For International Haiku Day, what else?

Our new-to-us garden faces west, so that the sun rising in the east illumines the space beyond the shade of the two extension peaks. I’m sure that there must be a quiet haiku to develop, as a kind of textual representation of the early morning scene before me.

Oddly enough, I was writing haiku earnestly all through the day yesterday, and this morning I awakened to discover that the 17th of April is, in fact, International Haiku Day. Although I tend rather more to the verbose, I’m learning to appreciate the discipline involved in creating the atmosphere of a momentary thought, within a mere seventeen syllables. Our writing group has been assigned the task of considering the challenge(s) of one or another competitions currently running, of which one is promoted by the Poetry on the Lake group: haiku.

Although the initial entry fee covers five haiku, I extended my range to six, during my efforts. The poems all rolled out quickly enough, but the finessing took the rest of the day. I can hardly wait to share these haiku with the rest of our group, but I must hold my eagerness back for at least a week, in anticipation of our follow-on session. I wonder, for today, if I can manage a seventh, just for joy, just to try to recapitulate our garden spread out before us.

Morning
Over twin roof peaks
the sun, bright, dazzles the birds --
spring joy in their song.

That should do it, I think, for this morning’s effort.

5 responses to “For International Haiku Day, what else?”

  1. Larry, Nice pic for beginning Today’s Joy. Is there really wilderness right in your back yard? What a great place for hosting feathered friends. Our 35 yr old black maple must come down. If allowed to grow too many problems on horizon. I feel I’m betraying an old friend. You know my beliefs. I am not a tree worshipper. Last night however I told the tree that I was sad about the decision & thanked it for its many gifts to us. It can be glad that will not be blamed for disrupting the sewer system. The wind will not be able to push it into our house or the neighbor’s property. I will celebrate its life in stories old men are prone to tell. Today was to be the day but predictions of high winds as postponed cutting it down. I can’t write haiku but perhaps I’ll write something about this grand tree.

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    1. Commiserations, Henry, sad to hear that the tree must come down! The lifespan of trees is finite, however, and try as we might to save them, their time too must come. Especially when there are extenuating circumstances. Tree farmers around the North Pennines would recognise these exigencies, and get busy planting new ones. How about a pair of flowering specimen trees to brighten your days, somewhere near the old stump if it remains? Good luck, anyway, and mind the felling when it happens. Take care, L

      >

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      1. Alas this black maple is young & healthy. It will be much larger before I can even blink. The stump will be ground down & earth leveled. The cost is $1100 so with every action resulting in line on invoice we will lay down grass seed for now. I forgot to tell the tree how the mulch from its branches & wood from its trunk will be used. A lot of it will be returned to the earth. Our advice may fall on deaf ears of the young whose yards are not huge. Your advice re: plantings is good considering future growth?

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  2. Fiona Bernhoeft Avatar
    Fiona Bernhoeft

    A new road to joy
    Emerges from the sunlight
    Making Larry smile

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    1. Ah, thank you Fiona… so sweet! It did, it did make us smi

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