Bye-Bye Winter!
Bubbles fly on breeze 
Spring’s chilly warmth heats my soul
Confinement’s blown off!
That was a Haiku poem. Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry. Haiku poems are very simple. They consist of 3 lines. The first and last lines of a Haiku have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables. The lines rarely rhyme.
Writing a post-polio Haiku poem might be fun to try as an activity in your support group.
Here’s the formula:
- First line (5 syllables): Focus close in. Describe an image from nature (or your surroundings) in concrete terms. It’s fun to describe a photo you may have, but not imperative.
- Second line (7 syllables): refer or allude to a season of the year (spring, fall, etc.)
- Third line (5 syllables): Focus big. Shift, even juxtapose the perspective on your chosen image/subject in line 1 to a larger post-polio idea, concept or image. Think of words and things related to living with polio.
Here’s another semi-spontaneous example:
On Old Friends Making Life Work
Crispy trees green, grey
Witness our friendship’s summer
Wheels keep us moving.
What do you think? Can you Haiku? Could you write a post-polio Haiku? Might be fun to try! Just follow the formula.
Hi Fran Henke, want to give it a go? Anyone else feeling inspired?
Oh, let’s just have fun!
Woohoo!
It’s springtime in the Northern Hemisphere!
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Leaves are turning red.
I am not there to see it.
My thoughts are now blue.
Hi. I was born on January 08, 1941. I had polio in 1953. With the resulting paralysis, I lived and worked a normal life, until approximately 12 years ago. Then post-polio syndrome caused mainly leg problems. With all of these challenges, I still feel very lucky and thankful.
Welcome aboard!
Bursting from the womb
Arriving with Spring flowers:
April’s Mistress Leia!
..on the birth of my grand daughter, Leia Elizabeth, April 21.
Psalm 96:11-12
“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”
Wild Autumn wind
Willow hair everywhere
Weaver’s delight
*never been too good at counting syllables but that’s what I found this morning.
Love it! What are your winters like there, Fran?
I love the whispering W’s in your poem, Fran
Enjoying Spring’s best.
Is the best anyone can do.
Rain, Sunshine and flowers.
There you go…5-7-5. Enjoy each day as it blooms…something different every week. Enjoy.
I’m with you on that! Thank you! Haiku is such fun.
.
Daffodils’ proud faces
Midst past years’ broken stalks
Bring fresh promises.
I feel this one down to my soul. Thank goodness for fresh promises.
Gray white fluffy globes
Dropped on Spring’s transformed carpet
Standing out and proud.
Joan, thanks for describing the moment you received this Haiku’s inspiration… “I think we as people with disability stand out, but we can be proud. I happened to have come upon a dandelion in my yard on the way to the garage yesterday morning and I thought, “look how different yet proud it is…”
I will never see dandelions the same way again.