For
me, the Haiku, that form of Japanese nano poetry, had till now meant delicately
woven imagery written on shimmering silk in fine spidery calligraphy by Japanese beauties sitting under cherry trees laden with pink blossoms....! I had not
known that this poetry form is bound by certain very strict rules, believing rather naively that any short poetry comprising of four or five lines could be
called a haiku. However, lately with this Times of India haiku poetry contest,
I’ve been reading up a little about this ancient art form and I realised that
it is not that simplistic an art. Rather it is a pretty complicated and
difficult skill to master, being bound by certain inflexible rules; one, that it
can be only of three lines, two, that these lines should contain only
five-seven-five syllables, i.e. a total of seventeen syllables, three, that it
should contain what is called a juxtapositioning of two images or ideas to
prompt readers to reflect on the relationship between the two parts and
finally, preferably contain a seasonal word or reference. Now those are pretty
daunting rules, especially the last but one, even for the most poetic of poets. Yet
there is one saving grace; that is that the haiku need not rhyme and can be
free verse.
So
I have been, for the last few days trying my hand at Haikus, scribbling all
over my office note pads, my sticky pads , my home planner, my recipe diary and
then those exhausted, resorting to using poor Other Half’s WhatsApp screen-page
as my editing board! Of course, he has been very, very accommodating and
singularly sweet about it except that one time when after I had sent him twelve
or thirteen drafts of the same edited and re-edited Haiku, he informed me mildly that all my creations were gibberish for him! Yet still I keep using his
screen page as my editing board because I feel that unless one sees one’s work
print, in black and white, one can’t really critique it well.
So over the last few days, after much brain scratching and WhatsApping, I have finally come out with five pieces. And though I myself am pretty happy with them, gloating secretly over what I believe to be quite an achievement (sic!), I couldn’t help but post it on my little blog to see what other’s make of it. So here they are, my very first five haikus and if you can, do let me know what you think of them. I’d really appreciate it. And just a word of warning : Haikus tend to be pretty abstract. So if you like Other Half , are unable to make head or tail of them, it's perfectly fine to think there is a madness in the writer's brain.....!
And just for comparison, here is an English haiku by someone called Brendon Kent:
So over the last few days, after much brain scratching and WhatsApping, I have finally come out with five pieces. And though I myself am pretty happy with them, gloating secretly over what I believe to be quite an achievement (sic!), I couldn’t help but post it on my little blog to see what other’s make of it. So here they are, my very first five haikus and if you can, do let me know what you think of them. I’d really appreciate it. And just a word of warning : Haikus tend to be pretty abstract. So if you like Other Half , are unable to make head or tail of them, it's perfectly fine to think there is a madness in the writer's brain.....!
And just for comparison, here is an English haiku by someone called Brendon Kent:
how fragile
our eggshell minds....
moon on water
our eggshell minds....
moon on water
Like I warned you before, you may find this example rather abstract. Initially I did too. But I think my verses are much more prosaic, the imagery a lot easier to understand. Do read and see for yourself. And let me know.
I
The
Lamp’s ode is lost
In the Moon’s incandescence:
Vain its Moon-worship!
In the Moon’s incandescence:
Vain its Moon-worship!
II
I
bade her goodbye
And only her eyes replied:
Two deep, brimming pools.....!
And only her eyes replied:
Two deep, brimming pools.....!
III
InfatuationSilverfish dart quick
Within leaves of dusty books-
You steal shy glances!
IV
Wish you'd only feed
My thirsty , ravenous mind:
This body's anorexic!
V
Summer Ennui
Hot, sticky pages
And hundreds of black word-ants:
Frozen by the heat!
You steal shy glances!
IV
Wish you'd only feed
My thirsty , ravenous mind:
This body's anorexic!
V
Summer Ennui
Hot, sticky pages
And hundreds of black word-ants:
Frozen by the heat!
