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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