Alright, so I recently took up writing haikus, as many of you know, and am having a fantastic time. I’ve posted one thus far, and have three others scheduled, and then this weeked?

Well, along with the other writing I’ll do, I plan to spend time reflecting upon new ideas for a few more haikus.

What am I learning? Good question. A lot actually. Let’s take a look.

Haikus

A haiku is a poem, which was created in Japan in the 9th century, that contains a 5-7-5 syllable sound pattern, which is elegant, beautiful, and challenging to craft. There are a few distinctions between traditional haikus, and more contemporary haikus.

For instance, in traditional haikus, there are some very explicit rules. Here is an example, taken from Your Dictionary.

1. There are only three lines, totaling 17 syllables.
2. The first line is 5 syllables.
3. The second line is 7 syllables.
4. The third line is 5 syllables like the first.
5. Punctuation and capitalization are up to the poet, and need not follow the rigid rules used in structuring sentences.
6. A haiku does not have to rhyme, in fact usually it does not rhyme at all.
7. It can include the repetition of words or sounds

Here is an example of a traditional haiku.

“The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

An old silent pond

A frog jumps into the pond—

Splash! Silence again.

Read Poetry

And, here is an example of a contemporary haiku.

Joyce Clement “Birds Punctuate the Days”

Period

One blue egg all summer long

Now gone

Read Poetry

As you conduct more research, however, you find that contemporary haikus are less strict, and can take on numerous forms, as you can see from the above example. It’s super interesting, and a lovely learning experience.

Tanka

There is also a poem called the tanka, created in Japan in the 7th century. Unlike the haiku, which is 17 syllables, the tanka is a 31 syllable poem, typically in the syllable sound pattern, 5-7-5-7-7.

Here is an example of a tanka poem.

八雲立つ 出雲八重垣 妻籠みに 八重垣作る その八重垣を

Layers of cloud in the sky
I am here, ‘Izumo’ country
to protect my sweet wife
I will make layers of fences
eight layered surrounding our home

Medium

Gorgeous.

Now, I am just taking up writing haikus, so tankas will have to wait, yet there are similarities between the two; and, in fact, a tanka (the 7-7 sound pattern) can be added to the haiku. It might, then, look something like this, using my first haiku as an example.

Slowly, the rain falls,
we rejoice in the moment.
And then it is gone.
I await the next moment,
frenzied feeling of delight.

Haiku #1

Wow, that was fun.

Alright, that’s my one thing this weekend, so I wanted to share, as it is such a joy to continue this poetry journey with all of you.

Have a lovely weekend.

#poetry, #haikus, #life, #love, #myonething, #nature, #poem, #poems