A Sense of Place: MEADOW/FIELD – taste

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1. Including humour in haiku is very difficult, because if it’s overdone it shifts into comic verse, perhaps even side-stepping senryu as well.
   .
   As a co-founder of a now long defunct online publication called “Haijinx- humor in haiku” which was groundbreaking for its time, I’ve often admired how humour is slotted into haiku without dissolving the ‘haiku’ into something very different.
   .
   Here are two superb but very different approaches to humor in haiku:
   .
   .

   meadow stroll –
   an unguarded picnic
   attended by birds
   .
   Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
   Fairlawn, Ohio USA
   .
   .
   The verb ‘attended’ really makes this haiku, and is helped by the second line adjective ‘unguarded’. They both work in co-operation without pushing the haiku feel out of the poem. It’s wry humor on more than one level, and the word choices are simply terrific!
   .
   .

   lavender fields
   the sweetish taste of
   my tranquilizers
   .
   Radostina Dragostinova
   .
   .
   Senryu are superb verses when done well and not overplayed. I’d still happily call this haiku (or senryu) as the nature reference is two-fold. Two-fold? Well the opening line is definitely and clearly nature. 🙂
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   But so is the phrase, because many medicines are derived from nature itself!
   .
   EXTRACT:
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   Major Tranquilizers
   .
   “The first major tranquilizer was developed from Rauwolfia serpentina, also known as the Indian snakeroot. Rauwolfia is known for its ability to lower blood pressure. Used for many years in India for the treatment of serious mental illness, it was frequently referred to there as the “insanity herb.” Most often, its roots were crushed and consumed in a tea. In 1943 an Indian physician named Rustom Jal Vakil (1911–1974) wrote about the plant’s success in treating mental illness. It wasn’t long before Western doctors began studying Rauwolfia, hoping that it could help patients with severe psychiatric disorders.”
   .
   “American doctor Robert Wallace Wilkins (1906–2003) of Boston University Medical School conducted extensive research on Rauwolfia serpentina after hearing about its use in India. In 1954, he showed that reserpine, an alkaloid and the active ingredient in Rauwolfia, was successful in treating both high blood pressure and severe psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and other psychoses. Almost immediately the new drug (sold under the brand name Serpasil) became the most popular way to treat such disorders.”
   .
   Tranquilizer | Encyclopedia.com
   https://www.encyclopedia.com/medicine/drugs/pharmacology/tranquilizer
   .
   The humour in this haiku, packed with nature, is also complex.
   “Never judge a haiku by its surface words.” Alan Summers, October 2018

   1. Hi Alan,
      This comment comes probably too late for you to catch, but it is worth a try.
      I’m very interested to know how to incorporate humour in haiku, and wonder if you can advise me where to find out more about this? I admire George Swede’s type of humour, which, I imagine, is not ‘overdone’, and also John Dunphy’s. I’m concerned that several of my own published attempts at humour may fall into the realm of comic verse, so I need to know the difference, beyond, of course, the demands of more traditional ku.
      .
      I also find that there is a very subtle difference between humour and pathos. The following, which found its way into Failed Haiku, Issue 22, was misunderstood as humorous by some when I had intended it as something rather more poignant:
      .
      pet store hamster
      on his wheel again…
      where to today?
      .
      Looking forward to this afternoon’s new selection from Kathy’s wonderful A Sense of Place, and all your useful comments that follow.
      .
      Ingrid (Macedonia)

      1. Hi Ingrid,
         .
         As co-founder of Call of the Page, with Karen Hoy, we are actually half way through a course that involves humour: https://www.callofthepage.org/learning/haiku-courses/the-spectrum-of-haiku-senryu/
         .
         I also regularly work with people with haibun where humour is part of even very dark subject matter. We need humour in our lives, yet it need not be full in the face humour all the time.
         .
         Sadly the very journal I helped co-found is unavailable to access, and contained many essays and articles, and haiku after haiku with all types of humour.
         .
         .
         Ingrid said:
         “I’m concerned that several of my own published attempts at humour may fall into the realm of comic verse, so I need to know the difference, beyond, of course, the demands of more traditional ku.”
         .
         Please do not be hard on yourself!
         .
         This is delightful, by the way!
         .
         .

         fairy rings –
         a feast of horse mushrooms
         in the paddock
         .
         Ingrid Baluchi
         .
         .
         I don’t know what traditional ku might mean, and regards haiku, it was brought into being in the 1890s, and has proved itself to be very much a genre, ever evolving.
         .
         .
         Ingrid said:
         “I also find that there is a very subtle difference between humour and pathos. The following, which found its way into Failed Haiku, Issue 22, was misunderstood as humorous by some when I had intended it as something rather more poignant:”
         .
         pet store hamster
         on his wheel again…
         where to today?
         .
         Ingrid Baluchi
         .
         .
         Unfortunately I don’t feel the range of humour is well understood. We suffer from QJS (Quick Joke Syndrome) all too often. The magazine “Failed Haiku” are very fortunate to have this submitted to them.
         .
         It’s well constructed and I feel sad that we imprison our fellow animal species when no crime has been committed, just for our own pleasure. We also regularly and knowingly wrongfully imprison humans as well. The hamster has no rights or recognition and vulnerable to the whims of shopkeepers and customers. I do love where hamsters are found homes where they have extensive play areas. And too often humans are denied decent freedoms and we still endorse wide varieties of slavery.
         .
         Okay, not every reader need to read deeply, but I would hope some readers could find at least some sympathy with a vulnerable creature that is bought and sold.
         .
         I would be interested if you created a haibun response around all of this.

         1. thanks Alan & Ingrid – this is the kind of commentary & discussion that I am hoping will continue & flourish on this blog page…

            1. Thanks Kathy, and great question and post by Ingrid which really spurred on a response. 🙂

2. Hello,
   (Laugh) I worked hard on this one as I had to translate an old memory of a biking trip in Belgium/France, when I sat on a giant hay wheel at the end of one long biking day, when the light was coming down. The beautiful golden glow of the end of the day, magical, reflecting on the beauty- not the one seen, painted, in acclaimed museums in Paris, but the raw beauty of nature and glow on a golden field in the French countryside. I could have stayed there forever, perched on my giant wheel of hay, “traveling” in my mind, was I not reminded of the present moment by the prickly hay on my naked calves. So, sorry, submitting a little over the deadline as I had to sleep on it (and as I couldn’t really sleep… here’s my humble try at Field/ Touch):

   dreams rolling
   prickly hay wheel
   under my cycling shorts

   Sandra St-Laurent (Yukon)

   1. thanks for this Sandra, but to be considered, please submit before midnight & use the Contact Form!

3. warm skin
   chilly grass
   rolling down the hill

   1. Erin, please submit using the Contact Form!

4. I absolutely love the Sense of Place series, and the challenges it presents for me (us?). I’ve worked in small, novice writing groups a few times and been challenged to “open up my senses” in describing the world, but never have I been as effectively challenged and inspired in that endeavor as here. So many thanks to Kathy Munro for including me, and for occasionally “helping” me decide which to present. The additional commentaries of Alan and others are incredibly educational for those of us yearning to write better, or more evocative poetry. Thanks to all.

   1. thanks so much sharing this – it is wonderful to hear… I have learned so much from this project, & as I have said before, I couldn’t do it without the submissions of poems from all of you… so thank you!

5. Dear poets
   I enjoyed reading all those splendid haiku
   built around meadows; my warmest Greetings to you all

   =vasavan

   here is my haiku

   war-torn city
   from inside a ruined house
   cries of shamed women

   =vasavan

6. thank you, Kathy, I may not say this every week but i do appreciate the effort that goes into making our weekly fix of haiku.
   i’m also extending my thanks to the friendly community of poets gathered in this place.

   1. thanks for sharing this, Polona – & my thanks as well to this community!

7. Thank you, Katherine, for including me again in this worldwide haiku family.

   1. my pleasure, Mike!

8. What a wonderful workshop in progress! The community building here is a unique mix, including some fellow speculative fiction poets.

   Thank you in particular for the expert commentary from kjmunro and Alan Summers.

   1. thanks so much for your kind words!

9. Hello everyone. Good to be with you again. Thank you kj.

   Loving all the bee references. My personal favorite this time around:

   overgrown meadow
   swarming honeybees drink
   the last of summer

   Pris Campbell

   I’m up in Asheville, North Carolina for a couple of days. Going to run out in the sunshine that just broke through and touch some hay bales. See what comes up.

   Ta!

   1. thanks for this Craig!

10. Dear esteemed poet,
    Warm greetings! Regarding Bees, especially honey bee collection,
    I always used to wonder, how such small in size and stature can collect honey, I mean the
    later effects of collecting and storing -isn’t it a miracle which is God’s special way of
    creative aura. Sweet storage, we humans in general tend to overlook this aspect.
    Wonderful haiku related to honey bees.
    with regards
    S.Radhamani

    1. Dear S.Radhamani,
       .
       There are indeed a lot of “small engines” that benefit the planet, and clear up as best they can after human debris. The humble fly is one such wonder. If flies disappeared in one day, humans would die off in weeks!
       .
       We hunt insects down, as bees are under attack by governments and corporates, which is outrageous as they have more claim on the planet than the humans.
       .
       Certainly a lot of respect should be given to all insects, whose invisible work also benefits us.
       .
       I bought Karen several books on bees, as we are trying to both recognise each type, as well as create a welcome environment.
       .
       Here’s a haiku before I could learn to distinguish them:
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       .
       on her fingers
       the smell of applemint-
       two bees collide
       .
       Alan Summers
       Snapshots Four (1998)

       1. Dear esteemed poet,
          Warm greetings! Beneath the reputed haiku/senryu related poet,a keen bird watcher, friend and environmentalist ,coming out to give us excellent haiku poems ;often his concern/care/ for the insects – perceived here.
          Kindly convey my regards to Karen.
          with regards
          S.Radhamani

    2. I have a special place in my heart for honey bees!

       Kind Regards~

11. Thank you KJ for including mime!

    1. walking the dog
       a bit of meadow
       between his teeth
       .
       Sanjuktaa Asopa
       .
       .
       Great haiku! Love those last two lines, and ‘a bit of meadow’ followed by ‘between his teeth’ is priceless and yet so accurately observed.
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       As you’ll know, Karen had a dog and meadow poem too! 🙂
       .
       a new month –
       different seeds
       on the spaniel’s ears
       .
       Karen Hoy
       naad anunaad: an anthology of contemporary international haiku
       ed. Shloka Shankar, Sanjuktaa Asopa, Kala Ramesh
       ISBN-10: 9385665332 ISBN-13: 978-9385665332 (India, 2016)

       1. Thank you so much for your commentary, Alan! So glad you liked my poem.

          Yes, I remember this poem by Karen now.

          a new month –
          different seeds
          on the spaniel’s ears

          A wonderful one!

    2. my pleasure, Sanjuktaa!

12. .
    Autobiographical?
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    .
    class field trip
    a lad describes the taste
    of sheep sorrel
    ‘
    Michael Smeer
    Haarlemmermeer, The Netherlands
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    .
    Some youngsters might only know to eat things from supermarkets, while more enterprising ones will know food can be found outside.
    .
    Sheep Sorrel (Rumex Acetosella) is a popular nibble with children and is familiar to most trampers as a practical thirst-quencher.
    http://blog.emergencyoutdoors.com/edible-wild-plants-sheep-sorrel-rumex-acetosella/
    .
    I was intrigued by the use of ‘lad’ which suggests the author is the boy in question. A hidden clue perhaps.
    .
    At a time of uncertainly it would certainly be logical to know where and how to eat food in the wild. Some Scandinavian schools encourage interaction and knowledge of the ‘outdoors’ which makes for a more grounded (no pun intended) individual.

    1. Yes, this is autobigraphical. It was an early school trip at the end of the school year, I must have been 11 or 12, that I/we discovered sheep sorrel. A thirst quenching tangy juicy stalk of a plant with medical applications going back to the stone age. The class trip took us to some wooded or sanddune area and we took hikes with the whole class through the surroundings. The lad in question was a local farmer’s son who was chewing the sorrel and explained the taste and some of the history to us schoolboys. In more recent and alternative medicine the power of this plant is even ‘tested’ in medicine toward the treatment of cancer.

       Thanks for your comments and analysis, Alan. It’s always a pleasure to read them and I feel honored that my poem warrented your attention.

       1. fascinating – thanks Michael (& Alan!)

       2. Ah, lad is probably a good term for a youngster on a farm.
          .
          City kids meeting farm people is invaluable and there is so much to learn that is different. All good for the brain. It’s not completely an urban myth that children only know milk comes from a supermarket, not a farm, not a cow.
          .
          Glad your school trip went okay. I still remember this incident:

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          winter timetable-
          the late train leaves behind
          half a school trip
          .
          Alan Summers
          Blithe Spirit vol 17 no. 1 (2007)

          1. thanks for this, Alan!

          2. Haha! Yes, kids fooling around on the platform and then some end up missing the train. Very recognizable! I trust you managed to meet up with the next train 😀

             1. Actually the children and teachers were behaving, it was the train management’s fault. I was just a punter waiting for the train as well, at my then home in Bradford on Avon. The trains are often just 2 or 3 carriages, and often not big cars.
                .
                The teachers sensibly organised a meet up, but it was embarrassing that they were messed about by grown adults at the train management offices, who are always messing with the onboard train staff.

          3. Ps. I did think of farm hand but it was probably a farmer’s son. I much prefer the brevity of the term lad.

             1. Farm hand would have suggested a young adult, whereas lad could anything from pre to young teen son of a farmer. It is an old term for youngsters but perhaps in keeping with the old practices of independent farms.

13. This was truly my most difficult one to write~ I am thankful you chose one to publish again KJ! Thank you so much. What incredible company to be among. After reading many (with many more to read) I have wonderful imagery filled with many different flavors. Thank you all.

    1. Karen and myself love bees! We have mostly Buff-tailed bees and they took over a small bird box this new so that was novel! There are all sorts of bees, we even have Solitary Bees, and Tree Bees.
       .
       worker bee’s collection
       – tastes of meadow
       .
       Margo Williams
       Stayton, Oregon
       .
       Wonderful! Do you know which ones? You have 500 species of bees in Oregon, wow! So you live near Salem, but not the famous/infamous one of course. 😉
       .
       Here’s a great guide from Oregon Department of Agriculture
       https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/shared/Documents/Publications/IPPM/ODABeeGuide.pdf

       1. Alan I live east of Salem 14 miles on roughly 24 acres. We have several species of bees some that are aggressive in nature and some difficult to identify. This haiku was referring to the honey bees I watch who forage for food to make delightful honey. Now I unfamiliar with species of honey bees if there are more than one so I thank you for the resource. My sister and brother in law own The UrbanBee Co. out of Burien Seattle and the taste of their raw honey is amazing!!

          1. Hi Margo!
             .
             The Urban Bee Company:
             https://www.urbanbee.com/about/
             .
             Cool, AMY BARANSKI • Co-Founder! Great to see that name again. So Amy and her team do field trips etc…
             .
             Ah, yes, honey or any other product pre-factory packaging is great. I still remember drinking free fountain water for visitors and residents in a famous English village that tasted like Champagne, yet once bottled lost all of its magic.
             .
             I didn’t know bees were particularly aggressive, only some wasps, and hornets. Our bees have a lot of patience for me standing accidentally in their way back to the bird box! 🙂

             1. Yes Amy Baranski! My younger sister. She and her husband Bob Redmond have partnered with THEO Chocolates in Seattle using their honey in their mix. Try it sometime! Most of our honey bees are docile and allow me to watch nearby. Thanks a ton for the commentary!

                M

    2. thanks so much for submitting, Margo – & wonderful to learn that you are also a Baranski! Thanks to Alan for drawing out these sweet details…

14. Smacking my lips on these tasty haiku. Thao, Kathy, for including mine in this salad.

    1. Thao was supposed to be thanks.

       1. wonderful – thanks, Nancy!

15. Kathy, thank-you for publishing mine. Congratulations to all my fellow poets in the meadow.

    1. thanks for submitting, Valentina!

16. Congrats to every poet – another fine selection. I would like to call attention to Debbi Antebbi’s poem:
    scorching heat
    in the meadow
    taste of smoke
    The neat thing about it is that it can be read with the break after Line 1 -or- with the break after Line 2!

    1. wonderful – thanks for sharing this, Pat!

17. Unfortunately I only wrote my best one yesterday … never mind. Thanks KJ

    1. glad to hear about this respect for the deadline… also – keep writing! thanks Mark!

18. Congratulations everyone, and thanks again Katherine!

    1. my pleasure, Helen!

19. Pickled mangoes, wild strawberries, meadow herbs – what a feast! My favorite, Laurie Greer’s:
    .
    tasting its catch
    the spider adds
    a pinch of silk
    .
    delectable!
    .
    Thank you Kathy for including mine in this wonderful mix

    1. Ingrid–
       So pleased you like it! this means a lot to me.
       Thanks,
       Laurie
       though now I think it would be better as:

       spider
       tastes its catch
       adds a pinch of silk

       ….they are never done. Nor even ever abandoned.

       1. Dear Laurie Greer
          .
          re:
          .
          .

          tasting its catch
          the spider
          adds a pinch of silk
          .
          Laurie Greer
          Washington, DC
          .
          or as Ingrid Baluchi revised it:
          .
          .
          tasting its catch
          the spider adds
          a pinch of silk
          .
          .
          Both of those versions are superior to:
          .
          spider
          tastes its catch
          adds a pinch of silk
          .
          The syntax and order of lines is far superior in your original or Ingrid’s version.
          .
          Ingrid’s revision deftly retouches the order of words but don’t make any more changes, it’s brilliantly conceived with that pun and misreading – I read salt at first. 🙂
          .
          It’s great! 🙂

          1. Wow! Thanks. Hope this little workshopping session is helpful to all–
             Best,
             L

          2. Far too new at this genre to presume revising anyone’s ku, least of all yours, Laurie! I simply didn’t copy it out properly into the comments, so ‘the spider adds’ in the second line was my mistake. Besides, by inadvertently altering it, each of the three lines consists of four syllables…tut…tut. However, I’m glad this came about because through Alan’s comments, (thank you!) I learned more about syntax in all three versions and the consequent importance of the sound of a poem.

             1. thank you Ingrid, Laurie & Alan – this is the kind of exchange I am hoping to cultivate with this column… we can all learn so much by sharing – & we all make mistakes too! I read ‘salt’ the first time through as well – wonderful!

20. Dear Kathy,
    Greetings! Lovely to see all the lovely,delicious ‘tastes’ Thanks to see mine here. The following by Sanjuktaa Asopa captures me , my special attention.

    walking the dog
    a bit of meadow
    between his teeth

    Sanjuktaa Asopa

    1. Thank you, Radhamani 🙂

    2. thanks so much for sharing this!

21. So many wonderful tastes of the meadow/field.
    .
    picnic—
    the flowers of borage
    in the salad
    .
    Rosa Maria Di Salvatore.

    A very beautiful visual, also, that bright blue star shaped flower, gorgeous. The herb of gladness and courage.
    According to Pliny, Borage was the nepenthe of Homer, a herb wine that brought absolute forgetfulness.
    I certainly don’t need any of that 🙂
    .
    Many thanks for including mine, Kathy.
    .
    I found the sight of the birds on the diving board quite humorous. A great day 🙂

    1. Hi Carol,
       There are some great photos of that diving board on the internet, but I feel the birds deserve to have it as a home now. 🙂
       .
       big bang mother’s jugged hare
       .

       Carol Jones
       Wales
       .
       I’ve only had jugged hare once, at a venue in Bristol, and I was the only one not sick! Never had it since. Love the monoku though!

       1. 🙂 🙂
          You have a hearty constitution, Alan.
          .
          I am an advocate of wild life protection, and farming policies, as far as I’m concerned, are going in the right direction. Big changes are on the horizon 🙂

          1. Yes, just caught on the radio we should only have meat once a week. Takes me back to the 1960s when it was a luxury to have a joint, or chicken dinner! Also it is odd that we eat our fellow animal species. I’m sure we’d be upset if it was us being eaten by the neighbours. 🙂

             1. Yes, a luxury indeed, and if the cost of producing food keeps spiralling upwards, along with the extreme changes within our seasons, it will be a ‘once a week’ luxury, once again.
                As a nation we have great concern when it comes to meat production. We have the highest standards here in the UK, if the time ever comes that we have to rely on cheaper imports, from around the world -and we all look at the price before purchase – I will become a vegetarian.

    2. thanks so much for sharing this, Carol – & for your comments, as always, Alan!

22. thank you so much Katherine for including my haiku in this wonderful collection of haiku

    1. my pleasure, Rosaria!

23. thank you so much Katherine for including my haiku in this beautiful array of images and flavors

    1. Your haiku reminded me that the restaurant my father ran and then sold was renamed as Parmigiana. Sadly it was not successful as my father’s restaurant named after Isambard Brunel Kingdom.
       .
       .

       picnic on the lawn –
       licking his fingers
       of parmigiana*
       .
       (*the parmigiana is a dish made with aubergines, mozzarella and prosciutto and I do it every time my daughter returns from university)
       .
       Angela Giordano
       .
       It’s a great Italian dish when done well, so I recommend following a recipe, and following through either in a field or at home. 🙂

    2. thank you for submitting, Angela!

24. Thanks, Kathy! It’s so wonderful to read all the wonderful selection of haiku on Wednesday mornings. I appreciate being included!

    1. Love this!
       .
       .
       dandelion soup
       mother talks
       of the old days
       .
       Mary Hanrahan
       .
       .
       And no need to spell out taste. Anyone who hasn’t had a dandelion concoction of one kind or another I am sure there are lots of recipes online. A good cheap/free way to have something with bite and nutrition. 🙂

       1. Thanks, Alan! There is nothing quite like that taste!

    2. thanks for submitting, Mary!

25. Thanks to Kathy Munro for her work with these series of prompts! I look forward to the challenge each week. (The “taste” of a field was a difficult one! )

    1. I liked your poem!
       .
       moonshine
       still
       a cash crop
       .
       Margaret Walker
       .
       and the pivot line and pun of ‘still’ is brilliant!!!

       1. Brilliant turn on ‘still’ – love it

       2. A very nice turn of words! This brought a smile. Thank you.

       3. Thank you Alan, John and Gary. ! I missed these comments last week or would have responded earlier! I appreciate your feedback and kind words – and am happy it brought a smile, Gary.

    2. thanks for this, Margaret!

26. I shall look forward to reading all the poems once I’ve completed my commentaries on a course. How does a meadow or field taste? An intriguing challenge!
    .
    Alas I ran out of time as I was literally running a ginko, with Karen, across a meadow, and onto a big lake with a huge diving platform for humans now taken over by birds, quite rightly so! 🙂

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