Haiku! in major media!

Just happened to catch this story which was part of this morning's Morning Edition -- perhaps the recent phenomenon of NYTimes "haiku" spurred it, or maybe just the annual ritual of appreciating the cherry blossoms in DC. Still, they actually involved members of the Haiku Society of America, so there was more substance than mere syllable-counting to the final selection -- progress!

cherry blossom rain
sound of a love song passes
with the traffic

— Dawn Apanius

(Maybe next time they could invite the HSA membership to contribute as well as judge, but perhaps that is too much to hope.)

Autumn 'ku

autumn air . . .
the diminishing trail
of voices

Mary Davila

(from The Heron's Nest, Vol. XII:3)

Tuesday haiku

scent of rain —
all the ways
we failed each other

Nora Wood

sultry afternoon —
wingtip laces
work loose

Scott Mason

ants working late
in the afternoon sun . . .
a drifting contrail

Raquel D. Bailey

(from the Heron's Nest, Volume XI:2)

Haiku of the day

First day of spring--
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.

— Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694)
Translated by Robert Hass

(via Follow Me Here)

I don't post enough haiku here...

birch seeds tumble
from the laundry bin —
end of the day

Cindy Zackowitz

(from The Heron's Nest, IX:1)

Haiku of the day

In the falling snow
A laughing boy holds out his palms
Until they are white.

- Richard Wright

And now this thing too

At any other place or time, I'd think this was a joke, but sadly we know better: one unqualified (but loyal) Bush pal, Michael Brown, proves he's no match for the logistics of disaster recovery, and then he's replaced by, um, Karl Rove?!? I'm sure Rove has a lot of experience putting out political fires, but I honestly don't think that's quite the same thing, Georgie . . .

(via XOverboard)


Note: Post title taken from this haiku by Richard Wright (in his collection This Other World):

And now this thing too:
A drunken girl vomiting
In the autumn rain

Haiku for the day

snowy night
sometimes you can’t be
quiet enough

-- John Stevenson

A haiku for the arrival of winter

ice moon —
the cat grooms away
my touch

Linda Jeannette Ward

Some musings for the day

Found this little piece a while back on the Buddhist blog Ditch the Raft:

A pilgrim was walking along a road when one day he passed what seemed to be a monk sitting in a field. Nearby men were working on a stone building.

"You look like a monk," the pilgrim said.
"I am that," said the monk.
"Who is that working on the abbey?"
"My monks," said the man. "I'm the abbot."
"It's good to see a monastery going up," said the pilgrim.
"They're tearing it down," said the abbot.
"Whatever for?" asked the pilgrim.
"So we can see the sun rise at dawn," said the abbot.

from Thomas Moore, Meditation

That couldn't help but remind me of this classic haiku:

Barn's burnt down--
now
I can see the moon.

Masahide (1657? - 1723)
[translation by Lucien Stryk]

Four days to go...

Will be away for the weekend, hopefully exchanging some of the ceaseless brain-buzz and election stress for some fall leaves, a little wine, and some time by the fire. Then, of course, the final sleepless onslaught. Let's hope for a little sunshine on all counts.

hope
without knowing what for
autumn colors

John Stevenson