Haiku poetry |
Haiku is a contemplative, unrhymed Japanese poem that attempts to
chronicle the essence of a moment in which nature is linked to human
life. It is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese
poetry. A well-written haiku creates tension between contrasting
elements such as movement and inactivity, change and continuance, time
and timelessness, nature and humanity. Most haiku poems contain themes
that are simple to understand but give the reader new insight into a
well-known experience or situation.
The great Japanese master of haiku was Matsuo Basho.
Three general guidelines govern haiku writing in Japanese. These
guidelines are:
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The poem consists of 17 syllables, contained within three
lines; this convention is a must in Japanese.
-
The poem should indicate through a kigo, a season word, the time of
year. Often the kigo is not obvious.
-
The poem contains a "cutting" or division between two contrasting parts.
Phil Adams named them wonderfully seductive bullets:
She loves these poems,
Word pictures, so clear, so sharp:
Seductive bullets.
My favourite ZEN haiku:
Rain clouds gathering.
The scurrying geisha girl,
the smiling farmer.
