As with many programs, getting through the 3rd day is usually the toughest. So I’m going to try and make Day 3 a little easier to help everyone complete the first 10% of our challenge. The way I look at it 3 days should equal 3 lines; in other words, today we’ll be writing a haiku.
The official Day 3 prompt: write a haiku.
Now, you ask: What constitutes a haiku? (Very good question, by the way.)
Here are some previous posts I’ve made about this form:
* Haiku on September 11 (posted by Nancy Breen)
If you’re not big on researching the haiku, here’s a quick primer on what constitutes a haiku:
1. It’s a 3-line poem.
2. While many think the lines should be 5-7-5 syllables, that’s actually not true. It’s 5-7-5 “sounds” if you’re writing in Japanese. For English purposes, it tends to be a shorter 1st and 3rd line–with a slightly longer 2nd line.
3. The haiku describes nature–with an emphasis on description. Haiku do not rhyme or use metaphors and/or similes.
4. Haiku includes a word to indicate season. For instance, the word “frog” might indicate spring; the word “snow” might indicate winter.
5. There’s also usually a juxtaposition of two sensory images. For instance, the most famous haiku involves a frog jumping into a pond as the first sensory image–the water’s sound as the second. When put together, the sensory images turn a very simple moment into a profound poem.
There are more rules–if you want to do the research–but this gives a good enough outline of what makes a haiku. For writing your own, it’s best to just observe the world around you, make notes, and see if you can spot connections that help you understand nature and the world around you better.
Here’s my attempt:
Plastic bag
caught in the tree branches;
birds build their nests.
Now get haiku-ing!
After dreading this prompt and leaving it (and the sestina) ’til my very procrastinating end, I finally bit the bullet, read up on technique and found myself quite enjoying the whole thing – sorta. So, here are a few attempts. Enjoy – I hope.Sharon Ingraham
Haiku
Bargain
leave your soul
Sign on shoe-repair shop window
heels repaired
In the Meadow 1996
designer genes
pregnant cloned dolly bahs
oh you
Spells of Time – 3
pale thin ice
lets cold black lake
wash summer up
breeze blasts
snow shafted blades of grass
leaves open
perfect white snowflakes
melt singularly hitting tongues
pink lady slippers
S.E.Ingraham
Fall
Leaves gold, red, yellow
as the sun burning hot fire,
falling, crunching, too.
I am the beauty
Coming down from the heavens
To rest in your soul
A cat’s pleading cry
Flies away on a warm wind
It is mating time
ebb tide
one set of seagull tracks
on the sandbar
before the rainstorm
a colony of ants
collecting food
© Maureen Sexton
Sunlight hits my face,
My Dreams can never be replaced,
My love will never end.
One Acre
My own sacred place
Trees, bushes, birds, and my sweat
I honor my space
no matter how many times i’ve tried, mine always come out 5-7-5
Wind Dance
Flow through the roses
Catch the light on red bird’s wings
And make her fly
Rain falls softly
Patters on the window
The cat watches
Spring has arrived
Flowers and trees are in bloom
And bring with them storms.
thistle feeder twirls
finches clasp barren branches
flashing yellow caution
moon roof open.
"look, mommy, look at that one."
we’re wishing on stars.
broken twigs scattered
over fresh mown bluegrass
blown by gale-force winds
I’m not good with the haiku. But, here goes anyway…
Wind-blown hair
caught up in the cool spring breeze.
Where’s my comb?
Children’s laughter rides
the breeze around the playground;
only snowbanks cry.
LBC
I truly am horrible at Haiku, but none the less…
Bees fly abound,
buzzing in the springtime light;
seeking out nectar.
the Spring calm, broken
Grasshoppers and crickets run
New lizards have hatched
Prompt #3
Cardinal bright red
Hopping, singing in bare bush
Nature’s symphony
bare branches reach
toward a blazing hot sun
spring only in feeling
soil scented damp air
glistening stalks of grass
catch light at sunrise
Sunrays falling
Brightness is leaving
Night has come.
Window reflection.
Cardinal wings toward glass scene.
Thump-lifeless red lump.
Birds cling to phone wires
Fluttering the rain from their wings
Efforting for dryness
March
Sole snowdrop, white snow
A host under the raw earth
Six months hard
my attempt at a haiku
Wind makes the leaves
Swirl and dance through the air
Living one last time
Forsythia buds swell
Branches wave in cold sunlight
Warming wind
Maple branches sway
westerly wind moans
Courting Finches
Cat on the dresser
Curled in a square of sunshine
The fridge hums to life
It begins anew
Buttercup or Daffodil?
By either name, Spring.
It begins anew
Buttercup or Daffodil?
By either name, Spring.
It begins anew
Buttercup or Daffodil?
By either name, Spring.
tree sleeps under a
peanut shell blanket–squirrel
skitters down sidewalk
Spring rain:
the roadside brook gurgling
beneath the falling drops.
Beside the pale moon,
a star winks in the winter sky:
a wild night.
—–
Far easier to
count seventeen syllables
and call it haiku.
Yellow-dusted porch
Clouded from the swinging broom;
Sneezes are full-blown.
Letter from Sierra
Seven sheets long with inserts
Let us save the Earth
I’m late – I’ve been gone – couldn’t connect
Black clouds in the sky
Rainstorm works up to trouble
Drops misery on us.
Stable foundation
Endorses cycle of growth
Dreams return to dust
flatlandz in grey
fettered dreams cry out to
hills in the distance
Better late than never?
drops of morning dew
caress the flower petals
nature’s tears of joy
The challenge of this poetry is mostly feeling like flinging words on the computer. This scene I took notes on in order to write about later. Thanks, Robert, for letting us get behind and realize life is competing for your poetry also.
Alone the robin
pecks at emerging green grass
red breast facing me
I actually had 2 come to mind:
Flashes of pure light
rumbles heard from angry clouds
warm rain crashing down
Flowers growing wild
bud and sway in the warm breeze
splashes of color
Gardenia scents here
on the antique brick front porch
palm trees fan the air
Dogwood, pear, cherry
Fight for streets’ attention
Which tender arm wins?
Spring birds haiku
Spring birds are singing,
outside my window at night.
They keep me awake.
Game Hunting
Cat’s paws pause on rime.
Mole mewls. Erupting screech scalds iced mist.
Talons trump claws. Paws slip home.
###
Family Relations
Fisher cats aren’t cats, but
In meeting on frosty nights, they relate.
Tabby’s toast, even cold.
###
And just a thought to add to the Haiku comments:
Haiku. Write with ease.
I can’t do it well because
I’m not Japanese.
I love my pups lots.
Perhaps I should just turn to
Writing doggerel.
I dislike spring rains,
earthworms drowned on the sidewalk
remind me of death.
ebb-tide -
the dog panting
in the shade
her early death –
a dog barks
at the swinging gate
Tornado
Strong April winds roar
Pelting you with rain and hail
Nowhere are you safe.
Haiku
Haiku is just one
One moment of emotion
One moment in time.
Indoor tropics
Lure ladybug carmine wings
Hoarfrost de-iced
Boston harbor, from airplane
irridescent path
molten alive in the sun
deeper blue around
[bonus round, haiku 2]]
mountain range, somewhere between Boston and San Francisco
thick rivulets, Crisco
nubby outcroppings of brown
cloud scraps, motionless
Plumeria blooms
scatter gold on the green lawn
their scent settling
bare brown dirt
freshly placed by human hand
green grass peeks through
Lost today
Running late again,
With other cars stuck in traffic,
I took the wrong lane.
Drove through a new town,
In wonder of the beautiful place to live it seemed to be,
an oasis from the city.
Being lost is not fun,
but today I learned that the lost physical state,
can lead us to beauty and grace.
Sun shines bright
Mountains far away
Shadowed night
Spring Angst
Lush green pond lettuce
Encompasses pond surface
The geese won’t eat it
Daffodils blossom
I picnic near the ocean.
You search for a bridge.
Blue Bird
Blue bird lifts, rises up
Wind waving buffalo grass along
Where little bBlue bird lands.
wind whips aloft
fire light filtered through
tree branches
Moon haiku
Moon circle dawns
behind a smiling face–
Geese in formation
Carol A Stephen
Perhaps it is something I am doing or not doing, but I just can’t seem to get a couple of poems through! I even sent this one for yesterday to Robert’s email. Each time I try to send a poem I end up right back here, any suggestions?
P.S. If you are reading this I suppose I worked it out. Thanks anyway! My attempt at a Haiku:
mortal reminders
dancing across desert sand
tumbleweeds breeze by
Hey I am looking for the poem a day challenge Day 4 has it not been posted yet?
Black silhouettes perched
Sudden stir of corvine wings
Moon punctuated
Am I missing something? Is there a different location for Day 4′s prompt? Hope nothing bad has happened to Robert. What to do?
A strange road follows me:
I hear music up above–
the mockingbird tells me why
Bird Song
Birds sing
Flying from tree to tree
The snow melts
Haiku
Spring ice rolls out flat
stretches to Parry Island
creak, groan, thunk.
Still fearing the light,
So in shadow I linger.
Will you be my light?
What has happened?
There’s no prompt for Day 4.
So, so sad.
soft winds blow
new dampness caresses
fragrance of dirt
Waiting for today’s prompt — DAY 4!
Tears of the sky
Kisses all over my skin
Thunder say me name
Open Your Eyes
Peach blossom splashes
Into a dirty gutter
Beauty knows no bounds
Noise
Birds sing
i blow my sax
Joyous morning noise
A rose opens
Kissing the sun with a smile
Spring blooms new life.
Floating leaf
Spins lazy circles around a puddle
Lonely ladybug island
Dried leaves
scrape across the frozen pond, ice
circles the fountain
the tissue tree
white felt tissue tied
to stick branches silent
The Flower
Five magenta tips
Erupting by sun soaked soil
Guarded by green blades
PS If this can’t count then ok, sorry its so late.
April snow showers
remind us all that Mother
Nature’s still in charge
Lori Jackson
Hi all, I am not sure if this will count, I believe it defeats the purpose of writing a poem a day, but I have no choice. I am going to be away for about 2 – 4 days, when I return (hopefully Sunday) I will make up the poems for the prompts’ I have missed.
Rod.
Hi, I checked out those old poems of mine (its my Friday a.m. now!)In actual fact they were written in four lines but with a tiny tweek I get this:
Ode to a Cat
Wotcha cat
I suppose you’re hungry again
me too
Ode to a Man
Wotcha mate got any food
Only I’m bloody starving again
Oh well never mind eh?
And this which is not quite right but sums up a lot of days…
Not Today
Inspiration Inspiration
Tum Tee Tum Tee Tum Tum
Oh well maybe later
Wind and dust settled
Ground littered with peppercorns
Pink pearls on dry grass.
I am drunk right now
Smoking my cheap ciggarettes
Thank God it’s friday
Eating ripe berries
Swimming in golden sunlight
Robin sings a song
The sun pulls away
Trees drop the kaleidoscope
Bear heads for the hills
Solitary trail
across a snow-covered hill
Fox alone at dusk
Enticed by the rain
Earth dawns a dress of glass green
Fawn takes a first step
As the world goes round
An eternal serenade
Here and back again
Fat drops of rain fall
and burst open with a splash
making tulips sway
"Birth"
She gives a long hard push
screaming, sweating and trembling;
a cry is heard; it’s a girl!
"The Footprint"
Footprint in the dry dusty dirt
down comes the cold wet rain;
gone.
A lot of people are complaining that they do not like to do the haiku poem, but the way I see it is that if you want to be a real poet you should know how to do just about any poem that someone can throw at you and if you don’t, then learn how. You don’t have to enjoy everything you do to be good at it. Let others be the judge of that.
Blue jeans for a day
The sun sits warm on my back
Mountains talk to me.
Survival
By Bill Kirk
Humming bird flits by
Silently on unseen wings
While sweet nectar waits.
Can’t do just one!
Loons call
from the lake below;
snow is melting.
Students lounge
on the hoods of cars;
still smoking.
Dog leaps at moths
fluttering in the light;
jaws snap shut.
Rabbit frightened run
Stop so still so I won’t see
Waiting watching gone.
The eagle circles
Reluctantly finding space
Stranger than my earth
April 3, 2008 Prompt: Haiku
Title: White winter
Delicate white dots
Kisses noses of children
Winter wonderland.
Title: The birds and the bees.
Sunset approaches
We sit hand in hand in love
Petals grow tonight.
Daniel Stanford © 2008
Lacy ice refrains
Hints of warming sunshine peeks
The chill goes to sleep
broad leaves striped white
curl languorous, delicate
aching for rainlove
Urgent grey heaven
sagging over darkening hills;
wind thrashes the grass.
My corgis pause
to water the dogwoods;
coats wet with spring dew
1)Dandelions and bees
my grass is much too tall now
when does spring begin
2)Deer in the headlights
caught off guard so easily
cancer attacks me
robin chirps in tree
shoots push through the resisting soil
the sun finds them all
sun warms still water
transforming tadpoles to frogs
a spring serenade
tricycle upset
the petal turns in the wind
your blue ghost moves on
Dancing daffodils
Clouted by late season snow,
Shake their heads and laugh.
Robin song dances
Warm rain spills through air
Daffodils stretch skyward.
as wet as the pond
fishing with my son
in the June rain
The lake is Big Blue
The sun shines warm upon it.
I float lazily.
Lost today
Running late again,
With other cars stuck in traffic,
I took the wrong lane.
Drove through a new town,
In wonder of the beautiful place to live it seemed to be,
an oasis from the city.
Being lost is not fun,
but today I learned that the lost physical state,
can lead us to beauty and grace.
An unclouded sky
Thousands of stars glistening
A warm summers breeze
lined up on the wire
the baby swallows twitter
mama’s bringing food
The evening spring light
recalls memories of him
Fluid heartbreak begins
yellow eyes study
dark blood – food for a litter
remorseless as ice
a final breath
the painful wait at an end
a soul at rest
the leaves calm and still
as the thunder claps against my will
i run for cover again
equinox.
uneven windows cast light
on standing egg.
green leaves, soft light.
rusty fox prances from where he’s been
to where he’s going.
two seabirds
a pale and warming sky—
strong hands.
elegant swans glide
single lake mirrors soft sky
doubling my view
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who finds day three a humdinger of a hard one. This is the second year I’ve NaPoWriMo-ed, and both years, I broke down on day three. Thanks for your prompts! They may well save me!
Remains
After she was gone,
her form stayed pressed in the rug.
I still step over.
Elm branch in back yard
splintered by last winter’s storm,
sparrows hop inside.
lake lapping
loons yodeling in waves
swimming slowly
pain plays deeply
love flows slowly
seduction moves seductively
destruction just destroys
bury face in wind,
wood and leaves and remember
to forget again
blue heron staring
as I jog along the trail
why not fly away?
my mind races
the paper lay flat in front of me
may the test begin
Swine Haiku (3)
Rains bring mud puddles
Pigs hearts fill with happiness
Filth’s not always bad
Post-Industrial Haiku
A robin’s lost nest,
crispy twigs laced between
an electric cord.
Lilies bloom fast
On the soapy blue pond;
The frogs dance and sing.
Day 3….and the saga continues.
Oh sure, make me write a haiku will you
Oh the agony.
Kidding, I love haiku.
White lace
Bound to tentative bark
Falling into death.
Kitten
Swishing tail, she waits
prey feasts after early rain
death behind the glass
Branches, dripping with
a pink gauze of early buds,
shiver in the wind.
The weather is finally warm.
Everywhere you see motorcycles galore.
Saving due to price of gas.
Sky is blue
with hints of rain clouds
swallowing the horizon.
Sky is blue
with hints of rain clouds
swallowing the horizon.
slender blade greening
challenging the winter snow
patiently waiting
Spring Fever
Warm Sunshine fin’ly
Children wild with spring fever
Delighted squeals
((Ha! After feeling all enlightened by Michael Welch’s wisdom and being freed from 5-7-5 structure, by happenstance my poem ended up being…))
Two trails through cracked leaves.
Light and twigs cast chickenscratch
Warmly on two trails.
Warm sun today
A Bluebird perched on a stick
Snow tomorrow
April 3, 2008
Fall’s tasty morsel –
Sweet black raisin
my puppy’s nose
I rake the dead leaves
from the herb garden to plant
new seedlings and hope
In the quiet dawn
wings rustle the cloudless sky;
snow geese take flight.
LBC
Flaming trees herald
the last drunken flight of butterflies
before the first frost
Fluffy white clouds
Snowflakes falling from the sky
Cover the earth
Barn swallows soaring,
Storm clouds rolling close behind.
Birds hunt safe haven.
White wet snow
Smell of pollen on the wind
Azaleas wilt
Humid air today
Then rain bursts down in a wash
A breeze awaits me now
Ravens on the wire
A dead mouse sunning itself
Both relishing what’s his.
Confetti
Leaves let go and fall
Nature’s ticker tape parade
For nut gatherers
Brown grass needs a drink
The snow has begun to melt
A few green blades come
last night I loved you
we shared so many secrets
that the moon burnt out
I sincerely hope I have not offended anyone with my anti-haiku poem. It was meant to be humorous not offensive.
Rod.
Sun at my back—
Down the gentle winding path,
Scent of spring blooms.
Haiku, Say’s Who
I’ve been asked to write Haiku
I have to admit,
Haiku is something I just don’t do
In truth, I have no clue
how to write Haiku
I can write any other verse
but, when it comes to Haiku
there is no one who’s worse. . .
©Rodney C. Walmer 4/3/08
of first bloom
violin sings in church
under her veil
Skis slide over wet snow
Foxes will soon have their mountain back
Slush party marks the end
Snow covered stable
No crying to be heard
Babe in a manger
The lonely road home.
Noone is there any longer.
As I walked, I cried.
thistle feeder twirls/
finches clasp barren branches/
flashing yellow caution/#
Orange Yellow Red
Candles knives and pumpkin seeds
Yes! Its October
I think so many people dislike haiku because of the way it’s taught in English classes in school. The textbooks pick the most "precious" ones, thinking that kids will relate to those best. Textbooks for kids tend to dumb down just about any subject, including poetry. The writers of the textbooks underestimate the kids – give them *good* poetry to read & many chances to write it, and then maybe poetry would be of more interest in general.
I had one high school English teacher who got us all fired up about poetry because he could recite from memory many of the classic, long poems which told stories.
Heavy downpour
Blades smile in delight
Another thirst quenched
Mountain’s winter coat
Downhill flows pushed back by man
Darkness fades away
Sunlight shimmers through
leaves flowers pollen hanging over
the pregnant air
I don’t know if this is right or not but here goes
bridge run
spring water people over under
reaching skyward
grill outside
summer hot food fire
heat all around
Day 3
Light refracting off
the rain streaked dirty glass pane,
Explaining real life
Girls in the driveway
hopping up and down, twirling,
above white clouds dance.
sweet infinite source
creative abundance shared
thank you for dancing
Day 3
The proud sunflower
soaks up the suns warmth and glow
Today so do I
Soft night rains
Frog trills of joy
Greet pond’s return
chimes ring softly
touched by warm breezes
here comes the rain
P.S. I once read that when a person sends a Haiku to a friend, it is the Japanese custom to reply with a Tanka.
snow on daffodil
skies pulse grey then blue then grey
sweet uncertain spring
OK here’s Haikuing back to you:
Bicycle wheels spinning
BIG OIL billions and Zillions
Happy air loves bikes
So kind of you, this timing, lol. I do this every week for Haiku on Friday at MySpace … so this one is shared there too.
On the empty beach
a single line of footprints.
Now the sky darkens.
© Rosemary Nissen-Wade 2008
Earthworm coiled, plump in drowning.
Forced up through flooded earth, spilled onto sidewalk
Rain soaked soil beneath concrete.
death
know without knowing
we will see without seeing
reflections maybe
war
left, right, left, right, left
soldiers do shows for fast cash
victims do for less
Flashes of red
Flitting through the cedar
Must be a cardinal
Haiku for April
Month of flowing water
From the sky, lightning strikes flood
The waiting earthworm.
Lyn Sedwick
A former boss of mine got attacked (nothing serious) by a goose while he was walking into work. A GOOSE. And it was all captured on the company’s security cameras. There’s video. If I ever had any doubt about the existence of a Higher Power, I now am a believer. This is karma in its purest and most hilarious form. And thus, the inspiration for the following haiku:
Gary strides into work
Biting, honking goose attacks
Briefcase deflects blitz
New sneakers
Barely touch the ground
The trees help me fly
Snow flake falling down
Settles on the deep green grass
Gone forever more
Dear Robert, I am attempting to post this again, as it isn’t appearing above.
Pediatric Hospital Wing
Age 15, eyes probe soul’s location out dark window
Angels accompany brain surgery’s offensive
I researched the Haiku versions; this was an especially emotional one for me, as I looked down upon the streets of Chicago awaiting my 22 hours of brain surgery. Unfortunately, three lines cannot do it justice, but I hope I captured the essence with the juxtaposition and definition of wing. I felt very lonely that night (into the morning)
Wind softly warm
Fly’s buzzing on the horse
flowers start to bloom
©Rodney C. Walmer
Tulip Tree 4-3-08
V-shaped green buds
Stretching silently pleading for rain
Yellow against dark pines
Winter snow,
draining colors from all that you touch–
What power!
#
© 2008 Salvatore Buttaci
OK, maybe I’m hooked?
cicadas hum
sweat drips down the iced glass
too hot to even make love
Corinne
Keisha, your first one put me right into hot summer without a direct reference, pretty effectively.
Corinne
Eggs hatching
in the nest of the high tree;
mama waits close by.
Susan
Early morning birds
Chirping their little tunes
Morning comes too soon
This is my first (and perhaps my last) haiku…
wren hauls twigs
scolds for perch on the feeder
offspring on the way
And, Linda, your "choir of silence" gave me the chills. Nice. Lots of nice stuff here today. Loved the bumblebee suitors too.
for keisha moore:
to my eye
love of the "scraps of our lives"
first time beats next
heavy soaking rains
fall on fields of dry brown grass
ducks splash in puddles
Swarms of busy pests
In this arid time, feasting on the scraps of our lives
Flies in a bin
Thought i’d try and include something suggesting a season.
Please let me know what u think.
(Thought I’d do three for Thursday the Third!)
salamander sits
ankle deep in ancient moss
near the temple wall
***
green and blue beta
splashing in a fresh green pool
aí!, and now is gone
***
yellow jackets hum
hanging on old-barked branches
late for the party
Strong tall mountain,
made with small tiny rocks,
together strong tall mountain.
Swarms of busy pests,
Feasting on the scraps of our lives;
Flies in a bin.
Dusty fender
Time to drown winter’s gloom
Bring on spring’s shine
Cat leaps from the tree
Chases a mouse across the grass
Spring is really here
Kites ride on the wind.
Are they skywriting my joy
at news of your birth?
I twisted the second prompt (write a poem discussing why you’d prefer not to write a haiku) a little to write a
POEM ABOUT POETRY
There is nothing a poet
Likes better than
To reflect on his own
Craft. Often,
He has nothing else
A windowsill, some crumbs
And 17 syllables
A poem comes!
Also, a revision on my earlier attempt:
Running a poetry marathon
Haiku plum blossoms
Slap across your face.
College students drink
sunshine and forsythia
while texting love notes
A chill in the air,
the sound of abandoned leaves.
Play time is over.
What the heck! One more for the road…
Day’s work done
Home now (via the pub!)
More tomorrow
Hot spring breeze
Fuchsia bougainvillea leaves paint
Cobblestone canvas
Smokestacks spew great clouds.
Will Africa’s Great Lakes turn
to chasms of muck?
lonely day
vital organs gone soft
down dog pulls me higher
The dog barks sharply
ears flapping in the moist wind
the grass is greening.
Brown leaf
crunchy when trodden;
what comes next?
Yellow daffodils
dancing in the warm breeze;
gone too soon.
Rain falling
worms frowning from underneath
the eath speaks
A muffled snowfall.
Veils of white, soft mantles,
crunch beneath my feet.
It’s fifty outside;
Such fools we are in wetsuits
splashing in the lake.
4/3/2008
buds on tender branch
of weeping willow swell
licked by arctic wind
Spring is ruled by mathematics
All around nature is multiplying by twos and fours
Alive with new voices
Gold house in sunshine
High hedges waving hello
Howdy neighbor
Soft rain
on windowscreen
Pitter patter dreams
Yellow stockinged
Leggy Forsythia
Kick at Bumble-bee suitors
Haiku
The last snow of Spring
Tulips raise themselves above
Life renewed again
1st & 2nd day
First
First visit to the Sea
Sand squishing through my toes
I run on through the froth
Straight to the wave oncoming
My legs can feel the rush
It’s going back out to sea
And wants to pull me deeper
I love the mystery
But someone else is yelling
I guess it is my Mom
She’s laid the towels all out
And lunch is calling me
Sea has to wait awhile
Trash Man
Early in the quiet of morning
I go about my rounds
To pick up all those old discards
That once were treasure trove
For everyone must throw away
The trappings of the past
In order to begin anew
A life that’s clean of trash
Rain falls here
Smells like ocean, rain,
And motor oil
Yellow sun
cutting through the chilly air
geese fly back home
Girl with umbrella
Fierce March wind lifts her upward
She parachutes to earth
One snowflake
captured by the sun
a melted rainbow
crocus yearns for spring
inching forward from the deep beyond
touching ice before light
Almond flake stuck in
My molar of decaying
Bone matter half gone
Thought I would join in the fun.
Mountain snow falls deep
Spring whispers in valleys low
A clash of the seasons
Fake Haiku 2008/4/3
Drizzling rain
On the forgotten mountain path
To the tombstone
&
Sudden rain
Pitter-patter shore of flamenco
Flip-flop
Tall Cactus Reaching
To the light and heat of day
Life in the desert
Your life is what you make it.
Live it, love it and enjoy it.
Make someone special apart of it.
Spring breaks through
ancient autumn leaves un-blanket
sun-dialed fiesta
*
now my dead daddy’s
birthday on a sick earth
disremembers him
Maria Jacketti
Prompt
3
Tornado alley
Fills with rain, dirt, wind, fear
And we all fall down
Wish upon a Sun
Bird feathers evaporate
A cloud swallows dreams
Fog thickens
rain breaks through the shield
my hair gets wet
honey bee dust
divine fruits of labor
nature’s silk road
I’ve never studied poetic forms and such like; just write what suits me & the shape changes usually depending on the theme/mood of the piece. Anyway it occurs to me that two poems I wrote about 18 or so years ago may well be haikus… have to dig them out & check. If so will post them tomorrow.
Anyway…
Bright sun fresh warm air
Kites swoop as spring leaps forward
Mosquitoes bite me
&
Snows nearly gone
Rivers now running fuller
Grass growing
By the way the time difference only gives me a short while late afternoon to keep up with all this (am in Spain)!!
Wind blowing strongly
Shaking all the tree branches
Angry with the world
I am also not fond of haiku. Ick.
I guess an alternate way to take today’s prompt is to write a poem discussing why you’d prefer not to write a haiku. But I have faith everyone can tackle this 3-line beast of a poetic form.
Rains fall from sky
The earth catches liquid life
It evaporates
Spring Time
Spring is finally here,
pretty flowers are blooming,
in many colors
Gums thaw and throb
anaesthetic wearing off.
Garden shoots break through.
Soaring hawk
On a cold blue morning
A mole’s destiny
Daffodils.
Bowed, bent, broken, defeated.
Landscapers again.
SNAILS
Shiny shells
Gleaming in the nighttime lights above
Moist and humid skies
N. E. Tasker
Scarlet clouds
drift over the sun.
Hawks snatch their prey.
A Patter Over
On Rooftops And Upon Heads
The Sweet Smell of Birth
I rather dislike hikus becuase of structure but i could not resist todays.
There, in the distance
under a pile of fresh snow
stands Mount Mckinley.
Here are a couple:
Bird chirping loudly
Standing on wooden feeder
No one must cross him
Feline begging for food
Too occupied to serve him
I’ll pay for that
the rising sun
colours
the snow
(I wanted to say "kisses the snow".)
"Spring Target"
The robin’s red breast,
an effigy of new life
or a mere target?
(A/N: I’m pretty sure that I just ruined the haiku’s purpose with 17 syllables.
Go me!)
Winter
This is Winter’s land
In winter snow’s a-fallin’
Winter Wonderland
Day 3
I wait in the mist
The morning cool around me.
Muse snickers at me.
a recent attempt
to attack this computer
months from september
Ceaseless, snow drifts down,
shimmers pure on starless pine -
a choir of silence.
rain on my window
etches a transparent portrait
of my wistful gaze
~ TLS, April 2008
Wet and chilling fog
Raucous birds, pungent skunk’s tang
Morning wake up call
Sometimes we just have
To let our hearts break when we
Lose a feline friend
I agree with Tad Richards! (Comment 13)
In my epic poetry marathon
Plum blossom stanzas
Smack against my face.
Tad, I also hate haiku.
Dreary doldrum day
Rain falls so threateningly
Can’t wait to leave here
The owl haunts the sky
calls for a mate who won’t sing back
April’s still bitter
Calm River Flowing
Sudden Storm Brings Crashing Waves
Seagulls Retreating.
Tree Synchrony
In April, trees green
Not together but on their
Own sweet spring time line.
Rising and falling,
The fierce breakers crash against
The sea beaten rocks.
Crescent moon at dawn
frosted blossoms bowing low
to the rising light
PS It became an intellectual game in the Japanese Royal Court…the first person would give the first three lines…and then someone else rose to the challenge of answering or completing with two more lines of seven ‘sounds’. Just thought I’d add that.
Cherry blossoms, pale
petal mist drifts through branches
like a weary ghost.
Coat in the closet
Baring winter rolls in sweats
They’re called honey buns.
Hate haiku, never write haiku, was hoping you wouldn’t prescribe specific forms for any of these. But I’m committed.
border unguarded
message tucked into new growth
not the time to cross
Cat in the window
Watching the world pass him by
Cozy in his warm bed
flowery fragrance
sneaking through the window screen,
where dew drops glisten
sparrow lifts laurel
leaf to lamp to fence to branch
socks can’t stalk to nest
White morning light:
no way to tell between
cloud and sky.
High above the wall
the garden trees stretch
to meet the sunrise.
First light:
a flock of starlings
wrinkles the sky.
(and one from day 1)
black and white koi
in the clear, quiet pond—
a sudden splash.
red hawk sits watching
a shock to sleeping minds
she guards us all.
Old crow perches
on a power line. Outstretched wings
complete the circuit.
i love your deep voice
especially when you sing
love songs just to me
Delicate flower blows in the wind
colorful petals fall to the grass;
spring is here.
A cat in the street
Nearby dogs await attack
The cat jumps the fence
one gnarled oak tree branch
hangs over the garden walk
a squirrel’s playground
Snows slow receding
Unveils garden Buddha;
Spring blooms gather round.
(odd. the tree outside my window had a plastic bag in one of its branches yesterday. Today, it is gone.)
Bird hunting in the
rain is not enjoyable
nor is paw licking