Here is a collection of haiku. Or I guess American haiku. I can’t say that I stick to the strict definition of the form, because I don’t believe that is what the form is about. Bringing simple everyday beauty to people, using common words that exclude no one, for the time this was a revolution. The vehicle of art, poetry, will always be the delivery system for changing the way people see the world, for revolution and this is still valid even in our current day. The style though simple loses nothing from its raw beauty and understanding of the world around us.
Most of the haiku selected here are about nature as that is a very fitting subject. Trying to capture an instant that is “nothing special” and making the realization that it is in fact these moments that make up the days of a life. I find that creeping from my psyche are also the achievements of man, cars whirring, the banging of construction and industry. It’s unavoidable in this our world we live in and though I wish I had more opportunity to be inspired by the raw beauty of nature, it often is in conflict with the products of industry and commerce that cut through the rich vein of nature in which I find myself inspired by on a daily basis.
“The aimless life, a constant theme of Zen art of every kind, expresses the artist’s own inner state of going nowhere in a timeless moment.”
Alan Watts, The Way of Zen
This to me sums up the haiku perfectly. I’m very proud to present a list of links to haiku I’ve posted over the days. Most of them are titled for the day they were written, thanks for visiting:
Hiding Spots (Haiku) In the Park (Tanka)
Meditating in a Jimmy John’s Parking Lot
Meditating Under a Small Tree in Capitol Hill
Daniel J Flosi is Consumed 