OK National Haiku Day, April 17th. How you can be ready?
My experience is that you can write haiku about anything. And I mean anything, even odd throwaway conversational phrases. You can write about big topics of the day, small or big moments in nature. One of my rules is that if I look something up on wikipedia I have to write a haiku about it. Sometimes I hear someone say something and I can’t resist counting off the syllables because sure enough it’s five or seven syllables. I jot it down and roll it around with other words to make something else, a haiku.
This morning while listening to the news and allowing myself a few extra minutes in bed (justifying it by saying I was listening to the news and planning my day) I thought on how with each tragedy we share as a society we vow to be better, to go past the violence. In the middle of that, my early alarm went of on my iPhone and computer and downstairs computer: Yo! National Haiku Day is tomorrow!
I typed out: practice daily kindness. That’s only six syllables. Practice daily kindnesses is seven but it’s not as nice to say or read. Practice some kindness is five syllables. Not bad but a bit wishywashy.
Practice compassion.
There you go. Five syllables. A haiku starter you can run with. A jot of the recognizable (certainly something H.H. the Dalai Lama says). Something mantra like.
So like haiku – just do it – start today. Get ready. Do some practice and then tomorrow – commit.
Hmmm. This smacks loudly of that old saw “Do the work.” Which really comes down to: make the time, learn your craft by doing it a lot and by doing lots, make all kinds of stuff including good stuff. Make YOUR stuff. Make no stuff? You won’t make any bad stuff, but you won’t make any good stuff either.
So be ready! Do the work! And just do it! Today and tomorrow: seven syllables at a time. You can do it.
