Wednesday, April 09, 2008

April 9 Haiku

she told me
drive this way and look
for blue fields

april 8 039


roadside treasure -
a farmer's fallow field
overflows

april 8 017

From Gardens Ablaze: "Grape Hyacinth, otherwise known as Muscari, are actually not Hyacinths at all. They are members of the Lily family, and are native to the Mediterranean area and Asia Minor."

5 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

Ooh. I couldn't have gotten out of the car; the smell would have knocked me flat, but they're SO pretty.

Andromeda Jazmon said...

LOL! Funny thing is this type of "grape hyacinth" doesn't have a strong smell. I didn't notice any at all actually. I think they naturalized and spread across this field on their own but it might be a farm crop (?)

One of my co-workers, knowing how I obsess over taking photos every day, told me about this field and insisted I drive over there yesterday.

Jan said...

lovely imagery with the poem, in and of itself...then the photo really adds awe! i like the idea of haiku but still don't really understand them...some say it should be 7-4-7, or 4-5-4, or whatever...i wrote a few myself but don't really seem to pay attention to the number of syllables. is there a set rule?

Anonymous said...

Hi there!

Would you be able to let folks know about this poetry challenge we're hosting at Two Writing teachers next week when you host P.F. this Friday?

Thanks,
Stacey

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/poetry-challenge/

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Will do Stacy!

Jan, the traditional Japanese haiku was written with a character count of 5-7-5. Japanese doesn't have syllables so it isn't an exact carry over to English. Most translators and English haiku poets try to keep the pattern: short, longer, short. I try not to go beyond 5-7-5 syllables and make it shorter when that gets the meaning across. It's different for different poets.

If you try for as few words as possible, sharp, immediate images, a contrast or "turn" that invites contemplation, focus on nature and do short, longer, short lines you will be on the road.