17 Syllables



Getting almost sociable with my blogging lately: part of a poetry project today run by Suze at Subliminal Coffee.

She explains: 'It's called Tiny Harmonies. What I'd like to do through the first of spring is introduce a theme at the weekend so that the following Friday, participants can post a haiku in response. The collaboration would run for three weeks and the first week's theme is origin.'


[Hai·ku

1. A form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons.
2. A poem written in this form.]

On the theme 'origin,' I did some doodling, and here's what popped out of my biro. Might not be entirely in the count, admittedly!


Attempts, in order of origin, (seems appropriate.)

First, origin as the place that new life starts:

Baby opens palm
Mother's eyes shine
Here Spring buds


Second, origins as a life force rediscovered:


Girl is drunk
On dancing spins so
Free here she is


Third: most simply, the origins of life:

Start: one spark
One cell one replication
Petals open up



Comments

klahanie said…
Greetings human, Lily,

I'm liking all this haiku stuff. And you know what, my human friend? Sometimes this dog likes to rhyme from time to time. Yes, I like a bit of um 'pawetry'....

Pawsitive and pawetic wishes, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar :)
8 March 2013 at 23:30
Catch My Words said…
Fabulous blog post.
Interesting look at life.
Keep up the good work.

http://joycelansky.blogspot.com
9 March 2013 at 00:01
The Armchair Squid said…
Fun - call it minimal minimalism?
9 March 2013 at 01:05
Susan Flett Swiderski said…
Wow, you were on a creative roll, weren't ya? Good job. I like them all, but the last one is my favorite.

Happy weekend!
9 March 2013 at 02:54
Kerry said…
Thank you! These are perfect little gems.
9 March 2013 at 03:32
Suze said…
Girl is drunk
On dancing spins so
Free here she is


I love it, Lily. I did that recently, actually, when I was 'home' with my mother and sister. We were entertaining my grandmother and having a silly time; definitely free. I felt in touch with something from decades back. You've really, really captured it here. Big, happy kudos. :)
9 March 2013 at 03:57
Sultan said…
I love the second one best I think. It feels like the child of a William Carlos Williams poem.
9 March 2013 at 04:27
Lisa Southard said…
Thank you all for your lovely comments- and all the haikus- this was splendid fun! Apologies for my rushed response here: but I'm loving being so busy :-)
9 March 2013 at 22:24
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact Pants Conundrum

Image
There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words...
Read more

Spring Is Ticking

Image
It has been a while since I wrote a blog post - I have been writing books, and keeping a diary, the days and the work aren’t lost, just ticking quietly in a corner. [There’s a little dust in that corner but the shelf is made of strong oak planks, and the light is enchanting. A plant grows in a pot, it spouts leaves. A half candle stands in a china holder.] At Paddock Garden (properly titled Paddock Garden Orchards, I am a lazy typer) a tree corral has been constructed. It contains persimmons which may not have survived the recent cold blasts and heavy rain, along with some happy pepper trees, bladdernuts, and plum yews. We plan to underplant and interplant extensively in this concentrated area. Around the grounds also we have begun some windbreak hedges, mostly of elaeagnus and hazel. We have a line of sapling native oaks edging the spinney. The first of our camping bay areas is growing emerald grass that was seeded last autumn; the second has recently been seeded; the last three need ...
Read more

September's End

Image
September is all but done. Our fingers are purple from plucking berries, scored by thorns, sore and satisfied. How lucky we are, and how grateful! Through the cold spring, and the soggy summer, we have worked to make this place more and more beautiful. We are charming sustenance from the soil with our toiling; using the present to craft a kinder path- a tree-lined, fruit-bearing way.  And so here we are, in autumn, a time of harvest, glut, and storage. A time to plant trees, a time of festival. Our lives are seasonal, tidal, temperate, held in repetitions that are never the same; variations of repeating patterns, a common uniqueness. How lucky we are, and how grateful! Pollinator friendly saplings added to  the firepit hedge, lower field.
Read more