HI-KU is any English language variation on the Japanese haiku
This contains examples of my hi-ku with a few pointers about this image form & the extension into the tanka.
The poetry is my copyright but maybe used for educational purposes provided advice thereof is sent to strandbg@aol.com
HAIKU is the ' phonetical&cultural original 'in Japanese'& traditionally written in Japanese as a single line
& reality uses '17 'onji' (sound symbols)rather than syllables
whereas
HIKU is the English language tristich (3 line)version(including translations)with similar economy of words
including the THOUGHT PAUSE prompt (often indicated by an ellipsis .....the SENSE PAUSE the aesthetic point of insight flowing from perception & ONE BREATH LENGTH to correspond to the aforementioned Japanesese 17 onji sounds.
The essence without "telling all" (thereby to ' show ' conforming to the key of all true imagist poetry),&avoids 'as'&'to' & the use of past tense verbs (& is often without verbs,adverbs,adjectives )A verse freed from strict syllabic constraint within its triplicity of format& is inherently enigmatic & often with a caesura and surprise ending( VERSUM )to give a 'turning' to the line.The hiku maybe a horizontal single* line,(often broken line at the caesura),a vertical line(usually a painting(haiga) ,a couplet** or a tristich***
*strand by strand decadence unravels moral fibre
**a dew trail across the lawn...
' neath the shed winter quarters
*** a blue plume rising
from camp ashes-
yesterday's visions still hauntWHY hi-ku
hi-ku (is a label I use to differentiate English language 'haiku' from the translations of the original Japanese verseform)
POETRY OF THE NOUN
Many older Japanese haiku poets wrote haiku without verbs,adverbs,adjectives ,hence my title today.Of course they wrote in Japanese so such a theory do not always easily
cross/transfer linguistic barriers.
my hi-ku in that style
evening perfume
a flower blossom primrose
memory of you
Keys to Hi-Ku in English
Hi-Ku Image
Image” that ..unique instant of time.. the presentation of which gives a sense of sudden liberation; a sense of freedom from time ... and space .. that sense ... experienced in the presence of works of art..unrepeatable.. tangible to the moment.
but
SHOW DON'T TELL
to show rather than tell is the key to true imagist poetry ,sadly much English language hi-ku have words to avoid ,like 'as'&'to' and also use past tense verbs in their hi-ku ,thus the verse is ' imagery ' rather than imagist ,by emphasising 'telling' rather.. than letting their 'words' show( as my example does above )a subtle difference yet so often a major flaw in penning hi-ku( and many other poetry forms) in English
so
HI-KU MOMENT
the concept of a "haiku moment" based in personal experience, and provides the motive for writing a haiku is an aesthetic moment' of a timeless feeling of enlightened harmony as the poet's nature and the environment are unified'[ quote by Ken Yusada]
- impressionistic brevity
- short succinct syntax; no superfluous words
- emphasis on imagery over exposition
- avoidance of metaphor and similes
- It is better to present one Image in a lifetime than to produce voluminous works.EZRA POUND
whereas
JAPANESE HAIKU
It has been said the genius of haiku is using an economy of words to paint a multi-tiered painting, without "telling all". Or as Matsuo BashÅ the master of the haiku puts it The haiku that reveals seventy to eighty percent of its subject is good. Those that reveal fifty to sixty percent, we never tire of.
anyway...A FEW OF EXAMPLES OF MY HIKU
oe'r the horizon
yesterday's imperfections -
look,tomorrow waits
light through darkness
spills
a verdant slyvan idyll-
night concedes day
the email opens-
through a veil of tears
a rainbow appears
see also my one line hiku ,broken monoku @ http://monoku-ichthys.blogspot.com
and..
TANKA
the tanka solves the difficult problem of SHOW don't tell ...
for the first 3 lines (the hi-ku) is the 'show'
& the last 2 comments thereon (the tell)
here are my tanka to illustrate
COMPENDIUM OF TANKA
on the wind
a bell tolls
memories surface
words unerased-
the image fades
with a tremor of light-
daybreak tinges
the nigrescent sky grey-
the horizon appears
distinct in my mind's eye
without-
the waning sun
warms my face
shalom cloaks
the wells within
hanging from the trees
winter fog welcomes the dawn
and obscures the light--
cobwebs shimmer
necklaced to the hedge
huddled together
from the heeting rain
the unbrellas moc the hearse-
then in twos
slowly separate
the diary
fell
pages scattered the floor
memories lie
just out of reach
spoor tracks
imprint
the virgin snow-
footsteps of yesteryear
echo in my mind
hunger haunts each daytime hour
coldness kills at night
thus
nature's foodchain
perpetuates
chill breath
of dawn lights
upon my window-pane
nighttimes promises
freeze into crystal
fog at dawn
necklaced cobwebs
allure
entranced
passers-by
above the still strand
shrieks of seagulls
die on the inshore breeze-
our twin footsteps disappear
as sunset dissolves
the heatwave
of an August dog-day
a flash
distant thunder-
rain drops
november the fifth-
layered rolls of liquid fog
envelope the bonfire-
the party becomes a
damp squib
WHY NOT ALSO CHECK OUT MY BLOGS ON
OPEN FORM https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2699670104199896430/3849128588764507235
FOOTLE FORM
http://footle-ichthys.blogspot.com