So you want to write haiku poetry?Something about nature perhaps (as a lot of haiku do tend to follow nature themes)?Maybe more specifically something in relation to autumn or fall?You know what I mean, dry leaves, trees aflame with auburn color, raking, the smell of crumbly foliage, that sort of thing.
I can't really blame you for wanting to write a haiku poem or haiku poems about autumn.
After all, the season is a lovely one, full of imagery which could potentially make its way into a striking haiku.
There's just something about the sounds, scents and other sensations of autumn which have a way of awakening the senses somewhat.
So, again, you want to write autumn haiku poetry.
Maybe you're here because you know what you want to do, but you're having a bit of difficulty getting started.
A blank screen faces you, you cast about for an image, or wording, or something to move you forward, and you find yourself at this article.
Well, first of all, I'm no haiku expert.
Let's just get that out of the way immediately.
I'm basically a guy who decided to create a blog about haiku some time ago, and I've been trying to post daily, or at least regularly ever since.
Again, I haven't published a haiku book or series, or had a haiku selected for an anthology.
I'm just this regular haiku writing guy.
I decided to post this article because I thought that, by discussing how I go about churning out a haiku on a particular topic, maybe other regular haiku writing people like me, might find some assistance.
So here goes.
I'll be coming up with an original haiku for this article, not necessarily anything special, but at least hopefully something decent.
Before I begin, just a quick definition.
A haiku, for me, some time ago, was a 3 line poem, following a 5-7-5 syllable structure.
Since then, however, thanks to the comments I've received from some haiku writers who I very much respect, I've set the syllable structure to a maximum of 5-7-5.
If I can express a thought in fewer haiku syllables, that's even better.
The goal here is to come up with haiku poetry which has the sense of a one breath poem.
Something brief, which flows quickly and fleetingly.
So I'm trying to come up with a haiku poem related to autumn.
When I think of autumn, I think of leaves, red, and other shades, dry, crumbly, maybe hanging onto a branch, maybe piled up under a tree, maybe floating in the wind.
Leaves.
I'll start with that.
I'm trying to come up with an image related to a leaf I can use.
I think of a dry leaf still attached to a branch, moving with the wind.
I think of that branch having few or no leaves left, so the leaf is more or less alone.
I try to imagine what kinds of emotions might be awakened by seeing such a leaf.
Feelings of being alone, perhaps left behind, of wondering whether to follow or remain behind, of maybe giving up one's hold to the wind, or maybe remaining steadfast, attached to the branch.
lone leaf where has everyone gone? I started with the phrase, single leaf, but went with lone leaf for the alliteration.
I tried to keep this one simple.
I normally don't like lines which form a sentence, and I especially try to avoid using any punctuation.
That said, I went with this wording because again, I was trying to capture the feeling of a person left behind by time, wondering where all the years went, and where all the people who used to mean something to him have gone, and juxtapose that sense with the image of a lone leaf up a tree.
Like I said earlier, I'm no haiku expert.
I just basically do my best to come up with hopefully half decent haiku poetry.
I hope this short trip into my brain while trying to write haiku ends up helping someone out there.
I rather enjoyed the process actually, and I don't quite mind the output.
Thanks for reading this article.