Art in Three Lines

I finished my PowerPoint yesterday (looks awesome), and so today I wanted to continue down Memory Lane some more.

I used to write so much...I'd like to get back into it. Writing is actually really good therapy, and it would be nice to start writing more meaningful pieces that are more than just blog posts.

I think writing is best when you can provide a powerful image in as few words as possible. For that reason, I love haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry, like tanka (5-7-5-7-7). I wanted to share some with you guys today. For those who don't know, haiku is a traditional Japanese verse of three lines, five syllables on the first and third lines, seven on the second line.

Haiku was virtually unknown in the US until the 1950's, but was already 400 years old. And precursors of haiku such as uta and waku extend back to as early as the 7th Century. Japanese royalty were often recognized as the masters of this kind of word play.

Usually, a haiku poem would include some reference to nature. There were poems written to reference every season, and when I write haiku, my preference is to incorporate nature. However, I've also written some more "modern" haiku, that don't include a reference to nature.

I chose today to talk about haiku, because it's Veteran's Day, and I have a haiku for the occasion.

A wife cries, alone,
The folded flag on her lap --
Just wanting him home.