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Haiku Chain

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in praise of the OM

seven syllables and then

absolute silence

Absolute Silence!

So far away, long ago

you taught me to sing

Edited by Taomeow

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Absolute Silence!

So far away, long ago

you taught me to sing

 

You taught me to sing

sing sing with Benny Goodman

Listen to nothing.

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You taught me to sing

sing sing with Benny Goodman

Listen to nothing.

 

 

Listen to nothing.

There's nothing to listen to.

Boundless soundlessness.

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Listen to nothing.

There's nothing to listen to.

Boundless soundlessness.

 

 

Boundless soundlessness

Innersmile exhilarates

got to love a tune.

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Boundless soundlessness

Innersmile exhilarates

got to love a tune.

 

Got to love a tune

Hundred samskaras echo

Stones' Goats Head Soup rocks

Edited by MudLotus

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Got to love a tune

Hundred samskaras echo

Stones' Goats Head Soup rocks

 

Stones' Goats Head Soup rocks

Down the hill and up again

Cycles recycle

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Just a thought or two for Haikus:

 

1. Haikus are traditionally driven by IMAGERY

 

2. Witnessing, not philosophy or self-reference

 

Many early modernist and mid-century poets picked up on Asian poetry as one of their inspirations for how to create poetic verse. The notion of the "Image" became very important for many poets. William Carlos Williams set the tone for many who followed him when he proclaimed ""No ideas but in things." Perhaps his most famous poem was one of his simplest:

 

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

 

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

 

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

 

While the poem is not without the subjective point of view of the poet as narrator of an experience, it is instructive to see how he pulls your attention to the images of the plums in the icebox and closes by saying they were so sweet and so cold. I think the corollary I'd take from that is that when you are Haiku'ing it may be helpful to find some "thing" that is outside of your own self-referential notion of your self and is clearly either an object or a sensation not directly tied to you as a person or personality. Charles Olson spoke of Objective Verse for similar reasons.

 

So you see the poets may be speaking of their own perceptions and be referring to their own particular histories, but they are always drawing your attention back to something not localized in themselves, but of the world itself and some"thing" other than the writer.

 

While this may be a forum for practitioners, you may generate greater intrinsic awareness by playing more with the juxtaposition of images than with injecting your commentary on "essence" into it. After all, isn't haiku about experiencing some essential moment through words without having its meaning explained to you?

 

Perhaps you can get more out of haiku by reaching for words that become "things" as opposed to making philosophical statements or imposing meanings. The images can mean many things and there is always the ability to split hairs and have BOTH imagery and literary allusion at work simultaneously. Implied meanings are more subtle and challenging to the mind of the reader.

 

I love the last line haiku concept. Its a brilliant game, very conducive to combining imagery. Many haikus have one image(s) in a line or two that is offset by another image in the other line(s). The images don't have to be fully or even partially related. The art is in the poem, not the logic.

 

Another way of saying these things is concepts are usually lacking in poetic power. When you state a conceptual notion you are actually very much injecting yourself into the poem more than you may believe. It pulls the reader into your state of mind perhaps which could actually qualify as a "thing" of poetic value when handled well, but most of the time declaring ideas is not the point of haiku in general. An idea can be a thing so I don't want to impose anything or ruin the fun, but I'd like to see if people can push themselves further from their comfort zones and use their imagination as an observational toolkit, i.e. pull images from your mind if not from nature itself.

 

Still, this is 2009 and all references are worth mining. Pop culture is part of our experience. The trick is to work in any and all things as "things" more than injecting yourself into the poem.

 

Just some thoughts on haiku and poetry in general.

 

MudLotus

Edited by MudLotus

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Stones' Goats Head Soup rocks

Down the hill and up again

Cycles recycle

 

Cycles recycle

Fat tires crushing Coke cans

Garbage smell floats by

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Cycles recycle

Fat tires crushing Coke cans

Garbage smell floats by

 

 

Garbage smell floats by

Kicked dead metal rattles on

Scent of rotten rose.

 

 

Mudlotus,

 

Your thoughts on poetry are interesting, this is an open thread where people use this form to express themselves in their own way - through humor or their own philosophy or whatever and I wouldn't like to lose that kind of fun openness.

 

Cheers

 

A.

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Garbage smell floats by

Kicked dead metal rattles on

Scent of rotten rose.

Mudlotus,

 

Your thoughts on poetry are interesting, this is an open thread where people use this form to express themselves in their own way - through humor or their own philosophy or whatever and I wouldn't like to lose that kind of fun openness.

 

Cheers

 

A.

 

 

Scent of rotten rose

WTF Professor Mud?

Rose crawl up your ass?

 

Thanks apepch. The haiku on the last page with the line about banging a nurse made me laugh out loud so you are right about letting things be. I like the funny ones. But even that was like an image to me if you get my drift.

Edited by MudLotus

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Thanks apepch. The haiku on the last page with the line about banging a nurse made me laugh out loud so you are right about letting things be. I like the funny ones. But even that was like an image to me if you get my drift.

 

Well I agree - you are right about the image thing of course.

 

Scent of rotten rose

WTF Professor Mud?

Rose crawl up your ass?

 

Rose crawl up your ass?

Sure she's a proctologist,

Get's into her work.

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Well I agree - you are right about the image thing of course.

Rose crawl up your ass?

Sure she's a proctologist,

Get's into her work.

 

LOL! Thanks, that made my day

 

 

Gets into her work

Immortals with clean insides

Dew! Air! Delicious!

Edited by MudLotus

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Gets into her work

Immortals with clean insides

Dew! Air! Delicious!

 

Dew! Air! Delicious!

Iron Man competitors

pass lemonade stand

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Dew! Air! Delicious!

Iron Man competitors

pass lemonade stand

 

pass lemonade stand

pass the cocktail cabinet

or pass the bottle.

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pass lemonade stand

pass the cocktail cabinet

or pass the bottle.

 

or pass the bottle

to Bogart jungle cruise man.

Whiskey shots. Diesel.

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or pass the bottle

to Bogart jungle cruise man.

Whiskey shots. Diesel.

Whiskey shots. Diesel.

Lets go catch the white weasel.

Aye! Tribadism rocks!

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Whiskey shots. Diesel.

Lets go catch the white weasel.

Aye! Tribadism rocks!

 

Aye! Tribadism rocks!

Lesbos Wikipedia

explains girl frottage

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Aye! Tribadism rocks!

Lesbos Wikipedia

explains girl frottage

 

 

explains girl frottage

cutting scissor with scissor

beats paper and stone.

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Guest artform

beats paper and stone,

the philosopher bemoans,

with pen and chisel

 

 

with pen and chisel

we mark time, then neglect and

time swallows our marks

Edited by artform

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with pen and chisel

we mark time, then neglect and

time swallows our marks

 

Time swallows our marks;

Deustcheland, now United States.

Wheelbarrow bonfire

Edited by MudLotus

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with pen and chisel

we mark time, then neglect and

time swallows our marks

Time swallows our marks

Deep rumbling in his belly

reveals his hunger

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Reveals his hunger

The light within shows all things

Reveals contentment

Reveals contentment

These papayas are sweet! Yum!

A child's wisdom mind..

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A child's wisdom mind,

into the physical realm,

once bones in the dirt,

Edited by Ohm-Nei

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