Today's Haiku

pic by Martin Addison

Wind makes oak leaves dance,
warm gold in the autumn sun,
yet we still shiver.

pic by David Hawgood

Haiku Holiday Memory Jerker

Yesterday on the TV I watched the Queen’s progress  in the Royal Barge at the centre of the River Thames pageant to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of her reign. It was very emotive to watch the patriotic display of boats of all shapes and sizes and the millions of spectators waving their flags and cheering them on.  It made me wish I could have been there.

But the swirling Thames also reminded of another  river – The Nile –  and our fabulous holiday on its banks three years ago. My haiku holiday diary first appeared at Marc Latham’s Folding MirrorPoetry website.

Wed 18 Mar

Luxor is hot and
so noisy. Why did we choose
to holiday here?

Thur 19 Mar

We walk out from the
oasis of our hotel,
swim above the Nile.

Fri 20 Mar

Early start for the
West Bank – those temples and tombs.
Wonderful Luxor.

Sat 21 Mar

We visit Luxor’s
soaring city temple and
the sphinx avenue.

Sun 22 Mar

On George’s birthday
cruise to Dendora, I buy
Egyptian textiles.

Mon 23 Mar

Restaurant haven
means we can eat away from
the sudden sandstorm.

Tues 24 Mar

Karnak is biggest
of all the temples, and where
pharoah gods once ruled.

Wed 25 Mar

White birds sitting on
the Nile float upstream till the
flock lifts to fly back.

Thur 26 Mar

Meet Egyptian kids
at Medinat Habu – most
colourful temple.

Fri 27 Mar

Tiny, little birds,
yellow breast and  black on top,
turquoise shoulder flash.

Sat 28 Mar

Cruise ships manoeuvre
awkwardly across the Nile.
One goes on its way.

Sun 29 Mar

Tented enclosure
is where we eat Egyptian
food beside the Nile.

Mon 30 Mar

Riding on camels
alongside the river, through
wheat and sugar cane.

Tues 31 Mar

Have a final dip
in the hotel’s swimming pool
Tomorrow we leave.

Wed 1 Apr

We fly through the night.
Pinpoint lights below seem like
stars all up-side-down.

Haiku Diary for Today

Wind pushes us on
along the noisy shoreline,
as waves crash and splash.

We find some shelter
up the steps to Ham Common
and walk back that way.

Haiku Musings

I don't claim to be an expert on haiku but I like the challenge of writing them. This week I wrote one and published it in my Writelink blog.  A comment there sent me scurrying to research some Japanese words associated with this poetic form.

I found that sentori means a moment of oneness, giving us the idea of a haiku capturing a single moment. This reminds me of my first ever attempt at the form, many years ago when I first learnt of it from my English lecturer at college.

The moonlight shivers

as the breeze stirs the water

on a warm June night.

I wrote that one from a memory of gazing into the water as I walked home alone along the Thames towpath after a conert of blissful music at Kingston Parish Church. This next one was inspired while I was on holiday in Luxor, Egypt, in 2009.

Tiny little bird
with yellow breast, black on top,
turquoise shoulder flash.

Then back at home again:

Wondrous white tulips,
delicate pointed petals
reaching for the sky.

The Japanese word jinji means the human condition and most of the ancient jinji haiku in Japan were satirical and funny.

I think my latest one is the closest I get to that.

They said it would rain,
yet the sun baked us pink, as
we walked in raincoats.

In Defence of Haiku

When I read Jim Murdoch's post about hating haiku recently, I had to agree with a lot of what he wrote. But I also have a reason to love haiku.

I first learnt about haiku on a college course as a mature student when I was about 34. I'd been going through a bad patch after my first husband left me and our two children.

My love life was erratic. I'd had a few dates but couldn't seem to click with anyone. If they wanted to see me again, I wasn't interested, and if I was, they weren't. I was feeling unattractive and uninteresting. At the same time, I was trying to make a happy and comfortable life for my children while pursuing some higher education on a students' grant. (In retrospect, I was so lucky that it was a grant and not a loan as it might be today.)

One evening I found a babysitter and went to listen to some music in my local church. I thought it might be uplifting, but I found it bitter sweet, and in this mood I wandered home along the path by the river in the dark. Selfishly not thinking about my children, I couldn't care less if there was a psychopath around to bump me off. It would have been a happy release. Silly me.

My college assignment to write a haiku drifted into my mind as I looked at the reflection of the moon in the water beside me, and this just popped up in my head.

The moonlight shimmers
as the breeze stirs the water
on a warm June night.

I've never forgotten it. Every time I think of it, I remember my hopeless mood and how fortunate I am to be not still in that place.

Now I write a haiku diary, picking a small moment or event in each day that seems memorable. I always stick to the 5–7–5 syllables but not always the Japanese rules on content. How factual or poetic they are varies a lot but reading them afterwards usually brings back the emotions and feelings along with the memories. I post these in my other blog over at Writelink. Here's a link to the last one in case you'd like to see.

So that's why I love haiku. I couldn't be without them in my life now.

Egyptian Evening Haiku

Egypt nights fall fast.
Magical tree silhouettes
on hotel terrace.

A Haiku Diary

About 18 months ago I started to write a haiku a day. Gradually this turned into a haiku diary, where I try to instil the essence of a memorable part of each day. It’s amazing how it jogs my mind to remember when I read a few from months ago.

I try to do this every day, but often fail. However, I do keep a factual journal inherited from when I was in a business partnership and needed to record what I did with my time. At the end of each month I refer to this so I can go back and fill in the gaps. Some of my blog entries help too.

It gets done each month because I always post my monthly haiku diary in my Writelink blog. The link is to the last one posted for November.

As I look back, I can often recognise the ones I wrote as they happened because they are more poetic and less about the factual things. But even if the words in my haiku are less tangible, I can still relate them to what I did on the day.

December is a very busy month so I have lots of gaps to fill. But below is one I wrote for Boxing Day on the 26th. My last post here was a prose version of that day too, one which I wrote in the evening.

Summer’s leaf curtains
are drawn back to air the views
on our country drive.



Pic is by Raould at Wikimedia Commons