Haiku Dialogue

Haiku Dialogue: Poet’s Choice, 5-7-5

 

Welcome to the Poet’s Choice series, hosted by guest editor Craig Kittner.

Posted below are the submissions for the theme of 5-7-5. For this series, the haiku appear in the order in which they were received.

Our next theme is monoku, a haiku in a single line.

A three line structure works very well for short form poetry. Tradition and utility have made it the dominant structure for English language haiku. But, certain experiences can be more eloquently expressed using a single line. Gaining facility with this form can broaden the scope of your writing and open new avenues for your work.

This week’s inspiration is from Jim Kacian. It was first published in Frogpond 29:2:

camping alone one star then many

How does the lack of line breaks guide your reading of this poem? Think about its rhythm and how that reflects the experience. Were it to be split into three lines, what would be lost?

Now, let’s see what you can do in a single line.

Send one original, unpublished, monoku via our Contact Form by Saturday midnight, and it will be included in next week’s blog. (If you send more then one, only the first one will be posted).  Include your name as you would like it to appear. Please note that acknowledgement emails will not be sent.

 

Here are the submissions for 5-7-5:

kaleidoscope —
a child enjoying colors
temporarily

Aljoša Vuković

 

another argument
two versions of the same thing
blackberry vines nearby

Stephen A. Peters

 

cafe patio
above the cacophony
my broken English

Jackie Chou

 

morning cloudiness
cotton picking my boyhood
ahead to the past

Guliz Mutlu

 

aura of angels
Venus sews seeds of sunrise
old as yesterday

Barbara Tate

 

slow moving river
flash of iridescent blue
a kingfisher strikes

Karen Harvey

 

wedding ritual . . .
a boy draws new branches to
the family tree

Tsanka Shishkova

 

clouds across the moon
my bated breath abates with
two puffs of nitro

simonj

 

Skeleton Mountain —
the bones of long-horned bison
wash down from the slopes

Robin Anna Smith

 

my clever daughter
holds up five fingers one of
them bent to mean half

Maggie Holz

 

in the desert sun
the white dog surfs the saltbush
bluegreen ev’rywhere

nancy liddle

 

connecting the dots . . .
what picture do the stars scrawl
across the night sky

Anitha Varma

 

white azaleas bloom
a young girl between the leaves
smiles in her wheelchair

Neni Rusliana

 

the light’s sufficient
although the sun’s still rising
— cresting the mountain

Petru Viljoen

 

a fraction of night
I ponder where I had been —
then there a firefly

Neelam Dadhwal

 

top of the mountain
at the valley the clouds float
by a calm river

Slobodan Pupovac

 

picking blueberries
juice and sweat streaking my face
afternoon delight

joel

 

in tune with master
cows maintain leisurely pace
traffic goes around

SD Desai

 

757
it is just a connect flight —
Reflection Lakes clears

Saša Slavković

 

emu bush flowers
cat watches attentively
for a hummingbird

Rehn Kovacic

 

waiting for the tram . . .
young stray dog and an old tramp
play fetch in the park

Djurdja Vukelic Rozic

 

walmart mug rotates
on its axis — microwave’s
circus show on move

Radhamani sarma

 

late winter sunrise
through the leaded glass window
a kaleidoscope

Debbie Scheving

 

the sunrise gets on —
I delight into its rays
with a good coffee

Ezio Infantino

 

all over the world
thousands of fingers counting
haiku dialogue

Sanela Pliško

 

before the dawn —
a dog that leads the steps
of the old blind man

Angela Giordano

 

the widow’s farewell . . .
trembling in the bitter wind
a maple ablaze

Natalia Kuznetsova

 

reaching the night sky
a symphony of wind song
in the pine forest

Steve Tabb

 

Ripples on water
As if nothing existed
A brief interlude

X3+us the Whale

 

summertime’s dusk —
in  thin rain’s  silence
how low the sky is

Angiola Inglese

 

cold beer in my hand
suddenly summer swelter
goes into thin air

Franjo Ordanic

 

looking for the moon
you find that a tall poplar
has grown a grapefruit

Adrian Bouter

 

morning newspaper
the roadside astrologer
reads his horoscope

Vandana Parashar

 

cutting fresh flowers
my little brother tells me
women are less than

Lori A Minor

 

a floating lotus —
the moon retains its brilliance
behind the dense clouds

Pravat Kumar Padhy

 

eating shelled walnuts
we delved deeper into life
drawing da Vinci

Robert Kingston

 

in a war between
roses and scissors triumph
is taken by thorns

Dubravka Šćukanec

 

lazy afternoon
a sprig of lavender sways
as a bee takes flight

Andrew Shimield

 

summer siesta
humming air conditioner
drowns the koel’s song

Minal Sarosh

 

leaf in the breeze —
the shiver of mother’s hand
when she blesses me

arvinder Kaur

 

a tiny spider
makes its way across the page
reading the fine print

Laurie Greer

 

tiger approaches
through the grass to the water
mom’s print now with us

Susan Bonk Plumridge

 

swimming planktonic
floating in micro-sunshine
the pond, one drop deep

Lemuel Waite

 

soft rain in Paris
whispering down the avenues
so hard to translate

Peggy Bilbro

 

his gray stubble yields
under quivering fingers
sage-scented morning

clysta seney

 

sinking summer sun
in the old duck pond shadows
of floating breadcrumbs

Elizabeth Alford

 

scarlet begonias
grandma shares with everyone
her deadhead story

Rich Schilling

 

moonlight on spring snow
a lost hour contemplating
what’s in the shadows

Sari Grandstaff

 

An intermission . . .
His blue bow tie with pink dots
Hypnotizes me

Anna Goluba

 

moonlit mindfulness
I tiptoe through the silver
trying to miss snails

Susan Rogers

 

the last flying ant
his pheromones will run out
eventually

Mark Gilbert

 

black hands of a clock
advancing towards midnight
doomsday oracle

Marietta McGregor

 

airport departure hall . . .
the loneliness of my crowded space
another body scanner

Madhuri Pillai

 

late winter sunshine
across a misty river
the sound of adhan

Agus Maulana Sunjaya

 

plastic flamingos
wearing top hats and bow ties . . .
cicada chorus

Al Gallia

 

summer undergrowth . . .
just coming to the bottom
we will know the goal

Elisa Allo

 

tendriled fingers reach
towards a darkening sky . . .
the last leaf to fall

Jud Bruton

 

woodland symphony —
a different warbler’s song
in every tree

Tomislav Maretić

 

blooming without leaves
Royal Star magnolia
morning awakens

Sherrod Taylor

 

tentative squirrel
ponders view from steep treetop
matter of distance

Kathleen Mazurowski

 

lavender iris
doffs a renaissance flophat
summer court jester

Ron Scully

 

on an old olive
sunrays and healthy black fruits —
sheep sleeping in shade

Zdenka Mlinar

 

day moon lingering . . .
tiny sea turtle hatchlings
follow their guide home

Pris Campbell

 

red pomegranate
dripping seeds hold memories
both sweet and tangy

Trilla Pando

 

after the monsoon
watercolor rivulets . . .
her long curly hair

Marilyn Ashbaugh

 

early morning light
shrimp boats on the horizon
home in time for lunch

Margaret Walker

 

a new teddy bear
donated along with her
seven year old heart

Roberta Beary

 

the stillness of trees
the wind picks up where she left
a blackbird singing

Xenia Tran

 

flowering snowflakes
all along the donkey trail
her little footsteps

Corine Timmer

 

naked ladies grow
in the yellow and brown hills
hot pink in dry grass

Bruce Jewett

 

trying to explain
how a panic attack feels
F5 tornado

Edward Cody Huddleston

 

cold Nebraska dawn
ten thousand sandhill cranes squawk
rise into the sky

Dick Byrne

 

silence in the tree . . .
then a fledgling green heron
pecks at a pine cone

John Green

 

blowing from the lake
an expressive willow tree
a girl somersaults

Carmen Sterba

 

last day of summer
refugee children blowing
dandelion seeds

cezar ciobîcă

 

a storm gathers pace
one by one by one puppets
become just one boy

Alan Summers

 

an autumn evening —
the sunset mirrors itself
in a robin’s breast

Luisa Santoro

 

forced conformity
provoking revolution
hearse before the horse

Charles Harmon

 

origami heart
his forty year old love note
falls out of my book

Kath Abela Wilson

 

behind the pine trees
either hiding or peeping
the moon changing face

Nadejda Kostadinova

 

Drawing, I am drawn
by scent, a bee and yellow
into daffodil

Janet Barocco

 

The little clownfish
Learns how to swim so quickly
But never leaves school

Margie Gustafson

 

high-altitude storm
on dormant Mauna Kea
snowmade haku crown

Greer Woodward

 

Into open hands
the wine-dark ocean crashes
the rising full moon

Nicky Gutierrez

 

a yellow lotus
drifts on the estuary
a great blue takes flight

Nancy Brady

 

rice padi scarecrows
the rumble of an old train
scatters two sparrows

Christina Chin

 

mother’s funeral . . .
the white chrysanthemum falls
before scorching light

Hifsa Ashraf

 

again and again
the woodpecker’s reminder
live in the moment

john hawkhead

 

day wafts with fragrance
does it matter which flower
blossoms everywhere

Anjali Warhadpande

 

seaside in summer . . .
the sound of the undertow
cradles all my dreams

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore

 

free offer of seeds
an old woman has the birds
eating from her hand

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams

 

beside wilted mums
her wrinkled up death haiku
in five seven four

wendy c. bialek

 

kites flying higher
crossing the Himalayas
to touch my dreaming

Lakshmi Iyer

 

I drive my scooter
my long shadow moves ahead
tricks by morning Sun

Aju Mukhopadhyay

 

Guest Editor Craig Kittner lives near the banks of the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina. He has worked as a gallery director in Washington, DC, and a program director for the Kentucky Arts Council. He currently serves on the board of the North Carolina Poetry Society, directing contests for the 2020 edition of the Pinesong Awards anthology.

 

Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019).

After several years of moves, Craig Kittner has put down roots in the sandy soil of Eastern North Carolina. There the sunshine is clear. The climate gives rise to riotous growths of wildflowers. Birds abound, and the sky is alive with ocean breezes. Craig is content to walk the forests and beaches, gathering imagery for his poems. His work has been published in Frogpond, Chrysanthemum, Failed Haiku, bottle rockets, and the Autumn Moon Haiku Journal. In 2018, he had two poems selected as judges' favorites in the 5th Annual Golden Haiku Competition, and one poem selected for the Winston Salem Writers' Poetry in Plain Sight project. His first chapbook, Time's Sweet Savor, was published in 2016 by New Books on Front Street, an imprint of Old Books on Front Street in downtown Wilmington.

This Post Has 78 Comments

  1. I like so many of the haiku this week and was pleased to read Susan Plumridge’s 5-7-5 haiku about the tiger after reading her brevity haiku on the same story.

    I also enjoyed Karen Harvey’s haiku in which a flash of iridescent blue signals a kingfisher’s strike.
    I could just see the beautiful blue leaping out at me in this.

    I also like Neni Rusliana’s beautiful haiku about a young girl in a wheelchair sitting among azalea blooms. And there was something lovely and touching about Djurdja Vukelic Rozic’s haiku about the dog and the tramp playing fetch. Arvinder Kaur’s haiku about the shiver of her mother’s hand when she blesses her was very lovely and poignant as well. Peggy Bilbro’s haiku felt exactly right. So hard to translate the language and cadence of rain, let alone a soft rain whispering down an avenue in Paris.
    So many others were wonderful as well.

    1. Thanks for your comments on my poem Susan! You got exactly the elusiveness I hoped to capture.

  2. Some nice poems are here with hidden meaning, somewhere the length exceeds. However,
    my poem hasn’t been published; I give it here below-

    I drive my scooter
    my long shadow moves ahead
    tricks by morning Sun

    1. I like this. Shadows are so interesting, changing at different times of day and season.

        1. Aju Mukhopadhyay please speak to Craig, several poems including mine had not been posted due to something…that is not clear to me, yet. Also, please note, that these poems are not hand selected by Craig. My understanding is that this POET’S CHOICE SERIES….includes all of the submissions….then….we….the poets….choose what we like….through our comments. Craig……please correct me if i am wrong on this.

  3. So many wonderful verses, each and everyone a pleasure to read, but this one does it for me
    .
    white azaleas bloom
    a young girl between the leaves
    smiles in her wheelchair
    .
    Neni Rusliana
    .
    A very touching verse with many thought-provoking layers. Beautiful, Neni.

  4. thank you Craig for including mine – and I love to read the excellent haiku that others have written. such a great forum 😀

  5. Thank you for putting this together Craig. I rarely write 5-7-5 these days and it’s great to see such a variety here. I especially love
    .
    origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book

    Kath Abela Wilson

  6. Dear Craig,
    Greetings. Many thanks for featuring mine.Delighted to go through many talents – a gift to be cherished, pleasing to our ears and images wonderfully drawn.
    with regards
    S.Radhamani

  7. This was a particularly difficult challenge for me! I am so pleased that so many poets managed to make a 5-7-5 haiku feel natural and expressive rather than stiff. Here are some of my favorites. There were so many more, but I had to stop somewhere!
    .
    cafe patio
    above the cacophony
    my broken English
    .
    Jackie Chou
    .
    Such natural flow dealing with a stilted language problem! Kudos!
    .
    .
    wedding ritual…
    a boy draws new branches to
    the family tree
    .
    Tsanka Shishkova
    .
    Perfect! I can just see this!
    .
    .
    Skeleton Mountain –
    the bones of long-horned bison
    wash down from the slopes
    .
    Robin Anna Smith
    .
    This brings images from my western US childhood. Thanks Robin!
    .
    .
    all over the world
    thousands of fingers counting
    haiku dialogue
    .
    Sanela Pliško
    .
    LOL! Yes we were! Thank you Sanela! Your poem captures our global haiku community.
    .
    .
    a tiny spider
    makes its way across the page
    reading the fine print
    .
    Laurie Greer
    .
    No matter how you read this, it is a fine haiku!
    .
    .
    moonlit mindfulness
    I tiptoe through the silver
    trying to miss snails
    .
    Susan Rogers
    .
    Susan, you’ve given us an example of how to make a poem of a common experience. Thanks.
    .
    .
    trying to explain
    how a panic attack feels
    F5 tornado
    .
    Edward Cody Huddleston
    .
    Perfect explanation, in 17 perch syllables! Well done!
    .
    .
    origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book
    .
    Kath Abela Wilson
    .
    Beautiful story of years of poignant emotion captured in 17 beautiful syllables. Thank you Kath Abela!

  8. Thank you, Debbi, for your kind appreciation. My greetings to Craig and KJ for offering a wonderful opportunity to revisit the classical and aesthetic schemata, 5-7-5.

    Monoku writing is a beautiful feeling of poetic spell for its brevity and structural expression. My essay, “Monoku: An Experiment with Minimalism in Haiku Literature”, published in Under the Basho, 2018, may be of some help to the readers.

    https://www.underthebasho.com/utb-2018/essays/2451-monoku-an-experiment-with-minimalism-in-haiku-literature.html

    Good luck.

  9. I enjoyed Anitha’s

    connecting the dots…
    what pictures do the stars scrawl
    across the night sky

    I’m a big fan of constellations and sometimes make up my own. Also that throughout history and culture other pictures have been imagined.

    Greer

    1. I am so glad that my poem caught your attention. Yes the constellations and what stories they tell us….

      Thank you Greer Woodward… 😊🙏🏻

      1. I am sorry…it was a typo, but you have corrected it when you reproduced it, thank you, Greer Woodward…
        It should have been either “pictures” or “does”

        “connecting the dots
        what picture does the stars scrawl
        across the night sky”

        Regards, Anitha.

  10. Thanks Craig for this series and for accepting mine. I really liked Roberta’s and Lori’s but so many work. It shows that 5-7-5 isn’t necessarily a problem unless it becomes the main rule. Looking forward to next week.

  11. I found the variety here this 5-7-5 week very satisfying. More so than one poet’s collection of exclusively 5-7-5, with a couple exceptions. I’m glad there is room for both.
    This week’s “assignment” helped me to finish a haiku I started late winter but got stuck aiming for brevity. I see now I needed permission to add more words. Thank you!
    I appreciated this entire group. A few images that moved me were:
    *
    a floating lotus-
    the moon retains its brilliance
    behind dense clouds
    *
    Pravat Kumar Padhy
    *
    slow moving river
    flash of iridescent blue
    a kingfisher strikes
    *
    Karen Harvey
    *
    moonlight on spring snow
    a lost hour contemplating
    what’s in the shadows
    *
    Sari Grandstaff
    *
    lavender iris
    doffs a renaissance flophat
    summer court jester
    *
    Ron Scully
    *
    trying to explain
    how a panic attack feels
    F5 tornado
    *
    Edward Cody Huddleston

    1. Thank you, Debbie, for your kind appreciation. My greetings to Craig and KJ for offering a wonderful opportunity to revisit the classical and aesthetic schemata, 5-7-5.

    3. Thank you for mentioning my poem Debbie. Your beautiful ‘kaleidoscope’ ku celibrates colour too.

  12. Really enjoyed reading all the poems. For me,Kathabela’s origami heart,Jackie Chou’s cafe patio,Neelam’s firefly,Vandana’s roadside astrologer Laurie Greer’s tiny spider,Cezar Ciobica’s refugee children,Hifsa Ashraf’s white chrysanthemum, John Hawkhead’s woodpecker and Wendy’s death note really really stood out. Thanks Craig !

  13. origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book
    .
    Kath Abela Wilson
    .
    A sweet expression of the fact that love can endure.

  14. beside wilted mums
    her wrinkled up death haiku
    in five seven four
    .
    wendy c. bialek
    .
    This one is a very powerful expression of a person who has failed in life.

    1. thank you for reading my poem and commenting, Valentina Ranaldi-Adams. you are indeed, picking up on the experience of a person who has passed-on without fulfillment of life-long dreams.

  15. Thank-you Craig for adding mine. It is nice to see that so many poets can change from the brevity of last week to the longer 5/7/5 of this week.

  16. Appreciation to all and to tradition. Aresonating bow for:
    .

    leaf in the breeze-
    the shiver of mother’s hand
    when she blesses me

    arvinder Kaur
    .

    a tiny spider
    makes its way across the page
    reading the fine print

    Laurie Greer

    .
    And to Alan for his resources for next week’s form. Very much appreciated.

  17. Overall I think we have coped well with this interesting challenge. I would highlight Andrew Shimield’s Shikiesque (?) —
    .
    lazy afternoon
    a sprig of lavender sways
    as a bee takes flight

  18. beside wilted mums
    her wrinkled up death haiku
    in five seven four

    wendy c. bialek prescott valley, az usa

    this is one of my favourite, 5/7/5 poems

    see how the wilted mums image
    is echoed in the shape of the curled paper?

    the chioce of mums
    is symbolic of death flowers
    the haiku infers it is an unfinished

  20. **********very nice poems here….and i will comment soon…..but again…..my poem is not included…..Craig and Kj.

    1. Sorry about this Wendy. Your submissions are not making it from the contact form to my inbox for some reason. I have emailed you some suggestions and questions to try and address this. Also having our web master look into it.

  21. Such a diverse selection.
    Particularly liked these ones.
    .
    cafe patio
    above the cacophony
    my broken English
    .
    Jackie Chou
    .
    cutting fresh flowers
    my little brother tells me
    women are less than
    .
    Lori A Minor
    .
    origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book
    .
    Kath Abela Wilson

  22. I find that very often when attempting 5/7/5 my efforts sound rather forced, which of course is not ideal when writing haiku. Too many redundant words do not a haiku make.

    I’ve not finished reading them all yet but Corine Trimmer’s

    flowering snowflakes
    all along the donkey trail
    her little footsteps

    has impressed me. Not a single unnecessary syllable, great juxtaposition, the words encourage your imagination and only one verb. Great!

    Jackie Chou’s was also terrific.

    cafe patio
    above the cacophony
    my broken English

    Not only has Jackie presented us with a 5/7/5 haiku, but also manages a minimalist feel to it AND no verbs. Jackie, I take my cap off to you.

  23. The effort has paid off … Thank you Craig and KJ for keeping this column going. It’s great to learn and create…

  24. I do enjoy 5 7 5 haiku. Some of my favorites:

    Skeleton Mountain –
    the bones of long-horned bison
    wash down from the slopes

    Robin Anna Smith

    lazy afternoon
    a sprig of lavender sways
    as a bee takes flight

    Andrew Shimield

    origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book

    Kath Abela Wilson

    again and again
    the woodpecker’s reminder
    live in the moment

    john hawkhead

    seaside in summer…
    the sound of the undertow
    cradles all my dreams

    Rosa Maria Di Salvatore

  25. My favorite poem is

    woodland symphony –
    a different warbler’s song
    in every tree

    Tomislav Maretić

    Thanks to the author for this amazing “woodland symphony”

    1. Tsanka & Tomislav, I also liked this one a lot, and identified with it, although with my tongue it comes out a couple of syllables short – but who’s counting!

      1. The exact number of syllables in an English word can be open for debate. Here in the American South, for example, we often draw out some words. 🙂

  26. Thanks Craig Kittner.

    This exercise to redo on 575 format has been really experimental.

    Thanks for this opportunity.

  27. This is such a collection of excellent haiku. Thank you. I am a member of a haiku writing group called Hudson Valley Haiku-Kai which has been meeting monthly for many years now. For this group we only write in 5-7-5 so I have gotten into that. The group was co-founded by Priscilla Lignori and Clark Strand. Clark wrote Seeds From a Birch Tree which I recommend as an excellent book on 5-7-5 traditional English language haiku. A couple of haiku here which I love:

    scarlet begonias
    grandma shares with everyone
    her deadhead story

    Rich Schilling

    This is humorous, nostalgic and touching! Also I really appreciate the assonance of

    moonlit mindfulness
    I tiptoe through the silver
    trying to miss snails

    Susan Rogers

    And the moonlight I am partial to. It is not the “moonlight madness” one expects but “moonlight mindfulness.” There is more of an opportunity for poetic language techniques in 5-7-5 haiku in my opinion. Looking forward to reading more through these haiku. Thank you Craig.

  28. rice padi scarecrows
    the rumble of an old train
    scatters two sparrows
    .
    Christina Chin
    .
    Image Story Rhythm Juxtaposition Comedy VG(Very Good)

    1. simonj,
      Thank you and I appreciate you took the time to comment. I’m very honoured happy you enjoyed.
      Have a good week.

  29. Greetings Craig, I submitted a 5/7/5 haiku. I don’t see it here. Thank-you for all your efforts on this column.

    1. Hi Valentina. I did not receive your submission. If you send it to me now, I will add it to the post.

      Thank you.

  30. I find 17 syllable haiku very difficult to write. Like many others, I need to add in extra images, adverbs, adjectives, or articles, or I end up with a weak ku which simply flops, just to make up the count.
    These impressive haiku stand out for me because of their strong imagery, absence of redundant words:
    .
    kaleidoscope –
    a child enjoying colors
    temporarily
    .
    Aljoša Vuković
    .
    I love this one. Reminds me of a kaleidoscope that kept me entertained on train journeys with my grandmother.
    .
    cafe patio
    above the cacophony
    my broken English
    .
    Jackie Chou
    .
    This one is very neat and makes economic use of the 17 syllables. Impressive.
    .
    Skeleton Mountain –
    the bones of long-horned bison
    wash down from the slopes
    .
    Robin Anna Smith
    .
    cutting fresh flowers
    my little brother tells me
    women are less than
    .
    Lori A Minor
    .
    origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book
    .
    Kath Abela Wilson
    .
    I love them all!

  31. I love the imagery in Alan Summers 5-7-5:

    a storm gathers pace
    one by one by one puppets
    become just one boy

    Alan Summers

    I found the last two lines to be particularly fine.
    ***

    I love the tenderness in this 5-7-5 by Kath Abela Wilson:

    origami heart
    his forty year old love note
    falls out of my book

    Kath Abela Wilson

    there is also the element of the unexpected, which is hard to pull off in Haiku.
    ***

    The personification of the spider makes this Haiku by Laurie Greer stand out:

    a tiny spider
    makes its way across the page
    reading the fine print

    Laurie Greer

    Whether or not one believes in the use of Personification in Haiku, is beside the point. When it is done correctly, it works for me.

    1. Thank you for noticing this! I was actually thinking of the reader following the spider’s movement as a kind of “fine print,” but if it can be read other ways too–great!

  32. Ever since I won the New York City based World Monuments Fund organisation for its first and only 5-7-5 haiku contest back in 2012 I’ve been writing more and more in this way. Why? Because they are melodic in a different way to the musicality of haiku with fewer syllable counts.
    .
    .
    575HAIKU – TRADITIONAL HAIKU AS THREE LINES AND IN A 5-7-5 ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYLLABLES PATTERN:
    .
    https://area17.blogspot.com/2016/03/575haiku-traditional-haiku-as-three.html
    .
    .
    Great to see so many in one group, Jim Wilson will be overjoyed!

    1. Good point, Alan. I believe there is a natural law with all art forms that where there are limitations and difficulties, some artists will find unique opportunities.

      1. Craig,
        do you intend to add my poem to the rest? This is the second time my poem is missing from the group. Do you think it is fair that people get to discuss any of the poems when they are not all there? I don’t.
        please can you fix this….i sent you an email with my poem in it, too.

        1. Hi Wendy,

          I added your haiku as soon as I saw your email. I have a day job and cannot check my personal email at all times during the day. I appreciate your patience as we investigate the reasons your submissions did not come through to me.

  33. .
    .
    REGARDING NEXT WEEK’S THEME OF MONOKU
    .
    .
    Many of us now write haiku in one line, just as most Japanese poets do, or have their work published in newspapers and online Japanese anthologies etc…
    .
    It’s not as obviously easy as it looks though, is it? It certainly took me a while to gain expertise when the challenge went out for a monoku anthology.
    .
    .
    So as a taster:
    .
    .

    THE LAYERING OF MEANING BEYOND THE IMMEDIATE: THE “NOW” IN MONOKU
    https://area17.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-layering-of-meaning-beyond.html
    .
    .
    AND
    .
    .
    TRAVELLING THE SINGLE LINE OF HAIKU – ONE LINE HAIKU / MONOKU / MONOSTICH
    https://area17.blogspot.com/2016/12/travelling-single-line-of-haiku-one.html
    .
    .

    1. Thank you for these! And let me extend that to all the many helpful links, hints, advice, memories, examples, etc., you have provided here on this site. Not to mention the unflagging enthusiasm!

    2. Thanks Alan for the links. I know I will need some guidance as I have only written one up to this point.
      .
      On this week’s 575 challenge, it was aptly described by Sanilo Plisko’s finger counting haiku. Once I let go of the 575 mindset, my haiku was better, and to go back to it was not easy. I managed to write a new haiku for this week’s challenge, but I think I could tighten it by removing and rearranging the words. Anybody else feel this way?
      .
      I have not read them all, but several caught my eye. Vandana Parashar’s for humor about an astrologer reading newspaper for his fortune and Roberta Brady for her poignant haiku about donations of a teddy bear and heart. I know I will keep finding more gems as the week goes by.
      Thanks Craig and KJ for keeping this column going. I learn more each week…from writing to reading.

      1. Absolutely agree, Nancy! In fact even as I read mine, I was rewriting it in my mind! 😊

      2. Dear Nancy,
        .
        “Thanks Alan for the links. I know I will need some guidance as I have only written one up to this point.”
        .
        I’m sure you’ll be fine, but if you want to me to give a quick ‘think-aloud’ feedback via my other email: alan@withwords.org.uk
        .
        But I have high hopes you’ll crack the code!

    3. Thank you for the links. Everyone should be cautioned that simply taking a three line haiku and removing the line breaks will seldom end in something good.

      1. Correct Craig! 🙂
        .
        There is an incredible array of approaches to monoku including the expansive and lyrical Stuart Quine one line haiku in Sour Pickle, and Wild Rhubarb (Alba Publishing) to the abruptisms of other authors where one line doesn’t mean one poem or one meaning.
        .
        I’m really excited how people will bend and tweak what’s gone before! 🙂

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