Haiku Musings

My new book "Seashore Haiku" is out and is available for purchase. If you like the sea and haiku, you're going to love this collection of haiku poems!

Senryu is basically a poem that uses haiku form to talk about things and events in the human world. Whereas haiku focuses on nature, senryu looks at us.

Now, one of the reasons I like haiku is that it gives me a chance to escape from the world of people. I like people, but I also like getting away from them and just experiencing nature. Haiku allow me to do this. Afterall, the human drama just gets tiring after a while. I'd rather spend my time contemplating the beauty of nature than discuss grandma's penchant for jewelry or some other inane topic.

Just 3 lines are all it takes to be transported to a world of beauty and delight. No other poem can do this but the haiku! The joy of haiku comes from the fact that in just a few seconds, we can be taken away to where the poet has envisioned.

The first part of haiku poetry usually includes a fragment to set the scene or mood. Then the poem is finished with a descriptive phrase. But what is it about this poetry that moves us? It's the juxtaposition between fragment and phrase that creates the poetic effect.

For example, if we take a fragment like "spring morning," this in and of itself really doesn't do much for us. But, if we add a descriptive phrase like...

Click here to read more!