(grandmother moon)

altered photograph by Rick Daddario, 19 Planets

.

grandmother moon
I can’t help wishing for
a gold tooth like hers
.

(Haiku Bandit Society, June 2011 Moon Viewing Party)

.

full moon
one plate missing
from the setting
.

(Haiku Bandit Society, July 2011 Moon Viewing Party)

.

__________________________________________________________

Hey…do you like writing moon haiku? Like reading moon haiku? (If you say no to either of those questions, you have to turn in your official Haiku Poet Badge, so think carefully before you answer.)

If so, you should really consider joining the party over at Haiku Bandit Society every month. It starts a few days before the full moon. Anyone can contribute a poem about the moon for those few days. Willie posts them all on the blog, and they are a blast to read. Then his dog Dottie picks out the three she likes the best and gives them the Dottie Dot Awards.

This is another one of my favorite things that people do with their blogs. I wish even more people would participate because I love moon haiku so much and there really are an endless variety of twists on them. I bet you’ve got something great up your sleeve. Think about it.

Heat Wave (Yotsumono)

heat wave
reading a classic novel
that bores me

a tiny family
fashioned from clay

this is the last time
I’ll give in to your request
for fried eggs

she takes another drag
on my last Pall Mall

.

verse credits: melissa, willie, melissa, willie

.

For more about yotsumono and this project, see here.

Summer Moon (Yotsumono)

.

summer moon
coaxing from memory
the shape of her face

a Cubist painting
hanging crooked

only to discover
a stain
on his old school tie

the flame shared
between pieces of kindling

.

verse credits: willie, melissa, willie, melissa

.

For more about yotsumono and this project, see here.

Drifting Clouds (Yotsumono)

.

drifting clouds
all day drinking
from one tall glass

on a dare, naked,
into the lake

train whistles —
I can’t reveal
my true motivation

the hobo’s sign
etched in packed snow

.

verse credits: melissa, willie, melissa, willie

.

More about yotsumono and this project here.

Tendrils of Ivy (Yotsumono)

tendrils of ivy
I think I’ll paint
my mailbox blue

she moves the snake away
from the garden hose

an uninvited guest
is knocking
at the door

one last question
before the storm begins

.
verse credits: willie, melissa, willie, melissa

Willie Sorlien suggested that he and I write some renku together and I said okay, even though I was a little scared because Willie has done way, way, WAY more renku than I have and has even won prizes and stuff (the triparshva linked to here, of which he was sabaki, won the 2010 Journal of Renga and Renku Renku Contest). But he was very kind and picked out a nice short form called the yotsumono that was invented by the great John Carley as a renku exercise. Believe me, I need plenty of exercise.

We wrote four of these. (The others will be showing up soon.) I did notice my linking-and-shifting muscles limbering up after a while. I think.

Here’s a couple more yotsumono written by John Carley, Lorin Ford, and John Merryfield, where you can watch their progress in the comments and read a way more intelligent discussion of the form than I could provide at this point.

February 22 (Winter Dream)

winter dream
you and the moon
disappear together

____________________

First posted at Haiku Bandit Society for the Feb. 2011 Moon Viewing Party.

Willie Sorlien, owner and proprietor over at Haiku Bandit Society, linked the last line to a great Traffic video. Go watch it, it’s pretty much in the spirit of the haiku, and the video has cool images of its own.