On Writing

Almost a poem,

the ant in the palm

of my hand.

On Writing: brevity

I like to think I have gotten better at writing haiku in the ten plus years that I have been experimenting with the form. I like to think I have improved in general as I have made my way through the years. What constitutes a better person is, perhaps, a subject for another time and/or place. What makes a better haiku, however, is a question that is still up for grabs.

My thinking along these lines has led to at least one word that might be used to describe the most important aspect of good haiku. That word is: brevity.

This is a concept that has come, through my experiments with haiku, to inform all of my literary efforts – fiction, poetry, blog posts…

In short, the idea is to keep it short. As short as possible. Consider the value of each word. Haiku is a short form already, of course, but we can, and must, edit.

I believe brevity, especially in haiku, is power. In saying only what needs to be said, by underlining the essence of any given situation or thing, the writer engages with the reader and empowers him or her to imagine the greater picture (which is, of course, composed of tiny details).

By way of example, I offer the two pieces below, each written April 4, 2014. Now, these are obviously English language haiku. English language haiku is not Japanese haiku. This is a subject that I may have covered previously in this blog, so I will just say that while I do concern myself with syllable and line count, these days it seems brevity is the first rule that I try to apply:

 

 After the rain,

the sun

shines all the brighter…

 ***

 After the rain,

the sun…

 

 

I know it will ultimately be a matter of the reader’s personal taste, but I hope the above example proves my point. While I like the cadences and form of the longer piece, I find the third line becomes not only irrelevant but cumbersome in the light of the second and shorter poem.

Two lines. Five words. And, I believe, powerful imagery. Could the second piece be trimmed down further? One might start with deleting the “the”s, but I like them where they are. One might also enquire about the usefulness of punctuation in haiku. I tend to punctuate most of my haiku. So the commas and ellipses stay. For now.

Perhaps as I continue writing I will continue whittling the poems down to their very essence until I have a perfect haiku of only one word.

Or maybe the perfect poem is

On Writing

A backed up toilet?

Inspiration

is where you find it.

On Writing

I spent the day

waiting for inspiration –

all I got was this…

On writing

Reading old copies
of The Wormwood Review,
circa 1992 -

another fine rag
that sent all mine back.



(This piece appeared, sans title,
@ my Facebook page in July 2013)

On Writing

My journal open,

inviting poems

to alight…

On Writing

New journal,

a gift so pretty

I hesitate…

***
Tempted by

the fine ruled lines,

I spill my mind.

On Writing

Two rejections

in as many days.

Still, I write

my tiny songs

and send them

on their way.

On Writing

Afternoon drive –
scribbling poems
at red lights.

On writing

Can you feel it?

Poetry of the moment,

always imminent.

On Writing

Isn’t it enough

to scribble these lines,

must I publish?

 

On Writing

Sending my poems

into the world, insert

cliché about children here________.

On Writing

Why write

all these stories and poems?

Somebody has to.

On writing

Good characters

like good friends

wait for me.

On writing

A few hundred words

on the page

that weren’t there yesterday.

On writing

Untouched for two days,

my journal waits, patient

as an atom bomb.