We’ve had an unusual stretch of rain and clouds.
such abundance!
the creek is now a river
tumbling to the lake
city pond
new willow tresses
fill mirror
∼
After days of rain
faithful gardener returns
to kneel, sprinkling seeds
©2017 Ontheland
Tag: spring
Fine wine
Drinking sky
fine designs unfurl
to toast the sun
© 2017 Ontheland
May rain
A waterfall
streams down the windows,
first day of May
♦
Damp air presses close
as pounding torrents thunder,
it’s dry here inside
♦
When it’s raining I hear the sump pump and smile—
silence could mean a flood.
♦
© 2017 Ontheland
Goldilocks rejoices
At last open doors,
oasis of perfection,
soft evening air.
♦
cat inhales
outdoor aromas
pure pleasure.
♦
©2017 Ontheland
Evening star
Today felt like summer, though it’s only April and the daffodils were still closed. Every time I passed, I glanced at the swelling buds. Early evening came and I gazed once again—to my delight I witnessed a fully opened flower.
Early bud of spring
swells in summer sun of day
a glowing night star
©2017 Ontheland
After the rain
After the rain
anointed with perfection
grass blades glisten
♦
Morning once more,
hidden behind grey clouds
soft sunlight glows
♦
High on hilltops,
haze of swelling buds,
rose-brushed branches
♦
I wrote these three haiku yesterday morning. Up until now I have adhered to syllable patterns 5-7-5 and 3-5-3. Intrigued by an awareness that not all haiku writers confine themselves to these counts, I have been reluctant to branch out without a better understanding. Finally an explanation has been provided in Carpe Diem Universal Jane #15 Birdcage which reproduces an essay by Jane Reichhold called: ‘Building an Excellent Birdcage’. Her article provides an introduction to writing haiku in English. The following words inspired me to experiment with breaking out of exact syllable patterns:
Many people think haiku are not real haiku unless they have 17 syllables – but this does not have to be. In Japan if you’re counting the sound units there should be 17, but English syllables and Japanese sound units are different. The sound units are much shorter, and so if you would write a 17-syllable haiku it would come out about one-third too long. For instance, if you say “Tokyo” it has 3 syllables, but in Japanese it has 4 sound units.
When the Japanese tried to translate English haiku into Japanese they ended up with big, clunky poems and way too many words. So we’ve taken the idea of using short-long-short lines and this conforms to the haiku form, but it allows us a little more freedom in how many words we use.
∼from ‘Building an Excellent Birdcage’ by Jane Reichhold
©2017 Ontheland.wordpress.com
Torn
I travelled miles
to these
Northern lands
to make a nest
a place to rest
and now I run
from booming thunder
gusting snow and
flashing guns
my flock torn
asunder
scattered and strewn
I hear them call.
©2017 Ontheland
* The white flecks in the photo are snowflakes. Two days ago we had thunder and downpour at night and gusting snow next day. The bird far off in the sky is a Canada goose.
