2013 Spring haiku: Come join the dance!

In my part of the spring world, the arrival of the vernal equinox has not felt much different from the arrival of the autumnal equinox. The green flame is burning unusually low for this time of year. Winds have been abrasive and cold. Usually, the Big Green is well on its way by now, but only the dandelions are turning it up.

So I was wondering–how is spring coming along where you are? (For those of you who are moving into spring, that is.) I thought that it might be fun to give and receive reports of spring’s arrival in the form of haiku. That is, any excuse seems good for starting a haiku chain. Tracking spring’s approach–like news stations track Santa Claus’s progression toward their position–lends itself especially well to a sequence of meditative post-it notes.

What is a haiku? A haiku is a classical Japanese poetical form, usually 17 syllables all in a single line in Japanese, but I understand that there are longer and shorter forms.   In English, a haiku often takes the form of one short line of 5 syllables, a long line of 7 syllables, then another short line of 5 syllables, but there are many paths–pick what pleases you.   Often, haiku mention the season under scrutiny–in this case spring, obviously.   If you wish to learn more about haiku, you can go here or here.

For this chain, I’ll post an opener that I brought up out of Crossfire Canyon yesterday when I went down to look for spring there. Imagine my surprise to see that not even the wild buckwheat are bucking up yet. They’re usually the first flower to bloom, after stork’s bill. Then, the wild phlox.

But yesterday, nada.

Or only slightly more than nada.

After I post my haiku, the chain is open for business. Simply post your haiku in the comments below the post. You can riff off the previous haiku or totally cowboy it. Those of you who aren’t springing it up but are actually falling–don’t feel left out. Remind us that hemispheres have minds of their own. Just have fun.

Me:

Spring flickers low in
root embers and cold pith, in
rare red sparks of ant.

Go!

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Spring haiku by Sean Lindsay

Welcome to WIZ’s 2012 Spring Poetry Runoff open invitation haiku chain.   This is a non-competitive (that is, not part of the poetry contest), come-as-you-are,   just-for-fun, community word-dance.

A haiku is a classical Japanese poetical form, usually 17 syllables all in a single line in Japanese, but I understand that there are longer and shorter forms.   In English, a haiku often takes the form of one short line of 5 syllables, a long line of 7 syllables, then another short line of 5 syllables, but there are many paths–pick what pleases you.   Often, haiku mention the season under scrutiny–in this case spring, obviously.   If you wish to learn more about haiku, you can go here or here.

The rules: Really, there aren’t any.   How it usually goes is someone starts the chain.   I invited Sean Lindsay to forge the first link in the chain, as he’s often done here.   Somebody follows him, adding a single haiku in the comments, and then another person takes a turn, and around we go.   Other than the informal, €œone-at-a-time-please € tradition, there’s no limit to turns a participant can take and no deadline for this activity.   It runs as long as it runs.

Sean’s opener:

Earth, ice and stone press
Their cold into warmer skies,
Sublimating snows.

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Sean Lindsay occasionally blogs as greenfrog at www.inlimine.blogspot.com and can sometimes be found onymously puttering around Buddhist rock gardens on facebook.

*non-competition submission*

Spring Haiku by greenfrog

Welcome to WIZ’s Spring Poetry Runoff open invitation haiku chain.   This is a non-competitive (that is, not part of the poetry contest), come-as-you-are,   just-for-fun activity that we run from time to time here on WIZ.

A haiku is a classical Japanese poetical form, usually 17 syllables all in a single line in Japanese, but I understand that there are longer and shorter forms.   In English, a haiku often takes the form of one short line of 5 syllables, a long line of 7 syllables, and a short line of 5 syllables, but there are many paths–take your pick.   Often, haiku mention the season under scrutiny–in this case spring, obviously.   If you wish to learn more about haiku, you can go here or here.

The rules: Really, there aren’t any.   How it usually goes is someone starts the chain–today, it’s Sean aka greenfrog.   Somebody follows him, adding a single haiku in the comments, and then another person takes a turn, and around we go.   Other than the informal, “one-at-a-time-please” tradition, there’s no limit to turns a participant can take and no deadline for this activity.   It runs as long as it runs.   So if you feel inclined to add a thread to the tapestry, don’t be shy.

Here’s Sean’s opening haiku:

The bud embedded
In the matrix of branch and
Earth and sun and spring.

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Sean/greenfrog makes his home in the Denver area and blogs occasionally about yoga and meditation.   You can visit his blog In Limine here.

Spring haiku by greenfrog

To kick off WIZ’s Spring Poetry Runoff, we’re starting a haiku chain.   This is a non-competitive (that is, not part of the poetry contest), everybody-can-participate activity, just for fun–a songfest for many voices.

A haiku is a classical Japanese poetical form, usually 17 syllables all in a single line in Japanese, but I understand that there are longer and shorter forms.   In English, haiku often take the form of one short line of 5 syllables, a long line of 7 syllables, and a short line of 5 syllables, but there are many ways–take your pick.   I’ve misplaced all my haiku notes, but you can find out more here or here. (For fun, check out the “annoying haiku” at the first website.)

I asked greenfrog to start off the chain, and he graciously provided.     There’s no deadline for this activity.   It runs as long as it runs.   So if you feel inclined to sing spring up in company with other voices, please–add a link of verse to the chain.

Sunlight touches tree
tops; to the chick, the yolk gives
Itself unmeasured.

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greenfrog, also known as Sean, is a piquant concoction of Mormonism, Buddhism, and Lawyerism living in the Denver, Colorado area. He describes himself as an amphibious creature who “breathes Mormon air and swims Buddhist waters, both quite happily.”