When a friend and I were talking a few weeks ago, the subject of Haiku came up. I was intrigued, so did a bit of research on them. After learning more about their history, the traditional structure of 17 sounds divided into three phrases of 5-7-5, and reading some samples, I was inspired to experiment with this Japanese form of poetry. I especially love the juxtaposition of two ideas represented through vivid imagery. Although most Haiku are nature-centric, I tend to be more inspired to express ideas or truths gleaned from Scripture, so that’s what I ended up using for my first several attempts at writing Haiku.
I enjoyed the challenge of condensing something rich and meaningful into so few syllables; it seems like a good exercise for anyone who would like to hone their thinking and writing skills to communicate more effectively with others. Here are my first three Haiku, the last one being essentially a restructuring of a striking quote by Lorne Sanny in this brief devotional:
heart within battling
united in truth against
deception lurking.
whispers to heaven
through world’s chatter, confusion
God hears. He listens.
unselfish concern
freely accepts another
seeks his good – that’s love.
I look forward to experimenting more with this art form in the coming days and perhaps even branching out into some less familiar territory to tap into observations of nature and more imaginative distinctions between independent ideas.