For me today is the gem in the crown of poetry days. It is National Haiku Poetry Day. I’m sure you can find haiku all over the web today, but in the “Mostly Haiku” section of my sideboard are many of my favorite haiku writers and their sites. To do my part, here are a few haiku to celebrate poetry and the day.
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daylily scented path
closer to father’s grave
shaken awake
cherry blossom dream
cheeks still wet
walk in cool dusk from mailbox your letter sealed
rain drops on ice — love note in forgotten book
new moon pond twinkles fireflies
sunset willows
lace shadows on frozen pond
pine tree perched
blue jay watches my cat
fall out
beyond this thunderstorm I weep your harsh words
blackout friends — Basho, Shakespeare and candlelight
pick berries
spit out stems
harvest favorite photo
(for Shawna’s Monday Melting at rosemary mint)
You’ll find even more poetry at dVerse: Open Link Night.
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- National Poetry Month: Guest Post #11, Annie Juhl . . . (haikudoodle.wordpress.com)
- National Poetry Month: Guest Post #10, Sanjukta Asopa . . . (haikudoodle.wordpress.com)
- National Poetry Month: Guest Post #8, Pamela Cooper . . . (haikudoodle.wordpress.com)
- National Poetry Month: Guest Post #5, Kirsten Cliff . . . (haikudoodle.wordpress.com)
- Fourth Annual Haiku Contest (freshkillspark.wordpress.com)
You are quite a poet. These are lovely. I’ll admit I like your longer imaginative poetry better, but the small poem, like a haiku, are actually more challenging to write if you are going to make them good poems, and your poems are always worth reading.
Thomas Davis,
Welcome back. I agree that haiku are challenging. I’m rarely satisfied with mine, but I do like these. I’ll see if I can find another sonnet for your soon.
Great haikus. I esp. like the one for Shawna’s prompt!
anne katherine,
Surely it is easier to write when inspired by friendship? I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for allowing me to share them with you.
“pine tree perched
blue jay watches my cat
fall out”
I love this part so much!
Eve,
That’s my favorite out of the bunch. It actually happened. I hadn’t realized cats could fall (silly notion, but I thought they’d jump before falling). He fell right out of the tree, and swear that jay was laughing with me. Thanks for reading and sharing these with me.
I enjoyed this…. Lovely !
ayala,
Thank you for coming by and sharing these with me.
did that post? Is wordpress being naughty with me on Yousei’s royal and gorgeous blog today?
These are all extremely beautiful, Yousei! each a mini-movie in itself.
I am humbled and moved at your butterfly wing words.
Jannie,
It posted. I have my blog set so that I approve comments before they appear. I was out today. Glad you enjoyed it, and I love your sweet comment.
Another nice write. If you’re impressing the mess out of Shawna, you know you’re doing something right
By the way, the hotel we stayed at for our anniversary last week had tons of little “stone rabbits” in their flowerbeds…made me think of your blog pic up top.
newviewfromhere,
I enjoy Shawna’s comments so much, such great detail. I appreciate yours as well. If you ever go by that hotel, snap a photo. I’d love to see the stone rabbits.
Lovely and I like that you gave us so many–very generous with your haiku and your well-wrapped ideas inside them are like little extra gifts. The blue jay one made me smile, but to me the first is the most amazing.
hedgewitch,
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. I really appreciate your comments. The first is special to me. I haven’t been to my father’s grave in a while. With another age marker approaching, health issues budding, children growing…I can’t help but think about my own mortality as well as the father I miss. Thank you for coming by and sharing all of these with me.
I want a cherry blossom dream tonight! Beautiful!
Jennifer,
Doesn’t it sound beautiful. I think its because it is so dreamlike even in reality. Thanks for stopping in.
The zenith of poetry. Thanks for sharing Nonoy Manga.
Nonoy Manga,
Thank you. You’re too kind.
Sorry I miss your post, I still can’t figure out this art. I after reading your I see it as a bit intimidating and it appears you have a lot of discipline with your creativity. Lovely.
http://leah-jamielynn.typepad.com/blog/2012/04/only-god-knows.html
leahJlynn,
Don’t be intimidated. Just be encouraged to make your writing the best you can. That’s what I’m trying to do (though there are writers who humble me too). I look forward to reading at your link.
Thanks for your encouragement_Blessings
leahJlynn,
You’re very welcome. We all need it. Blessings to you as well.
How did I miss it as haiku day! Well I’ve written plenty. I’ve posted a little ditty instead; however you are treating us to love pieces. I liked the cherry blossoms very much; but they all were entrancing. Really lovely.
Gay,
I’m happy you enjoyed them. I’ll be over to read your ditty shortly. Looking forward to it.
These are just lovely, Yousei. I also especially like the cherry blossom dream, but they are all beautiful. K.
K,
So glad you enjoyed them. Though I didn’t see cherry blossoms this year, I had to include a haiku in the bunch. Tis the season.
Wow, I like every thing!
sandy,
Yay! If you like them, I’m on the right track. I always enjoy yours (actually, I’m a bit jealous of how good yours are).
“new moon pond twinkles fireflies” … so pretty
I want to climb into this one.
“sunset willows lace shadows on frozen pond” … Maybe my favorite! I adore “lace shadows.”
“pine tree perched / blue jay watches my cat / fall out” … Ha ha ha! Too funny.
“beyond this / thunderstorm I weep / your harsh words” … I think you are your own thunderstorm, and the aftermath is someone else’s response (harsh words). Or maybe it’s as simple as someone was mean to you and made you cry.
“blackout friends — Basho, Shakespeare and candlelight” … Nice! I love being in the dark. Especially taking a shower or bath with the lights off. But reading poetry by candlelight sounds pretty yummy as well.
“pick berries / spit out stems / harvest favorite photo” … Love. Keep the good, forget about the bad, and keep the best as a memento.
Shawna,
I think my favorite of the whole bunch is the blue jay-cat ku. That actually happened too. I was laughing right along with the jay.
“rain drops on ice — love note in forgotten book”
This is gorgeous. Falling raindrops on ice. Would that begin to melt the ice a bit, or would the rain just freeze as well? I think it’s warm rain and the love note is thawing you out. And then there’s the indulgence of hiding away with a book; that in itself is delicious. Let’s mix and match, combining the rain and the book. My favorite combination.
Shawna,
The love note part is actually derived from my finding a note my now husband wrote me when we were in college. I’d tucked it away. You know… I’m not sure where I put it.
Sweet.
Your one-liners are my favorites because I can decide where to break them.
“walk in cool dusk from mailbox your letter sealed”
walk in cool / dusk from mailbox / your letter sealed
walk in / cool dusk from mailbox / your letter sealed
walk in cool dusk / from mailbox your / letter sealed
So many possibilities! The person could be emotively cool; the dusk could be temperately cool. The time of day could be dusk; the “dusk” could be what comes out of the mailbox or what goes into it (an ending, a beginning of a season of darkness). “Your” could mean you, or it could mean me—the sender or recipient of the letter. The letter could be real or a metaphor. The letter could be sealed; the decision or the final word could be sealed.
This makes me think of a junior high kid mailing a love letter and regretting it after putting it into the mailbox.
Or maybe this is about a break-up.
In truth, it leaves me with a feeling of peace, like you just took care of something you’ve needed to do for a while but have been putting off. Now you’ve taken care of it and you can move on to the next thing on your list.
I overanalyze, I know.
Shawna,
Is there such a thing as over-analyzing? I suppose, but I like reading the possibilities that played out as your read and reread.
This is my favorite thing about poetry—breaking it down piece by piece and determining possible meanings, intended or otherwise.
Shawna, I agree. Each reader makes it their own poem.
“shaken awake
cherry blossom dream
cheeks still wet”
Apparently cherry blossoms symbolize clouds, the ephemeral, Buddhism, mortality, feminine beauty and sexuality.
I just read this while researching: “The Japanese have long held strong to the Buddhist belief of the transitory nature of life and it is very noble to not get too attached to a particular outcome or not become emotional because it will all pass in time.”
In dream analysis, cherry blossoms mean luck, spring, femininity, and youth. Dreaming of a cherry tree means rebirth and reawakening.
My favorite is “cheeks still wet,” carrying over the world of dreams into the world of reality.
Shawna,
Love it. Some things I didn’t know either.
“daylily scented path
closer to father’s grave”
You are the lily, and with each passing day (scented and sweet, or bitter and foul), you are walking farther down the path toward his grave/your own grave.
Shawna,
Good read. Very much what I had in mind.
I really like this… so beautiful and well-crafted.
Laurie,
Thank you so much. I hope your month has been filled with wonderful words so far.
I am insane over your haiku. I’m going to have to leave a separate comment for each one. Each deserves its own post.
Shawna,
You are a shameless flatterer. No wonder I adore you. Comment away, suggestions are welcome too. I like haiku in small doses too. I hadn’t posted in a while, so I did quantity, hopefully quality too. Looking forward to your keen-sighted comments.
Extremely high quality.
Sorry for overcommenting.
Shawna,
No apologizing, and don’t stop commenting either.
ooo ilike much…esp the cherry blossom dream…and the love notes in forgotten book….these are really cool…happy haiku day…smiles.
brian,
Thank you, thank you. Happy poetry/haiku day to you too. Hope your day is filled with sunshine and brilliant words. Happy the clouds have blown through here (and we have power back).
why thank you i will certainly take that blessing..smiles….nice having power for sure….
brian,
Power…good in most forms, right? Enjoyed your Shakespeare piece.
This was such a joy to read…so many images conveyed well.
slpmartin,
Thank you. I just stopped over and read a handful of yours. I’m sooooo behind in my reading. I’m glad you enjoyed them. I always feel inspired after reading at your site.