Haikus

 

I recently attended a workshop on prose poetry, flash fiction and Haiku with the renowned Irish poet John W Sexton. The Haiku part caught my attention and has set me looking for flash inspiration ever since. John's take on this Japanese form is that it has been misunderstood and we can forget about the 5/7/5 syllable rule, which is great as it allows more freedom. 9-17 syllables will suffice in one line, two or three.

Some Background

Haiku started out as a popular activity called “Tanka."  during the 9th to 12th centuries in Japan.

A Tanka was a progressive poem.

The first poet gave a 5-7-5 mora verse, 

the second a 7-7 mora verse 

and on it went.

(a mora is similar to a syllable but not the same- hence the misunderstanding I referred to above.)

The hokku was the name given to the first verse that set the mood for the rest.

It came into its own in the 19th century when hokkus were written and read for their own sake.

The three masters of “hokku” from the 17th century were Basho, Issa, and Buson. 

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The theme of Haikus was traditionally Nature but Love crept in as a permissible subject.

A haiku is made up of a fragment and a phrase. Here are some I wrote after doing the workshop.

clothes horse in the garden (fragment)

pegging down the sun (phrase)

mountains on the horizon

upholding the clouds

treetops on fire

morning sun rising

her spirit

sunshine breaking through cloud

They are fun to write and also hone our descriptive writing skills. 

Enjoy