When I taught oriental poetry I used the following to separate haiku from senryu:
Haiku is about Nature wherein Man is a part - Senryu is about Man (often benevolently humorous) wherein Nature is a part.
We are edified, and thank Haijin for the interest!
The poet comments, "I enjoy my work I hope everyone else does too."
What a wonderful attitude! Have to remember that one...
The dead berries hang
Fruits from the late summer's past
Still linger like death
People come and go
They do not see me watching
I think of their lives
The poet comments, "So much work to do, yet I stare blindly out the window at the rain and the people going about their lives, and I am lost..."
The poet comments, "This is my first effort; feedback is welcomed, if possible. thanks - G Green "
Great imagery!
blackness fades to grey
the dawn stalks a starless sky
reality breaks
maimed child in the snow
bruised petal on white velvet
challenge to conscience
Having just seen the movie version of "Smilla's Sense of Snow", Toast Point is startled by this haiku. What prompted it? Incidentally, the movie is OK, but everyone should read the book.
The poet comments, "Haiku enthusiasm can sometimes get in the way."
Nonsense. What could be more important?
Under the covers
feet gently touch while reading
love and good books shared.
The poet comments, "Cozy reading. It's great!"
Carefully pressed leaf
rediscovered in old book
forgotten event.
The poet comments, "It is frustrating to forget something you were sure you never would."
Awake all this night
with darkness surrounding me
waiting for dawnlight
Softly evading
the mystical air of dreams
I sleep for the night.
The poet comments, "After seeing a picture of tornado damage"
My heart overflows.
Do you dare accept my love?
Do I deserve this?
Tree bends from the wind,
The sun saddened by the clouds.
The clouds cry in pain.
Hear the waterfall
Cascading over the rocks,
Beautiful thy sound.
The poet comments, "I was in the seventh grade when I wrote this Haiku for an English project on different types of poems. Thank You."
Moonlight photons blast
Blood rushes with energy
Blue night takes control
Defenceless lies land
under the lashing rainfall
How come dry's my wash !
Colored eggs and ham
decorate Easter tables
to please young and old
The poet comments, "absurdities abound as i build my house of toast"
feather is falling
breezes appoint its motion
to an earthly rest
plump and cherry sweet
a grove land summer bounty
hatching robin eggs
The poet comments, "to richard"
War time exposure
awakes many years later
asbestos cancer
The poet comments, "My dad was exposed to large amounts of asbestos in the plane he flew during WWII. Fifty years after the fact he is a casualty of the war."
You left, my smiles froze
hopes fell, tears sprang, eyes burned
Seasonal Moment
The poet comments, "A colleague writes after reading my works(!?)
Woman of Terror
Keyboarding silly haiku
Must keep her day job!
Just doing my part to inspire poetry!"
The poet comments, "I have never done this before - I'm just a regular housewife and mother and it was really different - I hope that you liked it! "
Yes, we did, although your comment reminds us of Fastrada in "Pippin".
The poet comments, ""Consider ye the lilies..." "
Man-slayer mantis
Feigns prayerful temperance
Mating pays for lunch!
The poet comments, "All's fair in love and war! "
Spots of sun and shade
A calm stream chimes through the woods
The smell of wild green
Goldfinch at feeder
summer brilliance, winter drab
bright again - it's spring
many tunnels show
upon my lawn as snow melts
voles have been busy
Strange sounds in the night
cacophony as owls seek
answer to question
The poet comments, "Thank you for your comments on my "coffee" poem...and i agree totally."
Foolish, ancient dog
Dreaming of a fragrant spring
And sweet rabbit terror.
The poet comments, "An extra syllable...but it's a quiet one. : >"
Friday, icy rain
Washes the red brick common
Bums and pigeons bathe.
The poet comments, "I'm 16 years old, and just starting to gain an interest in poetry. "
Write on little pen
create images in verse
winter wind chills me
The poet comments, "I just realised this was a haiku, and I thought I'd never written one before!"
The poet comments, "dedicated to One Hellspont... the Master of the author.. with love.. "
passions bring delights
delights bring lustful rapture
rapture brings climax
The poet comments, " *impish wink*"
bodies crash like waves
flowing together as one
their love spilling forth
the slave girl dances
golden curves writhing
a pleasing vision
Toast Point thinks it's especially cool when the coffee mug is clear glass and you don't stir - like watching galaxies form.
The poet comments, "A nightmare I had."
Rain-flattened oak leaves
merging autumn with concrete
shadows of themselves
Faint trace of her scent.
The breath of summer meadow
amidst the winter.
Wind shrieks syllables.
Each seventeen's a haiku.
Beware chilly draught.
The poet comments, "Thanks for helping me express this nagging thought in words!"
Glad we could help!
that hole in the hedge
almost filled in this summer
abandoned tree house
A giant oak falls
underneath the rotting bark
pandemonium
Quicksilver beauty
Intricate filaments spun
A spider's deathtrap
Clouds in sarabandes
Sleeping turquoise-lacquered bridge
Fragrant lotus pond
Indian summer's glow
Tapestries of minuets
Brocaded leaf waltz
Empty nest, frantic
mother bird cries limb to limb
cat licks his whiskers
a father's day card
gently placed on the tombstone
the boy turns and leaves
The poet comments, "Lesley and I are both 46 and have been married for a year. It has been wonderful!"
Congratulations!
Mild morning breezes
Triggered by sun's fresh rising
Tinkling wind chimes
Alcohol laughter
Neon light companionship
Phlegm-covered sidewalk
The poet comments, "The other evening I carefully walked past a tavern and these thoughts came to me."
the soaking rain outside
-pat -pat -pat
drops striking the window
shaft of light
piercing the fog
horn sounds a warning
the old pond in summer
still water
heat making waves
on his back smiling
accepts his brother's strong hand
football lays nearby
the canopy of leaves
sun streaming through
summer breeze
Branches bow to earth
Drifting snows define earth's edge
Starlight paints the scene.
The poet comments, "It seemed that all cicadae were asleep and suddenly only one of them started chirping for several seconds before utter silence prevailed again. "
Icicles, snow falling
My breath floating in the air
Oh yes, winter is here.
Moments ago, I
came upon a single thought
I miss you so much
Red salmon jumping
from silver rushing waters
baptizing the air.
Eyes of swallowtail
suspended in spiderweb
weep morning dew drops.
dry naked shoreline
resting from a raucous spring.
strong roots on display
never knew orange
had such weight until I stood
under a maple
The poet comments, "I love your website!"
Thank you!
The poet comments, "I finally fall asleep dreaming of little kittens in the spring. "
Patience is an operetta.
The poet comments, " I hope you enjoy!! It's about a spring shower."
The poet comments, "Do you accept Storied Haiku?"
We accept any haiku. What is storied haiku?
The poet comments, "I hope you dont insist on the "holy seventeen" despite the entry form!"
The poet comments, "What has happened to the contest?"
See above for a description of Toast Point's idiocy.
no change this morning
to buy a brown-bag bottle
longing for relief
fun follows frisbee
skipping sun and scattered clouds
retriever knows joy
The poet comments, "the warm winter has turned my thoughts to spring."
The poet comments, "Going to work
32 megas of ram
in my brain"
if brim stones be cast
into family basket
supper meal be done
dear break forest's edge
hunter masked in musk and firs
follows silently
the purple bruise shows
was it at midnight this time?
was it he again?
lions, tigers, and bears
dorothy is a chicken
lions, tigers, and bears
Worldly Goods, God's Grace..
How to live well yet bring both
into one heart, one mind?
The poet comments, "Read Walter Von der Vogelweide. He did it better."
The poet comments, "WELL---I am 45, and the CUBS still haven't won a World Series.....%^)"
Happy Birthday, Doctor!
In the sleepless room,
Only your eyes shed warm light.
February night.
Timid quilt of snow
lured by the call of abyss.
Roaring avalanche.
crashing thunder rolls
feeling no match for lightning
cloudburst drums the roof
boiling pot awaits
a plummeting of rice
cook watches sun set
boiling pot awaits
its pummeling of cold rice
dinner at sunset
clay snakes coil around
fashioning a bowl spirit
she must not capture
dark and cold as ice
shepherd gathering his sheep
longs to wear their heat
The poet comments, "my first haiku...ever"
colored leaves rustle
nature's whispered promise,
"I shall wake once more"
The poet comments, "my second one..."
Red coat Winter thick
My child cheeks are wind-blushed rose
Eyelashes laced white
The poet comments, "My memories of snow..."
dreams keep us alive
a better me, you, us, we
no one is perfect.
sun lighting rimrock
pushing colors past the sun
while setting in clouds
sun dagger dances
through the cave's solstice target
forgotten by man
the high noon drama
of a west that never was
now covered by dust
the cranky poet
held by gravity's large jaws
awaits the dream flight
love has turned to hate
lovers now distant and cold
icy rocks for hearts
the monsoon has struck
tiny shanty shakes while I
trade prose for poems
long line for short bus
the big rock-candy mountain
all seasons the same
concrete cornice creaks
window waits for weather's wane
winter wildly wings
our cries for reason
appreciate not nature
equivocal wild
I wave to my love
among the blue berries
quiet forest near
bees buzz overhead
sweet whippoorwill sings to the
cranberry bog lands
poetic whisper
swifty winging accoss pond
startles resting crane
one- legged crane stands
knee-deep in tepid mud
eying crystal-clear springs
The poet comments, "That was fun, kind of like haiku free association!"
mirror of image
casting light-speed reflections
from a cool dark pool
in her winter years
she reflects spring in her eyes
the fast flowing brook
too much energy
is bob, bob, bobbing along
the red, red robin
grey russet rocket
and she thinketh herself gaye
preening her cockade
The poet comments, "From John Skelton's poem "The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng", written before 1523. Little snippets of this poem are so nice to play with in a haiku-like form."
The poet comments, "What are owls? What is night? What is the nature of the edge?"
cool sky blue vision
silently through still water
fish swims in a cloud
The poet comments, "Where is the fish? Where is the cloud?"
cold wind swiftly bites
the cry of a lonely gull
heralds of a storm
The poet comments, "Is something bitten? What is haralded? Who are haralds?"
the undisturbed lake
during day reflects the sun
at night shows the moon
The poet comments, "Where is the sun to be found? Where the moon? Where is the lake?"
May I cup your cheeks
To inhale your depression
Your anguish is mine
The Red Tail has sharp eyes
The pigeons are unaware
Smorgasbord in the City
The poet comments, "Thoughts of a grateful survivor."