My Haiku

April 17th is the day the whole world honors haiku. Haiku is a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.

 

 

Over the wintry

Forest, winds howl in rage

With no leaves to blow. ~ Natsume Soseki

 

Consider me

As one who loves poetry

And persimmons. ~ Masaoka Shiki

 

Lighting one candle

With another candle - -

Spring evening. ~ Yosa Buson

 

My life, -

How much more if it remains?

The night is brief. ~ Masaoka Shiki

 

The lamp once out

Cool stars enter

The window frame. ~ Natsume Soseki

 

While you decline to cry,

High on the mountainside

A single stalk of plumgrass wilts. ~ O no Yasumaro

 

From time to time

The clouds give rest

To the moon – beholders. ~ Matsuo Basho

 

A cicada shell,

It sends itself

Utterly away. ~ Matsuo Basho

 

For me going

For you staying here

Two autumns. ~ Masaoka Shiki

 

One flower

On the Cliffside

Nodding at the canyon. ~ Jack Kerouac

 

Before the white chrysanthemum

The scissors hesitate

A moment. ~ Yosa Buson

 

A cuckoo sings

To me, to the mountain,

To me, to the mountain. ~ Kobayashi Issa

 

Don’t imitate me;

it’s as boring

as the two halves of a melon. ~ Matsuo Basho

 

Night; and once again,

The while I wait for you, cold wind

Turns into rain. ~ Masaoka Shiki

 

Watch birth and death:

The lotus has already

Opened its flower. ~ Natsume Soseki

 

By definition, haikus evoke imagery of nature, thus, leaving you doubly spellbound - visually and verbally. And add to it the beauty of life, love, and loss. You have just read a few haikus that say what we have been wanting to say forever but could not find the right words. We hope you enjoyed!