The
Author
Karalyn Jones is pursuing a degree in education and has
tutored since 2005. Karalyn is CRLA certified at the master
level and is known in the Academic Center for the number of
cups of coffee she can drink. She also leads Make A Change,
which is a movement to make changes in our daily lives that
affect the world. |
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Definitions
Haiku (n): A
Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of
five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an
aspect of nature or the seasons.
-American Heritage Dictionary |
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Today is
National Carry a Poem in Your Pocket Day, part of National Poetry Month.
Celebrate by writing a haiku.
The haiku form comes from Japanese poetry.
The word haiku originally referred to the introductory stanza of
a poem (Toyomasu, 2001). According to the Haiku Society of
America (2004), traditional haikus were three lines,
following a pattern of 5 syllables on the first line, 7 on
the second, and 5 on the third. The Society further states
that traditional haikus conveyed imagery from nature and
contained contain a word that indicated a specific season.
The modern haiku is a 3 line, unrhymed poem
following the same 5-7-5 syllable pattern or a 3-5-3
syllable pattern. There
also tends to be a sharp contrast in the imagery of the
poem, either between the first two lines and the third line or the
first line and the last two lines. The modern haiku is not limited to
a focus on nature only; modern haikus convey a wide range of
messages and imagery.
Because the haiku
format is limited in length, expressing an action or story can be near
impossible. Emotions or concepts are easier to conform to
the pattern. Also note that haikus do not usually have
titles or ending punctuation.
Here are some examples:
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behold the ego
set in glowing emptiness
on the edge of time
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Noel Kaufmann |
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The
flap of a bat,
drip drip of monsoon waters.
Ancient image stares.
-Phil Wahl |
And,
Academic Center employees also wrote some haikus this month:
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nothing shouts like the
ever falling white of pure
snowflakes on dark fields
-Karalyn Jones |
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Harshness in a cold
Cries out with despair and pain
As spring now ascends.
-Katie Moody |
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Is it
dark in here
Because I can still see you
Lights on I can’t see
-Marcus Taylor |
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Flowers on the grave
Fireflies dancing all night
Melancholy Joy
-Nick Jobe |
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the
written remnants
of you hold my heart. with tears
I embrace them all
-Summer Leibensperger
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References
Haiku Society of America. Official definitions of haiku
and related terms. Retrieved 29 August 29, 2007.
Toyomasu, K. (2001). Haiku for people. Retrieved August 22,
2007 from
Toyomasu.com.
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Quotes about
Poetry
Poetry: the
best words in the best order.
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Poetry is the
rhythmical creation of beauty in words.
~Edgar Allan Poe
Poetry is
thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
~Thomas Gray
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