Mid-August. When the crickets sing all day in the long grass and the sky invents blue every morning. A lovely time to savor the moments with small bites of haiku, no? That's what I was thinking when we made the proposed schedule for a year of playing with poetic forms, my Poetry Sisters and I. Then someone threw a wrench in it last month, and suggested we try writing haiku in the form of Classified Ads. Because haiku are so easy and all. HA!
Haiku traditionally is meant to be very in-the-moment and visual. Ideally it's one/two clear images that put the reader directly into an experience that is lived. I've seen it described as "one breath poetry", because it's short enough to say in just one breath. Forget the 17 syllables, that's not what's important. Two images, contrasted with a twist, that makes you say "AH!" and opens up a new perspective on a familiar experience. That's what I aim for in writing haiku. Really, what we did could be considered more Senryu. Trisha explains it so well on her blog post here. Webster defines Senryu as " 3-line unrhymed Japanese poem structurally similar to haiku but treating human nature, usually in an ironic or satiric vein."
But put it into a Classified Ad? I didn't think I could do it. Then I started reading what my Poetry Sisters have done, and I was amazed. They are brilliant, really. I just had to throw a couple of my attempts up at the wall to see what would stick. Here you go:
WANTED: iPhonegiven by my real momin her home
CURB ALERT:slug bait, deer baffle, bean polesbusted hoseISO meals;low cholesterolin cheese sauce-all haiku by Andromeda Jazmon
Be sure to find time today to visit the other Classified Haiku poets: Liz, Sara, Tanita, Trisha, Kelly, & Laura. and visit the Friday Poetry Roundup at Tabitha Yeats' blog. Grab a Moment and Enjoy!
