I think the title says it all - with today being the final day of National Poetry Month as well as World Tai Chi and Qigong Day (an important day for Morris, my sweetheart, who teaches a myriad of tai chi and qigong classes, and who is therefore running not just one, but TWO World Tai Chi & Qigong Day events which will take most of our day), I am ( Read more... )

Today, a brief introduction to the tanka, which I have in the past referred to as a haiku pulling a trailer ( Read more... )

Since Sunday, I've been putting up posts about haiku, examining the components of what an actual haiku should contain - three lines, short, a little longer, short (not necessarily 5-7-5, although feel free to use that construct); a kigo, or seasonal word; a "turn" or some sort of surprising insight or revelation; a poem based in nature ( Read more... )

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All actual haiku contain something called a kigo, which is a seasonal indicator. They are used in large part for their economy - haiku are short poems with few words, so a kigo can telegraph a lot about the poem's setting for the reader.

A kigo can be as simple and obvious as spring, summer, fall, or winter. Or the name of a particular month, ( Read more... )

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This month's poetry sister project was haiku - specifically, haiku in the form of classified ads. Three of them. And man, I found this so much harder than it sounds. Here are what I came up with:

Chickachickachick
Single cicada seeks mate
ChickachickachickFor free: one mattress ( Read more... )

I keep thinking of the line from A Midsummer Night's Dream: "Though she be but little, she is fierce!" as I sit to write this post ( Read more... )