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Haiku from the Heart


WRITING PROCESS

Here are some further ideas you might consider as you develop your own style of haiku:

1. In order express your authentic views and observations, ask yourself the following before writing the poem:

a) What am I actually seeing?

b) What is it that I am noticing?

c) What am I experiencing?  This includes smells, tastes, sounds and tangible/tactile senses.

d) How am I feeling?

e) What is particularly striking about what I am observing?

f) What is especially striking about the situation?

g) What is the message I want to convey?


Let's look at a sample situation that you feel compelled to write about:


You are in a forest glade with afternoon light shining down through the treetops.  Remember the questions i just mentioned.  Depending on your answers, your poem might end up as either...


pine trees surround me

bright sun filters through treetops

a glimpse of heaven


OR...


pine trees surround me

bright sun filters through treetops

i feel a cool breeze


Which poem is "best"?  The decision is yours:  the "best" or "correct" poem is the one that speaks your truth.  A glimpse of heaven might sound nice, but if the cool breeze is actually what you notice the most, then the second poem comes from and belongs to you.  Conversely, if the scene initially brings "heaven" to mind, then the first poem more accurately describes your experience.


2.   If just a single line of a poem comes to you, write it down.  Set the line of the poem aside, let it simmer and re-visit it in an hour, a day, a week.  The remainder of the poem may emerge after you've spent time away from the line you originally wrote.  


3.   Once you've written a poem, read it back to yourself:  does it say what you want it to say?  If not, it's time to make minor (or major) revisions.


4.   If you feel comfortable enough, read the poem to a trusted "other" and get their gut reaction.  Believe me, I have gone through many moments (or in some cases, hours) of feeling dejected after I’ve shared my poem with my key listener/reader (his name is Brian).

If after several re-writes I’m still not getting a positive response from Brian, I do one of the following:  (a) set the poem aside for some length of time before revisiting and revising it or (b) abandon the haiku format and arrange the words into another setting, such as a free-form poem or perhaps a limerick.