This blog post about
The ancient art of haiku:
Challenging to write.
April 17th happens to be National Haiku Day, and we here at Marbles: The Brain Store are pretty excited about the celebrations going on in multiple cities which pay tribute to this art form. For those of you who missed out on the definition during English class, a haiku is a poem consisting of a 5-syllable line, a 7-syllable line, and a third 5-syllable line. Very poor examples are scattered throughout this posting.
Japanese art form
Juxtapose two images;
Stream of thought gets cut.
There are a multitude of rules, restrictions, and definitions that many writers, readers, and scholars have debated in relation to the haiku since it first gained importance in 17th century Japan. The most important distinction is the fact that Japanese verse consists of sound units called “on”, which roughly translate into “syllables” but that does not do justice to the thoughts or emotions that can be communicated in Japanese. When writing in English, one is always attempting to fit unwieldy English into this most elegant of Japanese writing styles. Traditionally, as well, the haiku by definition must contain a seasonal reference, or kigo, which is why the majority of haiku have natural or pastoral themes.
Haiku is a word
Taking both singular and
Plural form; not unlike “sheep”.
One of the other major aspects of a haiku is the kireji, or “cutting word” which traditionally occurs in the third final line, ending the train of thought or providing an ironic counterpoint to the previous two lines’ images.
The cutting word is
The end point of one’s haiku;
Lets verse stand alone.
Of course, the whole point of exploring words and writing poetry is expression, and many writers today only take on the restriction of the 5-7-5 syllable structure, writing on whatever subject matter they wish—indeed, some don’t even restrict themselves to that structure—but that gets into what defines a haiku, and that’s an argument for a completely different blog post.
Of my examples
None of them could be seen as
Classical haiku.
A fantastic tool for wordsmiths (and language lovers), as well as a really fun way of playing around with words is Haikubes, a set of 63 cubes with words on each side, which you roll like dice to create poems randomly. Two extra cubes included in the package come with red text that you roll to give your haiku a specific theme, for example, “A Desire For” “My Future” or “A Vision For” “Our World”. Then roll the rest of the cubes and choose 17 syllables from what you have rolled to complete your haiku. The cubes are high-quality, and can be displayed and rearranged as often as you feel like it.
Haikubes turn party
From awkward conversation
Into clever blast.
Haiku Challenge
We realize poetry isn’t normally competitive, but we’d like to have a little fun in honor of National Haiku Day. Leave your best Marbles: The Brain Store-themed haiku in the comments below. One lucky creative haiku artist will win a set of Haikubes!
With inspiration,
Minds will open like spring buds;
Ludo ergo sum!
Always something new
To play and think and haiku
Marbles is the place.
The games that we play
will stimulate your spirit,
exercise your mind!
(Happy Haiku Day,
and thanks for this fun challenge.
Counting to five is… ugh, too many!
Now you’ve got me hooked.
Counting all these syllables
is most addictive!)
On a windy day
I have no wind in my sails
Must need some Marbles
Marbles: the Brain Store…
Weekly visits, Dad and son.
We love the challenge!
Spring water flows on
Marbles contest challenges
Carpe diem, dude!
Sweet coincidence,
Five beats in the store’s full name.
Marmles…damned typo.
Spring brings a calm mind,
and the warming winds help me
solve my sudoku.
An off-hand entry
Why no thought? I love Marbles
But I am at work
Haikus are easy,
But they don’t always make sense.
Marbles: The Brain Store.
Japanese poems
Hai kan’t seem to write them well
Guess I need Haikubes
Marbles in my brain
Cut the chains,and boredom
Is drained,far away.
Teaching fifth graders
The art of writing Haiku
Losing my marbles!
Sunlight on the marsh,
brown and orange turn to green
Spring tides bring color.
Cook high for seven
Haiku for Marbles for more
Feed body and mind.
a new way to live
if wind blows between your ears
marbles: the brain store
stretching human’s brains
in the way of a new bud
learn from the brain store!
We should stop and play
Using, not losing, marbles.
Alone or together.
This is my 9 year old’s haiku about Johann Gutenberg (he just read his biography):
Johann Gutenberg
read and read and read and read
But wanted more books.
Here is one of mine:
Star lights suffer, The
city brightening as the
Moon, trembling, weeps.
Marvel in Marbles
Break bread with blossoming brains
Smarts and smiles in store
OOPS! Regarding my last haiku:
Trembling is a word
That only has two, not three,
Syllables that is.
(See why I need those cubes?)
That’s one of those tricky words that you could argue a case for either way. Correction haiku is cool!
The gym for the mind
Puzzles and brain games galore
Don’t lose your Marbles!
(That was a bit lame
Ego sum non peritus
I can’t write haikus!)
They lay on the floor
Glistening like sea water;
my marbles and me.
Shattered and broken
the lines of a good haiku;
you should write one too.
life is in the ring
assess, knuckle down, take a shot
win or lose the marbles
games puzzles riddles strategy skill luck playing keeping our brains sharp
A roll of the dice
Chance choices, unlikely pairs
My favorite verse
Marbles the Brain Store
World of wonder, feeds the soul
Nourishing the mind
Rolling like marbles
Ideas keep tumbling here
Keeping my brain fit!
Much to my chagrin
Cleverness has flown, like wind
With Haikubes, could win.