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Steve's Haiku |  |
Background
As a poetic form, the Haiku is very difficult. Its origins are Japanese and the variations between Japanese and English make it difficult to translate most Haiku. It is generally held that most Westerners do not really grasp the Haiku
This is probably because the Haiku evolved over time and some of the rules of their making changed. Initially, a Haiku was part of a larger form called a Tanka; later it was used as the introduction to a Renga, a series of poems.
There are several rules for Haiku, not all of which are necessarily followed by all authors (or even agreed upon by all experts)
- Three lines long and the lines have a pattern of either 5-7-5 or 5-7-7 syllables
- Should contain a seasonal word (this stems from their Renga origins, when the Haiku would tell when the Renga that followed was written
- Should be tied to the natural world
- Usually, the first two lines present images which are not connected until the third line reveals them
- In some forms, the first line is expected to be an active image, the second a passive one
| endless darkened stream minutiae of demented minds Steve's phone at Coughlin •1/12/98 |
dumb, blind amoeba wind whipping cold and bitter Big Bro likes to talk •1/13/98 |
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| Cold night brings silence A mantis perched serenely Bug hunt at midnight •10/9/98 |
Sun rising early Green leaves in an icy tomb Winter Camp in bloom •11/17/98 |
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| Stack of musty tomes old car just washed and shiny Updating our page •11/17/98 |
First dawn of springtime, Old Marley's chains ajangling Some folks don't age well. •11/19/98 | |
| Chief's Exhortation, Butterfly smashed and broken, My hopes at Coughlin •11/19/98 |
Ants gathering food, Marie Antoinette's menu, Working for Coughlin •11/20/98 |
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| Deep moss-covered roots, The latest music video an adviser at Winter Camp •11/20/98 |
Cool mountain water, Explorer asked to reload, a few days off when needed. •11/20/98 |
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| Driving like a fool, cloudless azure sky of spring the blue screen of death has come. •10/22/99 |
Gear piled to the sky, Cheerful spirit of summer Oakley is in camp •1/13/98 |
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