About My Haiku

From my weblog: http://icymarch.blogspot.com/?/2001_05_01_icymarch_archive.html

Haiku

My wife picked up a magnetic board with assorted words, with instructions in order to teach my son about haiku. She challenged me to write something with it, but it didn't seem like I could find the words I needed in the assortment. Anyway, I was getting ready to bring my son to Kumon, so I didn't have much time.


On impulse, I grabbed a small notepad and a pen as I was leaving. I figured I would have a half an hour or so to sit in the car waiting for him while he did his lessons, I might try to write some haiku.


I remember learning about haiku in elementary school, and enjoyed writing it then. The basic idea is simple, structured, easy to follow. Three lines: 5 syllables to be used on the first and third lines, the second line is seven syllables. Because it is so simple it is easy to write badly, and there are web pages devoted to bad haiku, intentional or otherwise, on a wide variety of subjects.


Haiku conveys a simple thought or feeling. Since the syllables are limited, words that convey little meaning such as "and", "the", "a", etc. are used sparingly. The idea is to distill the words down to what is essential to convey your message without overdoing it, and fit the words within the required structure. Easier said than done.


Anyway, I got a chance to write down some rudimentary haiku of my own, based on my observations while in my car, waiting for my son to finish his class. It gave me a chance to think, meditate, be aware of my surroundings. A zen-break from the usual day-to-day. Normally I would just be sitting there, reading a magazine or listening to the radio. It was nice to do something creative for a change. I took my writings home, polished them a little, and the results are in the posts below. (Note: in this folder as "Peace", "Evening", and "Connecticut") Probably wouldn't win any prizes, but I enjoyed writing them.

9/25/01 Update: When I originally wrote this, I didn't have plans of writing any more haiku at the time, feeling it wasn't one of my stronger suits. Since then, I've found that there are times that haiku seems to work better than prose for me, to express what I am feeling in certain situations. (Haiku seems to fit the Zen facet of my soul?)

I have gotten more feedback than I expected on some of the pieces in this folder. Not all of them positive, but enough are to encourage me to continue in writing haiku. You may want to try haiku as a different way of writing about a singular thought or emotional experience in your life. The structure forces you to distill something down to it's essence, and you may be surprised about what this will reveal.

- Cy