therefore our thanks, dark clouds
come to rest our necks. ~ Basho
Nightfall,
too dark to read the page
too cold. ~ Jack Kerouac
Many years ago someone gave me a book called Pomes All Sizes by Jack Kerouac. Kerouac embraced non-traditional haiku, not worrying at all about how many syllables to count. Once I stopped counting I saw a lot more haiku floating around in the world.
Every morning (except Sunday) I get The Irish Times delivered to me in bed. As I decide whether or not to get up or fall back asleep, I riffle through the sections of the paper. Yesterday morning I saw this haiku in the science section. Maybe it's not really a haiku, but to me it is, and it stuck in my head all day, in a nice way. Moonlet is not a word you see every day. Newspapers, I've discovered, are filled with unintentional haikus. 
Address label on an old LIFE Magazine.Her name and address
Dingle, birds, green witch, nutmeg
my thoughts fly to her ~ Avid Reader
16 comments:
nice, didn't know about Kerouac's haiku. And the moonlet floating in the dust rings, I see it like a small moonstone just going about it's small business.
The Irish Times delivered in bed on Sundays... I must say the image appeals no end (and may just find its way into a story some day.)
As for Mrs Birdsey, even the background looks sort of burlappy mixed with seed of black millet. (Please give her my best, too.) :-)
Yes, there needs to be more haiku in the world! We should look for it in the more unconventional places. From a recipe and employee manual right here on my desktop:
Do not touch, smell, taste
Or analyze the substance.
Carefully step away.
Warm, rich noodles
And crisp light veggies.
I added some tofu.
Wow it's everywhere!
Warm rich noodles
Please I haven't ~crisp light veggies~
had breakfast yet
I love the word moonlet....I wonder if we can get it in the 5th edition of the scrabble dictionary!
Egads! I am lost
Just starting to explore this
It is different
A friend of mine studied this in high school and hated it. I guess he's a bit narrow minded.
I think haiku are addictive! I know what you mean about seeing them everywhere. I went through a phase of forming them in response to what I was seeing when out on a walk. I decided my attempts were trivial and silly- they are quite an art form!
I think some of the best poems, haiku or otherwise, are the "found" ones. And "let" is one a charming, if little-used suffix. I'm doing my part to keep it alive!
I always lose count.
And I always get distracted
When I see nutmeg.
I might write haiku
if I am liberated
from syllable count!
slowly savor sips
enjoy as you empty cup
life is delicious
As many who commented, I find the idea of an unrestricted haiku. It's hard to adapt the form because English and Japanese are so different. There are no dipthongs in Japanese - it's very easy to count syllables. Not so much with English.
I really like the word moonlet too.
Hi Avid,
Just a question, but have you ever read or heard of an Irish author named Christopher Nolan???
I hope you're enjoying the weekend!
Perfect post
Perfect replies
Perfection!
E,
Chris Nolan is a bit of a celebrity in Ireland - I read his memoir, Under the Eye of the Clock --and I think we should think about reading something by him for the book club.
I love haiku,
My favorite poetry.
Alas, I'm too dense to write one.
Although, forgoing syllable count, I have a much better chance. (the "American Way" - good for some things, eh?;-)
I just read of his death at 43...on a Blog...
I thought of reading the book you mentioned, that is partly why I asked.
Anything going with the libtaries yet?
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