descendant of the waka, one of the earliest Japanese forms and dates back to the 8th century. The description of the waka and tanka are separated by a thin line, mostly time. However the tanka is defined more by content and style than syllabic prescription, still most tanka like its ancestor the waka are confined by 31 onji or syllables and broken into 5 lines of 5-7-5-7-7. Members of the royal court were expected to write tanka and it was often exchanged as communication, including being passed as love notes. It became the concluding stanza of the communal linked Renga. Classic Japanese Tanka were collected in anthologies that were sponsored by members of the royal court. One of the most prominent writers of the 9th century was a woman, Ono no Komachi, still admired for her work. When a tanka is satirical it is sometimes referred to as a kyoka or "crazy poem". The form addressed themes as natural beauty, love, the impermanence of life, the activities of the common people and separation. "To be touched by things" "mono no aware" is an important idea in tanka writing as well as the later developed Haiku. A Tanka String is a group of tankas written around the same theme and strung together in no particular order. The elements of the tanka are: syllabic, 31 or less syllables, most commonly 5-7-5-7-7, in variation the lines are best kept with odd numbered syllables. normally but not always a 5 line poem, the 5 line pattern however does seem to prevail. defined by content and style more than the syllabic prescription. But there is still a pattern of short and long lines rather than a metered equal length. written as a personal or emotional expression of themes such as natural beauty, love, the impermanence of life, the activities of the common people composed with the priority of "to be touched by things" "mono no aware" and use of concrete images. I wait for you Oh! With tender passion As in my house The bamboo blinds stir Blown by autumn wind ---Princess Nukada (7th century) See how the blossoms That are falling about me Fade after long rain While, quietly as in prayer, I have gazed my life away. --- Ono no Komachi (9th century) I shut my eyes But nothing whatsoever Surfaces in my mind In my utter loneliness I open them up again ---Takuboku (19th century) chill of soundless night without your breath near my ear pillow untended lies on cold and empty bed waits for heat of your return. . . --- Judi Van Gorder Brooklyn and Star small girl mounts tall horse crippled foot slips from stirrup animal adjusts steps under her shifted weight smiling child learns to balance ~~~jvg