Welcome to Fun and Games! Many of the discussions in this category are games based on responding to the most recent comment. Please take a moment to refresh the page and make sure you are replying to the most recent comment to keep the game going!

Speaking in haiku

Options
2456

Replies

  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    Have you tried for yoga?
    your body will flex in ways
    you can't imagine.

    where did that come from?
    didn't that "for" sneak in there
    while my back was turned?

  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    “Over the Wintry” by Natsume Sōseki

    Over the wintry
    Forest, winds howl in rage
    With no leaves to blow.
  • Cat0703a
    Cat0703a Posts: 17,421 Member
    Options
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    Have you tried for yoga?
    your body will flex in ways
    you can't imagine.

    where did that come from?
    didn't that "for" sneak in there
    while my back was turned?

    Sneaky words emerge
    When one least suspects them to
    Causing sighs or grins
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    full moon shining down,
    bare branches catching light,
    the night is alive.
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    Cat0703a wrote: »
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    frankwbrown wrote: »
    Have you tried for yoga?
    your body will flex in ways
    you can't imagine.

    where did that come from?
    didn't that "for" sneak in there
    while my back was turned?

    Sneaky words emerge
    When one least suspects them to
    Causing sighs or grins

    Nice.

  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    You know, the 5,7,5 syllable requirement is not that essential. The translations of many haikus from famous Japanese haiku masters break that rule. Of course, when translating, you need to be true to the feeling of the original haiku more than adhering to this rule. Many Westerners were inspired by haikus, and didn't bother following this rule either, preferring instead to write more freeform but with the same simplicity and brevity.

    So, I don't see why we can't do the same thing.

    Some examples:
    “The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

    An old silent pond
    A frog jumps into the pond—
    Splash! Silence again.
    “A World of Dew” by Kobayashi Issa

    A world of dew,
    And within every dewdrop
    A world of struggle.
    “A Poppy Blooms” by Katsushika Hokusai

    I write, erase, rewrite
    Erase again, and then
    A poppy blooms.
    “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound

    The apparition
    of these faces in the crowd;
    Petals on a wet, black bough.
    “The Taste of Rain” by Jack Kerouac

    The taste
    Of rain
    —Why kneel?
    Sonia Sanchez “Haiku [for you]”

    love between us is
    speech and breath. loving you is
    a long river running.
  • Cat0703a
    Cat0703a Posts: 17,421 Member
    Options
    But Frank, I need rules. No rogue haiku’s for me. 🤣
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    It's often the "rules" for any given art form that inspire creativity. That's true of haiku, and also true of ikebana / kado (Japanese flower arranging), Western poetry, classical music forms like the sonata, etc.

    So Cat, won't you please
    adhere to the rules, always,
    except when you don't. 😂
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    edited December 2021
    Options
    I sit for breakfast,
    so much rich food beckons me.
    I eat a grapefruit.
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    Chocolate is King
    There is no food that's better
    I do love it so.
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    The two sides of me:
    When I eat, I really eat;
    I am disciplined.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,070 Member
    Options
    As a boy I ran,
    Now as a man I lift weights.
    Aging has changed me.

    (Wow, what doggerel, sorry about that...)
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    Life can change us all
    from a young whippersnapper
    to a wise old fool. 😂
  • TakeTheLongWayHome
    TakeTheLongWayHome Posts: 816 Member
    Options
    I lift heavy things up
    And I like to set them down
    Not on my foot tho
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    Big and heavy things
    Are much better to walk on
    Than to be under.

    Big boulders scare me
    I'll be careful around them
    I will walk lightly.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,070 Member
    Options
    Fantasy football
    Makes every game worth watching
    Including Detroit
  • TakeTheLongWayHome
    TakeTheLongWayHome Posts: 816 Member
    Options
    Your comment brings sad
    Detroit is my hometown team
    But they are awful
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    darkest before dawn
    with your support they will win
    eventually
  • TakeTheLongWayHome
    TakeTheLongWayHome Posts: 816 Member
    Options
    Is five syllables
    And then seven syllables
    Really a haiku?
  • frankwbrown
    frankwbrown Posts: 12,200 Member
    Options
    A Japanese Master
    says something beautiful
    But does it matter?

    "My syllable count
    was affected once again,
    curse the translation."

    And then, are there not
    other considerations
    like simplicity?

    There's form and content,
    And is nature in the mix?
    What about impact!

    A bird on a branch
    A snow laden branch above...
    Pow! in the kisser!



Categories