Haiku

The ancient pond,
A frog jumps in.
The sound of the water.

Matsuo Bashou (1686)

I have been writing fairly standard poetry for some time and decided to branch out a little and explore the Haiku.

The Haiku is a styalised Japanese poem, the English version of which follows these basic rules;

1. Haiku do not have to rhyme,
2. Haiku have 3 lines,
3. The lines have 5, 7 and 5 syllables, (these aren’t “syllables” in the western language sense)
4. Ideally they should contain a word that conjures up an image of a season.

This evening I wrote my first eight which I hope hope you enjoy.

Bullies

The hurricane hit hard,
The oak stood firm against all,
Then hit back harder.

Hibernating

Soft mound of dried leaves,
Hedgehogs missing from garden,
Slow heart beat below.

Cobo *

Waves pound rocky shore,
White spume flies high in the sky,
Fish and chips on wall.

* Cobo is one of the biggest beaches in Guernsey, it also has one of the best fish and chip Shops on the Island. There is not much better then sitting on the sea wall on a summer evening and eating fish and chips.

Changes

Caterpillar eats,
Chrysalis hardens on twig,
Beauty flies aloft.

Felix

Cat curls in tight ball,
Purring softly in its sleep,
Claws steeped in dried blood.

Poppies

Fields of pink petals,
Flutter in the Afghan breeze,
Junkie dies in street.

Surfer

Waves power shoreward,
Growing taller and taller,
Lone surfer wipes out.

Kite

Clear blue sky stares down,
Light bounces from rippling sea,
Red kite intrudes.

John Carré Buchanan
03 December 2011