I love a good haiku poem. They aren't hard to come up with either, once you get the idea and get a flow going. Anyone up to having a running list of fountain-pen themed haiku? Aw c'mon, give it a whirl.

The basic rules:
- The structure in Japanese is three lines: first containing 5 syllables, second 7, third 5. However, in English, you sometimes have to stray from that a bit to get it to sound right. Perfectly fine!

- It should be a "verbal photograph" of an ordinary moment seen in a new way.

- Keep it simple and light.

Some sites to help:
http://www.ehow.com/how_3336_write-haiku.html
http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/

I'll start things up - comments, as well as more haiku pointers, are welcome:

soaking the nib
then soaking it yet again
-- pen long abandoned.

I've got one

ink haiku

I'm Still not using
Noodlers ink but given
would not turn it down.


and another

Nib on paper makes
blue lines that form sentences
my thoughts are made real

and one more for fun

A Haiku is neat
but sometimes it doesn't work
refrigerator

and a silly one

Red sand between toes
summer vacation in space
I long for earth now.

LOVE the space one

I love all of them...it's exactly what I'd hoped to see.
More, people, more! Get those nibs onto the paper.
I'll write more when I get the chance, it's a fun coffee break activity - dare I say more amusing than sudoku?

Gold, fankinsense and
Socks. The gifts of two wise men
And one complete fool.

Ray

Blue script on white laid
Conveys images and sounds
In two dimensions

Ray

penning my visions
feeling breath on my shoulder
...my nosy daughter

There are days on which
The cacophany of birds
Makes me wake grumpy*

Ray

* And Grumpy isn't to happy about it, I can tell you.

severance

inconsiderate
friend offering cigarettes
you're kidding me, right?

(I don't smoke/am not quitting, it's just for haiku's sake)

Train of thought derails.
Commerce shatters meal-time wa.
Wretched telephone.

Using "wa" in this sense, and I'll bet not everyone's computer will show the kanji OR the hiragana--
和 ��】 (n) (1) sum; (2) harmony; peace; (from http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1E)

My own self, I prefer the tanka, with two more groups of seven--

Peaceful interlude,
meditation through gesture,
harnessing the air.
Can I have written so much
that my Snorkel needs refill?

I can't see the kanji/kana but I got the "wa" right away. Sugoi!
I love the tanka/waka form, but I thought I'd just keep it simple for the sake of having a fun, lively thread that invites quick participation.

I'm currently rereading my favourite works, Genji Monogatari (in English) and Dalby's The Tale of Murasaki, just to examine the waka.

Actually I was looking for a way of journalling that suited me, and have recently been introduced to haibun, to which I'm now turning my serious attention. Straight prose wasn't doing it for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm no expert in Asian literature forms, and have no access to any expertise apart from the Internet, but it resonates with me and think I can derive benefit from trying it. And what better to try it with than my new Carène?

Very nice haiku and waka, arigato gozaimasu.

I woke up with this one.

Apologies for bad handwriting. The haiku is:

Thought flows to page: past
just gone, next not yet now.
Only the line lives.

Notabilia notebook, Kaweco AL-Sport medium nib, Private Reserve Sonic Blue

From somewhere in my past:

Fourteen syllables
Are not very much with which
To write a whole hai...

and:

If this Haiku had
Some humour and two more lines
'T'would be a Lim'rick

or

Parker gold in hand
I stare at the blank white page
Praying dreams will flow



Ruaidhrí

I'm one of those "crying laughers"...stop, you're making me need Kleenex!

Thank you and everyone contributing...I'm having some stressful issues concerning my health, and I think this is good healing stuff.

I thought it would be fun, but not this fun

The sun transcendant.
Celestial emperor.
Gosh, it's hot out.

In honour of 35C at noon.

brand new Waterman
bought with my sushi money
haibun...and weight loss

(edit new one in)

vacation

slippers by the bed
girl runs laughing through the house
carefree, dirty feet

This gave me some trouble; I doubt it is "light and simple"
but that may be subjective? But it was fun trying -- thanks!

broken candlewick
tongue laps at pooling beeswax
gives a blue wink smokes

Here's one apropos of my last post in the Writing Instruments forum:

eyedropper? why not
just fill the barrel with ink
and hope for the best

Good contributions

Here is my response to your eyedropper haiku:

I clean ink from my
desk and person, cursing the
eyedropper technique.



When I said "light and simple" I meant the form, not the subject matter. Waka/tanka for example, are two lines longer and burdensome for those who aren't into it for more than a bit. But by all means, post your deep stuff, waka, haibun, any cousin of haiku if you have ventured into such territory.

Silence surrounds me.
My thoughts opened to the world.
Rolling lines form words.

Gary

Can you guess the theme??

I am here at work
punching buttons on my keyboard
my pen is rarely used

Office, windowless
Is the sun shining outside?
I cry now.....again

Humour is lost now
Can I have a smiley face?
....not untill clock five

Friend stopped at door,
given very stern warning.
Shoes are for outside.

...and for something completely different:

Splendid example
of non-grasping no-mind state.
Quiet now-- the cat sleeps

That's a smooth one.

Along the same lines but with frustration (and less seriousness):

metawaka

tuning out music
twisting my thoughts into knots
uncomfortable
haiku comes easy but I
don't get the waka thing yet

Smiley face for Stu (who cares if it's not five yet):

Ernst, methinks you are hiding a professorship in Asian poetry or something of that sort

Work is getting slow
Time for more forum reading
Great way to slack off.

There once was a poster in France
Decided to give pens a chance
Carenes she discovered
and poetry uncovered
Thus causing her readers to dance

Too much Irish in me for haiku

Waves close over head.
Inaction leads to drowning.
Thread now gets a bump.

Quietly working
Cell phone emits tiny "beep"
Sexy TXT from wife.

GP, I'll allow it because I'm Irish as well...but two points off

(Are the readers really dancing? Kewl. )

Cola bottle brags
boxes and labels banter
books glorify contents.
Surrounded by noisy text
that destroys thought flow.

Looking at ebay
Sheaffer Pen For Men looks good
Sound of wallet crying



stay well....

Get yourself a pen
but have a thought for others
...and buy me a Cross

Journal sits open
Words and thoughts fill past pages
Which pen for new words?

office supply court
fountain pen queen presiding
-- the ballpoints bow down

Struggle and strife!
Who smiles, going to a war?
SCA wierdo!
Martial fun makes one tired;
Good thing that this starts vacation.


Waka because it wouldn't fit well in Haiku.

edit-- and I've just noticed I stuck a "that" in the final line that blows the count. No 6:22am composing for me!

Prefer to revive
history without sparring?
...try Renaissance Faire.

No "learn" without "do",
costs less to attend event.
"Rat onna stick?" NO!

In a bowl of rice
with wasabi and ginger
rat isn't so bad.

Fear not, dear lurkers
post your best tries at haiku
it's all in good fun

I'll give it a try
trusting that you are patient
I'm new at Haiku

Have to be careful
not to write a limerick
about Pelikan

(But I love limericks!)

From the creative minds of TV Land:

With Fife on duty
Mayberry's thin blue line
Has never been so thin

I write to you In hopeless angst The wax candle also sheds tears.

Why up so early?
The price of sharing bed with
incontinent cat.


Alas.

Thoughts flow into ink.
Ink stains thoughts onto paper.
Paper can now speak.

Gary

My husband writes haiku to incorporate into his paintings. We also use it to keep kids we look after quiet. Give them a pad of paper, a pen and a topic and you've got at least an hour of peace!

I see the Sheaffer
But the price is much too high
I'll just keep dreaming

I need to get my daughter into this...new pink horsey fountain pen and all.

morning coastal wind --
bring back some small bit of sleep
the night carried off

This is a good example of how you can stray from the 5-7-5 (in English) but still capture the haiku essence. I keep trying to hold myself to the syllable count.

I am a wordsmith.
Crafter of fine sentences.
Only in my dreams.

First attempt at Haiku in many a year...

writing in my journal
handwriting terrible
who needs code?