“Make your life a haiku: simple, elegant, and full of meaning.”
I decided a couple years ago to share my love of haiku with my family. For the first year, I used the Japanese holiday cluster known as Golden Week as an excuse to write one haiku per day for seven days. I tried to get my youngest grandchildren excited about this poetry form and provide a lesson using a little instruction sheet I made (get it here). I made them a spot on the Ladybug Literary Society’s website to showcase their haiku (see it here), and I held a contest for them to write their own collection of seven haiku in seven days.
For the second year, I opened the Haiku contest to the older grandkids and adults. Participation among the kids grew with all three of the youngest ones doing full collections of seven haiku. And, I got two people who went full boat on a haiku septet. I can hardly wait to see who falls under the charms of haiku next year. Here are the adult entries from Year One (just me) and Year Two (my daughter Maggie, my granddaughter Ada, and me).
GOLDEN WEEK HAIKU
HAIKU by maggie
handed down costumes
kimonos and hero suits
sharing the magic
a nudge from a friend
urging you to face your fears
do not run away
do you feel afraid?
what is it you fear the most?
maybe your own strength.
ted kaczynski said
technology will kill us
weird math professor
crypto is nasty
and undermines the goals of
civilization
again Golden Week
tainted by Covid haiku
when does this crap end?
granny helps us find
our deep-down inner writer
thank you, Mary Pat
Golden Week 2021
HAIKU by ada
tuxedo kitty
my mustached familiar
majestic sidekick
cardinal couple
finding love in our backyard
we mimic their bond
quiero descansar
en el sol, en la playa
dejéme ahí (Note 1)
my boy is too sweet
he plays watchman all day and night
always balancing
$ thousands of dollars
I touch them, but they’re not mine
but maybe one day $
mom is an angel
like flowers in the morning
forever waving
¿me entiendes?
¿mi seso, o mi alma?
¿o, estoy sola? (Note 2)
Golden Week 2021
Note 1 Translation to English
I want to relax
in the sun, on the beach
leave me there
Note 2 Translation to English
do you understand me?
my brain, or my soul?
or, am I alone?
HAIKU by mary
April 29 - Blizzard
majestic strutting
knowing he is beautiful
turkey’s self-esteem
April 30 - Screens
windows are open
spring has warmed the earth again
one child singing songs
May 1 - Keith
knocking at your door
for you, May Day’s sweet surprise
my basket of love
May 2 - John
he stands at our door
five decades of battles won
a soldier for peace
May 3 - Schmitty’s
where are the masks now
do we pretend it’s over
til death us do part
May 4 - Winnebago
pelicans flying
the breeze gently stirs the lake
pelicans fishing
May 5 - Buddy
he’s a noble dog
welcoming despite his pain
he hobbles toward us
Golden Week 2021
HAIKU by mary
April 29 - Remember Death
my soul fears its death
mourning’s black soon yields to light
practice makes perfect
April 30 - Love Your Fate
cherish this moment
fueled alike by good and bad
I am roaring fire
May 1 - The Greater Good
seek only one thing:
to make goodness for mankind
virtue above all
May 2 - In My Power
I wade in two streams
each in my control or not
do I act or flow
May 3 - Prepare for Adversity
in times of fortune
embrace the difficult path
practice misfortune
May 4 - Discipline
practical wisdom
self-control and temperance
renounce and endure
May 5 - Keep Perspective
contemplate nature
take the view far above me
see how small I am