7.11.13

Haiku: Watch A Blade Of Grass...

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." Henry Miller 

Haiku: Watch A Blade of Grass -  Above is a blade of flowering Zoysia Grass

Watch a blade of grass
Dancing gaily in the wind
Teeming, green with life

Cut a blade of grass
Leaking all its life, turns brown
One perspective? Death

Nurture all our grass
Planting, feeding, in season
What we sow, love grows

 This week, the prompt is: Grass


What is a haiku?
 As Leo of Haiku Heights aptly explains, a haiku is a three line poem. It shows what the author wants us to understand from it, rather than tell it directly. The limitation to a haiku is seventeen syllables. It can be at maximum, that much. If you wish to go by the traditional Japanese structure even with English haiku, you can use a 5-7-5 syllable, or 3-5-3 syllable structure





In addition to the weekly Haiku Heights piece above, I have joined the haiku poets of Carpe Diem to work on writing Ten Renga.  According to Kristjaan of Carpe Diem, "a Tan Renga is a short-linked poem which has two stanza, the first stanza has 5-7-5 syllables (the haiku assigned) and the second stanza has 7-7 syllables (I write it). The second stanza is a response on the first and has to have a 'kind of link' with the first stanza, but it can also be completely different say 'a kind of reaction or answer' on the first, but there always has to be, in some way, a 'link' with the first stanza." 
See more on this form of haiku below.  




"To us also, through every star, through every blade of grass, is not God made visible if we will open our minds and our eyes." Thomas Carlyle 

Haiku: Watch A Blade of Grass - Above is a Bay Willow Leaf

 Tan Renga Haiku

even candent days
cannot drive the willow leaves
from their homing place  (by Magical Mystical Teacher)

As autumn shades summer days
Willow, like grass, fades away (by Me)


 shedding summer skin
willow floats downstream
reflecting season's end  (by Maggie Grace)

Lingering blades of grass know…
What we sow with love, will grow (by Me)

 
  Today, the words are:  Tan Renga:, MMT's ''even candent days'', and Maggie's ''shedding summer skin''

What is Carpe DiemBlog Owner, Kristjaan Panneman,  describes it as:  "a weblog on haiku. It's a new daily haiku meme where you can write a classical or non-classical haiku on a given prompt. Haiku is an ancient Japanese poetry form. A haiku has three short lines and describes a short moment (as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water). Mostly a haiku counts 5-7-5 syllables and is sometimes called 'counted verse."





The idea in the haiku above is to write the second stanza of an assigned incomplete Tan Renga, by making an association with the theme of the first stanza. For this exercise, I have copied and pasted two assigned first stanzas from Maggie Grace and Magical Mystical Teacher. I have included my second stanzas below theirs to complete the idea. Does this clarify what a Tan Renga means/does in a haiku? If unclear, please ask questions and I'll clarify. What are your thoughts on the subject? What do you see in nature that reminds you to nurture?

Haiku: Watch a blade of Grass - Above is moving lawncare grass in GIF

Some Food for Thought: How do you view the concept of nature and nurture in your life? Take a moment to contemplate what the words Grass and the message of the Tan Renga mean to you?   Love and Peace in 2013.

I would love to hear from you: Please leave me a comment. Thank You!

PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS:

Ten Renga Haiku by Magical Mystical Teacher(MMT) on Willow
More Carpe Diem Tan Renga: "even candent days."
Final two lines © 2013 by Me - E. Obih-Frank

Ten Renga Haiku by Maggie Grace of “Falling into Me
More Carpe Diem Tan Renga: “Shedding Summer Skin”
Final two lines © 2013 by Me - E. Obih-Frank

All Photographs: Grass, Zoysia GrassWillow LeafWeeping Willow, and/or Lawncare Grass, via Wikipedia, or from my personal collection.


 Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet


61 comments:

  1. What do you observe in nature that reminds you of the importance of nurture? Watching blades of grass moving freely on the side of the highway triggered this haiku... :-)

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  2. I love your third haiku, Ms. Eliz. Reminds me of the proverb, "we reap what we sow." Thanks for the reminder!

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  3. Even how fragile the grass blades are, they can cut into skin.

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  4. Blade of grass moving
    freely in the wind
    I wish to be free.

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  5. I love watching the trees sway while the wind blows. It reminds me that life is beautiful no matter how hard it is.

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  6. Marie Angeli, TY! That line spoke to me deeply too. :-)

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  7. So true Kat... The tiniest of actions can develop or destroy us/all around us. TY!

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  8. Janz, that is beautifully written. You really should try your hand at haiku. You can do it! :-) TY!

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  9. Mayette, I agree with our observation. There is something soothing, even mesmerizing about the gentle sway of plants and tree branches; to me, it says life is precarious, we must cherish it. TY!

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  10. Beautifully pictured haiku. Serene and lovely.
    The growth of love in the form of grass is exemplary. :-)
    -HA

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  11. your haiku is written very compassionate, writes a nature lover

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  12. That death of grass went so well with the death of willow....

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  13. I love this part, Ms. Eliz! --- Lingering blades of grass know…
    What we sow with love, will grow (by Me)

    And yes, watching that gif image of the grass is so soothing and calming.

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  14. "what we sow in love will grow..." very good completion Elizabeth. it is nice to read your inspirational words once again. thank you.

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  15. There's something about watching nature that makes one introspective and profound.

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  16. Very inspiring. I love the first poem. The meaning is so deep when you look at it.

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  17. It's nice to see this photo of grass specially as the country just survived a super typhoon. Like the blades of grass who bend with the wind only to whip back and stand up again, the Filipino spirit is also resilient.

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  18. beautifully written - thank you. ♥

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  19. Wonderfully composed Tan Renga and a lovely post by the way. It's a joy to visit your weblog.

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  20. Interesting haiku about grass. it has been a while since I last wrote a haiku.

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  21. reminds me of the saying that beauty is in the details... what may seem trivial is actually a marvel if we only pay close attention to it.

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  22. a very inspiring thought indeed. gotta love how haikus bring out the poetic side of someone.

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  23. I just love it! And a blade of grass is something that we don't pay much attention. That makes this haiku powerful! :)

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  24. Another great haikus. There's always beauty in tiny little things and that always amazed me. Have great day,:)

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  25. Good to know about haikus and poet.

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  26. Even the simpliest things can tell and teach us a lot.

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  27. another great piece, Eliz! sometimes we do miss the beauty when we become too busy

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  28. I just reread this with a different perspective. Could it be possible that we created Haiyan? I'm not buying into the conspiracy theories of it being a man-made storm, but somehow, maybe we're all responsible for the supertyphoon.

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  29. Wonderful haiku and photo there. :)

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  30. Haikus are quite deep... but if we look deeper, so inspiring!

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  31. i love the gif photo of the grass!
    just like our lives, we need to constantly "feed" it with love and everything essential to a meaningful life.

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  32. Love the photo. even it was just a grass, still, they will look lovely when captured by lens.
    Another nice haiku from you.
    By the way, we are okay after haiyan. We are far from the center of the typhoon but still feel sad after seeing the devastation happened.

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  33. When I think of grass, I think of freshness and life.

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  34. Interesting and inspiring post. Love how you write your haiku

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  35. I'm here again Eliz.. I wish I can make great haikus like you do.. hehe

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  36. TY HA! Your feedback is precious to me.

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  37. I'm a lover of nature so I appreciate your observation Geli!

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  38. Indeed Bjorn! They worked well for sure. :-)

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  39. TY Van! I was glad to find the GIF... it is relaxing. ;-)

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  40. TY for the feedback Sun! I will be following up to return the comment love.

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  41. Yes, Aileen, nature gives us plenty to contemplate...

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  42. TY Jhari and it came to me like a prayer... in a dream.

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  43. TY Vera! The people of the Philippines have great spirit and will recover and overcome the typhoon tragedy.

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  44. TY Kristjaan! I love the Tan Renga and have learned so much from your haiku posts. :-)

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  45. Linnor, you speak great wisdom... So true!

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  46. TY Rose and I'm not much of a poet... I try. :-)

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  47. TY Meikah, I agree. We spend less time looking at grass, yet all of nature offers insights. :-)

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  48. Well said Melgie! If we look, we will learn. TY! ;-)

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  49. Dominique, you should try your hand at it again... I'm a bit rusty but will keep it up. TY!

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  50. True Glenda! I learn something new every day... ;-)

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  51. Marie B! I concur, so much to learn in every moment.

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  52. Marie Angeli, Interesting observation and my response is, honestly, I don't know. Scientists are divided on the impact of global warming and environmental change. We contribute our part for sure, but I doubt that we are liable for creating typhoons. TY!

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  53. TY Pinay! I find it quite meditative too... each one is a challenge for me to write as I'm tempted to go for poetic rhyming... I try my best though. ;-)

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  54. TY Farida! We must feed our lives good messages and food. True! ;-)

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  55. TY Allan and I'm glad to hear that you are oak.. Since many on my blogroll are from the Philippines, I was naturally worried for everyone of you and your families... My heart goes out to all who lost family and friends... Hugs to all!

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  56. JanzC, Try your hand at haiku. Go for it! TY! :-)

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  57. Thanks again for the double comment love, Aileen, Dominique and all! Much appreciated. ;-)

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  58. I am really impressed with your witing skills and also with the layout on your blog.
    Is this a paid theme or didd you customize it yourself?
    Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing,
    it is rare to see a great blog like this one these days.

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