honey glazed sky
spring recites
the secret poems of dawn
Haiku Technique
Lost
tumbleweed
at a crossroads
asking for directions
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘Pseudo Science‘ technique which is not merely a distorted view of science presented with poetic license but a valid thought process in the “other reality” that exists in the poet’s mind. “…what we see or experience there is so real that we report it as a normal phenomenon. Thus my name “pseudo-science..” – Jane Reichhold
Basho writes:
a falling sound
that sours my ears
plum rain
Waiting
all of infinity
in an infinitesimal double helix
waiting…
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘Paradox” technique which encourages the reader to ponder about the juxtaposition of two incongruous realities. “..one must not think ill of the paradox, for the paradox is the passion of thought, and the thinker without the paradox is like the lover without passion…” – Søren Kierkegaard
Basho writes:
black forest
whatever you may say
a morning of snow
Stillness
in this churn of sky and sea and time
from whom will the mind
learn stillness?
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘riddle” technique that tries not to posture as intriguing rhetoric but to trigger, like a Zen Koan, philosophical introspection. An old classic is “ “Am I a butterfly dreaming I am a man or a man dreaming I am a butterfly?”
Basho writes:
has spring come
or the year gone away?
second last day
Mynah
dark clouds rumble
a lone mynah
swallows a tear
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘Narrowing Focus” technique in which you start with a wide-angle lens for the 1st line, switch to a normal lens for the 2nd and zoom in for a close up for the 3rd line, drawing the reader to a single basic element of the haiku.
Basho writes:
old village
not a house without
a persimmon tree
Blur
blurred evening
the rain dissolves
the colours in the sky
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘Sketch’ or ‘Shasei” technique, strongly advocated by Masaoka Shiki, which requires the scene to be depicted exactly as it is without riddles, pun or rhyme.
Basho writes:
early autumn
the sea and rice fields
one green
Forever
grey dawn
forever slips
a day closer
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘Leap Linkage’ technique in which the writer explores his/her own truth which can only be discerned by the experienced reader.
Basho writes:
swinging bridge
lives are intertwined
in ivy vines
Flutter
kimonos flutter softly
a spring breeze
teases the cherry blossoms
For CDHK where we learn Basho’s ‘comparison‘ technique. “In haiku the SOMETHING and the SOMETHING ELSE are set down together in clearly stated images. Together they complete and fulfill each other as ONE PARTICULAR EVENT – Betty Drevniok
Basho writes:
rabbit-ear iris
how much it looks like
its image in water
Melancholy
melancholy
the empty park bench
and the winter sun