Haiku…flower graveyard…crushed love

Haiku, poetry, love,writers, poet

Forgotten Flower, forgotten love  ©
by Trisha Sugarek

Crushed petal, crushed stem
Flattened flower, Trampled love
Dead and dry flower

Crushed love, crushed heart, still
Packed down against the pavement
Crushed flower, crushed stem

Forgotten love, lost
Dried between sun and pavement
pages in a book
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I left the UPS store yesterday and walked to my car.  I found this carnation in the parking lot, flattened and dried perfectly, as if saved between the pages of an old book.
What would this single flower tell me if it could talk.  Did a girl throw it down while in a lovers’ spat?   Did a boy  throw it away when the girl didn’t come to meet him?  Or did it fall from a grocery store-bought bouquet on Mother’s Day?   I stood in the parking lot, gazing down at it, while the world rushed around me.  I am officially the crazed old lady, standing on the hot pavement looking down at a dead flower. 
(photo by Trish Sugarek)

Inspiration can hit anytime, anywhere.  I wrote the Haiku in the car on the way home, and then hurried into the house lest I forget the verse.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!      A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview with one of them once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!  Mark Childress was our April author.  Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author.  July features Rhys Bowen.  Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.  Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Send your original ‘haiku’ poetry and I’ll post it

Haiku poetry, poetry, female poets, Japanese,I have been quite amazed at the number of searches for haiku poetry and then the search ending up in a visit to my site.  Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT complaining.  My amazement lies in the interest (in our modern world)for this beautiful type of poetry that has survived the ages.  Did you know that the oldest written work in Japanese literature is the haiku by Kojiki in the 8th century.

So I came up with the idea of inviting YOU to send me your haiku poetry and I will include it in a post from time to time.

I only ask that you write it in the correct and time-honored style of three stanzas, three lines each, five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables.  Tell me if you want me to use your full name. Be certain to include your website address so that we can continue to market each other. You can send it on the “comments” page or the contact us page and I’ll be sure to get it.

I love the idea that my new website is interactive with more than just my voice…..and will have others’ voices joining in……..

And if you are new to this form of writing, please try it and send it to me.  Here is a sample of my haiku to get you started:

The Seasons of the Sun  ©    from my book, “The World of Haiku”

angle of fall’s sun
so different from spring’s rays
dapples the sun porch

end of hot summer
the crisp, sharp tang of fall’s breath
smokes the air about

a waiting for sleep
under the blanket of snow
until spring sun beams

More trivia: The ‘Waka’ is the oldest form of Japanese poetry, used centuries before the more commonly known ‘haiku’.  Waka actually means ‘japanese poem’.  Traditionally lovers as well as persons of high social standing used waka poems to communicate.  Waka poems are noted for their attempt to capture feelings, rather than explain them.  A waka is also called a ‘tanka’; they share identical structures.

Best regards,  Trish

 

 

Haiku (Renku) Poetry and How to Write It (Part 1)

haiku, smaurai, Misashi, poetry, writing, blogging, blogs        Haiku (Renku) Poetry, an ancient form of writing poetry from Japan, is very strict in its structure. One section of three lines. The first and  third lines must be five syllables. The second line must be seven syllables.  A reference to nature is usually found somewhere in the poetry. My Sumi-E ink and brushwork you see here is an ancient Japanese technique.  In Renku poetry You write three or more stanzas using the same 5-7-5 discipline.

Tip:  When I first write haiku I don’t worry so much about the structure on the first draft.  I get my thoughts down and then start editing words (syllables) until I have the correct structure  of   5-7-5.  This works best for me.

Tip: Over the centuries (and certainly in the US) Haiku has been reduced to one section of three lines.  In ancient Japan culture (11-12th centuries) a haiku had three sections of three lines.  I prefer to write in the ancient style but it is acceptable, by some, to write a complete poem in three lines.
Continue reading “Haiku (Renku) Poetry and How to Write It (Part 1)”