Week 9: Short Poems

Hi All,

Well, this is pretty straightforward. This week we worked on short poems...which are exactly what they sound like.

Hay(na) Ku

The form is very straight forward and is related to the haiku. In a nutshell, it is

One
Two Three
Four Five Six

I loved this form. As you'll see from my poems, it allowed for telling a story or strongly developing the situation with just two really "free" words at the end if you've put a refrain into it. I chose using absolute terms like "always" and "nothing" because they allowed for zero indecision and instead total confidence in what the speaker is saying. There's just no room for wishy-whashiness. Everything is absolute. The third one is probably my favorite one even though it is very imperfect. It gets at, or at least tries to, something I've spent a lot of time thinking about lately, what music is for us, and how it relates to life itself. I'm not an atheist, I'm not an agnostic, I'm not really any one religion, but I've been pondering our closeness to spirituality and what it is and where it is. To that end, poetry seems to me to be carving expression out of truth. And actually when we went over these in class people noted how they seemed kind of like religious chants, which I didn't realize until we read them out loud.

I.

Nothing
Is better
Than hearing doves

Nothing
Is better
Than waking cold

Nothing
Is better
Than morning dew

Nothing
Is better
Than seeing beauty

Nothing
Is better
Than feeling content

II.

Always
You tell
Me, go on

Always
You tell
Me, don’t wait

Always
You tell
Me, look beyond

Always
You tell
Me, leave now

Always
You tell
Me, leave me

Never
Could I
Leave you now.

III.

Harmony,
I know,
Is the truth

Harmony,
I know,
Is my transcendence

Harmony,
I know,
Is the sublime

Harmony,
I know,
Is what God meant.

Harmony,
I know,
Is an echo

Harmony,
I know,
Is our life

Harmony,
I know,
Is everything, everything.

Haiku

Haikus are always a fun form. I used to write them in class in high school when I was bored. What I love about them is how much they can capture in such limited space. I also love that they're based in rhythm!

I.

Daddy, you told me
That you’ll always be with me
Your face, in the mirror.

II.

I found him floating
Bloated and grey, fins spread out,
With his eyes still open.

III.

What are these last thoughts
That trouble me so, saying,
Do not be afraid?