56 thoughts on “Haiku #1 – Winter Reprise”

  4. Dear Mary Jo, Happy New Year! I have never heard of the word ‘haiku’. I went to check for it. Thank you for helping me enlarge my horizon of mysteries. Behind the few words of your poem I see you looking deep within and also far away, at things that one day will come closer and become more poems … for your heart is ready to pour out peace stored to others who are hungry and willing to receive … I live in another continent but I feel close to you. God bless you sister!

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    1. Yes, Dr. Leigh, we are close in Spirit. Haiku poetry comes from a culture different from both of ours. And you having experienced several 🙂 In order to drink from the fountain of peace, we must continually flow ourselves. We each of us have sparrow significance, as the least in this world. God bless and protect you, your loved ones and your community in Warri. Happy New Year!

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    1. Well, you should know all about that 😉 The photographic images you provide also inspire our imagination. It’s very cool that you want more from that simple image! In order to observe, to read, to listen we need to slow down a bit for a deeper experience. Not always easy to connect our minds with our hearts these days.

      Has the child learned to care about the sparrows or did he naturally care? How does the child know the birds need water when there is abundant snow? Is there a frozen-over birdbath? Does he understand the water in the cup will also freeze and when? Does he stumble and drop the cup? How many times will he attempt to help the sparrows? Will he persist throughout the winter? Does he worry no one else will provide for them?

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          1. It would be great fun to peek into a reader’s mind to see what they further imagine. The relationship between reader and author seems a necessary one to complete the work itself. Just think of all the people who engage with your stories, Liz, and their unique reactions. Speaking of which, I’m delighted to let you know I received my copy of your novel, Telling Sonny, today. It’s so much fun to hold it in my hands! 🙂

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            1. Yes, that age-old question of the reader’s role in co-creating the text! I’m so pleased that you’ve received Telling Sonny! (I was starting to fret that you’d not gotten what you paid for.) I hope you enjoy it!

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  8. Three lines holds many stories. I have been looking into the history and evolution of haiku this past year and have found that it is an extensive study, although two ideas have come through to me: 1) Less is more and 2) Poetry crosses location and translation boundaries. Those thoughts give me great comfort. Hugs and more hugs!

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    1. The poets who translate others’ works are in a league of their own! We learned something about that while we participated in the Elisabeth’s Eugene Onegin group reading. When it’s done expertly, the result is exquisite. Can you just imagine translating an entire work, like say Goethe’s Faust and then face harsh criticism for all your efforts? Prose is difficult enough, but poetry? So yes, hopefully the images and feelings they evoke are universal, and that is truly comforting regardless of the linguistic details. It’s really fun to have an image in my head and then find just the right words to convey it. If a story arises, that is very rewarding! Hugs + hugs 🙂

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      1. You have the best way of expressing how risk and critics are present in the creative process. Sharing our work and our dreams is not for the faint of heart. We open ourselves to the world. I keep thinking of Vincent Van Gogh’s thought: “Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” Many thanks for your insights.

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    1. Thank you, Liz. There is indeed a connection to those scriptures with which you are familiar. I read Kierkegaard’s short work a couple years ago, which he called a discourse rather than a sermon, about the lily of the field and the bird of the air. It’s exquisite and focuses on joy, obedience and silence. I have some difficulty with the latter two 🙂 It occurs to me just now that the boy in my haiku actually demonstrates all three!

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  11. I love this SO much! You used the form perfectly. I absolutely love writing that puts us in a small, quiet moment filled with beauty, profundity, love, and connection. A pensive little pair of boy and sparrow in the winter.

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