origami

December 25: Nativity

/ Melissa Allen / 8 Comments

Nativity scene
every year we think we’ve lost
the baby

.

Nativity scene
the shepherds are guarding
flocking

.

Nativity scene
the light in the stable
burned out

.

Nativity scene
folding a crane to replace
the broken angel

.
Nativity scene
the Wise Men never let go
of their gifts

.
Nativity scene
Joseph stares out
of the window
.

Nativity scene
the animals eye the manger
hungrily

.
Nativity scene
Mary hides
from the visitors

.
Nativity scene
packing away the miracle
for next year

.

A very Merry Christmas to all my readers who are celebrating the holiday today. Thanks for all your well-wishes this season and all your support this year. Much joy to you and your families.

July 22: 1-2: The Technique of Humor

/ Melissa Allen / 6 Comments

(See this post for an explanation of what’s going on here.)

Jane:

“This is the dangerous stuff … [b]ecause one has no way of judging another person’s tolerance for wisecracks, jokes, slurs, bathroom and bedroom references.… Very often the humor of a haiku comes from the honest reactions of humankind. Choose your terms carefully, add to your situation with appropriate leaps, and may the haiku gods smile on you.

dried prune faces
guests when they hear
we have only a privy”

– Jane Reichhold, Haiku Techniques

*

Me:
Hmmm … okay, here’s the thing. My sense of humor tends toward the … obscurely satirical? Wait, is that just a synonym for “not funny”? Well, you can judge for yourself.

1.

For my first effort at humor I set out to write a haiku that would encompass as many stereotypes about Japan and haiku as possible in seventeen syllables (5-7-5, of course).

origami cranes
sipping tea on Mount Fuji —
white cherry blossoms

2.
For my second effort I felt like making fun of haiku poets. Yeah, all of us, cawing away, trying to impress our significance on the world …

Basho, Issa,
and the rest of us —
a convention of crows

Had enough yet? Can’t say I blame you. But come on, are they really any worse than Jane’s privy joke?

(And don’t forget my invitation!)