Monday, March 27, 2006

The Haiku Challenge

Life’s been a bit hectic of late. And blogging finds itself slipping down the list of priorities. Looking in my notebook I see that I haven’t written many poems over the last few weeks. I’ve been mainly sorting and editing – primarily for a new book of children’s poems due out next year sometime. Whilst doing that I noticed I’ve written a lot of haikus over the last couple of years. So I thought I might include a few here. Meanwhile – if you feel inspired to write a haiku of your own - seventeen syllables arranged 5, 7, 5 - be my guest.

Mirror Haiku

Look in the mirror
What do you see, pussy cat?
I see a lion.

Wind Haiku

The wind shakes the school
Like the beat of a dragon’s wing
On a dark night

Seaside Haiku

Five crows sit on the beach
Seven seagulls skim the surf
Five crabs set a trap

Long Word Haiku

What's the meaning of
Antidisestablishmentarianism?

Crow Haiku

one, two, three, four, five
accumulating darkness
crow keeps his counsel

Tension Haiku

There is a tension
As bees and beetles struggle
On the pool’s surface

Death Cycle Haiku

Rushing down the hill
A bicycle.
A beetle
Fails to cross the road

Sit Dog Haiku

Sit, sit, sit dog, sit
Good boy, sit, go on, sit, sit
Sit, sit, sit, sit,


Please…

Haiku Fest

If I read just one
more haiku I swear I’ll go
nuts

47 comments:

Wastedpapiers said...

I shall blow my nose
Sounds of trumpets fill the air
Get ready to charge!

Wastedpapiers said...

"Tits like cocoanuts",
The cheeky market man cried.
"Birds love my fat balls!"

Roger Stevens said...

Lovely, Michael. Those two haikus moved me.

Wastedpapiers said...

I knew you'd be impressed
With my wizardry and wit
How clever I am!

Wastedpapiers said...

I must go and have a lie down!

longblackveil said...

dear excellence known as roger stevens.
you are much funs on any given day.
Hurrah.

Roger Stevens said...

Thanks LBV

Michael, your penultimate haiku seems to have one too many syllables in it. And your last one - only 8 in total - although I liked the idea of lying down. No doubt to help you think of another haiku.

Prmod Bafna said...

Its always fun to come by your blog! Lovely stuff! Really loved the wind haiku :)

Haiku is much fun,
especially when its yours,
write on, just write on!

Russell Ragsdale said...

If it's laughter you're
after you're in the right place
nothing serious

Jonathan said...

Michael lies down, prone
To sleep perhaps to dream of
Haikus nevermore

Jonathan said...

Roger, I can count
Michael seems to follow form
Where is the problem?

Roger Stevens said...

Hey - some great haikus. Keep 'em coming folks!

Well, Jonathan - "I knew you'd be impressed" makes six syllables by my count. Weird 'cos I happen to know that Michael got a first-class homours degree in Advanced Mathmatics.

Roger Stevens said...

... and homours degrees are very difficult tro come by!

Jonathan said...

Correct, Roger there
is one to many sylab-
les in that poem.

(sorry... didn't guess that was an Haiku)

Neets said...

in-spi-red, i am
here goes my first ever haiku
what do u say, Roger

nice blog, feel free to drop by anytime!

Nick Zegarac said...

Some of the best haiku I've read so far on any of the blogs. Love the bicycle/beetle - squash, squash.

Sue hardy-Dawson said...

Essay blues Haiku

too many essays
to write haikus or even
the little known Lowku

Excited and Incohearent Haiku

Yipee I got my
letter today!!!!! thank-you ve-
ry, squeek much Roger.

PS Haven't burnt anything yet but the evening is young. So I will avoid cookers, drink wine and smile a lot.

PPS. This is not a Haiku a Lowku or a snucaku

Sue hardy-Dawson said...

PPPS Long word Haiku is my favourite closely followed by sit dog, I may read it to our dog

Anonymous said...

Mr. Roger..

Hi..its always nice to get comments from you with ur usual wit & wisdom..

this Haiku stuff...amazing..how do u think so innovative way esp. the way you write ur poetry...great stuff..

hope no body can make fool on 1st april..
Roy

Roger Stevens said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Roger Stevens said...

I had to remove that last post due to my spilling mistukes.

Haikus - keep 'em coming folks. I wonder if those ancient and venerable Japanese scholars who wrote haikus realised that they could be so much fun?

Playing at a gig tonight - Damn Right I Got the Blues - someone's wedding. Should be fun. Then a free weekend. Hurrah! I might even write a new poem.

Wastedpapiers said...

Daffodils nodding
Gardener's plodding along
Oh !a rake headache!

Wastedpapiers said...

April comes but once
A year to play tricks again
On unsuspecting poets

Wastedpapiers said...

My dog's got no nose
How does it smell without one?
Pretty damned awful!

Wastedpapiers said...

Archie hanging snails
Up in tiny treetop capsules
Experiments, he said

Russell CJ Duffy said...

i was going to have a go but having seen michaels genius in full bloom thought better of it

Jonathan said...

What were they thinking
When they developed this form?
Not English, I'm sure...

Wastedpapiers said...

Gardener's Haiku

Compost on rhubarb?
I prefer custard on mine
He said, laughing

EATING POETRY said...

This post is so much fun! I loved reading through all the haikus. Great Idea RS. I've never really written a haiku before, so I'm guessing at the rules, but I'll give it a go.

My brain is fried
at work I'm tied
soon the day will end.

Ok, I don't think that was one.

Let me try another:

woops, my boss is back, gotta go...
next time.

Russell CJ Duffy said...

never really tried PROPER haiku before. just did what i usually do and did it my way which was very much the wrong way.

teacher roger...is this a haiku?...

i dream of tar
shiny black ribbon road
hedges trimmed green

if it isn't, what i have i done wrong? and if its right can i have my first house point please?

Roger Stevens said...

Hey, some great blogs everyone. Especially Michael - who will come down with haikuitis if he's not careful!

I'm off on my hols for a few days. Back on Sunday. Keep the haikus coming in.

Or how about some tankas? The tanka actually predates the haiku.
It's five lines and the syllable count is -
5
7
5
7
7

The last two lines "answer or reply in some way to the first three.

See you all soon.

XXXXX

hazel said...

Hazel in garden
Crouched on the concrete pathway
Wire brushing a brick

hazel said...

Oil Tanka

After the veg curry
I strain the oil through funnel
Found at jumble sale
Who would think poppadums could
Use up so much rancid fat

Jonathan said...

Wow, Hazel I like
that one. What do you do with
so much rancid oil ?

(hasn't graduated to Tonka, yet)

hazel said...

It wasnt rancid really Jonathan but I needed a word that didnt rhyme with funnel!

Rose DesRochers said...

I would be very interested in purchasing your book when it comes out. I'm founder of Today's Woman Writing community, you should check it out. No, it isn't just for women. LOL

Jonathan said...

I wouldn't think it
was rancid, just used. Worthy
to be used again.

Nicole Braganza said...

Delightful...esp Mirror Haiku

Wastedpapiers said...

My ukulele
Strums a song of the islands
Canvey and the Dogs!

Wastedpapiers said...

Milk Tanka


Drinka Pinta Milk
I remember that old ad
From many years ago
These days I prefer soya
In my my morning cuppa

hazel said...

Drat! Cross out the "from".

Wastedpapiers said...

And the second "my"! I think i am dyslexic you know.

Russell CJ Duffy said...

i guess that einstein
would have made a great tanka
some sort of poet
he always had math on mind
even though a scruffy git

Roger Stevens said...

Great stuff everyone.

Things quietening down a bit. Mum not coming to visit after all. So hopefully get some new blog up - and visit a few fellow bloggers.

Keep the faith.

Sue hardy-Dawson said...

A Second

When sacred banyan
clips the moon, and stealthy as
a summer breeze; a
golden flash-and striped with doom
Tiger melts into the grass

Little Onion said...

Good to see people enjoying haiku -you know not many 'haiku poets' write in 575 in english - there being more to them than counting...

seasonal word/phrase, a cut,...

but its fun to work the syllables from time to time...

here's an old one in 575

nearly mother's day
my best daffodils bent low
in the constant rain

would love to hear you play sometime roger!

LO

Area 17 said...

Tension haiku!

tension headache
different bees work
the lavender bush

The Haiku Calendar 2004
Snapshots Press ISBN 1-903543-07-X

Simply Haiku: September 2003, Vol. 1, No. 3