From – treehugger.com
Poetry – The Haiku.
After reading some Haiku poetry in a writing magazine I thought I might have a go. The rules seem straight forward, or at least on my first attempts. Frustrated, I became distracted with some brief research on the subject. My brief notes are:
The origin of this form of poetry is attributed to the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho who lived during the 17th century. (1644-1694).
The basic components of the poem are; its set length of three lines, key elements of time and nature in the content and with a finish on the last line with an important epiphany or turn, it does not have a title nor does it rhyme.
The poem is constructed with three lines and traditionally contains only seventeen syllables, although some Haiku writers apparently argue for a variation on the syllable count. Nevertheless, to remain true to the original form a Haiku is structured;
1st Line – 5 syllables.
2nd Line – 7 syllables.
3rd Line – 5 syllables.
Here are some of my attempts:
**
(Time-Winter. Nature -Moon)
Clear white winter moon
Shining through the ozone gap
Lonely polar bear.
**
(Time – winter, Nature -Snow
Snow-flakes softly fall
On lovers, who kiss farewell
Broken hearts forever.
**
(Time -seconds. Nature-an earthquake)
Earth’s stomach ruptures
World shaking with after thoughts
One-minute silence.
**
(Time-vulnerability. Nature-Tsunami)
Water is life’s thirst
And waves wash death on land
Old man floating free.
**
James McEwan 