Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Haiku and Travis McGee

Traditional haiku is seventeen syllables, three lines whose length is five, seven, and five. The haiku should juxtapose three distinct but related ideas in search of a deeper truth.

Travis McGee
In a bright blue sky
Anchored in a silver slip
Floats the Busted Flush
Mystery fans who have read John McDonald's Travis McGee novels will recognize the reference to a boat, the Busted Flush, that Travis Mcgee, "salvage consultant" lived aboard. 

My criticism of my haiku is that it should be separate ideas, and not read like a single thought.

A second try, still not quite.
Okay
Its only okay
Because we believe it so
Or because it is
Haikus traditionally deal with nature.
In the dark green woods
Among meadows, trees and trails
I heard my footfalls
November Days
Cold November days
Wind blows from the frosty north
Winter comes too soon

Among the best Japanese haiku authors is Matsuo Basho.

He breaks form on occasion, as in A Cold Rain Starting.
A cold rain starting
And no hat-
So?
The point of this exercise is, I suppose, the idea that good writers get to the point.



Monday, November 11, 2013

Are you ready?

Are you ready to hear the naked truth?

No, I didn't believe it. So, I'll come back when you are ready.

Still, you ought to know. You are a really tame bunch. So polite, like parishioners at Sunday service in the Washington National Cathedral. Everyone, in their seat, listening politely, afraid to even cough. I suppose I could understand your quietude if this were a funeral, but Ronald Reagan died years ago, and no one is to be buried this week, month, or year.

Say something. Let me know, as Lily Tomlin would say, that there is intelligent life in the universe.