JENN McKINLAY: It's national Haiku poem day! Let's give it a go!
When words are planted,
pretty poems bloom in spring—
silence becomes verse.
From the National Day Calendar:
"Observed annually on April 17, National Haiku Poetry Day encourages all to try their hand in creativity. Haiku poetry is a form of Japanese poetry that is non-rhyming and usually consists of 3 lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5. Usually, an element of nature, a season, a moment of beauty, or an individual experience inspires haiku poems. Sensory language is used to capture a feeling, image, or moment."
The most famous Japanese haiku (according to Google) is Matsuo Basho's "Old Pond" (Furu ike ya), written in 1686.
The Pond (Matsuo Bashō)
Japanese:
古池や (Furu ike ya)
蛙飛び込む (kawazu tobikomu)
水の音 (mizu no oto)
English translation:
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond—
Splash! Silence again.
