Haiku Tree Art Project


 

For my art project, I wanted to write a few haikus.  I have always enjoyed haikus for their simplicity and focus on nature.  I tried to come up with an idea to visually express the haikus instead of just reading them off a piece of paper, and decided to make a "haiku tree."  This simple tree goes along with the haiku's focus on nature and the seasons.  I added lots of color since my haikus are about spring time, which I wrote sitting on my back porch and on a bench at Beaver Lake.  I also added some real sticks and leaves to give it a natural feel...

 

 

Besides the syllabic system of 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables, traditional haikus usually have 2 main components which I tried to incorporate into my poems:

 

1. Kigo= phrase or word to indicate season of the poem

 

2. Kireji= "cutting word" or phrase to lead the stream of thought either to closure, or toward further contemplation...

 

 

Here are my haikus:

 

the warmth from the sun

while radiating below,

some left in shadows

 

 

soft wind hums along,

stirring petals just in bloom

awake, yet again

 

 

while changes take time,

outside there is no hurry--

yet all is fulfilled.

 

 

one's impermanence,

beneath tall trees reaching out,

infinitely grow

 

 

light blue cloudless skies,

shift to massive grey down-pours;

blank uncertainty.

 

 

 

though these aren't as well-written as many of the Japanese haikus, I enjoyed writing them-- twas very relaxing!