Friday, March 1, 2013

English Haiku 3

Haiku of this kind are both easier and harder than one would think. With surprising regularity, I find the perfect middle line in my head to have six syllables as opposed to seven. Not eight and not five, but six. Exactly one less than the form requires. I wonder if there is something specific to English that draws it towards a phrase of six syllables right after one of five. I don't know. In either case, here are some more of my successful haiku.


Vultures high above.
All that remains of a fox.
Life and death and life.

*

Frozen solid lake.
Three wolves stand in the middle.
Winter serenade. 

*

Snakes on dry, hot sand.
Tumbleweeds bounce to new homes.
Succulent cacti.

*

Indigo bunting.
Jet black crows in nearby field.
Potential strange flock.

*

Dormant, brown tree limbs
Against a polished blue sky.
Past, present, future.

*

Moss-covered boulders
Flanking a raging river.
Behold yin and yang.

*

Blue jays. Cardinals. Crows.
Pheasants. Turkeys. Starlings. Doves.
Diverse sky masters. 


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