Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Haiku

Image of a factory with no workers.Dear Gentle Reader,
Every now and again it
is fun to be odd.

So I will follow
someone else's lead, and now
I cannibal I.

I will take my own
comment, made on another's
blog, and resubmit.

Again.


A very smart gal,
OxyJen to me and you,
writes B.S. Haiku.


Rules for making Haiku:

1: Five syllables.
2: Write seven more for fun.
3. Repeat 1. Done.


Explanation for why it has taken me so long to respond to OxyJen's call for Haiku:

My prolixity
slowed creativity; my
brain froze shut in fear.


Usefulness of big words (A Haiku in two parts):

(Part 1)

Floccinaucini-
hilipilification
so big it just fit.

(Part 2)

Don't estimate as
worthless. Utility is
always in our mind.


(***This two part haiku makes more sense when you remember that floccinaucinihilipilification means the act or habit of estimating as worthless [aka as without value, or utility.])


Also, recent historical research shows that haiku has been an important facet of many writers' lives, not just the great-to-be (though already great to me) OxyJen's.

Uncorroborated reports indicate that Sir Arthur (Ignatius) Conan Doyle (1859-1930) initially wished to do his mystery fiction by haiku, to cut costs and save paper, but he found it unwise when informed he might be paid by the word....

Here is the uncorroborated Sir Arthur Conan Doyle haiku...


It's elementary...:

Resolve the details
Worship humble facts, Watson,
Sherlock Holmes smiles, puffs.


Even anthropology has used haiku due to its speed of composition. The transcribed last words of a famous Chicago school anthropologist, seeking to know the secret rituals of a post-modern neolithic tribe with Inca-like practises, follow...


Heart's cadence beats fast...
Sacrificed to false idol?
Resolve? Worship quick.


***********************
Note: The above 'facts'
are to be taken with grams,
not just grains, of salt.
***********************

Final note.

Your scribe has just discovered that ThommyG, host of Three Word Wednesday, offers three words every Wednesday to the world, in his own ritualised contest.

You provide a haiku for those three words on your site and you link back.

The strong survive...

Last week's words (egads, its ends tomorrow!) are Cadence, Humble, and Resolve.

My offering?


Humble? Not likely!
Cadence quickly changes; jive?
Resolve to dance now!



Your humble scribe hopes
you join in, but understands
if you don't. Tschuess, Chris

9 comments:

Raph G. Neckmann said...

But there is no mention of telescopes!

Sepiru Chris said...

Raph,

You are so correct, but I was not sure if that could be retrieved through the telescope.

It could be and was. Here it is:

Haiku to Camelopardalis:

Resolve the details!
Worship the humble Giraffe:
Leopard spots, long neck...

Tschüss,
Chris

Thom Gabrukiewicz said...

Very creative.

bindu said...

I've never been any good at this. You're pretty good!

Anonymous said...

Chris,

Thank you for your kind words over at my blog and for giving me some listens!

By way of thanks here is a haiku that I seem to remember writing during my junior year of high school.

Vanilla pudding
I misread the directions
You should try it first

Rob

Sepiru Chris said...

ThomG,

Thanks. Your site aussi. I doubt you will have to coax that novel out; it seems to be lubricating its own way with starter bits, from what I see on your blog.

Bindu,

Thanks Bindu. It's a sort of momentary diversion.

WellAdjustedRob,

W.A.R., the pleasure is really all mine. I will be returning. Your haiku is not only clever, but also both droll and accurate.

There does seem to be a universal schadenfreude in serving something not right, but informing the recipient of the problem only after they have sampled it...

I doubt that I have written haiku since high school, which was a while ago, until OxyJen prompted me. I consider haiku to be an amusing diversions. 15 seconds and you are done. Instant gratification in words. Unlike the bigger books that really do seem to take their own time, as ThomG references on his site.

Tschüss all,
Chris

Chris

Sepiru Chris said...

Hello ThomG,

I just checked back at 3WW (to figure out how you came to my site) and suddenly realized that 3WW is not run by PJD, I think that it is run by you!

So, I have redone the page and sent apologies and compliments to you.

Tschüss,
Chris

Barbara Martin said...

Haiku is not my forte, though I do write the odd bit of poetry. I might post some old stuff.

Raph's comment made me laugh after reading your haiku...telescopes are on every giraffe's minds these days.

Sepiru Chris said...

Barbara,

How very observant of you, but there is more to the story. I know you enjoy nature, so I shall share it with you.

It is not just that telescopes are on giraffe's minds these days, they are on their shoulders too.

(!)

...That neck... a fantastic tube, no?

And telescope tubes are not usually telescopic...

...Not many carrots in Giraffeland, how do think they can see predators, and fine foliage, from far away...

(information excerpted from "Giraffe secrets revealed", by Joseph King)

Tschüss,
Chris