I'm sorry! It's been a long time since my last post, and I have no excuse other than that I have been working full-time for the first time in my life and am constantly tired. I know, I really am that pathetic. Anyway, I thought as a way to make up for my lengthy absence, I'd focus on an entirely different form of poetry. A form I am quite new to writing, but love reading.
The Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry, made up of 17 syllables, or mora, the Japanese term for phonetic units similar to the Western syllables (although not entirely the same). The Haiku writing in ancient Japan was limited to the literary elite, but now the form is incredibly widespread, with thousands of western poets practising the art of Haiku writing exclusively. Haiku are often attractive to writers because of their simplicity, the poet Ezra Pound wrote the Haiku-like poem 'In the Station of the Metro' after repeatedly attempting to create a longer poem, but finding the meaning was best preserved in the concise Haiku form.
The typical Western Haiku is recognised as being separated into three seperate lines (the first being five syllables, the second seven syllables, and the third five again). This is just an English technique, however, as all Japanese Haiku were originally written as one sentence.
Through trying to write Haiku I discovered that, personally, I find they are quite different to other poetic forms. The majority of Western poetic forms seem to begin with inspiration, but then require deliberation and planning for the poem itself to take shape. Haiku almost seem to work out best when written completely spontaneously, however, perhaps visited at a later time, but written without overthinking - as they should use simple language and expression. Without further ado, though, here is my most recent Haiku:
Ocean of Silence
I’m open, a can
Pouring into the Ocean -
Of silence: alone.
RIWC
