Zen Poetry -- Haiku Cafe

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Subject: Zen Poetry

Author:
Stephen Collicoat

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Date Posted: Tue, May 31 2005, 8:54:17

'A haiku is not just a pretty picture in three lines of 5-7-5 syllables each. In fact, most haiku in English are not written in 5-7-5 syllables at all - many are not even written in three lines. What distinguishes haiku is concision, perception and awareness - not a set number of syllables. A haiku is a short poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived in which Nature is linked to human nature.'

'Senryu (haiku's sister genre) is the same as haiku except, instead of dealing with nature, it is specificially about human nature and human relationships...'

Extracts from 'The Haiku Anthology' Third Edition, edited by Cor Van Den Heuvel, W.W.Norton & Company.

These are my contributions. Hope you enjoy them.

we sleep together
she sighs
and turns away

powdered dust
the dying lawn

tiny fish dart
above
shadow shoals

this day of peace
I fight despair

the blackbird
warns encroachers
in a song

the kitten curls
to basket's shape

faded photograph
only eyes
and lips remain

the balloon pops
her shriek dies

his voice
muffled in
the pending tray

curled leaves
set forth
across the pond

the tractor roars
tugs aimless boat
onto the shore

she casts away the quilt
I shiver
in the night

rain taunts
with scattered drops

empty verandah
grey boards creak
at my approach

she pays
then talks
about her pain

endorsed at last
he clutches
his degree

I mow
buttercups fly
into death

solar lights
ache
for sun's return

crumpled petals
roses die

tightening her grip
she grasps
my empty air

she breaks off
advocating equality
to scold the maid

sometime soon
I'll arise
my legs lie dead

he jabs with jokes
here comes
a killer line

family Christmas
excrutiating cheer

the meal ends
guests narrowly watch
the folded bill

grateful to be alone
her postcards wish
our company

she glances through his life
then bins
his application

I gather wood
by the hollow tree
bees murmur strategy

she inserts shrewd questions
into conversation
like wedges in a log

stallion
galloping
rain streaming from his back

news of another atrocity
I tune in
to the mountains

the cat arranges baby birds
each morning
on the mat

she laughs
in another room
I writhe in jealousy

night cats
spit curses

each morning
his anxious face
peers back

she leaves
the phone sulks

retrenched
his suits hang
unconsulted

laughter shrinks
she moves away

I write of love
she corrects
my grammar

take your time
he orders
impatiently

I'll call
he promises
then slinks away

avidly confessing sins
only his twin
has done

I bury my parents in a wood
ghosts remain at home

each day counting blessings
assuring himself
he's still alive

the fox barks in the night
I phone reception
for a wake-up call

unnoticed
the old woman
skips across the path

savagely thrusting
his car in gear
shocked face shrinks

I crumple
a useless afternoon
tossing it away

they'll miss me
at the party
no, they won't

forgetting his argument
he prays
for interruption

candles flicker
on the terrace
a waiter sets the table

there
there
anywhere
no, not there
well, I ask you

toy racing car driver
snarl moulded
into tin

wild geese
beating sky

three days' rain
the frogs'
deafening joy

dark garden
a cricket's song

the mountain basks in sun
we shiver
on the plains

the sunday lilies
of my youth

crumpled party dresses
spring
has left the garden

sighing at
the severity of her diet
she butters a croissant

frozen smoke
of apple blossom

two cats
describe their rival's
ancestry

the wheezing rage
of a fox's bark

last night
the dead rang
to wish us well

I shrink in a lighted house
Dark freedom
Stirs beyond

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Re: Zen Poetry	Slavica Blagojevic (haiku)	Thu, Jan 15 2009, 20:41:22